‘It isn’t safe’: South African first responders attacked while saving lives
Ambulance crews and paramedics are increasingly being robbed, their vehicles hijacked while they are working, in a country with one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime.
Out on the Road – Old Style Journalism Read More »
My Xhosa teacher Ally Weakley (seen here centre) was a powerful advocate of non-racialism in apartheid South Africa. He was tragically gunned down in rage after Chris Hani’s assassination. Rhodes honoured him this weekend by naming their main sports field after him. Here, published in the Sunday Times this weekend, I remember just what a powerful influence he had on my life.
Powerful Memories of My Xhosa Teacher Read More »
Years ago I went to the Svalbard islands in the Arctic circle. What a powerful, magical experience it was!
Under the little-known Svalbard treaty, South Africans have the right to live, trap, fish and prospect for minerals in a remote archipelago deep in the Arctic Circle. Hamilton Wende went there to try his luck.
The Uncertain Light of the Midnight Sun Read More »
Al, ex-British army and our security advisor, spread a map out on the hood of our vehicle.
‘We’ll take the Amarah road,’ he said. ‘The other road through Nasiriyah is not too good. Bandits are operating on that route.’
He paused. ‘I must make one thing clear. There are no weapons on this convoy. If bandits pull us over, we comply 100%. There must be no threatening gestures.’
The Shadows of El Alamein Read More »
Al, ex-British army and our security advisor, spread a map out on the hood of our vehicle.
‘We’ll take the Amarah road,’ he said. ‘The other road through Nasiriyah is not too good. Bandits are operating on that route.’
He paused. ‘I must make one thing clear. There are no weapons on this convoy. If bandits pull us over, we comply 100%. There must be no threatening gestures.’
Al, ex-British army and our security advisor, spread a map out on the hood of our vehicle.
‘We’ll take the Amarah road,’ he said. ‘The other road through Nasiriyah is not too good. Bandits are operating on that route.’
He paused. ‘I must make one thing clear. There are no weapons on this convoy. If bandits pull us over, we comply 100%. There must be no threatening gestures.’
Al, ex-British army and our security advisor, spread a map out on the hood of our vehicle.
‘We’ll take the Amarah road,’ he said. ‘The other road through Nasiriyah is not too good. Bandits are operating on that route.’
He paused. ‘I must make one thing clear. There are no weapons on this convoy. If bandits pull us over, we comply 100%. There must be no threatening gestures.’
The Ghostly Memory of Lions in Iraq Read More »
‘I never knew Hemingway was that witty,’ my friend Allan said as we chatted in his apartment in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. I was reading aloud to him from Hemingway’s classic memoir about his early days as a struggling writer: A Moveable Feast.
Memories and thoughts of Hemingway in Paris Read More »
The toxic legacy of a century-old lead mine in Kabwe, Zambia, is still poisoning children. A years-old class action suit on their behalf has moved to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Hamilton Wende went to Kabwe to film a documentary for Al Jazeera and reflects on the legal, moral and humanitarian dilemmas surrounding these children and their ongoing suffering.
The poisoned legacy of the children of Kabwe Read More »
There is something eerie about the beauty of an old bomb crater at 20,000 feet.
Memory and Healing in Cambodia Read More »