attitudes of others
Drive-by Horse Shooting
Police last week identified a man whom they accused of shooting a horse that was pulling an Amish family in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, back in November. The story highlights the continuing difficulties that some Amish have in dealing with their neighbors. On Sunday evening about 9:00 p.m., November 24, 2013, an Amish family—father, mother, […]
Nubians Recognized in Egyptian Constitution
National Geographic covered a lot of familiar ground in its recent news report on the Nubians of Egypt, but it also included some interesting information about Nubian culture and current affairs. The journalist writing for the Geographic, Peter Schwartzstein, begins his story by recounting his meeting with Fatma Emam Sakory. She arrived late. When she […]
Nubian Recognition in New Egyptian Constitution
The new Egyptian constitution, completed at the beginning of December, included a few political gains for the Nubians, but at least one young intellectual activist is not entirely satisfied. Fatma Emam Sakory, a freelance researcher and translator, was a member of the consultative office of Haggag Oddoul, the senior Nubian writer who represented the Nubians […]
Amish Reluctance to File Lawsuits
Last week a guest blogger for the Christian Science Monitor reported that Ohio Amish farmers are being cheated by Marcellus shale fracking companies, which know that they will not sue them for fraud. James Burgess, the Monitor blogger, cited an earlier report in the New Republic that discussed the story of Lloyd Miller, an Amish […]
More Agitation at Lake Tanganyika Resorts
A tragedy a month ago at an expensive American-owned tourist lodge on the coast of Lake Tanganyika, which resulted in the death of a pregnant Fipa woman and her fetus, is back in the news again—at least in Africa. New allegations against the lodge and the callous insensitivity of its staff reveal the depths of […]
A Tragedy in Tanzania Near an American Hotel
A pregnant Tanzanian woman and her unborn child, quite possibly Fipa people, died along the shore of Lake Tanganyika recently, and the grieving family is blaming the hostile attitudes of a tourist hotel owned by Americans. The story raises the quandaries of protecting the security of the rich when they relax in luxury amidst much […]
New Hutterite Colony Stirs Opposition
A South Dakota Hutterite colony is planning to split in half and establish another one in North Dakota, but as sometimes happens, there has been opposition in the rural area where they plan to build the new one. The Bohnsack Township Board, in Traill County, ND, held a hearing about the application by the Millbrook […]
Mbuti in a Squalid Refugee Camp
Deodat Mukankusi told a reporter, “we fled our small village in the woods when men carrying weapons invaded it.” She and about 800 other Mbuti have been forced by the seemingly endless fighting in their original home, the Ituri Forest, to migrate to a refugee camp at Kanyaruchinya, south of Goma, in South Kivu Province […]
Amish Attacked in New York and Welcomed in Maine
Such contrasts. According to news reports last week, aggressive vandals have been attacking an Amish community in Troupsburg, N.Y., while local residents in Fort Fairfield, Maine have been enthusiastically welcoming recent Amish immigrants. Sheriff Joel Ordway of Steuben County, N.Y., indicates that the crime spree, which began last month, has included an attempted arson. So […]
Amish Newcomers in Missouri
In rural northern Missouri, Maudie Oliver doesn’t mind earning a lot of money each year by driving the local Amish, but that doesn’t stop her from condemning their pacifism. Along with other residents of Schuyler County, she is proud of her patriotism. “They do not honor the flag or go to the military,” she said. […]
