News from Former Fellows
2007
Press Release
ICWA Fellow Leaves Pakistan Under Threat of Deportation
ICWA Welcomes Home Institute Fellow Nicholas Schmidle; Expresses Concern over Situation in Pakistan
CONTACT
Steve Butler, ICWA Executive Director
#202-364-4068
January 12, 2008 (Washington, D.C.) -- The Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA) today welcomed Institute Fellow Nicholas Schmidle home to Washington D.C. from Pakistan and expressed concern that Schmidle left as a result of threatened deportation by the Pakistan government.
“Nick has been living in Pakistan as an Institute Fellow and writing about that society for the last two years,” said Steven Butler, Executive Director of ICWA. “He has done extraordinary reporting about Pakistan and has scrupulously observed the terms of his visa throughout that time. We are proud of the work that he has done and disappointed that it cannot continue.”
Schmidle received the ICWA Fellowship in 2005 and has since published reports from South Asia for the Institute. He also has contributed articles to a wide range of publications, most recently the January 6, 2008 New York Times Sunday Magazine article "Next Gen Taliban" and a recent article in Slate, the on-line magazine, at http://www.slate.com/id/2181778/.
Schmidle, who hopes to write a book about his experiences in Pakistan, will be returning to Washington, DC, today and will join a panel on Monday titled "Pakistan in Peril" featuring veteran journalists and Pakistan-watchers Steve Coll and Peter Bergen as well as former Bush administration National Security Council senior official Flynt Leverett. The panel will be moderated by Steven Clemons Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation Publisher, www.TheWashingtonNote.com.
“Contrary to some press reports that Schmidle was deported, he actually left voluntarily once he was informed of the imminent deportation order when Pakistani police visited his home,” said Butler. “Nick loves Pakistan and its people and was sad to leave.”
In recent months, there have been a number of incidents of government harassment of journalists in Pakistan. http://www.cpj.org/news/2008/asia/pak11jan08na.html.
“This incident and Nick’s extraordinary reporting from Pakistan shows the importance of having people like Nick and other Institute Fellows in the field, learning about societies in-depth and writing about what is really happening on the ground,” said Butler, who recently left a position as Foreign Editor at Knight-Ridder newspapers to take over as ICWA Executive Director.
The Institute of Current World Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based Foundation that provides long-term fellowships to young men and women for self-designed study and writing programs in foreign countries. Founded in 1925, the Institute has supported over 150 fellows, many of whom have gone on to play leading roles in journalism, diplomacy, academia and a host of fields. For more information see: www.icwa.org.
Thomas Goltz • November 28, 2007
Thomas Goltz was a fellow in the Turkic Republics of Central Asia 1990-1992.
An interview with Thomas Goltz is now up online in the archive section of the History @ 33 1/3 website. In this edition of the show, we discuss his book, Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic. Over the hour we discuss Azerbaijan's schizophrenic relationship with its immediate neighbors (Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Iran) and how these relationships have influenced the emergence of an Azerbaijani identity. Professor Goltz also relates numerous personal anecdotes from his years covering Azeri politics and war at the end of the Soviet Union.
History @ 33 1/3 is a weekly webmagizine devoted to the discussion of new and classic works in history published by small, academic and non-U.S. Publishing houses. The archive of show is updated weekly and can be subscribed to via iTunes. To find this and other episodes produced by History @ 33 1/3, please go to: www.history3313.com.
Roger Reynolds • November 18, 2007
Roger Reynolds was a fellow in Japan 1966-69 and later went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in music composition.
Contemporary Music Forum
Music by Roger Reynolds
Presented in honor of Let the World In: Prints by Robert Rauschenberg from the National Gallery of Art and Related Collections
6:30 p.m.
East Building Atrium, National Gallery
Pramila Jayapal • November 8, 2007
Former Fellow and Hate Free Zone Executive Director, Pramila Jayapal, was named as one of Puget Sound Business Journal's Women of Influence. Each year, PSBJ's Women of Influence award program shines the spotlight on local businesswomen, community leaders, and philanthropists who are a force in the Seattle community. This year, Pramila is being recognized as one of these outstanding women and will be recognized at an event on November 8 and in a special issue of the newspaper.
Pramila Jayapal • November 7, 2007
Former Fellow Pramila Jayapal on KUOW with Lou Dobbs
Tune in and call in at 9am on Wednesday, 11/7
This Wednesday, Hate Free Zone Executive Director Pramila Jayapal will appear on KUOW's Weekday with Lou Dobbs. Dobbs, host of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, is known for his anti-immigrant rhetoric. In his new book, The War on the Middle Class, Dobbs brings up many points that Hate Free Zone agrees with, including the need to counter attacks on the middle class by corporations, and the need for healthcare reform and better wages. Yet, Dobbs refuses to go the next step and admit that immigrants are in fact victims of the same systems and policies he disavows. Tune in to KUOW at 9am on Wednesday and call in with your comments and questions. KUOW can be heard on 94.9 FM in Seattle on 90.3 FM in Bellingham and 1340 AM in Olympia, or on www.kuow.org.
William Foote • October 29, 2007
Former Fellow in Mexico William Foote was recently honored with an Ashoka Fellowship (www.ashoka.org), one of the most prestigious awards in the social entrepreneurship field. William is the founder and president of Root Capital which was cited for its work in helping to fight rural poverty and conserve natural resources.
Chenoa Egawa • September/October 2007
Former Fellow Chenoa Egawa is currently performing in the world premiere of an original new musical, The Ghosts of Celilo (suh-LIE-low). Presented at the Newmark Theatre in the Portland Center for the Performing Arts in Portland, Oregon. The Ghosts of Celilo will run from from September 28th through October 14th. For more information go to: www.ghostsofcelilo.com.
Earlier this month, with a grant from First Nations Composers Initiative, Chenoa released a new CD titled, Spirit of Salishan. It is a compilation of 12 Coast Salish style and her own original style of hand drum songs.
Information will be available shortly at www.swanclan.com.
Andrew Tabler • September 2007
Recent Institute Fellow Andrew Tabler has published an opinion article in the International Herald Tribune arguing for a new engagement strategy with Syria.
THE U.S. AND SYRIA: Getting down to business
Bryn Barnard • June 2007
Former fellow and ICWA Trustee Bryn Barnard's Seattle Children's Hospital mural made the cover and lead story of the June Health Care Design magazine, the Architectural Digest of the hospital world, and was also covered in Health Facilities Management.
Inspired by the Sound, Health Care Design, June 2007
Journey under the sea, Health Care Design, June 2007
Kid-Tested, parent approved, Health Facilities Management, May 2007
Tyrone Turner • May 2007
Former fellow Tyrone Turner photographs the New Orleans levees, May 2007, for National Geographic and The New York Times.
This is the web publication of levee problems that we uncovered in New Orleans for National Geographic—the full New Orleans article will be published in the magazine in August. We partnered with the NY Times and they published their own story today linking to National Geographic.
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0705/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/us/07levees.html
