Links, Links, Links!! 5th May 2013

A stunning way to tell a story. Check out this audition on the X Factor.

What have you been up to this week? It's been a crazy one on this end...I had this interview come out on Radio National about the piece in the Griffith Review, learnt a fair bit about training someone and read many analyses about the reaction to the Boston Bombings (a few of which I have included below).  Enough about me though...here are some of the bits and bobs which caught my eye this week.

---

Paul Grahams words on finding your purpose and doing what you love (via Brain Pickings).

What you should not do, I think, is worry about the opinion of anyone beyond your friends. You shouldn’t worry about prestige. Prestige is the opinion of the rest of the world.

Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like.

---

Terrorism and other religions...

[box] Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States.[/box]

An amazing piece on moderation versus extremism.

[box] The Quran and the Hadith very clearly and explicitly warn against extremism in matters of religion...In the Quran God says, ‘Do not commit excess in your religion.’ According to a report in the Sahih Ibn Majah, the Prophet Muhammad is said to have remarked ‘O People! Save yourselves from excess in religion, because earlier communities were destroyed […] due to excess in religion’[/box]

It is this that I wish people remembered.

This a beautiful piece written by artist James Rhodes...

[box]The government is cutting music programmes in schools and slashing Arts grants as gleefully as a morbidly American kid in Baskin Robbins. So if only to stick it to the man, isn't it worth fighting back in some small way? So write your damn book. Learn a Chopin prelude, get all Jackson Pollock with the kids, spend a few hours writing a Haiku. Do it because it counts even without the fanfare, the money, the fame and Heat photo-shoots that all our children now think they're now entitled to because Harry Styles has done it.[/box]

Very cool Facebook page, Room for Debate - it is the exact kind of space I would like to encourage and grow...They are currently talking about whether the Hijab is worth fighting for?

[box] ...aside from the racial overtones when mostly white Western women are trying to “save” mostly non-white non-Western women, Femen activists have insulted the group they claim to care about. A campaign against the hijab is an attack on Islam instead of on patriarchy itself, effectively marginalizing all those women who choose to seek their rights in an Islamic context.[/box]

An MUST read by Mohamed Ghilan on "The Irony of Muslim Terrorism". I've just discovered his blog and I am sold.

[box] The matter is not about Islam. A closer investigation of Islam through proper methods of study and proper contextualisation will reveal that it is impossible for anyone to conclude any room for justifying, let alone do it in the name of Islam, the indiscriminate killing of innocent people on the streets. What we are dealing with are the repercussions of political decisions and historical forces that gave rise to insane acts by misguided Muslims who think they are serving Islam and Muslims.[/box]

A really well presented piece by Stella Young on the Politics of Exclusion, something I know about perhaps from one angle but not from this particular angle - that of disability and the invisibility it renders...

I posted this during the week but it is worth a conversation - diversity in motorsport.  Will Buxton writes an awesome piece on this...

I have to include this amazing spoken word video. It's rather viral at the moment (includes swear words). Seriously though, watch it. A letter to JK Rowling from Cho Chang.

Here are some equally interesting critiques, all which bring up interesting points (this is just one example) and it is good to see the poet has engaged with them via her tumblr.  I think pieces like this are extremely important and a healthy part of the public sphere of debate.  Clearly, there are many critiques, but what this has achieved is highlighted a problematic discourse and created a catalyst - a conversation through which we as a society can dismantle and tackle the issue.  How can issues ever be resolved if they are not talked about? 

For a bit of fun, check out these awesome LEGO CREATIONS!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Links, Links, Links!! 28th April 2013

Hi everyone! How are we this fine Sunday?

I've had an interesting week, not least as I was interviewed by the ABC (live! zomgsh) on my piece in the Griffith Review.  Check out the video HERE!

How many times do we have to say this?  The use of the word "illegal" is ignorant and mischievous!

[box] While the Coalition may have hoped to score political points with the reappearance of its "illegal boats" billboard this week, it has shone a spotlight on its feeble grasp of international law. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is wrong to say that the Refugee Convention says asylum seekers are "illegal". [/box]

On the topic of the Boston Marathon Bombings: why is it considered terrorism and Aurora and Sandy Hook not?

Wise words on Bahrain from an unlikely source: Joe Saward, the F1 journalist...

[box] Some would argue that it is necessary to remove all religion from the political process and that until Bahrainis stop thinking about being Shias or Sunnis there cannot be a truly democratic country. If you go back in history you see many nations going through similar religious troubles, notably in Europe in the 16th and 17th Centuries when Catholics and Protestants murdered one another in large numbers. We do not live in a perfect world, but sport is one of the few ways in which nations can unite, transcending internal divisions and thinking as a group. Thus looking at a much bigger picture one has to say that the Grand Prix is a good idea for Bahrain. No doubt some will disagree…[/box]

Finding a way of being a girl that doesn't hurt... again going to a question of where the feminist movement is?

Again on the issue of feminism...Five Myths about Feminism.  How do you feel about the label?

A massive discussion about social media's do's and don'ts. Really interesting - how do you use social media, as an individual and as a company?

Seth Godin asks the question: What is your critical mass?

[box] If your idea isn't spreading, one reason might be that it's for too many people. Or it might be because the cohort that appreciates it isn't tightly connected. When you focus on a smaller, more connected group, it's far easier to make an impact.[/box]

This is old news but I think I forgot to link it in my hubris - the first female, Muslim MP in Australia!

I am a sucker for beautiful photography (who isn't), and beautiful photography of beautiful machines? How could I resist...

Oh and don't forget to check out my posts this week; one on Global Migration and Identity and the other on Stirling Moss's comment's on women in F1. If you want to keep in touch more regularly, you can always check out my Facebook page!

Global migration: Changing the way we define our identity?

This was originally posted on Future Challenges! Check out the [button link="http://futurechallenges.org/local/global-migration-changing-the-way-we-define-our-identity/" newwindow="yes"] Original Link[/button]

---

When my parents moved to Australia with me as a screaming baby in tow, the situation in Sudan was dire, true, but it was much more an economic and socio-political decision rather than one of safety. This type of migration is increasingly common, particularly to a migration based nation such as Australia. How a nation and its people – as well as migrants themselves – deal with these global flows currents of people will define attitudes and perspectives of our current generation and generations to come.

I describe myself as either a “global citizen” or “mongrel”, both labels of which I am proud. What exactly does that mean though, for me personally, for many others in similar situations and for our society as this becomes perhaps the norm?

From a purely economical point of view, there is no doubt that migration, particularly skilled and business based migration, is of great importance and benefit to a society. The introduction of policies such as 457 visas (officially known as the Temporary Business (Long Stay) Visa), which allow Australian companies to sponsor employees from overseas has allowed for the development of sectors where skills are required, for example the oil and gas industry. Australia is no stranger to migration by any means; more than a quarter of the population in 2011 was born overseas, we speak more than 260 languages and identify with more than 270 ancestries. With the ease of travel this century and the relative stability of our economy compared to the global status quo, it is no wonder that more people are looking to cross the oceans to call this land girt by sea ‘home’.

If we are to look at this from a cost-benefit point of view, there is no doubt that what is gained from migration – an increase in labour supply, national income, skills, development, cultural depth, awareness and exposure, heavily outweighs any perceived disadvantages; identity crises, housing and services, the cost of humanitarian arrivals (although this is an international obligation), possible rise in community tensions due to a lack of understanding leading to changes in social cohesion.

It can be said that from that point of view as well, Australia is lucky in the sense that it only stands to gain skills from migration. By and large, we are not suffering from the ‘brain drain’ affecting other nations; our Net Overseas Migration (NOM) is 232 000 (497000 arrivals and 265000 departures, ABS and DIAC projections, 2012). It should be noted that NOM is the net gain or loss of population through immigration to Australia and emigration from Australia.

Although the drivers and immediate economic benefits are known and recognised, the effects on the socio-political landscape are those that are more often talked about, highlighted and debated. Migration can be seen as a purely economical factor perhaps, however we must not forget that we are dealing with actual people, who have hopes, dreams, desires and families. Migrants not only bring economic impacts, but their very presence changes the fabric of communities, and it is this change that can turn the tide of opinion. Economic factors are enough to convince a company perhaps, but “not in my backyard” is also a term used…

A cursory look at headlines over the past year or two clearly indicates that migration and identity are in the forefront of people’s minds. The discourse hasn’t always been friendly:

Australia is a nation based on multiculturalism, and we have a great untapped resource in our cultural diversity. It is important that we appreciate the value of our migration and cultural diversity, capitalise on its benefits and ensure that we do not neglect the socio-political effects that it has. We must ensure the communication lines are always open between migrants and those who have been settled for generations, and that we provide the space for young people to discover and mould their own identities to find the balance between their heritage and their current environment in a manner that is comfortable and familiar to them. It isn’t something that will happen overnight or be ‘resolved’ but more one that will change over time as influxes and migratory patterns change.

This level of cross cultural pollination has never been seen in history before, so we are at a unique point in human civilisation where we can create and mould identity based on more than just an accident of birth location – we almost have the choice and freedom to form whatever identity we want. What effects will that have on our society as a whole? Who knows yet. It could mean that nationalism no longer has the same power that it used to, or that it becomes based on something other than race, birthplace or religion. It could mean that cultures become based on hybrids of existing national traditions… who knows? All I know is that it is within our control.

Migration is not a crime, by dkalo on Flickr, CC BY SA 2.0

***

The irony is never lost on the Indigenous population – apart from them, we are all migrants to Australia. So who is anyone to deny the benefits of a concept that brought them there in the first place?

Links, Links, Links! 21st April 2013

 

How are we all this morning? How has the week been? I've been super busy with a crazy week at work (I've a new trainee), getting excited about being published and wrote one of my most-read articles on an encounter at the airport.  Enough about what I did though...here is what I came across on the net!

I love this piece by the Informed Comment: Top Ten Reasons why Terrorism is Forbidden in Islamic Law...

From the simple dollar: 5 pieces of advice that changed my life.

Young people need to be more involved in all levels of decision making in society; even though public and corporate decisions usually affect us we are rarely party to the decision making process.  That should change, and one way is by getting young people on Boards.

I completely relate to this writer - the love of technology mixed with nostalgia for print (I was an insane bookworm growing up and still feel guilty that I own a Kindle...I feel like I am betraying print) and it's interesting to read this piece from a lady who says her life is better without Facebook. I don't know if I could leave Facebook (isn't that a sad state of affairs!) - working out in the sticks doesn't help I guess...

Feel like you have media overload? A piece from Wired on balancing your media diet...

Why aren't there more women in technology? Forbes thinks it's a numbers and expectations game...

On one hand, the Boston bombing reaction reporting seemed relatively free of bias...but that was definitely not the case. 

Regardless of your views of justification and intent: whatever rage you're feeling toward the perpetrator of this Boston attack, that's the rage in sustained form that people across the world feel toward the US for killing innocent people in their countries. Whatever sadness you feel for yesterday's victims, the same level of sadness is warranted for the innocent people whose lives are ended by American bombs. However profound a loss you recognize the parents and family members of these victims to have suffered, that's the same loss experienced by victims of US violence. It's natural that it won't be felt as intensely when the victims are far away and mostly invisible, but applying these reactions to those acts of US aggression would go a long way toward better understanding what they are and the outcomes they generate.

A post (a rant, really) from an irate Sudanese blogger who is frustrated at the fact that in Sudan, skin colour is still an indication of status...

I don't agree with everything the United Nations does, but I do believe there is a place for it.  Why we get value for money at the United Nations.

I love examples of Muslim women challenging the expectations, and this Bosnian Mayor is a inspirational case!

The difference in treatment and expectations of male and female CEOs - Queen Bees getting the flak.

The age old question about "peak oil..."

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday (and the Formula 1 and MotoGP!)

PLEASE EXPLAIN: Why my clothing choice matters to you?

A small incident occurred in my life a couple of weeks ago that I had trouble processing.

On my way to a flight, travelling through airport security, the lady standing at the metal detector stopped to ask me  about my head covering.

"What do you mean it's because of your religion?" I was asked.

"...uh, it's what I wear for a hijab.  I am a covered Muslim woman and I have to wear this because it's compatible with my field engineering job..." I was a little confused and at this point frustrated; they were holding up the entire line and the questioning was causing an unnecessary scene.

"Yeah look it really isn't religious enough.  Aren't you guys supposed to wear the..." She trailed off, looking at me.

"You mean the full veil/hijab?"

"Yes, that.  You have to wear that for it to be religious.  Guys who wear turbans can't come in with a baseball hat covering their hair and say that is religious, because it is a baseball cap, not a turban.  Look do you have a veil with you to prove that this is religious?"

I looked at the lady, incredulous. Was she serious?

"No, I don't carry an extra scarf with me in my hand luggage".  The lady didn't seem to pick up on my dry tone.

"Oh okay. Well in the future, carry with you a scarf so you can show the security"..

"Wait, wait a minute." By this point I had all my luggage and was ready to leave, but I just had to clarify. "So you're telling me that I can't wear what I am wearing because it isn't religious enough for you and I need to bring a 'proper scarf' with me to prove to you that I am Muslim?"

"Yes. Do you understand me and where I am coming from?"

"...no, not really. But I'm going to go catch my plane, I'll just go with it. Thank you for your advice..."

***

Women's bodies, in particular Muslim women's bodies, seem to be a battlefield for all sort of political debates and concerns, exemplified by the never ending French battle with the burqa/niqab/hijab.  This particular incident and raised questions on two levels: one a personal level, and one around the question of Muslim women, their clothing and bodies in general.

***

Firstly, it must be clear that I am not assigning blame to the security lady per se, as such an incident is likely due to a combination of ignorance, poor training and miscommunication.   If a Muslim individual had made the same comment - 'this isn't religious enough' - I would have taken umbrage for a completely different reason.  In this case however, it is more an unfortunate reflection of the understanding of Muslims and their traditions in Australia society.  

There are two sides to this coin.  On one hand, there is an onus on the Muslim community to go out and educate the wider community on traditions, so as we are not taking on a 'victim mentality', as we did so often after September 11.

On the other hand, it is also important that members of our security forces, particularly those in sensitive areas such as the airports, be properly educated and trained.  It is quite likely (though I am making the assumption) that the training consisted of explaining "what a Muslim woman looks like" and subsequently only showing the traditional/stereotypical image of a Muslim woman in the classic hijab.

Unfortunately (ahem, surprised?), not all Muslim women look the same and dress the same, and as the community matures in Australia, looks will diversify further.  Stereotypes should not be the way we expect our community to look.  

Perhaps recommendations can and should be made to the security department in order to improve their training.  If their existing programs are already quite extensive, perhaps it was an isolated case...? The tendency is to give people the benefit of the doubt (although in this case, that may be counter intuitive).

***

On a personal note, it was uncomfortable being told by a complete stranger that I wasn't dressed 'religious enough'.  I don't take offense to much at all, but I personally felt affronted by someone judging whether or not I was practicing my religion appropriately or 'enough', particularly by, essentially, a random individual...

Religion is a purely personal thing, and so is clothing choice.  In a nation which prides itself on all sorts of freedoms, the fact that individuals are made to feel uncomfortable due to either choice may require us to have a look at ourselves, and if our societal norms and expectations are eroding those freedoms.

***

The second point this incident raised is related to the debate about Muslim women and Muslim bodies more generally.  The existence of organisations such as FEMEN and the responses from the Muslim women around the world exemplify the battlefield that is the 'Muslim Woman'.  I might leave this point for another day actually, there is a lot to it...

***

Crazy Rig Conversations: Part 2

Well, the good times never stop in the drilling world!  This last week has included travelling to three different rig sites, driving for too many hours and even a rodeo somewhere in the middle! Spending all this time in this world does expose one to interesting conversations and lines though...and I thought they might be worth sharing :)

NB: Generally, each person is referred to as 'old mate', or OM for short.  'Old Mate' is Australian for 'that random dude', or someone whose name you have forgotten.

***

Over the two way radio, two of my colleagues are catching up on the public truckers' channel:

OM 1: Where did you put the [xx piece of equipment]

OM 2: Oh I duno, do you want me to come and show you?

OM 1: Yeah, you should probably get over here.

OM 2: Do you miss me already do ya?

Random Truck Driver Sounding Annoyed: Do you guys want to get a channel?

***

The explanation of the Pope-selection system:

Old Mate: When they get together to pick the pope, they just have a bit of the smoke, and then when it's really good and they've decided, they'll have a bit of that white smoke... that's what you see.

Me: Oh, that...makes perfect sense... (!)

***

I work with an Arab looking man who was on the rig floor.  One roughneck decided to call him from my shack.

Roughneck: Rig floor, do you copy? [No reply]

He looks at me and grins.  Oh dear, I thought.

Roughneck: Rig Floor?  Durka Durka Jihad Jihad!  [Looks over and laughs. I'm confused. Does he know I am Arab too? Am I supposed to reply?]

Me: You got it wrong; I think you mean Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad...?

***

Another lady visited the site, a lovely blonde engineer.  It was hilarious watching all the guys register a woman on site. Later on, I had a conversation to one of the crew about the whole 'affair'...

OM 1: Oh did you see the chick come on site? There were eyes popping out everywhere!

Me: Ha! That's great.  Did you guys get a good look did you?

OM 1 (seemingly a little dismayed): No, I didn't get a good enough look. I will next time though...

Me: It's getting crazy now there are two of us women on site ay!

OM 1 (looks at me with a slightly worried expression): I know. It's so distracting.  All of us just go a bit silly really.  Even when you came on we went a little silly.

Me: Don't you guys get over it once you know who we are and that?

The two crew members looked at each other.

OM 1 and 2: Nope.

***

***

While at the Rodeo (this isn't a rig conversation, but it was funny...)

Announcer: Racing is not discriminiative, it's speedway.

and lastly...

OM 1: Oh I wish I didn't have a heart problem.

Me: Oh dear, that's terrible. What's up?

OM 2: Love is a real killer you know!

Me: -.-

***

Women in the Workforce: More to it Than Just Numbers

  I wrote this piece for FutureChallenges.org, an awesome site. Check it out originally here.

***

The questions of women in the workforce and how that affects society’s fabric have been posed since the early days of the feminist movement.  The question of what is gained – or lost – as women assume a larger role in a country’s economic burden is not so much just about the economic aspect, but spans the issues of the political, social and cultural impacts as well.

Women on the job in Afghanistan, by United Nations Photo, on Flickr, 2012 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

As a young woman growing up in a Western country with heritage and cultural influences from the East, the question of women’s role in society more broadly has been of interest. The different cultural expectations of women, and the interestingly underlying and sometimes unexpected similarities give an indication of how far women have come, but also how far we still have to go.

In terms of what is gained, there is much to be said. From a numbers point of view, between 1984 and 2009, the number of working women has increased from 44 million to 72 million (in the US).  Not only do the sheer numbers of individuals contributing to the workforce make a difference, but women are said to bring particular skills to industry that change the tone.

Women are said to be more intuitive with different values, including empathy and support.  They are also said to be better team players and are able to look at problems more holistically.  On a more extreme level, workers in traditionally male dominated industries such as oil rigs have anecdotally welcomed women as they “make it seem more like the real world” and “bring a different mentality so we even end up talking about different things”.

These are all sweeping generalisations though; can it really be said that “all women are empathetic” and that is why they are good for the marketplace?  Is it fair to pigeon hole an entire gender into an expected set of stereotyped values?

Perhaps these generalisations are more damaging than beneficial and are part of the reason women are thought of in a particular way, limiting their ability to contribute in a meaningful manner.

An interesting article on the Financial Times also questions this focus on “what women bring”, concluding that perhaps it just comes down to the skill set of the individual and this is where the focus should remain. This particularly applies to women in senior and leadership positions in companies.

Or to put it another way, the women who “make it” perhaps do so because they are far better than the men. It might mean the focus should be less on “what women bring” and more on getting them into leadership roles in the first place.  (Source)

Generalisations aside though, the increase in the number and proportion of women in the workforce does have implications on society more generally. There is no more obvious platform for this societal shift than of the oft asked question “Can women have it all”. Interestingly, it is a question posed usually by women themselves.

“Busy Mom”, by gwilmore, on Flickr, 2005, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Anne Marie Slaughter’s well read essay in the Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All” in 2012 was a profound example of an ambitious, accomplished female role model who argued that women weren’t able to have it all – ‘all’ meaning an ambitious career and a fulfilling family life. The article, based on Slaughter’s personal life as a senior US Department of State employee, provoked responses from around the globe and shocked many, opening up a public conversation about what the result of having women in the workforce meant for our society.

It would seem that from a purely economic point of view, having women a part of the workforce and contributing to nation building in a corporate sense does nothing but improve, gain, increase and enrich productivity and our work place environment. Where things are perhaps lost is not in the office or on site but outside that world – in homes and within families. This is not to say that having women in the workforce is purely detrimental to families, but that society needs to accommodate the fact that women spend more time away from the home and the resultant shift needs to be accounted and allowed for. Society has accepted that women are part and parcel of the working world, now the cultural change needs to follow so that the overall outcome is of one positive benefit for all.

Women collectively breastfeeding for IWD – the right to work and family, by Amadeus Sanz, on Flickr, 2008 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Sometimes images like this suggest that even with women in the workforce and contributing to our society, mentalities still have a way to go.

Stop Just Looking For Happiness.

A stroll in the self-help section of any bookstore, electronic or otherwise, will offer a wide and varying selection on how to achieve the illusive state of "happiness".

"Happiness" seems to be a state to which we should aspire to achieve and embody.  However, this doesn't seem to answer all the questions.

if we are all trying so hard to be happy, to de-stress, de-clutter and distance ourselves from anything that brings us pain and difficulty, where are we collectively heading as a society?  Can we really achieve and progress if we are not interested in the meaningfulness of what we do and instead focus on our personal, individualhappiness?

In her recent article, Nancy Colier asks: Why do we expect ourselves to be happy all the time?  It is a pertinent question and challenges a concept that has been encouraged and celebrated strongly over the past couple of decades, particularly in the United States.  The article draws from The Atlantic's original article, which postulates that there is actually more to life that just being happy.

If life isn't about being happy, then what is it about?

Having grown up in a household with a strong Sudanese, community based culture, my younger brother and I were taught the importance of 'duty', and doing things with a purpose, something that offered meaning. 

This wasn't something we always understood or appreciated, as for young children and teenagers, the immediate payoff seems to be the most important thing.  As time has passed though, I have begun to appreciate the concept behind what my parents tried to teach us.

Meaning can bring happiness, but in of itself is much more profound and encompassing than just 'being happy'.

Meaning is about the concept of working for something larger than your individual person.  It is about, as the psychologists who wrote the book Man's Search for Meaning found, being a "giver" instead of a "taker".

It is a concept that implies a fulfilling life isn't one that is focused on personal contentment to the exclusion of any pain, suffering, or any struggle for a better situation. Rather, a fulfilling life is one that gives individuals a reason to be happy - or at the very least, content.

Meaning can come in any number of forms, but it is often related to what we as individuals and society value.

For those who value family, meaning and ensuing happiness can come from providing for the family.  For those who are more focused on their career, meaning may take the form of employment related activities.  For me personally, meaning comes from working with young people and the community to help empower them, individually and as a group.

Achieving or striving for these may not always be sunshine and roses, and may not always provide immediate happiness.  However, the long term strive for meaning gives depth to our lives, and value to what we contribute to in society.

It is that meaning that we can derive true happiness from, knowing that our time on this earth made an impact in some way, and that the world is a little better for us having been in it.

Source of photos: Tumblr

Shoot the Messenger?

"Everybody, at the end of the day wants to come back with the best shot." The Bang Bang Club.

Wow, does this film give some food for thought.

Where …are they getting the guns?

What …do you care man, it doesn’t matter. Just take the picture!

***

The movie, The Bang Bang Club, follows the lives of four war photographers during the apartheid in South Africa and their adventures while they attempted to record and broadcast the events of the conflict through image.

Although the film did capture part of the emotional journey, the film makers did not interrogate the moral and ethical dilemmas as deeply as they could have.  Instead, the film chooses to follow the stories of the men more generally and to refer to greater issue indirectly.

This doesn’t detract completely however from the question underlying the film: what is the role of photojournalist in a war zone, a person driven by humanity or by the passion and job description?

How then, does that fit in with moral and ethical expectations that we have as a society?

***

Kevin Carter, one of the four members of the club profiled in the film, committed suicide shortly after being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for taking a photo of a starving child in Southern Sudan.

The guilt of not doing anything to save the child, and moreover being constantly asked and berated for his “inhumanity” was said to be his undoing.

…But who are we, as mere observers, to tell people like conflict photographers what they should and shouldn’t do in the line of duty?  How would we know what we would do in such a position?

The more important question is…Should they interfere? Are we allowed to judge them as we do if they do not?

It is interesting to read interviews with the journalists themselves, years after the fact.  For example Greg Marinovich speaks below about the piece “Mob Attack”.

***

…the door was flung open and this guy with a scarf tied like a turban around his head came dashing out. He looked me straight in the eyes, and then took off.

All these other men started chasing him, and he hadn't gone far when he was brought down. About 15 or 20 men were all around him, hitting and stabbing and clubbing. And I was right there, photographing it. On the one hand, I was horrified, and at the same time I was thinking: what should the exposure be?

It was the old days: analogue, manual focus, crappy cameras. I felt torn between the horror of what I was seeing and trying to capture it. I was also thinking, how am I going to survive this? Because sooner or later these people are going to say, "There's this guy taking pictures of us committing murder." I was 1km from my car and the nearest outsider.

They killed him. And then one of them turned and said, "The white guy's photographing." Everyone leapt away, and I said, "No, it's fine, it's fine. Why did you kill him? Who is he?"

It was my first exposure to such a thing. And although, as a journalist, my reaction was fine, as a human being I felt I'd really let myself down [emphasis added]. It wasn't how I'd expected I'd react – I thought I'd try to intervene, or do something more noble. Yet I hadn't. I was really quite torn up about that. I was gutted that I'd been such a coward. From that moment, I was determined that, no matter what, I'd try to intervene and save someone if I could.

***

Greg’s Photo

It cannot be easy, and it isn’t an area with black and white distinctions; war never is.  It is easy for those sitting in comfortable chairs at home to disparage decisions made in the heat of the moment of an intense conflict zone.  The fact of the matter remains that without photojournalists, journalists and the men and women who put themselves in the line of fire to report, we would never have records of the atrocities that occur around the world.

As a society, we send soldiers out to fight on behalf of our “freedom”, but then avoiding dealing with the effects of war on a conscious.  Similarly, I believe these photographers, and many journalists in similar situations around the world, sacrifice a part of themselves for what they believe is a greater cause.  It is a sacrifice they have volunteered, and sometimes, they pay the ultimate price.

Whether we agree with their actions in the heat of the moment is a speculative, and a question of morals and values based on the individual.  Either way, we as a society should be grateful.

***

Read more about this fascinating topic via the links below:

NPR Podcast

New York Times

Greg Marinovich

Joa Silvia

Movieline Review

We don't always need help being 'liberated'

Source

It’s a law that gives a whole new meaning to curves in the road.

In Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province, an Islamist government has put women on notice that female passengers cannot straddle motorbikes because the “curves of a woman’s body” are too alluring unless they sit sidesaddle.

“Muslim women are not allowed to show their curves; it’s against Islamic teachings,” the mayor of the Aceh city of Lhokseumawe told the Associated Press on Monday.

The energy-rich northern province adopted Sharia law in 2009, after it won autonomy from the Indonesian government in a bitter separatist war. It imposed strict morality laws that regulate women’s dress, require shops to close at prayer time and other measures

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation, and some of its regions are increasingly stringent in applying religion-based laws. But it pales in comparison with Saudi Arabia, where women are lifelong dependants of men, must be covered in public from head to foot and cannot drive cars, let alone motorcycles.

…and so the article continues.

Reading the above article evokes sadness and frustration on behalf of the Indonesian women, yes.  This was most likely the aim of the article, but rather than focus on that topic alone, the article goes on to make links with the difficulty apparently all women face in Muslim countries around the world due to draconian regimes enforcing “Islamic” values.

What compounds the frustration however, is the fact that this is a trend in Western based media.  The news so regularly focuses on the 'terrible plight of women' in Islamic countries, blaming the “Islamic” regimes in power and in turn, blaming the belief system as if to say: 'Oh, these women need saving and liberating and freedom from their situations'.  This is done while completely neglecting to mention the opinions of the women themselves, the good work the women do in their own countries and fails to understand that there are different cultural expectations around the globe.  Often this is a result of culture, tradition and the patriarchal aspects of the society rather than the belief system.

Based on the article, one would think that women are desperately in need of liberating, but that is not always the case – or at least, not always Western society’s role to play.

For a more authentic view, here is an example of what Indonesian women are concerned about in terms of their welfare in their own country.

Yes, there are desperate inequality issues around the world, including in Muslim countries, there is no doubt about that at all.  However I grow weary of reading pieces that blame a belief system for the inequality and seek to “save women” (by Western standards) without any consideration of the women as people with a belief system they value rather than objects that fill a convenient role.

A fine case of orientalism indeed.

Brisbane Times: Women taking the lower paid jobs?

 

Here is an article I recently published as an opinion piece for the Brisbane Times.  Check it out here…or comment below!

***

Are women really getting paid less?

When I first came across the article on the apparent "gender pay gap doubling in a year", I couldn't believe my eyes.

However, when I stopped to think about it, the concept didn't make sense to me, particularly from a graduate point of view.  In my field of engineering, salaries for graduates are set for everyone, regardless of gender.  In fact, I was sure that the females in my graduate class were getting the higher salaries!  Where then was this information coming from?

A quick investigation showed there was a misinterpretation of the Australian government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency's report.  There was, in fact, no actual change in percentage of difference since last year which remained at 3 per cent (WEGA, 2012).

Advertisement

However, a difference of 3 per cent is still a discernible inequality.  Why does this gap exist? It cannot be that employers are actively paying women less. We are in the 21st century, after all.

It would seem that the view that the WEGA report is taking is a macro view, one of graduates generally, as opposed to the micro perspectives of men and women in particular fields.  For example, males are clearly overrepresented in fields such as construction (88 per cent), mining (85 per cent), and manufacturing (75 per cent), according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Females on the other hand, are overrepresented in the social services; Health care and social assistance employs 78 per cent females, education and training 70 per cent, and 56 per cent in retail trade. Furthermore, ABS data shows 76 per cent of those in clerical and administration are females.  It is no secret that the fields of mining and construction pay more than health care and education.

So it isn't that employers are paying women differently, it is that there are more females in the lower paying roles and industries.

Is this something that needs to be changed?  Perhaps, and it raises questions about social bias, work-life balance, gendered roles in society and possible disadvantages within the workforce.

Personally, I don't think there is a systemic disadvantage to women, especially not at the graduate level.  There are plenty of equality acts and antidiscrimination laws to protect the rights of almost any group in the workforce, particularly women.  However, there are definitely social biases that play a part.

Engineering, for example, still has extremely low rates of female participation; not because women are less capable, but because girls don't always see it as a natural option (I am still approached by high school girls who say "I'm considering engineering, but isn't that a guy's job?").

Compounding this, the social industries (that have an overrepresentation of women) have lower income levels than technical roles.  Does society undervalue our 'caring' roles, or is it just a case of different jobs deserve different pay levels?

From a long term career perspective, there are numerous studies that indicate women don't find themselves in the pipeline to leadership due to a variety of reasons.  For instance, men hold 2148 crucial line positions in the ASX 500; women hold 141 similar positions. (Australian Census of Women in Leadership, 2012).

So not only does a gap exist at the graduate level, it compounds exponentially throughout the progression of a career.

The question of the pay gap or women's participation and influence in the workforce isn't going to be solved overnight.  It is clear that although there have been great inroads made into women's equality of opportunity in the workforce; a discrepancy still exists at a macro level.

If we want to achieve true equality of outcome, as a society we need to think of more effective ways of unlocking the potential in half our population.

Read the original.

***

So what do you think?

Brisbane Times: How Racist Are We?

I wrote this piece for the Brisbane Times... check the full article (and comments!!) out here. ***

In 2005, when news of the Cronulla riots spread, my family was inundated by calls from friends and family overseas asking if we were okay.

"We're fine!" we would say. "Queensland's different".

That's how I'd always seen it. Growing up in Brisbane in the 90s and 00s, I remember associating racially motivated violence with Sydney and Melbourne.

Although there were incidents in Queensland, it was never as common or visible. Even after 9/11, although our mosque was burnt down and there were incidents of racism, the community didn't experience the widespread and intense incidents of racial hatred as exhibited at the Cronulla riots or more recently, the attacks against Indian international students.

Advertisement

So why is Queensland different? Do the numbers support my anecdotal evidence? Are we more cohesive, or is it a case of luck and "it just hasn't happened yet"?

According to census data, New South Wales and Victoria have an over-representation of LOTE (Language Other Than English Spoken at Home) population, with Sydney and Melbourne's LOTE population at 37.8% and 33.7%, compared to Brisbane's 17.9% (ABS, 2011).

It is quite clear then, that the ethnic population density in Queensland is significantly less than those in the southern states, perhaps a reason for less racial violence.

Furthermore, the southern capital cities have more densely populated areas with particular groups of migrants that have been settled for longer, whereas Brisbane and Queensland's migrant populations are younger and less dense.  In 1996, Queensland had 29.7 % fewer LOTE speakers compared to NSW (ABS, 1996).

On the other hand, the Scanlon Foundation's "Mapping Social Cohesion" (2012) report states that Queenslanders are particularly likely to hold negative views on cultural diversity.

Numbers may not always tell the whole story.  As a lifetime Brisbanite, I don't think we have a widespread issue with racial violence as we are a little different to our southern neighbours.

Firstly, the settlement of racially diverse populations hasn't been in the dense concentrations of lengthy settlement as seen down south.  This has allowed ethnically diverse populations to better embed themselves into the fabric of the mainstream community.

With that familiarity comes understanding and the reduction of the likelihood of racial violence.

Secondly, as a society, we are now much more aware the needs of migrants and LOTE populations having learned from Sydney and Melbourne. As populations now settle in Queensland, the many support mechanisms available from government and organisations help alleviate many of the issues based around settlement that may provoke violence.

When my family moved to Australia almost 20 years ago, the level of support was essentially non-existent.  Now, there are extensive networks to help, and the positive impact this has cannot be understated.

However, it cannot be denied that there are negative - dare I say racist - views around the state. We've been lucky so far. I feel safe, accepted and don't find my race a major inhibitor in my ability to participate.

We shouldn't be complacent however, and as we become more racially diverse we must work together to ensure that our community isn't marred by the manifestation of negative views and the racially motivated violence that can truly damage the fabric of our society.

Read more here!

***

Thanks to the Brisbane Times for giving me the opportunity to contribute...

So what are your thoughts? I only had 500 words, there is plenty more to the discussion!