NomadsLand - Media Strategies for a Changing Planet » Middle East

Stop Soot, Black Carbon, and Global Warming

NomadsLand Associate Editor — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:34:08 +0000

Soot, also known as black carbon, is the second-leading cause of global warming after carbon dioxide, and it’s totally preventable. We already have the technology to avoid producing it; it’s just a matter of using it.

Here’s what you should know:

The chief culprit in global warming is carbon dioxide. But recent studies show that black carbon—microscopic airborne particles commonly known as soot—is also a big factor. Black carbon may account for as much as half of Arctic warming. Curbing black carbon is crucial for slowing Arctic and global warming, and for averting catastrophic tipping points such as the melting of sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet.
Black carbon comes from diesel engines, industrial smokestacks and residential cooking and heating stoves. Most black carbon that falls in the Arctic comes from North America, Europe and Asia. Because black carbon air pollution is also a leading cause of respiratory illness and death, controlling emissions will save lives and improve health around the world. In India alone, black carbon-laden indoor smoke is responsible for over 400,000 premature deaths annually, mostly of women and children.

The U.S. and Europe must lead on this issue by committing to stricter standards at home for diesel engines and other sources of black carbon pollution, and by committing to increased financial and technological assistance to the developing world to reduce black carbon pollution from diesel, home cooking and heating and other sources.

Afghan Star

NomadsLand Editors — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:20:00 +0000

In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing. After thirty years of war and five devastating years of Taliban rule, pop culture is beginning to return to the country. Since 2005, millions have been tuning in to Tolo TV’s wildly popular American Idol-style series Afghan Star. Like its Western predecessors, people compete for a cash prize and record deal. More surprisingly, the contest is open to everyone across the country despite gender, ethnicity or age. Two thousand people audition, including three extremely brave women. And when viewers vote for their favorites via cell phone, it is, for many, their first encounter with the democratic process.

After two successful years, NomadsLand’s Films That Matter screenings is being rebranded the “NOMADSLAND PRESENTS FILM” SERIES in conjunction with Busboys and Poets. Our aim this year is to coordinate closely with Washington, D.C. area nonprofits and social enterprises to create 8 themed nights on important social issues and frame the discussion with a fantastic feature documentary.

On January 3, 2010 in Washington, DC, NomadsLand Presents:

AFGHAN STAR

RSVP Here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149566718527&index=1

Winner of the Directing and Audience Awards in Sundance’s 2009 World Documentary competition, Havana Marking’s timely and moving film follows the dramatic stories of four young finalists—two men and two women—as they hazard everything to become the nation’s favorite performer. By observing the Afghani people’s relationship to its pop culture, Afghan Star is the perfect window into a country’s tenuous, ongoing struggle for modernity. What Americans consider frivolous entertainment is downright revolutionary—and more human—in this troubled part of the wo

Footsteps in Africa

NomadsLand Editors — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:22:56 +0000

“Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” is a cinematic feature length ethnographic film of 67 minutes. It is an exciting visual narrative, art documentary accompanied by a diverse musical score. Shot in January 2006 as a road trip film in the Sahara desert of Mali, Kiahkeya performers and a renegade camera team lived with the nomadic Tuareg/ Kel Tamashek tribes in remote areas of Mali near Mauritania, and visited Tuareg Festivals.

On Dec. 6, 2009 in Washington, DC, NomadsLand Presents:

FOOTSTEPS IN AFRICA

The thematics of “Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” question the modern way of life which separates man from nature. The Nomad is aware of how modern man forgets that all of humans material possessions are just a false sense of security and freedom. The Tuareg choose to live in austerity, a truth of extremes that is the poetry of the Tuareg way of life, living in solidarity with the rhythems of nature.

“A nomad at heart are those who seek for freedom”

“Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” documents a universal tale of humans finding their path/freedom in life by living in simplicity with nature. Documented in a moment to moment manner the viewer experiences their mode of life, their relation to the earth and their perception on time. The viewer witnesses the Tuaregs mode of life, a survival from the soul. “Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” captures the people in their element, investigating their music, their dance, their survival skills, and the rituals that the Tuareg carry within to keep their culture and heritage alive. Combined with commentaries of tribal chiefs, healers and seekers, the film allows the viewer to think and question the modern way of ‘development’, and how it differs from the simplicity of life and its cycles.

The filmmakers will be joining us for this event.

RSVP Here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172488351348&index=1

http://www.meetup.com/nomadslandfilmfestival/calendar/11561507/

Buy DVD:

http://www.footstepsafrica.com/shop.html

Iraqi Refugees: The View From Syria

NomadsLand Editors — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:05:53 +0000

1 in 5 Iraqis have been uprooted by violence in their homeland. Many have fled to Syria, and their situation is growing increasingly desperate. Addressing the needs of displaced Iraqis will help to ensure a stable Iraq. The U.S. must start by directly engaging with Syria and appointing an ambassador.

Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. Refugee crises left unattended threaten stability around the world. There are 41.9 million refugees and internally displaced people and 12 million stateless people living in limbo without citizenship rights. People forced from their homes by conflict are among the world’s most vulnerable and they all have individual stories of loss, heartache and survival.

Afghanistan Dental Relief Project

NomadsLand Editors — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:10:03 +0000

The Afghanistan Dental Relief Project is an organization established to provide dental treatment facilities in underserved areas of Afghanistan, to staff these facilities with volunteers, to train the Afghan people in dentistry and dental technology, to provide dental treatment at no cost to the needy, and to provide instruction in methods of preventative dental care.

The Art of Flight (Egypt)

NomadsLand Editors — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:20:43 +0000

The Art Of Flight is a guerrilla documentary that was shot illegally in Egypt on camcorders and a laptop. The film serves as a back story to the 2006 massacre of Sudanese refugees in Cairo. The filmmaker was nearly arrested three times during the course of shooting. This feature length film tells the story of three people, a refugee from southern Sudan, a human rights activist from northern Sudan and an American journalist in self-imposed exile, all living in Cairo. For very different reasons, the trio has found themselves struggling to survive in Egypt, a U.S. financed dictatorship which has reluctantly become their home. The Art Of Flight features artwork of Sudanese painters living in exile. In addition to paintings from Sudanese artists and torture victims, the film also features an original soundtrack by Al-Khafiyeen, a musical ensemble of refugees who played together for a single night to score the film. The film delves deep into questions about the nature of charity, the consequences of American empire and the price of silence.