Vanguard: All Hail the Toilet

The article and slide show below were originally published on Current TV’s Vanguard blog: All Hail the Toilet: Making “The World’s Toilet Crisis.”

Lisa Biagiotti is the producer of “The World’s Toilet Crisis,” which aired Wednesday, June 9 on Current TV.

Scribbled across the white board in Yasu Tsuji’s edit room are the words: “A toilet is not just a toilet.” The ridiculousness of this phrase has haunted poor Yasu since I wrote it (and repeated it often) back in late March when correspondent Adam Yamaguchi, producer Mitch Koss and I returned from the field.

It’s a silly statement, but for nearly half of the world, a toilet needs to be more than just a toilet — it must be exalted as a symbol of modernity, success, status — even sex.

When people practice open defecation, children get sick from fecally-contaminated water. As a result, parents miss work caring for children suffering from complications of chronic diarrhea. Medical bills mount. When teenaged girls begin menstruating, they must leave the cities and return to rural villages where there is more privacy. The cycle churns.

But preventable diarrhea deaths of 4,000 children every day, the loss of money and job opportunities and the stunting of girls’ education are not enough to get people to change behavior and adopt toilets.

We visited India to show the magnitude of the problem — 600 million open defecators — in crowded, septic cities. We traveled to Indonesia because it’s where we saw real progress with national and local governments recognizing the problem, private and public sectors collaborating to solve it, toilet entrepreneurs inventing a sanitation industry, and most importantly, people desiring to end open defecation.

It turns out, the toilet crisis isn’t really a poverty problem or a shortage of toilets problem — it’s an emotional, behavioral and cultural problem. It’s why governments and NGOs are trying to solve it with Advertising 101 tactics — creating an image to spark demand, developing the supply side and then repeating the messages to reinforce the sale of the image and the product.

We spoke to hundreds of people in reporting this story. We’d like to thank all those who eagerly led us through open fields, along river banks and around street corners to show us proof of human waste…and thank you to those who invited us into their homes for the sole purpose of toilet inspection.

Below are some special thanks and links to more toilet and sanitation information.

Thank you. We hope when you watch the documentary, you’ll dream about the possibilities of toilets. We do. Even Yasu does.

Watch a Flickr slideshow from Lisa’s photos here.

Multimedia highlights from 2009

From war in eastern Congo, HIV / AIDS in the Caribbean, entrepreneurship in Ethiopia and Jamaica’s Chinese community, here are some of the (video, radio and print) stories I produced this year.

MULTIMEDIA PACKAGES

Crisis in Congo — With field producers, I produced and edited videos about the humanitarian crisis and the epidemic of rape by telling the stories of two families caught up in the war. Pascal and Vestine flee from refugee camp to refugee camp, and Georgina and André explain how her rape tore apart their 33-year marriage. The “Crisis in Congo” videos won the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in the international television category and were nominated for a National News Emmy in the “Best story in a regularly scheduled newscast” category.

Jamaica’s Glass Closet — I collaborated with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting on five broadcast videos on HIV/AIDS and homophobia in Jamaica. Our stories break down Jamaica’s social structure from anti-gay laws to social intolerance, we document an underground gay church service and follow a community leader as she raises awareness of HIV/AIDS. Additional online content include: articles, blogposts, a radio show and video interviews.

Stateless to Statehood — This ongoing multimedia project examines the root causes of statelessness in the post-colonial period, in the the aftermath of major wars and the break-up of empires. We’re identifying potential ways to solve statelessness via legal and political avenues, as well as exploring the themes of nationalism and ethnic identity.

VIDEO

One island, two Jamaicas and a ‘whole heap’ of difference — A public debate erupted earlier this year when graphic Dancehall music lyrics and images were banned from Jamaica’s airwaves. The public responses reveal the legacy of two Jamaicas dating back to the country’s slave history. I scripted, produced and edited this video for the Worldfocus broadcast in October 2009.

Pascal and Vestine are alive in Congo, but still not home — Michael J. Kavanagh returned to eastern Congo last month and found Pascal and Vestine. He interviewed the Bumbaris last year, and since, they’ve fled for a third time and are now in a new refugee camp. We updated this story, which aired on the Worldfocus broadcast in March 2009.

Caribbean HIV rate ranks second to Sub-Saharan Africa — Julia Greenberg of AIDS-Free World discusses Jamaica’s AIDS epidemic within the context of the Caribbean region, address anti-sodomy laws in Jamaica and around the world and identify the successes and shortcomings Jamaica has experienced in containing the epidemic. I produced this studio interview, which was published on Worldfocus.org in September 2009.

RADIO

Worldfocus Radio — I report, script and produce a weekly radio show with host Martin Savidge. We dedicate 30 minutes to under-reported international stories. Guests call in from all over the world for casual conversations on serious issues. This radio show grew out of an idea to experiment with a free, online audio platform — almost 40 shows later, it has become one of the most popular content streams on our website.

My favorite three shows:

Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia — The Ethiopian government is trying to strengthen local businesses and attract foreign direct investment. Martin Savidge hosts Ermyas Amelga and Phillip LeBel to discuss how easy it is to do business in Ethiopia and who’s investing.

Philippines — The Forgotten Terrorist Front — Since 9/11, the U.S. has stationed 500 to 600 troops in the Philippines to root out terrorists from the lawless jungles of the heavily Muslim south. Martin Savidge hosts Eliseo Mercado and Zachary Abuza to discuss Filipino counter-insurgency.

Reverse Brain Drain (China and India) — Does the U.S. risk falling behind as skilled immigrants return to their home countries? Martin Savidge hosts Vivek Wadhwa and Michele Wucker to discuss emerging opportunities for highly-skilled immigrants and U.S. immigration restrictions.

PRINT

Generations meet in Jamaica’s Chinese cemetery — I write about a visit to my grandfather’s grave in the Chinese cemetery in Kingston, Jamaica. It’s a personal story about the death and renewal of Jamaica’s Chinese community.

Conflict endures in Ethiopia’s ethnic Somali region — I interview former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia David H. Shinn about the violent, separatist conflict in southeastern Ethiopia that has claimed thousands of lives over the last 15 years. He answers questions about the roots of this under reported conflict and whether it could be the next Darfur.

No daggerin’ on Jamaican TV and on Worldfocus — I write about why Worldfocus decided not to air daggerin’ images, addresses the realities of rampant violence and adolescent sex and explore how some Jamaican artists are singing more uplifting gospel Dancehall music.

Gay men in Jamaica must lead two separate lives — I’ve been on the “gay Jamaican” beat for two years now. Here is a story of a gay Jamaican whose story resembles many other gay men in Jamaica. He received asylum in the U.S. on the basis of his sexuality but still wrestles with issues of secrecy and religion, and his family in Jamaica still doesn’t know he’s gay.

Worldfocus: Conflict endures in Ethiopia’s ethnic Somali Region

I conducted this interview with Amb. David Shinn for Worldfocus.

The violent, separatist conflict in southeastern Ethiopia known as the Somali region or Ogaden has been referred by some as the next Darfur. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives over the last 15 years.

Ethiopia sealed off the region to media so there is little accurate information about the conflict, including claims of human rights abuses.

The region is rich in natural gas and is home to about 5 million people, mainly ethnic and Muslim Somali nomadic tribes. The U.S. has said little about the conflict, as Ethiopia is its main regional ally in the increasingly unstable Horn of Africa region.

Worldfocus interviewed David H. Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. Amb. Shinn is currently an adjunct professor of international affairs at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. His research interests include China-Africa relations, East Africa and the Horn, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, conflict situations, U.S. policy in Africa and the African brain drain.

Worldfocus: Ethiopia has labeled the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) as a terrorist organization. Is this an accurate description?

Amb. Shinn: While the ONLF has on occasion used tactics that qualify as terrorist — for example the kidnapping and/or killing of civilian Ethiopian government officials — it does not have any links of which I am aware with international terrorist organizations.

It receives external support from the government of Eritrea, which opposes the government of Ethiopia. It also receives financial assistance from Ogadenis in the Somali Diaspora. In 2007, 74 persons, including nine Chinese oil field personnel, were killed during an ONLF attack on a Chinese oil exploration work site in the Ogaden protected by Ethiopian troops.

The Chinese may have died in a crossfire between Ethiopian and ONLF forces. In the view of the U.S. government, ONLF activity so far does not meet the test of a terrorist organization. Should the ONLF escalate its tactics, however, this could change.

Worldfocus: The U.S. denied Ethiopia’s request to label the ONLF an international terrorist organization but also remained silent on claims that the Ogaden region is potentially the next Darfur. Ethiopia has shut down media access to the region, so accusations of human rights abuses are unconfirmed. Should the U.S. and other Western countries be speaking out?

Amb. Shinn: On those occasions when there are carefully documented human rights violations by the government of Ethiopia, the ONLF or any other organization, the U.S. and the rest of the world should speak out.

Virtually all of the information coming out of the Ogaden comes from either the Ethiopian government or the ONLF. Much of the information from both sides is unreliable. The problem, therefore, is making certain that accurate information exists before speaking out publicly. A good start would be a willingness by the Ethiopian government to allow independent, third party observers into the Ogaden to provide information about events there.

Amb. Shinn: It is impossible to know with any certainty what Somalis in southeastern Ethiopia really want. Because of the difficult security situation, there are no public opinion polls in the area. I think it is reasonable to conclude that the vast majority of Somalis feel marginalized in their own country and that most of them have legitimate grievances against government policies. But do most of them support the ONLF? There is no conclusive evidence.

Not all of the Somalis living in Ethiopia’s Region Five or Somali Region are ethnic Ogaden Somalis. There are significant numbers of non-Ogaden Darod, Isaaq and Dir. Ogadeni from the Darod clan constitute the most numerous group of Somalis and occupy the largest geographical part of the region.

While there may be widespread support for the ONLF by the majority Ogadeni, many Somalis from other clans are concerned about Ogadeni domination. It is even less clear whether the Ogadeni who support the ONLF agree on a political outcome for the region.

Worldfocus: Do Ogadenis have irredentist tendencies, and what is their relationship with Somalia?

Amb. Shinn: In March 2009, there was a leadership split in the organization. The leader of the main faction of the ONLF, Mohamed Omar Osman, is on the record as saying that he wants to hold a referendum so that the Somalis in the region can determine if they wish to remain part of Ethiopia, become an independent country or join with Somalia. It is my understanding that the leadership of both factions of the ONLF prefers an independent Ogaden.

Worldfocus: With national elections slotted for next May, what is at stake for the ONLF and their representation or lack thereof in the Ethiopian government?

Amb. Shinn: Ethiopian national elections in May 2010 will probably change nothing in the Ogaden. Because of the difficult security situation, it is doubtful that elections can even take place in much of Somali Region.

The ONLF, although it participated in the government as a political organization from 1991 to 1994, has shown no interest in rejoining the political process. Even if it believed that the Ethiopian government would allow it to compete freely and fairly as a political party, which it does not believe to be the case, it does not appear that the ONLF is prepared to lay down its arms.

The head of the original ONLF faction, Mohamed Omar Osman, did state in October 2009 that he is prepared to engage in negotiations with the Ethiopian government, but only in the presence of a neutral third party and in a neutral location.

- Lisa Biagiotti

Worldfocus: No daggerin’ on Jamaican TV and on Worldfocus

This article was published on Worldfocus.org: No daggerin’ on Jamaican TV and on Worldfocus.

Correspondent Lisa Biagiotti reported the signature story One island, two Jamaicas and a ‘whole heap’ of difference with Micah Fink and Gabrielle Weiss of the Pulitzer Center. Lisa shares why Worldfocus didn’t broadcast daggerin’ images, addresses the realities of rampant violence and adolescent sex and recounts how some Jamaican artists are singing more uplifting gospel Dancehall music.

At the center of the music ban in Jamaica is daggerin’. Earlier this year, Jamaica’s national broadcasting commission banned sexually-explicit and violent lyrics and images related to daggerin’.

Worldfocus — based in New York City, not Kingston — also decided not to air these images because we thought our audience might be alarmed by the graphic nature of the dance. (Tell us below what you think of the daggerin’ images!) We didn’t mention daggerin’ in our video story because it begged the question…what is daggerin’?

Americans usually refer to this form of dancing as “freaking,” “bumping and grinding” or “dry-humping.” Urban clubs across the U.S. are packed with young people doing the American version of daggerin’.

In Jamaica, opponents of daggerin’ have described the dance as having sex with clothes on and even framed it as an aggressive, violent rape. Essentially, a woman bends over while a man pounds against her to the beat of the music. They liken the dance to a dagger stabbing piece of meat, violently and repeatedly.

The daggerin’ dance and the music that goes along with it slit Jamaican society. The Christian moral guard said children were overexposed to sex at an immature age. The defenders of Dancehall said the music mirrored the life and pressures in Jamaica’s poorest ghettos.

Turf wars and teen pregnancies

But behind the public music clash lurks the reality of rampant violence and adolescent sex in Jamaica.

Last year, 1,600 people were murdered mainly because of turf wars and reprisal killings. But this is still four to five murders a day for an island the size of Connecticut with a population of 2.8 million. (Most murders are confined to waring communities and the result of turf wars and reprisal killings.)

As for sex, approximately 80 percent of children are born out of wedlock and 35 percent of Jamaican women are pregnant by age 19.

Put down the gun and praise the Lord to the tune of gospel Dancehall

Not all Dancehall music is “murder music,” and not all of it is so sexually charged it could electrocute you. The Dancehall genre can be broken down into three streams: hardcore (explicit), mainstream (radio and TV friendly) and gospel (uplifting and positive).

The Worldfocus feature story One island, two Jamaicas and a whole heap of difference focused on the hardcore Dancehall variety, examining Jamaican society through the lens of the public debate on daggerin’ music. Hardcore Dancehall has gained international airplay, but has also come under attack abroad. Concerts of Jamaican singer Buju Banton are currently being canceled in the U.S. because gay groups are saying his lyrics advocate the killing of homosexuals.

As for mainstream Dancehall, lyrics must be sanitized or changed completely for air play. For example, “Rampin’ Shop” became “Dumpling Shop.” The tune and rhythm were the same, but the lyrics were child-proofed.

When I was in Jamaica late last spring, I stopped over at Roots FM, a community-based radio station that pumps positive music and conversation into the inner cities. Every week, Dudley Thompson hosts “What’s the Verdict” — an American Idol styled contest where callers can vote on songs from emerging artists. The gospel Dancehall song “Same Gun” by Xtreme had won the contest. The song traces the cycle of violence committed by one gun that kills a person, is stolen and used again until it it is put down. The young artists of Xtreme, Chris D and Lyrical, dedicated the song to their three slain friends and hope their music encourages more peace and love.

LISTEN to Chris D and Lyrical’s song “Same Gun:”

Joel Harrison, known as Kruddy, is a DJ at 876radio.com and supports the music ban, believing that Dancehall artists are now forced to be more creative and are singing about the recession and fathers abandoning their children. Critics aren’t convinced the ban has had any real effect on artists because the realities in Jamaica’s inner city have not changed.

Keepin’ it safe with Daggerin’ condoms

And for his part, Vybz Kartel, whose sexually-explicit song “Rampin’ Shop” provoked the ban, has come out with a line of Daggerin’ condoms. Now you can dagger away to his sexually-explicit music, and should you feel compelled to take off your clothes, you’re equipped with his Daggerin’ brand of condoms.

- Lisa Biagiotti

Worldfocus: There are no gay pride parades in Jamaica

Lisa Biagiotti (right) walks with Ida Northover (left) through an inner city on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica

Lisa Biagiotti is working on signature stories for Worldfocus on HIV/AIDS and homophobia in Jamaica. She reported with Producer Micah Fink and Director of Photography Gabrielle Weiss, both from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Their reports will air on Worldfocus later this summer. Lisa gave the below interview to Thirteen.org.

Q: Gay pride is celebrated across the U.S. every June. Could there be similar celebrations of gay pride in Jamaica?

Lisa Biagiotti: No, there could not be an openly gay pride parade on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, as in New York or San Francisco. In Jamaica, anti-sodomy laws criminalize sex between men, fundamentalist interpretations of the bible and pride in reproduction contribute to the general disdain and non-acceptance of the gay lifestyle.

The idea of a “glass closet” best describes the public’s expectations of homosexuals, meaning, “We know you’re gay, and we can see you, but stay in that glass closet.” In fairness, Jamaica tends not to be a heavily PDA (public display of affection) culture. You don’t see men and women petting each other or even holding hands in public, with the exception of the dancehalls.

One thing that was interesting was the way homophobia finds its way into the language, in the choosing (or avoiding) of certain “gay” words. When little boys call each other “sissy” names, they say “you’re a battyman.” “Batty” means buttocks and is a derogatory name for a gay man. Saying the number “two” — referring to the anus — is also avoided. We heard a story of a father instructing his two-year-old son to say he’s going to be three. You’d say “come forward” instead of “come back.” If you’re ordering fish to eat, you’d say, “Give me a swimmer or a sea creature.” “Fish” is another term for a gay man.

Q: This anti-gay side of Jamaica doesn’t really jive with what many Americans may think of Jamaica. (Stereotypically, sun, fun, Bob Marley and “no problem, mon.”) How did you become interested in this topic?

Lisa Biagiotti: I first became interested in the subject of gay Jamaicans about 18 months ago. I was reporting on gay asylum in the U.S. and was told that Jamaica was one of the most violent and homophobic places for gays. I was told by human rights organizations that if you’re gay and Jamaican, you’d qualify for asylum. I then spent a year profiling Alex Brown, a gay Jamaican who received asylum in the U.S. In all honesty, this portrait of Jamaica was completely foreign to me — it contradicted the image of the Jamaica I know and love.

Q: Your mom is Jamaican, and your family ties to Jamaica span three generations. Was it difficult to report these seemingly negative stories for Worldfocus? What did your family think?

Lisa Biagiotti: At first, I was concerned we were doing advocacy journalism. I questioned whether we were imposing our U.S.-centric views on a country with a different cultural bedrock. Did we really understand the Jamaican culture, which is steeped in religion? Admittedly, I was protective of Jamaican people, who I still hold to be some of the warmest and most resilient people on Earth.

Going into these stories, I was aware of my bias. As a journalist, first-hand observation served as my guide. My team and I went to the places where people were literally living in hiding. We listened to the palpable stories of many gay men — the violence against them, the families that rejected them, the double lives they lead and the idea of mainstreaming their lifestyle to “make it right with God.”

We spoke to hundreds of Jamaicans from all walks of life to try to understand the cultural nuances and attitudes toward homosexuals. And everywhere we went, we heard the same things — said with varying levels of vitriol. Open homosexuality is not accepted. Tolerance and violence really depends on class and whether people act on their general disgust toward gays.

After observing and speaking with people on the ground, I’m confident that the stories we’re producing are fair and accurate illustrations of Jamaican attitudes toward homosexuals. As for my family in Jamaica and abroad, I believe they will respect that. Our goal is not to change Jamaican culture and mores, but to present what it’s like to be gay in Jamaica, and why it is important for the general population to talk about homosexuality because gay men are living double lives in secret.

Q: What do you mean by “double lives?” How is this playing into the spread of HIV?

Lisa Biagiotti: A recent Ministry of Health study showed that more than 30 percent of gay men are HIV+. It was a small sampling of about 200 gay men. But it was one of the first surveys conducted within the gay community. Whether or not the study is actually reflective of the larger gay community is questionable, but this rate is still 20 times higher than that of the general population.

What’s important here is that gay men are not isolated from the rest of the population. These men lead double lives — one gay life underground and another “heterosexual” life to save face in their communities. Gay men have girlfriends and wives and children, who likely do not know of their secret lives. This poses a threat to spreading HIV into the general population. So, when you layer this 31.8 percent figure over the laws, religion and general stigma against homosexuality, you’re masking the problem and potentially spreading the infection into the general population.

Q: How does the Jamaican government address the HIV problem without acknowledging the gay community?

Lisa Biagiotti: It’s difficult to target the gay community because they’re not out in the open. There could be no ad campaign in Jamaica talking about using condoms for anal sex because anal sex is illegal and punishable with a 12-year prison sentence of hard labor. The channels of awareness and education of gay men are limited and insufficient.

I should also mention that, on the flip side, Jamaica has made incredible strides in making anti-retroviral medication free and accessible to everyone. Early testing has whittled down the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate to under 5 percent. But the gay community is not siloed from the general population and could potentially reintroduce the disease into the general population.

Q: Given the extreme anti-gay discrimination and level of violence in Jamaica, did you ever feel that you were in danger as you covered these stories?

Lisa Biagiotti: Every day, approximately four or five people are murdered in Jamaica. For a country the size of Connecticut, with 2.8 million people, that’s a staggering murder rate. I don’t know if I had a false sense of security, but I never felt in danger. We had local guides taking us around and introducing us to communities, and I think that was key. We made sure we had introductions wherever we went. We told people we were reporting on homosexuality, HIV and AIDS. We knew these were touchy topics, but we were open and I think Jamaicans appreciated our honesty, and were in turn welcoming.

Visit the Pulitzer Center’s multimedia website Live, Hope, Love, which explores living with HIV in Jamaica.

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