Video

The video is now a very important means of communication and news. It speaks for itself.

Just in the past few weeks, we have seen witness accounts in the Grenfell Tower fire from residents, neighbours, local and international celebrities, and media personnel themselves. I think it was the very second day that we learned already that:

- the Tower had been refurbished the year before and yet it burned down like a candle

- the Residents had blogged about their safety concerns the year before

We have seen videos of people mercilessly being beaten by cow vigilantes in India.

We have seen the horrific videos of the killing of Mashal Khan.

We have seen male chest-thumping-gloating videos gleefully shared by women and women after the India - Pakistan men's cricket match quickly whipped up by a Telco in Pakistan. There are videos circulating of Indian media disappointed by the gloating going on in Pakistan. (Mind you there are some graceful videos too as well that speak more to the spirit of sportsmanship)

There is a video of the father of Nabra in the US who somehow finds the courage to share his grief and shock at the murder of this daughter, a crime which is not being acknowledged as a hate crime in the US.

I've just seen harrowing videos of the murder of Philando Castile. It's a shame that despite the use of video cams by the US Police, Police still get acquitted for murder of innocent men and women.

The AJ+ videos are phenomenal for how take unpack the most popular myths and ideas going round.

The video is a very important piece of the puzzle in any news story and, helps to build a more varied and " " democratic " " mass opinion. I think the way in which mobile technology can especially share witness accounts instantaneously enriches the way we process news.

The Weekly Round Up

See some of the articles I have read and shared on Facebook:



Donald Trump ushers in a new era of kakistocracy: government by the worst people BY MEHDI HASAN 20 January in the New Statesman:

“Do Trump’s cabinet picks want to run the government – or dismantle it?” asked a headline in the Chicago Tribune in December. That’s one rather polite way of putting it. Another would be to note, as the Online Etymology Dictionary does, that kakistocracy comes from kakistos, the Greek word for “worst”, which is a superlative of kakos, or “bad”, which “is related to the general Indo-European word for ‘defecate’”.

AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by David Remnick, November 9, 2016 in The New Yorker. See the opening lines: 

The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism. Trump’s shocking victory, his ascension to the Presidency, is a sickening event in the history of the United States and liberal democracy. On January 20, 2017, we will bid farewell to the first African-American President—a man of integrity, dignity, and generous spirit—and witness the inauguration of a con who did little to spurn endorsement by forces of xenophobia and white supremacy. It is impossible to react to this moment with anything less than revulsion and profound anxiety.

Evening walk

Sunday walk

I walked back from yet another potluck lunch at friends at Oasis Compound. A group of friends started the potluck series on weekends and, various friends hosted it. Most recently, it's just our friends Justin and Jyoti who have continued hosting it. And kudos to them for their time and energy! I used to think I had the most josh and jazba for entertainment but Justin and Jyoti are quite more advanced in their social obligations. 

These potluck series were dubbed feasts of gluttony by our friends. Today, there were 4 types of chocolate cake and brownies! 

I left Kavita to continue playing Kavin and friends and, told Haresh to come later. I bid farewell to my hosts and, looked forward to walking and digesting all the delicious food. 

I took some photographs, of course, along the way, to capture my walk on this sunny Sunday. 

See the photographs of girls dressed in their finery for Eid. 

Upside down pineapple cake 🍍

Baking an upside pineapple cake with the sweetest pineapple in the world is really a pleasure one can only experience in Liberia.

A lovely rainy Saturday walk around town

The rainy season is here although we've been having freak rainstorms and full rainy days these past few months when it was still officially dry season. When I first arrived in Liberia, I was told the rainy season starts in April and ends in October. However, the rainy season starts a little later now.

I was recently chatting to my Karachi cousins on WhatsApp and, sent them a picture of a rainy day. They didn't quite understand how much it rains in Liberia. 

I must say the rainy season is my favourite time of the year. The city feels completely different. 

Kavita dressed herself up for a rainy day with her rain boots, a sweater and her umbrella. We took a keke to L'oven Bakery to buy some meat and spinach pies which we had with Haresh back at the NATC office where he was working. For LD $ 150, the keke took us and brought us back. Kavita is slowly getting used to the concept of money and one needs it for things and keke rides. 

The feel of the cool air on our faces was delicious. How nice it is to finally feel this weather. 

Kavita and I left Haresh at the office to continue strolling around Monrovia. As we walked back up Randall Street, Kavita stopped at Super Cool's store. She wanted to pop in and say hello. The lady was quite pleased to see her. I understood that Kavita has made quite a few friends on Randall Street while she walks with Musu. 

We then met a couple of fellows selling moringa leaves. They told me to boil the leaves and drink the tea. I bought a bunch for $ LD 100.00. One of the men walked in front of me and, started selling the leaves. "Back pain, malaria, anything" could seemingly be cured with these leaves. "See moringa.com," he called out. That part of his marketing made me smile and I paused to take his photograph. He gave me shot with his arms wide open. 

We dropped off the leaves at the house. Kavita wanted to stay on to practice her ballet (she makes graceful leaps around the living room, I think she's learned about ballet from Max and Ruby and some story books). I convinced her to keep going for another short walk. "Let's enjoy the weather," I implored her. "We'll have tea when we come back." 

So, we kept walking. Kavita insisted on walking into Tiny Tots, a children's clothing and toy shop right next to Compu Tech. She looked around and I told her we're just window shopping. 

We kept walking and bought some bananas to snack on. 

We stopped by the mosque on Benson Street. The azaan was being called out and, I peeked into a small stall selling tasbee, jaanamaaz, skull caps, incense sticks. I even bought a few "Aladdin" incense sticks from India.

We passed some boutiques. 

We passed a DVD shop and I saw some interesting film posters. Kavita became obsessed with a fake fire. It was one of those devices that looked like a flame. She didn't believe it until the shop keepers let her touch it. She kept asking to touch it over and over again. 

We kept going and, came to the intersection of Mechlin and Carey Streets. I bought some honey from Guinea. The vendors were from Guinea but they were third generation Liberians. When I asked why they still considered themselves from Guinea, they said it was because Immigration officials would often harass them and tell them they are from Guinea. Some girls shopping in the next store turned around and engaged the conversation. It kept going and, I couldn't stay because Kavita got bored. 

I hope the honey will be good. 

We walked on and browsed in the book stalls under the old Ministry of Education. I managed to find some Liberian children's books! That was quite exciting. What was nice to see was that the illustrations by artists I actually know through the NATC technology art contest. 

Kavita wanted to go home but I convinced her I wanted to see the red flame trees on Broad Street. So, we kept walking up Broad Street and, I took some photographs of the beautiful trees.