SAJAforum

PREZ RACE: Gen. Colin Powell and the story of Kareem Khan

[See SAJAforum's extensive coverage, sources and resources about the 2008 presidential race]

The photo above, which ran in a New Yorker photo essay called "Service" and shows Elsheba Khan, an Indo-Caribbean immigrant from Trinidad at the grave of her son, Kareem Khan. The photo was cited by former secretary of state Gen. Colin Powell during his endorsement of Barack Obama on this week's "Meet the Press" (video clip below).

Here's how SAJAer and St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Aisha Sultan described the TV moment:

When Gen. Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president, he said something I’ve been waiting to hear for the past two years.  Powell said he’s been disappointed by senior leadership in his own party who accuse Obama of being a Muslim, when he has repeatedly said he is not. But then, Powell took the next step. He said, and so what if he was?

And then he reminded us of an American hero:

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine.  It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave.  And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone.  And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death.  He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith.  And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey.  He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.

In the NYT, Maureen Dowd wrote a column called "Moved by a Crescent." She started by listing several things that "bugged" Powell about the Republican Party, then went on to say:

But what sent him over the edge and made him realize he had to speak out was when he opened his New Yorker three weeks ago and saw a picture of a mother pressing her head against the gravestone of her son, a 20-year-old soldier who had been killed in Iraq. On the headstone were engraved his name, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, his awards — the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star — and a crescent and a star to denote his Islamic faith.

“I stared at it for an hour,” he told me. “Who could debate that this kid lying in Arlington with Christian and Jewish and nondenominational buddies was not a fine American?

HATE CRIME: Muslim college student attacked, threatened

[Update: The police and college have since accused the student, Safia Jilani, of making up the story. See our post.]

An un-named female Muslim student was attacked on the campus of Elmhurst College, outside Chicago. She had previously been harassed after participating in a rally calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay military prison. The story is getting plenty of coverage in the local media (and Huffington Post) and has been circulated by national Muslim organizations. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The 19-year-old sophomore told police a masked, male attacker struck her in the head with a handgun about 8:30 p.m. Thursday after she entered a restroom in the school's Schaible Science Center. She suffered a concussion.

Threatening graffiti -- "Kill the Muslims" -- was written on a mirror in the restroom, students and police said.

Earlier Thursday, the victim had spoken at a demonstration called to denounce the anti-Islamic slurs and swastika she had discovered on Oct. 2 in her locker, school officials and students said. Among the slurs was the phrase "Die Muslims."

Both cases are being investigated as hate crimes, Elmhurst College spokesman Charley Henderson said.

More from a local ABC affiliate:

"She received a concussion, a bruise on her side, and she passed out," said Soofia Ahmed, a good friend of the victim. They are both Muslim, both born and raised in the Chicago area.

The college  believes the incident may have been a hate crime.

POLITICS: PakPac endorses Ashwin Madia for Congress

An e-mail that came to saja[at]columbia.edu shows how South Asians from different countries can find common ground in the U.S.

PAKPAC
Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee

The Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC) has endorsed the candidacy of Mr. Ashwin Madia to Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District.

The third congressional district of Minnesota that voted 49% for Kerry in 2004 and continues to trend Democrat.  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has made this race one of its top ten priorities, and this seat has been held by Republicans for nearly fifty years.

Nearly 40 years ago, Ashwin's parents came to the United States from India with only $19, and they were able to live every dream they had like so many other immigrants to this great country of ours. He is the only South Asian American of Indian heritage running for an open seat in Congress this year and would be the first one to get elected to Congress in over 50 years.

PAKPAC President Dr. Saud Anwar had a meeting with Mr. Ashwin Madia, followed by a multiple meetings and discussions with Mr. Madia's policy director. The endorsement committee of PAKPAC subsequently had a meeting with Mr. Madia to discuss issues of concern. The Endorsement committee unanimously approved Mr. Madia and subsequently the PAKPAC Board approved as well.

PAKPAC believes that Mr. Madia's campaign has widespread support across the political spectrum, having gained backing from business groups, veterans' organizations, labor unions, environmental groups, civil rights groups and more. He has committed to responsibly ending the Iraq War; balancing our national budget and paying down our debt; addressing global climate change and investing in a new, green economy; making health care more affordable and accessible; and standing up for civil liberties.

See more on the PakPac endorsement here. More on Madia,a former U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran, at MadiaForCongress.com. Post your comments below.

NOTE: The message above says he would be the first South Asian to get elected to Congress in over 50 years. That is not true. There have been two South Asians who have served in Congress:

• Dalip Singh Saund, 1957-1963 (he was also the first Asian American to be elected to Congress) 
• Bobby Jindal, 2005-2007 (now the governor of Louisiana)

PREZ RACE: McCain on the "Iraq-Pakistan" border

[SAJAforum's coverage of the 2008 race - stories, sources, resources]

Jon Stewart picks up on a verbal typo by Senator John McCain...

PRESS FREEDOM: South Asian nations fail to solve journalists' murders

South Asian countries - Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India - are among the worst in the world at prosecuting the killers of journalists. A new report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the Impunity Index, only lists 13 countries, but it includes all the South Asian nations listed above, as well as Afghanistan, placing them in the company of Iraq (#1), Somalia (#3)and Sierra Leone (#2). India's press was praised as "one of the world's freest," but had 5 unsolved murders, making it a country where "politics and organized crime are dangerous stoies to cover."

More on the methodology:

CPJ’s Impunity Index, compiled for the first time this year, calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of the population in each country. CPJ examined every nation in the world for the years 1998 through 2007. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included in this index. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.

Some excerpts:

5. SRI LANKA

Fighting between government and separatist forces has long bled the nation. But journalists are more likely to be assassinated than to die in crossfire, with many of the victims ethnic Tamils. The victims include senior Tamil journalist Mylvaganam Nimalrajan, shot in his home in 2000. Nimalrajan’s murder is among eight unsolved cases here.

Impunity Index Rating: 0.408 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.

7. AFGHANISTAN

Despite the prolonged armed conflict in Afghanistan, journalists are more likely to be targeted for murder than to be killed in a combat situation. Seven cases are unsolved, including the 2007 slaying of local reporter Ajmal Naqshbandi. Running counter to the international trend, most victims have been foreign rather than local reporters.

Impunity Index Rating: 0.279 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.

DESI SPOTTING: A Marine takes on a bank

An unusual story from yesterday's New York Post, about Veejay Bhagwandeen, a Marine serving in Iraq. From Iraq GI wages war - against bank by Erin Calabrese:

It's bad enough dealing with surly bank officials on your lunch hour, but try it from a combat zone.

Brooklyn Marine Cpl. Veejay Bhagwandeen claims that North Fork Bank workers gave him the runaround - even demanding that he fax them documents from a war zone in Iraq - when he tried to get money to his ailing mother.

"Imagine bombs and bullets flying over your head, and an American [bank worker] says to you, 'Go find a fax machine.' Then [the worker] has the nerve to hang up on me - while I'm in Iraq!" said Bhagwandeen.

He filed a complaint with the state Division of Human Rights, claiming the bank discriminated against him because he was in the military.

Read the rest of the story, including how the Marine's mom, Soojdaye Bryan, was given a real run-around. Post your comments below.

POLITICS: Former marine Ashwin Madia for Congress

Ashwin Madia, a former marine who served in Iraq, has entered the race for Congress from Minnesota, in a seat being vacated by Republican Congressman Jim Ramstad.

From IALI, the Indian-American Leadership Initiative:

Madia is a first generation American, his parents came to the U.S. with $19 in their pockets. He graduated from Osseo High School, the University of Minnesota and NYU Law. After law school, when I’m sure many of his friends were accepting big-salary jobs with law firms all across the country, Ash enlisted in the Marine Corps and served four years, including a tour in Iraq.

Until recently, Madia worked as an associate at a law firm in Minneapolis.

Drawing on his experience in Iraq, Madia plans to make the war a major issue in his campaign. He also hopes to focus on balancing the budget and fighting global warming. What he stressed most frequently, however, is his desire for this campaign to be a real dialogue between the candidates. Madia says he wants as many debates and candidate forums as possible, noting that open congressional seats don’t come around very often.

With no elected experience and no history with party regulars, Madia certainly has an uphill climb. He’s seeking to break into politics in a congressional race that is likely to be among the most competitive in the country – and a race that already has an excellent DFL candidate. There is no question that he is an underdog in this race. That being said, Madia is certainly talented and articulate. Underestimate him at your own peril.

Coverage elsewhere:

• KSTP-TV: "Iraq veteran Madia to run for 3rd Congressional District"
• Pioneer Press: "Iraq war veteran to run for Ramstadt's seat in Congress"

Visit Ashwin Madia's campaign site.

MOVES: Bobby Ghosh Becomes World Editor of Time, Romesh Ratnesar on Book Leave

A double SAJA move, folks. Romesh Ratnesar, who has been the world editor of Time since 2004, is going on book leave and is being succeeded by Aparisim "Bobby" Ghosh, who's been in the magazine's Baghdad bureau for four-plus years (Ghosh, who was born and raised in India, is the first Indian and first non-American to hold the world editor title at Time; Ratnesar is an American born to Sri Lankan parents). From Time editor Rick Stengel's memo (reproduced in full below):

I’m happy to announce that Bobby Ghosh has been named World Editor. Based in New York, Bobby will be responsible for editing the domestic magazine’s international coverage. In that role, he will be working closely with Michael Elliott, who leads the increasing coordination of our international output across all editions and time.com. Bobby’s extraordinary work from Iraq and his dedicated support of TIME’s Baghdad bureau has been inspiring to us all.
<snip>
Bobby succeeds one of the great all-time TIME world editors, Romesh Ratnesar, who has departed for a well-deserved book leave. Romesh will be back in January in an important new role.

We decided not to disturb Ratnesar during his book leave, but did ask Ghosh to answer three questions (his answers are below). Also see a much longer SAJAforum Q&A with Ghosh right after his 2007 SAJA Convention salon (caught in action above by Preston Merchant) - he discussed his experiences as a reporter in Iraq. Please post your comments below (we'll make sure Ghosh sees them). More on Ratnesar in Mediabistro's profile, "So What Do You Do, Romesh Ratnesar?"

NOTE: Once again, the top two American newsweeklies have South Asians in charge of editing the international news for their domestic editions. Nisid Hajari is the foreign editor for Newsweek, and is Ghosh's counterpart. Fareed Zakaria, on the other hand, is editor of all the international editions, making him the counterpart of Michael Elliott, who's mentioned above.

[To reach Bobby Ghosh, e-mail saja(at)columbia.edu (subject line = pass onto Bobby Ghosh) or use the comments section below.]

THREE QUESTIONS FOR BOBBY GHOSH, WORLD EDITOR OF TIME

SAJAforum: Congrats on the new gig. How did you decide to move to HQ?
A: It was the sort of offer you don't refuse -- the chance to shape TIME's coverage of world news. But it was hard to give up Baghdad, especially my colleagues there. Luckily, my new job will allow me to travel to Iraq from time to time.

AWARDS: Moni Basu Wins Dart Center Fellowship

The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma is one of the most important media institutions today. Its mission:

The Dart Center is a global network of journalists, journalism educators and health professionals dedicated to improving media coverage of trauma, conflict and tragedy. The Center also addresses the consequences of such coverage for those working in journalism.

It gives out the annual Ochberg fellowship:

Reporting responsibly and credibly on violence and traumatic events — on crime, family violence, natural disasters and accidents, war and genocide — is among the greatest challenges facing contemporary journalism. The Dart Center Ochberg Fellowship, now in its ninth year, was established by the Dart Center in order to better prepare journalists for this challenge. The fellowship is named for the Dart Center Executive Committee's Chairman Emeritus, Frank Ochberg, M.D., a psychiatrist and pioneer in the understanding of violence and trauma.

This year's winners include SAJAer Moni Basu of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who has done at least six tours of duty as a reporter in Iraq. Here's her fellowship bio:

Moni Basu is a national and international reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She has covered the Iraq war and spent five months embedded with a Georgia Army National Guard brigade. She is now covering soldiers' re-entry into civilian life. She has also reported from Cuba, Chile, Norway, Jordan, Kuwait and India. She covered the devastating 2001 earthquake in Ahmedabad, India, military suicides at Fort Bragg, SARS in Toronto and West Nile virus in Louisiana. In 2005 she was honored as Journalist of the Year by the Atlanta Press Association and has also won awards from the South Asian Journalists Association, Associated Press Managing Editors and the Society of Newspaper Design.

See Moni's farewell post for the AJC's Georgians @ War blog. Congrats to Moni and we wish her the best during her fellowship.

Post your comments below.

 

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Ayub Nuri on Fixers and War

The New York Time Magazine (July 29, 2007) carried a powerful essay by Ayub Nuri, an Iraqi journalist and "fixer" who explains what it is like to work in support of Western journalists. Read the powerful essay and see the fascinating video that accompanies it.

Nuri graduated from Columbia University's Journalism School last year and I have gotten to know him well. He's a soft spoken, serious young man, who has seen aspects of the war and the media industry that most of us never will.

EARLIER ON SAJAforum.org:

• See all entries in the SAJAforum Iraq category