Our good friends at MAG have just released their new advertisement. Reminds me of the film Pleasantville... very well done and very scary.... a bit too graphic for some, I am sure.
Friday, May 13, 2005
MAG Has a New Ad
Our good friends at MAG have just released their new advertisement. Reminds me of the film Pleasantville... very well done and very scary.... a bit too graphic for some, I am sure.
Woman Killed in Vietnam by War-Era Bomb
A piece of explosive ordnance left over from the Vietnam War killed a 24-year-old mother in Gio Son commune, Gio Linh district of Quang Tri province on May 1st, 2005. Tran Thi Tuyet and her husband were clearing vegetation in an area once known as the Con Tien firebase to plant banana trees. The land had long been abandoned by farmers due to its dificult to farm terrain still pockmarked by bomb craters.Tuyet gathered dried leaves in a crater to burn and inadvertently ignited a piece of ordnance of an unknown nature. The powerful blast killed her immediately. She leaves behind a husband and a son.
<photo: Tuyet's son stands before her funeral shrine in their home, click to enlarge>
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Ken Davis on UXO in Vietnam
Clear Path friend (and neighbor) author Ken Davis recently appeared on Vermont Public Radio to discuss the legacy of War in Vietnam.
Public NewsRoom
Thank you, Ken, a very powerful piece.
Public NewsRoom
Thank you, Ken, a very powerful piece.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
The Group Visits Nghia and the CPI School
Wolfgang Brolley is travelling with CPI co-founder Imbert Matthee and visiting CPI project sites in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand
This morning we had the pleasure and pain of visiting brave Nghia ~the young lad that has lost both feet and his left hand to old, but horrifically viable ordinance (see video of Nghia here). His new, brilliant red wheelchair was parked outside his home�s entrance. Loss, pain, grief and brokenness line the life-worn face of his diminutive father -- just as painfully obvious is the inescapable and unaddressable loss of spirit. My heart broke as it does every time that I have the privilege of meeting one of our beneficiaries. The barren tragedy of such inappropriate and devastating injury ~all stemming from the natural curiosity of a young boy to open some shiny thing he finds~ wiped me out. I have no ability to reconcile that shortfall in the cosmic balance sheet � kids must have the right and freedom to PLAY! It is an accounting evidenced to be even more wildly out of whack when I squatted down next to the father to explain the importance to him of correct positioning and regular exercising of his son�s residual limbs. I patted his leg only to find that he too had a below knee amputation, and then I was told that his father (Nghia�s grandfather!) had been an amputee landmine survivor. Three generations of limb loss � all due to these sickening objects of destruction that remain so malevolently potent years longer than many human lives last in this beautiful country.
As our day wound down we breathed back in some of the reckless (as it should be) joy of kids being their totally unselfconscious, silly selves at the school that CPI made possible (in part by clearing 550 UXO out of three acres of land) near the CPI office in Dong Ha. Visiting last year, we found a sparkling, spanking new school � but it was empty and silent � we had been greeted by the lone and lonely caretaker. This year, the grounds bubbled over with young boys and girls swatting at each other with their hats, practicing their crazy kung-fu inspired rough-housing, and chasing whoever might be �it�, unless they were totally clowning for us and our way too inspiring cameras!
Every classroom was filled, the kids (until we opened the gates of visitor sanctioned bedlam) studious and immaculately well behaved. For me, this was true �swords into plowshares.� The school, the kids, and our group were all standing around not wasting too many thoughts on the fact that 4 years earlier one misstep could have cost any one of us a limb. Now, I couldn�t spy a single amputee in the crowd. That ~in this country~ is a beautiful thing.
May it ever be so.
Much love to all humanity,
wolfgang brolley
This morning we had the pleasure and pain of visiting brave Nghia ~the young lad that has lost both feet and his left hand to old, but horrifically viable ordinance (see video of Nghia here). His new, brilliant red wheelchair was parked outside his home�s entrance. Loss, pain, grief and brokenness line the life-worn face of his diminutive father -- just as painfully obvious is the inescapable and unaddressable loss of spirit. My heart broke as it does every time that I have the privilege of meeting one of our beneficiaries. The barren tragedy of such inappropriate and devastating injury ~all stemming from the natural curiosity of a young boy to open some shiny thing he finds~ wiped me out. I have no ability to reconcile that shortfall in the cosmic balance sheet � kids must have the right and freedom to PLAY! It is an accounting evidenced to be even more wildly out of whack when I squatted down next to the father to explain the importance to him of correct positioning and regular exercising of his son�s residual limbs. I patted his leg only to find that he too had a below knee amputation, and then I was told that his father (Nghia�s grandfather!) had been an amputee landmine survivor. Three generations of limb loss � all due to these sickening objects of destruction that remain so malevolently potent years longer than many human lives last in this beautiful country.As our day wound down we breathed back in some of the reckless (as it should be) joy of kids being their totally unselfconscious, silly selves at the school that CPI made possible (in part by clearing 550 UXO out of three acres of land) near the CPI office in Dong Ha. Visiting last year, we found a sparkling, spanking new school � but it was empty and silent � we had been greeted by the lone and lonely caretaker. This year, the grounds bubbled over with young boys and girls swatting at each other with their hats, practicing their crazy kung-fu inspired rough-housing, and chasing whoever might be �it�, unless they were totally clowning for us and our way too inspiring cameras!
Every classroom was filled, the kids (until we opened the gates of visitor sanctioned bedlam) studious and immaculately well behaved. For me, this was true �swords into plowshares.� The school, the kids, and our group were all standing around not wasting too many thoughts on the fact that 4 years earlier one misstep could have cost any one of us a limb. Now, I couldn�t spy a single amputee in the crowd. That ~in this country~ is a beautiful thing.
May it ever be so.
Much love to all humanity,
wolfgang brolley
Monday, May 9, 2005
"Vietnam: The Next Generation" PBS Series
From an email sent to us by David Lamb:
Americans remember the Vietnam War. But what do we know of those Vietnamese born in its aftermath? That�s what Sandy Northrop sets out to answer in her new documentary for PBS, �Vietnam: The Next Generation.� The hour-long film will be broadcast in mid-May.
Northrop profiles eight young Vietnamese�entrepreneurs and streets kids, farmers and students, artists and engineers�who were born in the final days of the war or in the troubled decade that followed. They embody the hopes, dreams and challenges of a new Vietnam and their stories represent the face of modern-day Vietnam, where a marriage of communism and capitalism is providing opportunity unimagined in their parents� time.
�Vietnam: The Next Generation� is hosted by Susan Sarandon and is part of PBS� Independent Lens series. It is the third film in Northrop�s groundbreaking trilogy of post-war Vietnam, of which the New Yorks Times commented: �This surprising and affecting series is a vivid reminder that Vietnam didn�t end 30 years ago. The War did.�
Most PBS stations will premiere the film the week of May 15. Check your local listings. You can determine when it will be aired in your area by signing on to www.itvs.org and clicking �Program Search� at top. Then type in �Vietnam: The Next Generation� and click broadcast. Here are the dates in some major U.S. markets:
Boston WGBX Sun May 15 10:00 pm
Chicago WTTW Tue May 17 10:00 pm
Hartford WEDH Tue May 17 11:00 pm
Houston KUHT Tue May 17 10:30 pm
Los Angeles KCET Sat May 28 11:30 pm
Miami WPBT Tue May 17 11:00 pm
Minneapolis KAWB Tue May 17 9:00 pm
New York WNET Tue May 17 10:00 pm
New Orleans WYES Tue May 17 9:00 pm
Pittsburgh WQED Tue May 17 10:00 pm
Portland, OR KOPB Tue May 17 11:00 pm
San Diego KPBS Sun May 22 11:00 pm
San Francisco KQED Tue May 17 11:00 pm
Washington DC WETA Sat May 21 01:00 am
To learn more about the country of Vietnam and the documentary sign onto the website www.pbs.org/independentlens/vietnam
Americans remember the Vietnam War. But what do we know of those Vietnamese born in its aftermath? That�s what Sandy Northrop sets out to answer in her new documentary for PBS, �Vietnam: The Next Generation.� The hour-long film will be broadcast in mid-May.
Northrop profiles eight young Vietnamese�entrepreneurs and streets kids, farmers and students, artists and engineers�who were born in the final days of the war or in the troubled decade that followed. They embody the hopes, dreams and challenges of a new Vietnam and their stories represent the face of modern-day Vietnam, where a marriage of communism and capitalism is providing opportunity unimagined in their parents� time.�Vietnam: The Next Generation� is hosted by Susan Sarandon and is part of PBS� Independent Lens series. It is the third film in Northrop�s groundbreaking trilogy of post-war Vietnam, of which the New Yorks Times commented: �This surprising and affecting series is a vivid reminder that Vietnam didn�t end 30 years ago. The War did.�
Most PBS stations will premiere the film the week of May 15. Check your local listings. You can determine when it will be aired in your area by signing on to www.itvs.org and clicking �Program Search� at top. Then type in �Vietnam: The Next Generation� and click broadcast. Here are the dates in some major U.S. markets:
Boston WGBX Sun May 15 10:00 pm
Chicago WTTW Tue May 17 10:00 pm
Hartford WEDH Tue May 17 11:00 pm
Houston KUHT Tue May 17 10:30 pm
Los Angeles KCET Sat May 28 11:30 pm
Miami WPBT Tue May 17 11:00 pm
Minneapolis KAWB Tue May 17 9:00 pm
New York WNET Tue May 17 10:00 pm
New Orleans WYES Tue May 17 9:00 pm
Pittsburgh WQED Tue May 17 10:00 pm
Portland, OR KOPB Tue May 17 11:00 pm
San Diego KPBS Sun May 22 11:00 pm
San Francisco KQED Tue May 17 11:00 pm
Washington DC WETA Sat May 21 01:00 am
To learn more about the country of Vietnam and the documentary sign onto the website www.pbs.org/independentlens/vietnam
Sunday, May 8, 2005
Imbert from Vietnam
Imbert Matthee is currently leading a trip of CPI supporters through Vietnam... he will be posting regularly... or so he promises!
I have stopped counting the number of trips I have made to Southeast Asia since we started Clear Path International five years ago. It's getting into the double digits. But that doesn't mean my annual journey to our project countries -- Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand (Burma) -- has become routine. Not by any means.
As on previous trips, I am blessed with the company of a handful of compadres equally passionate and interested about doing firsthand work with or on behalf of landmine accident survivors here. In addition to meeting the beneficiaries of our programs and seeing their recovery in progress, traveling with my compadres is the most rewarding and ever-enriching part of my regular returns to Southeast Asia.
I'd like you to meet them because for the next 17 days, they too will write blogs about our spring trip to one of the world's most heavily mine-affected regions of the world and share their daily experiences.
I will start with Wolf since this is his second trip with Clear Path International, making him the most senior compadre in the group. He is a physical therapist from the Center for Physical Arts & Rehabilitation in Seattle. A Buddhist, Wolf wanted to travel with Clear Path to personally work with recovering landmine and bomb accident survivors as an act of compassion. Since our last trip in August, he has created a very simple sheet of exercises patients can perform at home to improve the use of their residual limbs and foster their physical mobility. The sheet, which will be shared with health care providers, staff and CPI partners for distribution among beneficiaries, uses only illustrations. Wolf's laid-back personality and sense of humor contribute a lot of the glue making our small group feel bonded.
Wolf's partner Dana wanted to go on the August trip, but couldn't. An English-as-a-second-language instructor at North Seattle Community College and a Seattle-based marketing software developer, Dana is looking for a way to contribute to an international project. She taught English in Hungary and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity in that country. In Zimbabwe, Dana worked with bee farmers in a project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Just as easygoing as Wolf, she is looking forward to getting to know the part of the world where Clear Path works and the families we serve.
A craniosacral therapist from Yakima, Effie was introduced to Clear Path by veterans liaison Frank Cole and his wife, Susan, who have been supporting CPI for several years. Frank and Susan hosted a Night of 1000 Dinners evening at the New Thai restaurant in their community which Effie attended.
Introduced by one of Wolfgang's physical therapy patients, Erin found out about Clear Path's work and was immediately interested in traveling to Southeast Asia to do a Master's of Communications photojournalism project for Ohio University in Athens. Her subject will be the effects of war after conflicts end and the guns go silent. As an undergraduate student in Journalism at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., Erin spent four months in Nepal documenting and studying Nepalese culture. Some of her other photojournalism achievements include a magazine article on the world of taxi cabs in New York City and Section 8 housing in Albany, Ohio. The question she hopes to answer as part of her graduate project: After years of suffering from conflicts, how do people in former war zones survive amidst unexploded ordnance and find hope in the future with the help of relief organizations?
That's me. I started working in humanitarian mine action six years ago after a 15-year career as a journalist. My focus at CPI is fundraising, Thai-Burma project work and medical equipment donations to mine-affected countries. Clear Path co-founders James and Martha Hathaway got me interested and excited about working in Southeast Asia. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.
So, now that you know all of us look for our travel blog here.
More soon,
Imbert
I have stopped counting the number of trips I have made to Southeast Asia since we started Clear Path International five years ago. It's getting into the double digits. But that doesn't mean my annual journey to our project countries -- Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand (Burma) -- has become routine. Not by any means.As on previous trips, I am blessed with the company of a handful of compadres equally passionate and interested about doing firsthand work with or on behalf of landmine accident survivors here. In addition to meeting the beneficiaries of our programs and seeing their recovery in progress, traveling with my compadres is the most rewarding and ever-enriching part of my regular returns to Southeast Asia.
I'd like you to meet them because for the next 17 days, they too will write blogs about our spring trip to one of the world's most heavily mine-affected regions of the world and share their daily experiences.
Wolfgang Brolley (45)
I will start with Wolf since this is his second trip with Clear Path International, making him the most senior compadre in the group. He is a physical therapist from the Center for Physical Arts & Rehabilitation in Seattle. A Buddhist, Wolf wanted to travel with Clear Path to personally work with recovering landmine and bomb accident survivors as an act of compassion. Since our last trip in August, he has created a very simple sheet of exercises patients can perform at home to improve the use of their residual limbs and foster their physical mobility. The sheet, which will be shared with health care providers, staff and CPI partners for distribution among beneficiaries, uses only illustrations. Wolf's laid-back personality and sense of humor contribute a lot of the glue making our small group feel bonded.Dana Servheen (41)
Wolf's partner Dana wanted to go on the August trip, but couldn't. An English-as-a-second-language instructor at North Seattle Community College and a Seattle-based marketing software developer, Dana is looking for a way to contribute to an international project. She taught English in Hungary and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity in that country. In Zimbabwe, Dana worked with bee farmers in a project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Just as easygoing as Wolf, she is looking forward to getting to know the part of the world where Clear Path works and the families we serve.Effie Skinner (61)
A craniosacral therapist from Yakima, Effie was introduced to Clear Path by veterans liaison Frank Cole and his wife, Susan, who have been supporting CPI for several years. Frank and Susan hosted a Night of 1000 Dinners evening at the New Thai restaurant in their community which Effie attended.Erin Fredrichs (25)
Introduced by one of Wolfgang's physical therapy patients, Erin found out about Clear Path's work and was immediately interested in traveling to Southeast Asia to do a Master's of Communications photojournalism project for Ohio University in Athens. Her subject will be the effects of war after conflicts end and the guns go silent. As an undergraduate student in Journalism at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., Erin spent four months in Nepal documenting and studying Nepalese culture. Some of her other photojournalism achievements include a magazine article on the world of taxi cabs in New York City and Section 8 housing in Albany, Ohio. The question she hopes to answer as part of her graduate project: After years of suffering from conflicts, how do people in former war zones survive amidst unexploded ordnance and find hope in the future with the help of relief organizations?Imbert Matthee (46)
That's me. I started working in humanitarian mine action six years ago after a 15-year career as a journalist. My focus at CPI is fundraising, Thai-Burma project work and medical equipment donations to mine-affected countries. Clear Path co-founders James and Martha Hathaway got me interested and excited about working in Southeast Asia. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.So, now that you know all of us look for our travel blog here.
More soon,
Imbert
Friday, May 6, 2005
Bombhunters Movie Website is Up
WOW! Our friend Skye just emailed to let me know that his new website for his upcoming film BOMBHUNTERS is up...
Check it out!
Bombhunters - The Film
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