Starving Sorious
Insight News' Ivan O'Mahoney talks about film, "Living With Hunger"

Last summer, our editorial team at Insight News Television, which includes Sierra Leonean journalist Sorious Samura, was wracking its brains on how we could get a large audience interested in such a difficult -- some would say boring -- subject as hunger in Africa. Tens of millions were on the edge of starvation, yet there was very little media coverage. Broadcasters would tell us about "hunger-poverty-Africa fatigue." In other words: forget about getting hunger on air. At one of our meetings our managing editor Ron McCullagh almost jokingly said, "Hmmm ... how do we make the important interesting? ... Why not starve Sorious?"

The idea was for Sorious Samura to understand the real stories of people living on the edge of starvation by moving into a remote village in Ethiopia, far away from the range of the United Nations and most non-governmental organizations. There, he would live in a hut for several weeks, surviving on the same meager diet as the rest of the villagers. We pitched the idea to various broadcasters and the idea caught on. First, Discovery Times Channel signed up, then Channel 4 UK, CNN, CBC Canada and Dutch TV. The film would be called "Living with Hunger."

After a two week recce in Ethiopia by director Charlotte Metcalf and me, we found a village named Kirkos that seemed like the right place for the film. We discussed with the villagers at length about what we wanted to do, who Sorious was, and how we hoped the film might benefit them. It wasn't easy, as no one in the village had seen a television in their lives. But eventually the villagers agreed.

As Sorious arrived in the village and filming had started, he got an unpleasant surprise. Despite their earlier agreement, the villagers made it clear he was not welcome. He was told: "They think you are the Devil." In the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, the devil, indeed, is usually depicted as a very black being, blacker than most villagers. It took Sorious and the production team much persuasion to convince the villagers that he would not eat their babies and that he hadn't come to rape their wives.

Soon though, Sorious settled into the routine of the village. He was amazed and exhausted by the hard work he had to do to keep up with the villagers as they climbed steep slopes to plough and till their fields every day. Despite the weather failing them on so many previous occasions, the villagers always have hope that their next harvest will bring the food they so desperately need.

After several weeks of filming, the project came to an end. The big question then was how to leave the village after spending so long with the people there. The villagers told us that in the short run food aid and farm animals were the best farewell gifts we could leave. The most destitute families received oxen while others received chicken and goats. Every household in Kirkos was provided with 50 kilograms of wheat, which we hoped would carry them over until their next harvest. We are currently looking at options of teaming up with Ethiopian NGOs to get more long-term aid to Kirkos like a school. The film has gone out on television, and generally the reactions of the audience were very positive.

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Ivan O'Mahoney is a producer for Insight News Television. Insight won the 2002 Harry Chapin Media Award for Broadcast for their piece "Guinea: Sex for Food." If you would like to support the work of Sorious and Insight, you can purchase the DVD of "Living with Hunger" by going to www.insightnewstv.com.

Bush Budget Proposal Slashes Nutrition Program
Opponents claim the 26% cut hurts farmers, poor Americans

The federal budget proposed today by President Bush would cut by 26% the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, which enables low-income women, children, and infants to obtain produce directly from small farmers. The President's proposal would reduce funding from $27 million down to $20 million nationwide, decreasing both the number of farmers and the number of Americans facing poverty who would be able to obtain the economic and nutritional benefits of the program. In previous years, President Bush proposed entirely eliminating the program.

"I live right across from the wonderful farmers' market at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, [New York], and frequently see how this program provides an important source of income to small farmers struggling to stay of their family’s land, as well fruit and vegetables to low-income women who are pregnant or have very small children," said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. "At a time of both soaring hunger and increasing obesity, it is insane to slash a program that effectively fights both problems. We hope that Congress rejects this cut."

The President's budget failed to propose any significant new funding for child nutrition initiatives, despite rumors in recent weeks that the President would propose a bold new initiative to end child hunger in America. Additionally, the President's budget proposed only level funding for the main source of federal commodities for food pantries and soup kitchens -- most of which are faith-based -- at a time when the demand for food faced by these agencies is skyrocketing nationwide. Said Berg, "It is a shame that the President proposed extending tax cuts for the mega-rich and aiming to send Americans to Mars, but missed an opportunity to give substance to his calls for compassion by putting real money behind the fight to end childhood hunger."

Domestic Worker Lodges Case for $38,000 in Unpaid Wages
DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association aids in fight for better conditions

For almost two years Evelyn Aguilar worked as a domestic worker for Pui Yin Ma and Sau Chum Ho in a New Jersey suburb and was paid the equivalent of $1.60 per hour, as stated in her legal complaint filed in the US District Court in New Jersey. Ms. Aguilar says she filed the case because she "wanted to prove that I am not a weak person who can just be pushed around. My employers treated me like I was ignorant, and I don't think they expected me to fight. I wanted to show them that all people are equal and that I can take a stand."

Ms. Aguilar (not her real name) is being assisted in her case by the DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, Inc. DAMAYAN organizes low-income Filipino workers, primarily nannies, housekeepers and caregivers, to know their rights and to fight for better conditions. Added Aguilar, "It's important to fight for our rights. Before, I didn't know anything about my rights, like the $5.15 minimum wage for everyone regardless of your immigration status. If you have a case similar to mine, you are not alone. DAMAYAN will always be behind you and you shouldn't be afraid."

The complaint states that Ms. Aguilar "cared for two small children including changing, dressing, bathing, feeding, entertaining and attending to the children if they woke up at night. She also did housekeeping including laundry, cleaning, ironing, grocery shopping, preparing meals, and sometimes washing the car."

Ms. Aguilar is owed an estimated $38,000 in unpaid wages and overtime pay. In addition to the wage violations, she says was poorly treated in a number of ways: she was required to ask permission to leave during her "off" hours, she was made to sleep on a thin mat on the floor in the infant's room, and she was expected to attend to the child at night.

"DAMAYAN has worked on similar cases before and won. So much of our work involves educating our members that we have the right to be treated with dignity and to be paid for our work according to the laws -- whether we are documented or not," said Ana Liza Caballes, coordinator of DAMAYAN.

Caballes said that DAMAYAN has launched a campaign to ensure that Ms. Aguilar is paid the unpaid wages and damages due to her. "We're supporting Ms. Aguilar's case not only so that she will be paid what she is owed under the law, but so that others in her situation will also step forward, and so that employers will know that they cannot treat their domestic workers this way. We can only stop abusive employers when we support one another and stand up for our rights," Caballes concluded.