Below is what K.S. Narendran, husband of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 passenger Chandrika Sharma, posted on his Facebook page on the 6-month anniversary of the plane’s disappearance. I have admired his fortitude since I first spoke with him in March and his incredibly poignant expressions of his ordeal. So I thought I would share. You can read my CNN story on him here: A hole … Continue reading Reflections on a fresh start
Honoring the courage and fortitude of James Foley today. Rest in peace. I had intended to write more about him but words are failing me now. So I am posting a few links for you. I hope you will think about how so many journalists put themselves in harm’s way so that you may know the truth about our sometimes vicious world. The Committee to … Continue reading Courage in journalism
My journalism brings me face to face with all sorts of interesting people. Over the years I have met extraordinary men and women and ordinary ones who have extraordinary tales to tell. Occasionally, I run into exceptional people, the kind who make me stop to reflect, respect and admire. Sister Helen Prejean is one of them. I’d known about her work for decades — I … Continue reading 'Dead Man Walking.' Live nun talking
I met Maya Angelou in 1983. I worked for the Center for Participant Education at Florida State University and we had invited Angelou to speak on campus. I went with my friend Graciela Cuervo to fetch her at the Tallahassee airport, shook her hand and said: “Maya, I am so happy to finally meet you.” She was a towering figure in so many ways. Even physically. She … Continue reading 'I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise, I rise, I rise'
We lost another amazing journalist today. Anja Niedringhaus, 48, an acclaimed photographer for the Associated Press, died instantly after an Afghan policeman opened fire while they were sitting in their car in eastern Afghanistan, the AP said. Correspondent Kathy Gannon was wounded and is in stable condition in hospital. “Anja and Kathy together have spent years in Afghanistan covering the conflict and the people there. Anja was … Continue reading Sad news from Afghanistan
I’ve been immersed in writing about death after spending a week in Varanasi at a home where ailing, elderly Hindus go to end their lives. They want to die there because they believe dying within the boundaries of the ancient city of Kashi will mean moksha, or salvation for the soul. The story — I will write more about that later — took me back to … Continue reading Death: I've had 13 years to think
The world turned dark today. Nelson Mandela flew away. To a better place than this world. My memories take me back to when I was a child in India, to class IV current events class, where I first learned about the cruelty and viscousness of apartheid. And then to my days at Florida State University, where I protested apartheid and urged divestment. The demonstrations over … Continue reading Rest in Peace, Madiba
Hasan Zeya used to boast about how he was still practicing medicine into his early 80s. But at 84, he no longer is happy about his age. His daughter, Rena, passed away last week, days shy of her 52nd birthday. “She did a bad thing. She cut ahead of me in the queue,” he tells me at her funeral Sunday. Tears well in his eyes, … Continue reading Rena
Today, we bid goodbye to 2012 and usher in a new year. It’s a time of cheer and remembrance. We like lists. So we have the top 10s of everything from movies to gadgets to events. And there are lists of admirable people. Barack Obama was Time’s Man of the Year. Malala Yousafzai topped other lists. As did Mohamed Morsy, the Egyptian president and Olympians … Continue reading A New Year's salute to amazing people not on any lists
