‘We will keep talking’ #SouthasiaPeace – and a tribute to Anja’s spirit and the courage of journalists

Posted on April 4, 2024 by beenasarwar
Kathy Gannon shares an iconic photo by Anja Niedringhaus during a talk at Emerson College, Boston, 2022. Photo by Beena Sarwar

“If France and Germany can be part of the European Union, why can’t Pakistan and India be part of a Southasian Union?” asked Dr Mubashir Hasan, former finance minister of Pakistan, a hawk-turned-dove who co-founded the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD). He had roped me into it when I was a young journalist in Lahore in the mid-1990s. When he said these words to me some years ago, and I replied that this was impossible, he responded, “Par hum baat toh kar sakte haiN” – but we can at least talk about it.

Years later, in 2021, during a time of renewed tensions between Pakistan and India, his words inspired the foundation of the Southasia Peace Action Network, Sapan, that we now write like a word, Sapan, rather than in all caps, conveys the meaning of a dream.

“This is a dream that connects millions, giving hope for solidarity, peace, and friendship in the region. The network, which encourages dialogue and connections amongst Southasians and across various issues, has managed to virtually overcome borders and build bridges between those who have historically been divided” writes young peacebuilder Mansi Chandna from Jaipur, who attended the event from her current base in Manchester.

Read her piece, ‘Hum Baat Karte Rahenge!’ – We will keep talking, assert Southasia peace activists – a Sapan News Network syndicated feature available for republication with due credit.

Art and Southasian Voices panel at the Sapan third anniversary event: Manmeet K. Walia, Roshan Mishra, Salima Hashmi. Screenshot from video recording.

Sharing my curtainraiser for Sapan News about a poignant photo exhibition opening at the Bronx Documentary Center in New York today, featuring the work of the acclaimed photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus. She covered Afghanistan and Pakistan at the height of the war between the Taliban and the USA, and was killed ten years ago, on 4 April 2014.

An Afghan police commander walked up to the car she sat in with Kathy Gannon outside a government compound in Khost, where they were covering the presidential election for the AP. Anja, 48, died instantly. Seven bullets shattered Kathy’s arms and shoulders. The Afghan doctor who initially operated on her saved her arm, using various ‘jugaRs‘ (improvisations). Doctors at the French military hospital in Kabul where she was later medi-evaced said they would have amputated it had she reached them first.

In all the years I’ve known Kathy, I’d never heard her complain or mention her injuries or trauma. When I hesitantly asked about it now, for this piece, she detailed the information matter-of-factly, even cheerfully, focuses more on Anja, her courage, and her spirit. All that applies to Kathy herself. 

Kathy, who also on the Sapan News Advisory Council, has co-curated the show and its accompanying book.

Anja Niedringhaus’ photos showcased in a tribute posted by her colleagues at AP

The Bronx Documentary Center opening reception will be followed by the IWMF Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award ceremony.

The exhibition will travel to Cambridge MA, 9-10 May 2024, co-sponsored by the Nieman Foundation and the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University. Anja was a Nieman Fellow 2007.

Exhibition information:
Bronx Documentary Center
614 Courtlandt Ave, Bronx, NY 10451
On View: April 4 – May 5, 2024
Gallery hours: Thurs-Fri 3-7PM, Sat-Sun 1-5PM

Book information:
Anja Niedringhaus
By Ami Beckmann, Kathy Gannon, and Muhammed Muheisen
Hardcover, 80 pages, 44 images
Release date: April 2024
Published by Fort Orange Press
Price: USD 30

Read the full story, A tribute to the spirit of Anja – and the courage of journalists, at the Sapan News site. 

Note: We have been doing this work voluntarily for the past three years and need support of all kinds – like, share, encourage.

And donate – thank you to those who contributed to help Sapan News meet our NewsMatch goal by December 31. We made it!

We now need to raise $3,000 more in the next three weeks. Will you help? Here is the link to share with friends who might want to contribute – no amount is too small: www.sapannews.com/donate

Thank you for reading and for your support.

With hope and solidity 🙏🏽

Filed under: 'War on terror', Afghanistan, Art and activism, Pakistan-India, Southasia, Violence in the name of religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The cross-border solidarity of Amrita Pritam and Fahmida Riaz, the student movement, and peacemongering today

Posted on January 28, 2024 by beenasarwar
Poster for the event honouring Amrita Pritam and Fahmida Riaz. Courtesy PIPFPD

The latest Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan) newsletter we put out highlighted a commemoration in Delhi for two iconic feminist poets of Pakistan and India: How the friendship of two cross-border feminist poets symbolises our work; upcoming events, and more

Radical love, epitomised by the late Amrita Pritam and Fahmida Riaz is ‘one of the seeds of the revolutionary thought process’, to quote the Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) stalwarts who organised the event – Vijayan MJ, Tapan Bose, and Dr Syeda Hameed. Their consistent work over the decades for peace and justice is truly inspirational, and I feel privileged to know them personally.

I was also privileged to know one of the late poets personally, Fahmida ‘Khala’ (aunt) to me, who was close to my father Dr. M. Sarwar. He led the Democratic Students Federation (DSF), Pakistan’s first student movement while at Dow Medical College in Karachi, 1949-54.

I’ve uploaded archives about the movement here: drsarwar.wordpress.com. Principles of that struggle continue to show the way, like the importance of coming together across divides for a minimum common agenda. For DSF, it was student rights. For Sapan, it’s Southasia Peace. We need it now, for the sake of the people of the region, and beyond. 

The Videos section of the Dr Sarwar blog includes a playlist of video clips from the event held at the Karachi Arts Council in January 2010 to commemorate DSF and the student movement, a few months after my father passed on.

Compered by the actor Rahat Kazmi, the event featured speeches from young activists, students, and academics like Amar Sindhu, Alia Amirali, Ali Cheema, and Varda Nisar, as well as veterans like I.A. Rehman, besides the singer Tina Sani, Taimur Rahman and his band Laal, and Fahmida Riaz.

Fahmida Khala recited her poem ‘Palwashey Muskurao’ (Palvasha, smile), dedicated to daughter of late Afzal Bangash of the Mazdoor Kissan Party (Workers’ and Peasants’ Party), and the followers of other late leftist leaders. They may no longer be on this earth, but their principles and aspirations for human rights and dignity continue to show the way.

Fahmida Riaz reciting her poem ‘Palwashey Muskurao’ (Palvasha, smile), Jan. 2010, Karachi.

(ends)

Filed under: Art and activism, Dr M Sarwar, Pakistan-India, Progressive politics, Resistance | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

How a decades-long connection led to a new collaboration

Posted on January 13, 2024 by beenasarwar

I have known Rob Vreeken for over 30 years, since we met in Amsterdam in the early 1990s. He worked at the leading Dutch daily newspaper De Volkskrant, that we visited — women journalists from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia, in The Netherlands on a month-long fellowship. I have lost contact with the other fellows but Rob and I stayed in touch on email.

The last time we actually met was when he traveled to Pakistan as a foreign correspondent, soon after my daughter was born. He visited our home in Karachi and met my family, thoughtfully bringing along a baby gift. He has also been very supportive of my ventures, from Aman ki Asha, to the Southasia Peace Action Network and Sapan News, , the media outlet I started in August 2021.

Since ‘retiring’ from De Volkskrant a few years ago, Rob has been the paper’s Istanbul correspondent. After the Oct. 7 attacks, he also reported from Israel and the West Bank.

November 11, 2023: Rob Vreeken with Palestinian activist Saleh Diab in East Jerusalem. Photo by Faiz Abu Rmeleh

In November, he shared some photos which I thought would be interesting for my students at Emerson College, where I taught a Global Journalism course last fall. He subsequently shared his experiences with my students, who really appreciated his insights – like, it’s okay to say “I (or we) don’t know” rather than rushing to provide opinion or information, and the importance of acknowledging mistakes that we as journalists and human beings make.

I’m sharing Rob’s first piece written specially for Sapan News. It is a clear and fair analysis of the ICJ hearings at the Hague that he watched live from Istanbul.

You can see the photos I shared with my class in a slideshow embedded in his piece at the Sapan News website. The article, like all our features, is available for syndication with due credit to Sapan News – http://www.sapannews.com.

Read: What Israel fears above all – a Sapan News syndicated feature

Lawyer Vusi Madonsela (left) of the South Africa legal team; looking at him Tal Becker (right), head of Israeli team. Photo by Rob Vreeken, Istanbul.

Check out the Sapan News website and contribute to help support nonprofit journalism. All contributions are tax-deductible, thanks to Sapan News’ fiscal sponsor Tasveer.

Donate now

Thank you!

Filed under: journalism, Palestine, Violence in the name of religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Hello, and updates from Sapan News and Southasia Peace Action Network

Posted on December 24, 2023 by beenasarwar

Seasons greetings despite the sadness, and excerpts from a Sapan Alliance newsletter sent out a few days ago on Substack

Joy is also a form of defiance. Dancers: A greeting card I made some years ago (pastel and water colour), repurposed for Southasiapeace.com and Sapannews.com.

In times that can feel dark and dismal, some good news and exciting updates.

Meet Sapan News — a unique media outlet that aims to cover and connect Southasia, the Indian Ocean and diaspora. That goes behind the headlines, connects communities, academics, activists, and more. Creating space for understanding, empathy and nuance.

  • In November, Sapan News qualified for NewsMatch, a philanthropic fund helping nonprofit newsrooms like ours in the U.S. Contributions made by year-end will get matched up to $15,000. Gratitude to our community that has stepped up to meet this challenge.
  • Those wanting to chip in are welcome – here’s the donate link for tax-deductible contributions.
  • A 100 new donors will secure a $1,000 bonus, and monthly donations initiated this month will get matched x12!
Donate now to double your impact

Thank you for your support. It means so much – and together, we are stronger.

Collaborations: Hello, Central Desi!

Sapan News is proud to partner with Central Desi, a dynamic news portal that started as a newsletter to cover all things ‘desi’ (Southasian) in New Jersey. Kudos to journalist Ambreen Ali for growing her passion project into a news org that won a major grant, enabling them to hire reporting fellows. Sapan News has much to learn from this initiative.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Media, Pakistan-India, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Re-visiting Eqbal Ahmad’s book launch at Harvard with Noam Chomsky

Posted on December 24, 2023 by beenasarwar

A message from the journalist Amitabh Pal about a mutual friend, David Barsamian of Alternative Radio in Colorado reminded me of this piece originally published in The News on Sunday, 8 Oct. 2006, about an event with Noam Chomsky where I first met David. The article is still all-too relevant, but the link no longer works so I’m sharing the piece here without any changes; just added some hyperlinks and photos.

Essential reading – and doing: Eqbal Ahmad

Book launch: The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad, Cambridge, September 28, 2006.

Beena Sarwar

John Trumbour addressing the event. Panel: Beena Sarwar, Stuart Schaar, Margaret Cerullo, Noam Chomsky. File photo.

When Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in his address to the UN on Sept 20, held up a copy of Noam Chomsky’s Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (2003) and recommended it as essential reading to understand contemporary world politics, he could have been talking about The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad,for which Chomsky, Eqbal’s long-time friend, wrote the foreword. Chavez identified “the hegemonic pretension of the North American imperialism” as “the greatest threat on this planet” to the survival of the human race.

The book that Jack launched (at HLS)

Chomsky also gave the main address for this collection of Eqbal Ahmad’s writings (Columbia University Press, 2006) at the book’s launch in Cambridge, USA, on September 28. John Trumpbour and Emran Qureshi of the Labor & Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School, who organised the event, didn’t publicise the event too aggressively because of the hype Chavez had generated for Chomsky.

The hall did get quite full, but they didn’t have to turn anyone away at the door. The venue may have had something to do with this. Chomsky, a linguistics professor now retired from the neighbouring MIT, is rarely invited to Harvard. Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowtiz criticises Chomsky for being too “black and white” but often has to concede the basic truth of the points Chomsky makes.

Continue reading →

Filed under: 'War on terror', History, Media, Pakistan, Progressive politics, Resistance, Southasia, Terrorism, Violence in the name of religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

ChanukahForCeasefire; a Jewel in Ivory in Berlin; #SapanforSAARC this Sunday; and the NewsMatch challenge for Sapan News

Posted on December 10, 2023 by beenasarwar

Greetings to those observing Hanukah and salute to those participating in #ChanukahForCeasefire demonstrations around the United States. Thousands of Jews have been lighting candles at #ChanukahForCeasefire gatherings, coming together “to mourn, find hope, and fight on — for ceasefire, freedom for all held captive, and an end to siege on Gaza,” says IfNotNow, a movement of American Jews “organizing for equality, justice, and a thriving future for all: our neighbors, ourselves, Palestinians, and Israelis.” To find one near you, go to: https://innmvmt.org/chanukah.

Such actions, and those of thousands including high school students marching around the world to call for #ceasefirenow, provide hope in a world that feels heavy. It is unbearable to think of the thousands killed, maimed and displaced in conflict areas, especially children.

Public opinion worldwide is clearly for #CeasefireNow, calls being ignored by those who could stop the bombing that continues to claim lives. What can we do? Hold on to ourselves and do what we can, where we can, when we can. Inform ourselves, share information – double-check before sharing so we don’t pass on #fakenews — donate to causes, participate in public actions.

Continue reading →

Filed under: 'Internally Displaced Persons', covid-19, Health, History, Human rights, Interfaith, journalism, Media, Palestine, prisoners, Progressive politics, Resistance, Southasia, Violence in the name of religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

This Sunday, 10 min, #be4peace, Sapan News features; a compilation of readings, poems, videos

Posted on November 12, 2023 by beenasarwar

I woke up on Wednesday morning wondering if people would take time out to be still for 10-15 min on the same day, to collectively visualise peace, to engage in prayer, meditation, or just breathe and be calm in the midst of strife and violence. And maybe that stillness, if echoed by around the world on the same day will have an effect.

This developed into the global virtual vigil by Southasia Peace Action Network, or Sapan, taking place this Sunday across different time zones. We asked people to spare 10 minutes to #be4peace, in their own way, anytime between 10am-12 noon in their own time zones.

Old friend and fellow peacemonger Mazher Hussain in Hyderabad, India, who runs the Confederation of Voluntary Associations, India, activated his contacts. Interfaith scholar and activist Urmi Chanda in Mumbai made a visual, tweaked by another volunteer, Srinivas at COVA.

#be4peace image by Urmi Chanda: The watermelon as a symbol of resistance.

By Saturday night, over 40 organisations had endorsed the call, along with dozens of peacemongers around the world, from Australia to the U.S. west coast. We even got pledges from Tel Aviv, France, and Croatia. See list of public endorsements at the Sapan website.

On another note, I am thrilled that the latest Sapan News features includes a piece by Rumi Nagpal, a high school student in Colombo on learnings from an uprising and his late grandmother who was a theatre artist. And Rajeev Soneja in Boston shares his take on India-Pakistan cricket drawing from a great archive of cricket books, with some historic photos shared by my old friend, news photographer Rahat Ali Dar in Lahore.

Lastly, sharing below a compilation of what I’ve been reading and watching, in no particular order.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Art and activism, Cricket, Peace, Politics, Progressive politics, Resistance | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

In solidarity with the journalists of India

Posted on October 5, 2023 by beenasarwar

The day the popular Indian journalist Ravish Kumar spoke at Harvard, Oct. 2, happened to mark Gandhi Jayanti, Mahatama Gandhi’s birth anniversary. A day that social media users celebrated Gandhi-ji’s murder was and glorified his murderer on X, formerly Twitter, noted Kumar, talking in Hindi to students and community members filling the nearly 150-seater auditorium.

  • Ashutosh Varshney, Director of the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University; Ravish Kumar; Wall Street Journal columnist Sadanand Dhume; Brown University faculty Poulami Roychowdhury and Prerna Singh. Photo: Beena Sarwar
  • Students throng Ravish Kumar after his talk at Brown University. Photo: Beena Sarwar
  • Standing ovation for Ravish Kumar after his talk at Harvard. Photo: Beena Sarwar
  • Discussion after the talk at Harvard. Not all questions were answered but as Ravish said, it’s important to ask them. Photo: Beena Sarwar
  • Talking to Ravish Kumar after the event, with Dr Deeba Husain from India. Photo: Rajeev Soneja

Ravish Kumar famously resigned from NDTV last November after its hostile takeover by Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Kumar still has a huge viewership on YouTube – his channel has garnered over 7 million subscribers so far – it is an insecure platform, as he knows. The recently released documentary While We Watched (available on PBS) features Kumar, but as he also acknowledges, there are many others standing for journalistic values and ethics in India.

Many of these colleagues were picked up on Oct. 3, the day after his Harvard talk, as Delhi police conducted raids at the homes of dozens of journalists and researchers associated with the digital news site NewsClick. The researchers are with Tricontinental Research Services, which provides materials to Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

An FIR (first investigation report) was lodged against NewsClick in August, the day after a poorly-sourced New York Times report alleging that it had received funding from a network spreading “Chinese propaganda”.

The detained journalists included junior employees – and if they were being detained “simply because you believe that NewsClick is getting Chinese funds then a very wrong precedent is being set,” to quote prominent TV anchor Rajdeep Sardesai.

Police interrogated them for hours, repeatedly questioning whether they had covered the farmers’ protests of 2020-21, the anti-Muslim violence of February 2020, and the Indian government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s an account by one of the detained individuals, award winning journalist Abhisar Sharma – how could journalists and researchers not cover these events, which are “part of the great processes of our time” as Vijay Prashad comment in his article, My Friends Prabir and Amit Are In Jail in India For Their Work in the Media.

Newsclick founder and chief editor Prabir Purkayastha, and Amit Chakravarty, who heads the portal’s human resources section, were arrested under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Since 2010, as many as 16 journalists have been charged under the UAPA, reports the Free Speech Collective, India, in a post that lists them, with details of those out on bail, the seven still behind bars, and others.

  • NewsClick founder and chief editor Prabir Purkayastha arrested. Photo credit: Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images, published by Amnesty International.
  • “In India, 16 journalists under UAPA ; seven behind bars” – image courtesy the Free Speech Collective, India

There is a huge pushback in India against these heavy handed tactics, which those in other countries are familiar with.

Below, the text of a joint letter by several journalists’ organisations to the Chief Justice of India:

Continue reading →

Filed under: Freedom of expression, Human rights, journalism, Pakistan-India, Resistance, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Why arrest fisherfolk who cross an invisible maritime boundary, then hold them for years across the border?

Posted on September 3, 2023 by beenasarwar

Last month, another Indian fisherman incarcerated in Pakistan died while waiting to be repatriated. A young man in his thirties. Why he was held in the first place makes no sense to me, and to a lot of other people. India and Pakistan routinely detain each others fisherfolk. In doing so, they defy international law, deny the incarcerated men consular access in violation of their own laws, hold them in prison for months if not years (a costly enterprise), then take months to verify the identities of those who have served their terms, so that they remain imprisoned even after completing their sentences. I asked my friend Jatin Desai in Mumbai to write about this for Sapan News, the syndicated features I started a couple of years ago. We ended up doing the piece together. I’m sharing our article below, published in Sapan News, as well as in several other publications. Still relevant, and urgent for the authorities to take up. Please share widely.

The suffering continues: No relief in sight for Indian, Pakistani fishermen 

Another Indian fisherman died while in detention in Pakistan. Such deaths in custody routinely take place on either side. Pakistan and India routinely arrest and imprison each others’ fisherfolk for crossing an invisible maritime border. This should not be happening. Meanwhile, both countries must urgently at least revive the Joint Judicial Committee for cross-border prisoners

By Jatin Desai and Beena Sarwar

Passport photo of Jagdish Mangal, who died while waiting to be repatriated. Photo: Courtesy Edhi Foundation

If 99 Indian fishermen incarcerated in Pakistani prisons had been repatriated last month as agreed, Jagdish Mangal might still be alive.

Mangal was among the several Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency in February 2020 and detained in Malir prison, Karachi. He was 35 years old from Nana Vada, Gujarat.

Pakistan was to repatriate 99 Indian fishermen on 3 July, but this never happened for unexplained reasons. Mangal died on August 6 of ‘natural causes’ according to the medical certificate.

Continue reading →

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Pakistani minority rights activists renew demands for justice after attacks on churches

Posted on August 23, 2023 by beenasarwar

The attacks on the Christian community in Jaranwala near Faisalabad (former Lyallpur) are among a long string of such violence instigated by extremist elements seeking power in the name of religion in Pakistan. I co-wrote this article for Sapan News with a young reporter in Karachi who was initially only reporting on Pakistan’s first Minority Rights March. Then Jaranwala happened. We now present a longish read putting the violence in context and tracking the trajectory of a turning point in the state’s responses, with a couple of inputs from India

By Abdullah Zahid and Beena Sarwar

Sapan News

  • Karachi protest at Teen Talwar, 19 August 2023. Photo: Abdullah Zahid
  • Karachi protest at Teen Talwar, 19 August 2023. Photo: Abdullah Zahid

“Manzoor Masih – will be remembered!… The Christians of Shanti Nagar – will be remembered!… Rimsha Masih – will be remembered!… ”

Activist and dancer Sheema Kermani led the chanting, evoking the names of a long list of Pakistani Christian individuals and communities targeted by extremist elements in the name of religion over the years. 

Continue reading →

Filed under: Blasphemy Laws, Pakistan-India, Progressive politics, Resistance | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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