Scenes from Africa
Riots in Nairobi, Kenya
The dangers of covering riots are obvious, but the Nairobi riots had elements that no one could predict. Both the police and the demonstrators had no experience in riots. Police would throw smoke grenades against the wind so the smoke would come back and choke them. I was once standing next to this policeman who released the safety pin on the grenade and then dropped it in his legs. We all run for cover and we all had a good laugh. The demonstrators on the other hand where just out to have fun and release their aggression. The would throw stones to anything that looked to them breakable. Buildings, cars, and unfortunately journalists. Corrine Dufka, a Reuters photographer got hit on the head by one of this stones and ended up with several stitches. Homeless children would join the riots because they had the once-in-a-life-time opportunity to stone policemen.
Genocide in Rwanda
One of the most horrifying genocide of the second part of the century. More than 750,000 Rwandans Tutsi are believed to have died in 1994. A year later I visited some of the sites that massacres were carried out. Holy places where a favored as Tutsis would hide believing that the hand of God would protect them. How wrong they were!
Kisangani Zaire
Kisangani must have been one of the touchiest stories most of us ever covered. Camera people and journalists went out every day driving from Kisangani to the refugee camp only to witness some of the most horrific images to come out of Africa. But the images that they all saw was only part of the problem. A large number of journalists had fallen ill from all sorts of various weird diseases.
Disease in one of the hidden dangers of any disaster stricken place that we have to deal with.
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