On A Reflective Day

Why ponder thus the future to foresee
and jade thy brain to vain perplexity?
Cast off thy care, leave Allah's plans to him -
He formed them all without consulting thee.

-Omar Khayyam, The Rubaiyat

Wrap up from the Deutsche Welle Media in Peacebuilding Conference

What exactly can and should media do in places of conflict? What dangers come with peacebuilding and conflict prevention? These and other questions were the topics of discussion at the first Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, which was held June 2 - 4in Bonn, Germany.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi (above) spoke during the conference's opening day. "When violence is detected, the human conscience is also awakened," Ebadi said. "There you can find an answer. Journalistic work is both a dangerous and a holy job."

Ebadi highlighted simple and profound points around journalistic practices that to me were the most poignant messages coming out of the conference. "Mentioning the religion of someone who is convicted of a crime can lead to war," Ebadi said.

Below is an interview with Southeast Asian blogger Jotman, who was first to report the 2006 coup in Thailand and has been a persistant voice for resistance monks and cyclone victims in Burma. I couldn't show Jotman's face because of his work... so you'll soon figure out why the interview is titled "Talk to the Hand".



More interview posts from the conference can be found on PauletteFilms