Susannah Savage is a journalist and photographer published in The Economist, The Washington Post and others.
To solve them, interpreters must grasp cultural differences as well as linguistic ones Sitting on a muddy floor beneath a tarpaulin roof, Nabila, a 19-year-old Bangladeshi, fiddles with her shoelaces as she listens to Tosmida, a Rohingya woman in her mid-30s. Both are crying. Nabila, a student-turned-interpreter, says awkwardly: “She had it from all of... Continue Reading →
How a shampoo bottle is saving young lives ON HIS first night as a trainee paediatrician in Sylhet, Bangladesh, Mohamad Chisti (pictured above) watched three children die of pneumonia. Oxygen was being delivered to them, through a face mask or via tubes placed near their nostrils, using what is called a basic “low-flow” technique which... Continue Reading →
WHEN a judge in the high court of the Indian state of Rajasthan recently acquitted a man of rape, he noted of the accuser, “Her hymen was ruptured and vagina admitted two fingers easily. The medical opinion is that the prosecutrix may be accustomed to sexual intercourse.” The implication was that only a virgin can... Continue Reading →
It will help Bangladeshi mothers who work in factories FOR the feeding of babies, everyone agrees that “breast is best”. It is not, however, always convenient. Textile workers in Bangladesh, who are mostly women, are entitled to four months’ maternity leave. Once this is over, they often end up parking their children with relatives when... Continue Reading →
Even as Sweden has second thoughts about aspects of its ultra-generous system WHEN Johan Braven had his first child he took nine months of leave. For the second he took ten months, the same amount as his wife. “I was afraid of not having the bond if I didn’t spend time at home with the... Continue Reading →
The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies A century after India ended the system of indentured labour, its diaspora is building a shared identity DOOKHEE GUNGAH, born of Indian migrants, began life in 1867 in a shed in Mauritius and worked as a child cutting sugar cane. By his death in 1944, he was... Continue Reading →
French Guiana, in South America, seeks more autonomy from France Protests in the second-poorest of France’s overseas departments enter their fifth week OF ALL the voters fuming about neglect by out-of-touch politicians in distant Paris, the people of French Guiana have perhaps the strongest case. It is the second-poorest of France’s five overseas departments (DOMs).... Continue Reading →
Overfishing and the island’s unique geography both play a role WHEN Julian Creedon moved from Jersey to Réunion in 2006 the island seemed like a surfer’s paradise: “White beaches, epic waves, it was perfect.” But last month Alexandre Naussance, a 26-year-old fellow surfer, became the eighth person to be killed by a shark in the... Continue Reading →
Europe is trying to teach its gender norms to refugees. This turns out to be more complicated than it sounds WHEN Julian Creedon moved from Jersey to Réunion in 2006 the island seemed like a surfer’s paradise: “White beaches, epic waves, it was perfect.” But last month Alexandre Naussance, a 26-year-old fellow surfer, became the eighth... Continue Reading →
