“It almost seems as if the Alawites now in power feel as though it’s a duty to all of those Alawites who have raised their sect into a position of power in Syria,” said Lesch. “That it would be betraying what they had done if they let go of power.”

For all its faults, the Assad regime has cultivated a kind of secular pluralism that has allowed different religions to coexist relatively peacefully. And the protestors themselves have been calling for national unity.

But as the conflict between the protestors and the regime intensifies, so does the potential for exacerbating the differences that lie beneath the surface. Robin Yassin-Kassab, a London-based writer of Syrian descent, says there are two poles of Syrian existence and you can’t ignore either one of them.

“One of them is the sectarianism, which is bad,” Yassin-Kassab said. “It exists. We can’t pretend it doesn’t exist. Amongst some people it exists quite strongly. On the other hand, there’s this ancient tradition, thousands of years old, before Islam and Christianity really, this ancient tradition of disparate groups living together in cities and coexisting. Syrian history kind of oscillates between these two poles.”

Yassin-Kassab says the Syrian regime is stoking fears of sectarian conflict to shore up support. He says the regime wants to portray the demonstrations as akin to the violent tactics of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria in the 1980s.

The government’s crackdown back then culminated in a massacre of 20,000 people in the town of Hama. It still haunts people today. But, Yassin-Kassab says the two situations are not the same.

“Now we’ve had Alawis and Christians and Druze and so on have been involved in the protests,” said Yassin-Kassab. “There have also been people from all communities shot and tortured and the overwhelming majority of slogans are for national unity. People are calling things like “the Syrian people are One. It’s not a sectarian uprising and the regime is trying to pretend that it is.”

Yassin-Kassab shared an ominous anecdote to share about a friend from a prominent Alawite family unconnected to the regime.

“His parents are receiving threatening phone calls from anonymous numbers,” said Yassin-Kassab. “People saying things like ‘We know where you are, we’re coming after you, your time is up.’ His parents believe that these are Syrian Sunni Muslims, ordinary people, calling up and threatening what’s going to happen to the whole community once this regime has fallen. I believe and my friend believes that it’s actually more likely the Mukhabarat, the secret police, who are calling them up trying to scare them.”

Historian Anne Alexander, a fellow at Cambridge University, also thinks the regime is trying to use sectarianism as a counterrevolutionary tool. She says the real differences in Syria are not ones of religious identity but of social class and geography.

“One view point that I fundamentally disagree with is the perspective that sees the Middle East as some kind of fermenting mass of people who all hate each other on religious grounds,” said Alexander. “And that once you remove the strong state this will all fly apart into people trying to kill each other because their neighbor is from a different religion.”

In fact, says Alexander, the history of the region shows that the gut reaction of national protest movements is to fight for unity, while time and time again, the gut reaction of regimes is to use any mechanisms they can to break that unity apart. In Syria’s case that impulse could hasten the slide toward civil war.

From the National Geographic Archives
Laura Lynch: Taking Former Colonial Masters to Court
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Clark Boyd on Yuri Gagarin (and that video of the space flute duet)
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Bay of Pigs

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The text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.

Protest in Bahrain (Photo: Sean Carberry)

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A hospital ward in Benghazi (Photo: Susan Schulman)

Raisa is a scrub nurse from Ukraine, and one of the few nurses left at the hospital.

“Now I’m the charge nurse manager because our manager has left,” she said.

Raisa said that she’s doing what she can to fill in. Of the 24 nurses in her department, only five remain. They don’t have any night staff. That means long hours and double duty for the remaining nurses, as well as the doctors. Marti Fakhir, a Libyan doctor here who was born in the US, said it’s been a challenge.

“The first days we had medical students and nursing students, and we doctors were doing the nursing upstairs,” Fakhir said. “It’s difficult to split yourself between the two. We don’t know how much longer we can go on.”

Dr. Jebri Lehouidi is a member of the temporary health committee in Benghazi. Sitting in the office of a small clinic in the center of the rebel-held city, he ran through some grim statistics.

Most are foreign nurses

“Most of the qualified nurses are working in ICU and CCU, and as scrub nurses,” he said. Most of them are foreign nurses – from the Philippines, Ukraine, India and elsewhere — and most of them have returned home.

Lehouidi said of the roughly 500 nurses in Benghazi’s hospitals, more than half have left.

“We have a crisis in nursing,” said Lehouidi. “I talk with my colleagues in Zawiya and Tripoli, and they say the same situation.”

He said Libya has long relied on foreign nurses from the former Soviet bloc and beyond, in part, because Libya lacks strong nursing programs, particularly specialized training for ICU or scrub nurses.

(photos: Susan Schulman)

There’s also the gender line in Libya that discourages women from pursuing public professions, he said.

Time to go

Now, with the fighting threatening to drag on, foreign nurses like Raisa say they want to go.

“We thought the war would just take one or two days,” she said. “Nobody expected it would take as long as it has.”

Raisa said that even though the hospitals are hurting and patients may suffer, it’s just too dangerous for her to stay.

But, across town, at Jellah Hospital, another group of foreign nurses takes a different view. Encita Siblog is the charge nurse in the hospital’s ICU.

“Most of the nurses here are from the Philippines,” Siblog said, “and most of us have decided to stay.”

She knows that staying in Libya is against doctor’s orders, and she and the other nurses are also receiving pressure from home.

“Most of our families want us to go or the embassies are telling us go,” Siblog said. “They have arranged a ship to bring us home, but we just decided to stay.”

When asked why she, she shrugs.

“I have been here for the last 18 years, and after 18 years, it is difficult to go,” she said with a laugh.

Then, she added that some of the younger nurses who’ve only been here a few months are following her lead. “And they said if you’re not going we’re also staying.”

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The text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

Marco Werman: I’m Marco Werman, this is The World, a coproduction of the BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Boston. Pro-Gaddafi forces appear to have the upper hand in Libya today.  They pounded rebel positions in Zawiya, a western town near the capital town of Tripoli, and they bombarded the rebels trying to hold onto the oil port of Ras Lanuf. Libya’s state-run TV touted government victories, but in many cases it’s impossible to verify what exactly took place on the ground.  Foreign journalists are banned from many of the areas where fighting is taking place. Mohamed Husein is an editor with BBC Monitoring, which tracks media around the world.  Muhamed is Libyan and he’s been keeping up on TV, radio, web and print news out of Libya. Based on what you’re seeing, Mohamed Husein, what parts of Libya’s population are in an active revolt against Gaddafi and what parts remain loyal to him?

Mohamed Husein: The eastern part, which is basically, they’re strictly right at the middle; so from Ras Lanuf, which is more or less in the center, eastward right up to the Egyptian border, that part has slipped from under the control of Gaddafi all together. West of that line you have Gaddafi’s hometown, which is the town of Sirte, which is presumed to be his support base, although nobody’s ever engaged an opinion over that because he comes from the town or because the town is populated mostly by people from the same tribe as he is does not necessarily mean that everyone there supports him. And from there westward with a couple of exceptions, the kind of revolt that we’ve witnessed in the eastern part of Libya has not been evident as far as we can see.

Werman: I mean it sounds like it’s not so pat and dry that the rebels are in the east and the rebels loyal to Gaddafi are in the west.  How do you see it?

Husein: It’s not that simple.  To begin with, a lot of the security apparatus of Colonel Gaddafi is actually concentrated in the west because that’s where the center of government is.  Tripoli is a wash with secret police, revolutionary committees and so on.  Also, the Praetorian Guard or this special protection brigade of the Libyan army, which are lead by Gaddafi’s sons, they are based in Tripoli and their whole purpose is to protect the regime and in particular, Colonel Gaddafi. So people are aware of the security concentration and that’s why there’s just a greater reluctance to take risks, but also the consequences of going out in the street are pretty harsh.  They’re dealt with very, very quickly and very harshly.  The reports of this have been supported by video posted on social network sites shows people shot and beaten up.

Werman: Now, Tunisia and Egypt were pretty easy to characterize as uprisings, but Libya presents a slightly different situation.  I mean we’re kind of struggling with what to call it — a rebellion, a civil war — do Libyans have a word for what’s going on there right now?

Husein: Libyans are calling it the revolution, basically.  They refer to it as the revolution and they refer to people rising up against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi as revolutionary.  I’m slightly uncomfortable with the characterization of civil war because for civil war you basically need sort of two coherent groups.  And in Libya the people opposed to Gaddafi are not really a coherent group in any shape or form. I know there is an interim transitional national council, but I’m not sure that they both sway[? 3:33] or that all the people are in opposition. In terms of the arms concernment of the rebellion, they again seem to lack any structure.  It seems to be individuals armed and together for sort of moving one direction or another. The other thing that is noteworthy is that the number involved in armed skirmishes, they are quite small.  You know, we talk about groups of up to 60 people perhaps — the Libyan army on one side and the rebels on the other — more or less heavily armed, base more than number, involved in skirmishes that tend not to last very long. So I think we’re in some way away from civil war as we have seen in other parts of the African continent.

Werman: Well, here’s something else in the Libyan lexicon that’s causing some confusion and you may be able to clear up.  We’ve been hearing about tribes and clans in Libya, and that some tribes are supporting Gaddafi’s government, others are not.  Is there a brief way to describe the role of tribes in Libya?  I mean, is even using the word tribe accurate?

Husein: Well, tribe and clans they are part of Libyan society and always have been.  Initially when after Gaddafi took power, tribal affiliation was frowned upon, but as Gaddafi began to lose support amongst his natural constituency within the armed forces, he then began to emphasize the tribal aspect of society, in particular within the military where tribes are being played against one another. But in terms of the society at large, people identify themselves with tribes when it suits them.  Tribal chiefs don’t really have any authority over anybody at all.  Most people see themselves as Libyan first.  Some seem themselves as Libyan first, Arab second, or visa versa.  And then they’ll fall back on a tribe. There is however the one aspect of this, the overall impression it gives in terms of support for or against Gaddafi.  So it’s a lot of tribes would not declare their support for the rebellion, so this generates the general perception that the regime is losing support, and that might lead to more concrete circumstances.

Werman: Mohamed Husein, a Libyan, is an editor with BBC Monitoring, which tracks media around the world.  Thanks again.

Husein: Thank you.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.

by Sean Carberry
Ajdebia, Libya

Emergency room in Ajdebia, Libya (Photo: Sean Carberry)

It’s a large man in his 50s. No one can confirm whether he is a rebel or a bystander. His physique is not one of a soldier, but rebels here come in all shapes and sizes.

More than a dozen people scurry around the emergency room. One doctor pulls back a bandage on the patient’s chest to reveal a small round hole.

“A bullet in his chest, inlet and exit.” says Dr. Ahmed Raduwan. He has “air in this lung and blood in this lung.”

Dr. Raduwan heads of one of three teams working the ER. He’s Egyptian. He and five other doctors came from Cairo 10 days ago. He says what they are dealing with at this small hospital is way beyond its capacity.

“This is the best we can do now,” says Dr. Raduwan. “But for four days, in Ajdbiya all the patients who came here, there’s no patients that died. All the patients we received, no one died here,” he says
Dina Omar is a 30-year-old cardiologist from Egypt, and she’s part of the Cairo team.

They have all volunteered to help their neighbors. “I was in our Egyptian revolution,” she says, “I was in Tahrir Square, and I know what doctors mean to protestors, so when I saw these ugly images on TV and how they inhumanly treat them, I decide that I have to be here.”

And “here” happens to be a hospital that was never designed to handle casualties of war.

“Actually it’s a challenging condition for any hospital,” says Dr. Omar. “Even if it is big with better equipment so it would be a challenge also. Here it’s also not that good or not that big hospital.”

In fact, the ER here is one small room that looks like it can fit at most two patients. But it’s not just the facilities that are the problem says Dr. Omar.

“We have deficiency regarding staff, specialized, qualified staff,” she says. “Of course hospital staff, many of them are very good, but they are not enough.”

But, she says that they are coping. Though it it hasn’t been easy. About a week ago, there was fighting just a few miles from the hospital.
“Here it’s serious condition,” says Dr. Omar. “They shoot at us too many times, while we were sleeping we heard bomb and gunshot.” She says that it’s not easy to work in those conditions. “I was scared,” she says. “but I’m vaccinated now. I’m not anymore.”

(photos: Susan Schulman)

Some of the people working in the hospital are still scared, and not just because of the fighting. Marwa is 22-year-old medical student. This is her first day volunteering at the hospital. She’s joined by 29 other classmates from medical school in Libya. Marwa wears a surgical gown and a headscarf.

“I’m worried about, I have not all training, not too much,” she says wearing a surgical gown and a blue headscarf. “I just try to help and learn to help,” says Marwa. “I’m so scared. I’m so afraid, afraid from people who will come injured and maybe they will be dying. I hope they not die,” she says.

In addition to scared medical students, there are untrained volunteers, from people in the neighborhood to a troop of Libyan Boy Scouts. Saleh Omar is one of a handful of scouts on hand today. “We are here for helping, for lifting, for making some first aid procedures,” he says.

But, as much as the scouts and other volunteers want to help, Dr. Dina Omar isn’t sure that they’re serving the patients’ best interests. She says that there are many volunteers with no medical training or experience. “They are a burden really,” says Dr. Omar. She says that they make the situation more chaotic and bizarre and they rush around not knowing what to do. “So it doesn’t help at all,” she says.

It’s also not easy when most of the doctors have never encountered cases like the dozens wheeling up to Ajdabiya hospital today, says Dr. Anis Hweis. He usually works in Tobruk hospital in northeast Libya about seven hours away.

“We are not used to see this before,” he says, “bullet injury, this firearms, bullets, no. We don’t have very good experience, but I believe we have good experience.”

Cardiologist Dina Omar (Photo: Susan Schulman)

Dr Dina Omar says that she and the other medical personnel from Cairo had hoped to go home by now. “They need us, they need us,” she says. “Yesterday we were thinking, me and my team, we were thinking to leave, but they said no, please stay.” So, for now, Dr. Omar and the rest of the Egyptian team are staying.

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Western governments — including the United States — have been slow in announcing concrete steps to support the rebellion in Libya. But Friday, the White House said the US is imposing sanctions against the Gaddafi regime — and cutting diplomatic ties with Tripoli.

Events are moving so quickly in Libya, that it’s anyone’s guess what will happen next. But there are several possible scenarios.

One scenario has Gaddafi holding on to power, unleashing a brutal reprisal upon those Libyans who dared to rise up against him. That calls to mind the revenge Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein exacted on the Shia in Southern Iraq and the Kurds in the North following their 1991 uprising against his rule. Saddam lasted another 12 years in power.

But Dartmouth College professor, Dirk Vandewalle, said Saddam’s situation in 1991 wasn’t as dire as Gaddafi’s present one.

“He could kind of in bunker mentality remain in Tripoli,” Vandewalle said. “But then of course major problem, where would he get the resources to support himself and the people that still support him? Because ultimately money comes from the oil fields, and the oil fields are obviously not located in Tripoli.”

A Libya split?

A second scenario also envisions Gaddafi holding on to power, but with his country split in two … with Eastern Libya largely out of his control. Vandewalle said that pretty much describes Libya at the moment. And he said it’s not a good place for a leader to be in.

“Because at that point he’d need to re-conquer the Eastern part of the country so to speak,” he said. “And frankly I don’t think he has enough military hardware and support to make that possible.”

Scenario number three envisions a future Libya without Gaddafi, but with no clear successor. Reva Bhalla is with the global intelligence company Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor. She said such a situation would result in a security vacuum unseen before in the Middle East.

“In Libya, if you have fall of Gaddafi first real example of regime collapse in the region because Gaddafi himself personified this regime,” Bhalla said. “He deliberately kept institutions around him weak, including the army. So without that cohesion from top you can very easily see things breaking down particularly into this east/west split.”

And Paul Sullivan of Georgetown University said a divided Libya wouldn’t last very long considering the country’s economy depends on exporting natural resources.

“Most of natural gas on West coast, but LNG refinery on East coast,” Sullivan said. “Most of oil on East coast, pipeline going to Italy off West coast. The infrastructure is built for country that should be one.”

Security vacuum

It’s the third scenario of a “security vacuum” that most worries observers like Sullivan. But there are signs of hope. For instance in Benghazi, the first major Libyan city to declare its independence from Gaddafi’s rule, life continues relatively smoothly. Shops are open, traffic is flowing, and a new local government is emerging.

Benghazi could be a model for the rest of Libya. But that depends on when Gaddafi leaves, and how he exits.

Many like Libyan-American, Hafed Al-Ghwell say ousting Gaddafi may turn out to be the easy part. The work that follows once he’s gone will be more challenging. Even so, Al-Ghwell said his countrymen back home are up to the job.

“I was just listening to someone in Tripoli saying I swear I don’t even have a stone in my hand,” Al-Ghwell said. “I’m walking into this fire, prepared to die, but I don’t even have stick or stone to defend myself with.”

Al-Ghwell said Libyans may not know what’s in store for them next, but feel anything is better than Gaddafi.

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Archana Pathmanathan’s family lays out a table of spicy curries. (Photo: Ike Sriskandarajah)

Sri Lanka is enjoying a rare period of peace not experienced for 30 years. This new stability can be seen as the nation serves as one of the hosts for the Cricket World Cup. Cricket and the beloved national team, were among the few things that everyone from separatist Tamil rebels to the Sinhalese government could rally behind, even during the height of the South Asian country’s long civil war.

Another thing was food. To an outsider, the differences between Sinhalese and Tamil cuisine might be hard to pinpoint. But with a little training, you can taste the difference.

“We can identify the difference because we know what we’re using,” said Wiji Latha Fernando, a Sinhalese woman living in the capital, Colombo. On a recent day, she was preparing a meal with her mother, who was using a cauldron-sized mortar and pestle. “She’s pounding Maldives fish to make a dish called seeni sambol,” said Wiji.

From generation to generation

In another Colombo neighborhood, Archana Pathmanathan, was also cooking with her mom. Her family is Tamil. Like in many places, food traditions in Sri Lanka are passed down mother to daughter. Every family has its own way of doing things. Still, Wiji and Archana both said you can make some generalizations about Sinhalese versus Tamil cooking.

“Sinhalese food uses more black pepper. Tamils, red chili powder,” Archana said. “Tamils use gingelly oil, but Sinhalese use coconut oil,” said Wiji.

Then there are the speciality items.

“Tamils use Tamarind. Sinhalese use goraka,” said Archana. Goraka, a sun-dried fruit that looks like a piece of charcoal, gives a distinct sour taste, and is key to a lot of Sinhalese food, Wiji said.

Sinhalese grind it to make a paste to cook fish and other curries, like ambul thiyal, a dry rubbed fish curry. That lack of sauce is another characteristic of Sinhalese cooking — Tamil curries tend to have more gravy.

But for all these culinary differences, there is a lot of overlap. After all, the two ethnicities have lived together for millennia on the island, through Tamil kingdoms, Sinhalese kingdoms, and three European colonial rulers.

The secret ingredient

Archana pointed out that their cuisines intersect on one ubiquitous ingredient: “To all foods, it’s a must that we add coconut. Either coconut scrapings or coconut milk to curries. Maybe there’s too much of coconuts here,” she joked.

Like the use of coconut, the shared parts of Sri Lankan culture endured through Sri Lanka’s civil war. You could see that during cricket matches, where even Tamil rebels would trade their jungle camouflage for national jerseys.

You could see it at Tamil Hindu temples where Sinhalese Buddhists would come to worship. And you could see it on any dinner table.

“Maybe we got adapted to Sinhalese food and they got adapted to Tamil food,” Archana said. Wiji added that when you went to Tamil shops, you would see Sinhalese flocking there. “Sinhalese people, they love to eat Tamil food,” she said.

And while they might disagree over black pepper or chili, dry curries or wet, they agree on one thing: They will tell you the food here is hotter and tastier than what’s made in India. “Indians don’t make it very hot,” Wiji said. It’s too watery, Archana added.

The two are united in a love for Sri Lanka cuisine and disdain for what they see as an inferior product.

Archana’s (Tamil) Chicken curry

Ingredients :
Chicken 2 lbs
Sesame Oil 2 tbsp
Cinnamon 1
Cloves 2
Star Anise 1
Black stone flower: little ( the black colored spinach like the one you get along with biriyani masalas)

Archana Pathmanathan explains the Tamil way of cooking alongside her mom and aunt. (Photo: Ike Sriskandarajah)

Onion 1 chopped
Ginger Garlic paste 2 tbsp
Tomato 1 quartered
Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Red Chili Powder 3 tsp
Coriander Powder 3 tsp
Water 2 cups
Coriander Leaves Chopped 5 tbsp

To Grind:
Grated Coconut 5 tbsp

To Crush:
Cumin seeds: 2 tsp
Pepper corn: 1 tsp
Onion: 1 finely chopped

Directions:
Cut chicken into small pieces, clean well in water and keep it aside.
Fry finely chopped onion, pepper corn and cumin seed in oil until onion is translucent, allow it to cool down and grind into fine paste.
Grind the coconut into fine paste.
In a pressure cooker, add sesame oil, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and black stone flower. Immediately add the chopped onion and fry till translucent. Add Ginger Garlic paste and fry until no longer it smells raw. Add the ground onion paste from above and , tomato and fry for a minute. Add Chicken, turmeric, curry leaves and salt and fry for 2 – 3 minutes. Add chili powder, coriander powder and mix well. Allow this to cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the ground coconut paste, water 1 or 2 cups as required and close the lid. Allow it for 3 whistles and take out from the fire. After the pressure is released from the pressure cooker, open the lid and add coriander leaves.

Wiji’s (Sinhalese) Ambul Thiyal

Ingredients:
1 lb. fish (tuna)

Wiji Fernando and her mom, Roslyn Weeratunga, prepare a dish called Seeni Sambol. Seeni means sugary, but the dish, made of caramelized onions, chilies, and pounded Maldive fish, is more hot than sweet. (Photo: Ike Sriskandarajah)

3 cloves garlic chopped
2-inch piece ginger chopped
10 dry chilies (roasted and ground)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. fenugreek
5 pieces goraka
1 tsp. salt
1 onion, finely chopped
1-inch stick cinnamon
2 small sprig curry leaves
1-inch piece of rampa
1/2 cup water
1 little onion

Directions
First wash the fish and cut it into 1-inch cubes and put them in a pan.
Place the garlic, ginger, black pepper, fenugreek, goraka and salt into a food processor or blender and grind into a thick paste. Add a little water if necessary. Add water and remaining ingredients to the fish and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until the gravy is dry.

• American Civil War Experience, London, 2011-2015

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This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

LISA MULLINS: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World. An American historian living in London is stoking a long-dormant controversy. Tom Sebrell is leading walking tours of London that highlight Britain’s strong support for the American south during the US Civil War. It’s controversial because Britain was officially neutral during the war. The World’s Laura Lynch took the tour herself.

LAURA LYNCH:  Right outside the Marble Arch underground station on busy Oxford Street, Tom Sebrell is marshalling the troops. A group of people interested in taking a walk through Britain’s past.

TOM SEBRELL:  We’re going to walk from here to Edgware Road and then when we get to the corner of Edgware Road and Oxford Street, that’s where the tour starts. Alright.

LYNCH: Sebrell stops outside a stately home across the street from Hyde Park.

SEBRELL: This building right here is the first site on the tour. Before we go into the discussion about it I want to talk a little about why there are American Civil War sites in London. Some of you are probably a bit [INDISCERNIBLE] about.. When the war broke out, the Confederacy being a brand new nation realized they had to get foreign recognition in order to win. And that makes sense when you think back to the War of Independence.

LYNCH: Eleven southern, slave-owning states seceded from the United States, the Union, in 1861 and formed the Confederate States of America, “The Confederacy.” The Confederacy came to London, looking for support and it wasn’t hard to find. The British base of operations was here at the home of Sir Alex Beresford-Howe, an author and Conservative politician.

SEBRELL: During the war, Beresford-Howe is going to serve as the chairman of the London branch of the Southern Independence Association and this is their London headquarters.

LYNCH: The Southern Independence Association had branches across Britain, all dedicated to the cause of the confederacy and the break-up of the United States. Their members included much of the aristocracy, driven partly by a desire to secure a steady supply of cotton and partly by a fear that the US was becoming too big, too strong, too fast. Second stop, the home of the Confederacy’s embassy in London. Southern diplomats were very popular here. Sebrell recalls the rock star treatment granted to two of them.

SEBRELL: Now James Murray Mason and John Slidell, they arrive at Southampton and they’re put on the train to London. Immediately upon arriving here they are treated as celebrities and they are taken to Madame Tussauds where wax busts are made for them. God knows where they are now.

LYNCH: Britain was officially neutral. Efforts to push a bill through Parliament forcing the country to officially intervene on the side of the Confederates stalled over the question of slavery. The British had abolished the practice decades before. But Sebrell says that didn’t stop supporters from raising vast amounts of cash through the sale of what was called the Confederate Cotton Bond.

SEBRELL: So the Confederates release the bond in London, Liverpool, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, all those markets. In London and Liverpool it is a huge success from the very beginning and the list of people who subscribe to it is absolutely astonishing. We know for a fact that in the first year of the Cotton Bond being on the London market, it raised over 3 million pounds. Today that is the equivalent of 135 million pounds. So, a lot of money.

LYNCH: The equivalent of 215 million US dollars from, among others, two future Prime Ministers, the money was used to buy weapons, uniforms, even ships. Throughout the war, Abraham Lincoln made use of his own diplomats in London to successfully keep Britain at bay. Today, there’s little recognition of the southern support that swelled here during the war. No plaques or statues of Confederate heroes. Sebrell says Britain simply eradicated that history. For the young Britons on today’s tour, it’s a revelation. Do you think British people know much about what happened here during the Civil War?  Did you know?

BEN: I didn’t now. That’s partly what made me come here. I don’t know many people who know much about the American Civil War, but I just tend to think of it as American’s own business.

CHLOE: I found particularly interesting the Anglo-American dynamics, the relationship within the Civil War. Again, I was quite surprised at the British alliance of the aristocracy with the Americans and, yeah, I didn’t realize there was this much British involvement in the American Civil War.

LYNCH: Tom Sebrell’s tours may not sit well with everyone, especially those who deny there were ever strong pro-south sympathies. But he hopes people will take another look and see that the tension created during the civil war years, suggests the much storied “special relationship” between Britain and the United States of America wasn’t always so close. For The World, I’m Laura Lynch in London.

MULLINS: Tom Sebrell discusses the big money Britain raised for the Confederacy in the US. Watch the video at TheWorld.org.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.

“There’s a friendly atmosphere in Liberia”

For our tour, Korkollie took me to a few historic buildings and museums. Then he took me shopping at a local market. It was hot and sweaty… Filled with commotion and interesting stuff.

“This is cassava snake.
That’s’ a snake?
Yea, that’s a snake.
So you eat that?
No you boil it…”

The snake is a cure for jaundice. The snake, the grilled monkeys, it was a bit off-putting, but, the shopping trip was horribly interesting. Our walking tour progressed to Westpoint. It’s one of the worst slums in West Africa. Korkollie asked if I wanted to see it. I said, take me where you’d normally take a tourist.

Selling grilled monkeys, market in Monrovia

“For the day, I can guarantee you 100 percent. There is nothing that is going to harm you during the day.”

Piles of trash were everywhere. The back alleys reeked of urine. And worse. War amputees hobbled around on crutches: It felt post-apocalyptic, more Mad Max than a nation’s capital. But like a Mad Max film, it was something I won’t soon forget. Though I kept wondering: Who really wants to spend their vacations seeing this?

“It’s definitely for someone that’s a little… not your average tourist, a little on the edge and kind of wants to get out there.”

That’s Seanan Denizot, the co-owner of Wow Liberia tours. She’s an American ex-pat who moved to Liberia for a little adventure herself. Denizot says, look, Liberia isn’t Hawaii, and that’s kinda the point. She says people who book her tours know that.

“They’ve tend to already traveled around Africa a lot and have maybe missed out on West Africa cause over the last 20 years, this area, it hasn’t been easy to access it. And now it’s their chance to see what’s going on. They don’t just want to see the kind of safari life that you can get in any safe African country. They really want to see something that other people haven’t really been able to experience firsthand.”

Nana's Lodge in Robertsport

Denizot admits that opening a tour company in Liberia may be premature. Business is slow. Some months they’ll only book one tour. But Denizot sees possibility getting in on the ground floor. Trendy new restaurants and small resorts are slowly popping up. And she says the natural attractions almost sell themselves.

Robertsport is – or was – the nation’s prime beach destination. There used to be a luxury hotel here, but it was destroyed during the war. Today, you can rent a cabin right on the beach. It’s like camping outside… with a big, comfortable bed protected by a tent canvas.
The place was pretty much deserted the weekend I went. Tourists haven’t really caught on yet and Liberians don’t take beach vacations.

“I have never played in the ocean throughout my whole life. Never. (I’m) Very afraid of the ocean.”

That’s 44-year old Liberian Edward Forday. He says people here are afraid of the strong current and undertow. And then there’s the negees, people who live under the water and perform witchcraft.

“The negees… Some people will say they don’t believe it. But you that live in Africa and you see what they can do. Sometimes they confess it. That yes, I did this, and I took this person under the water and this and that and all that. You believe it. Yea.”

The new RLJ Kendeja Resort in Monrovia

If you’re not intimidated by the negees, you’ve got a lot of ocean to enjoy.

“To surf by yourself, with you and your friends, or you and your brother, people spend their whole lives dreaming about doing. And to be able to come here and be able to do it by yourself is pretty special.”

On the beach, I met 25-year-old Australian Andrew James. James and his brother were spending close to a year traveling around Africa with their surfboards, hanging out and filming a documentary about the African surf. In Robertsport, they were camping on the beach, eating food from tin cans and buying the day’s catch from local fishermen. Of all the places he’s surfed, James gave Liberia the highest marks.

Surfers in Robertsport

“It’s not like being in Morocco or being in Indonesia where it’s just hundreds of surfers. And that, when it’s really developed brings its own culture. There’s big nightlife, and there’s heaps of drugs and alcohol and that sort of stuff. Whereas here, it’s just beginning, it’s so different.”

But the solitude can also be un-nerving. I went for a swim in Robertsport. No lifeguards, no other tourists, no friends nearby – my mind started to wander.

“The negees… Sometimes they confess it. That yes, I did this, and I took this person under the water…”

I don’t believe in underwater spirits, but still, I cut my swim short and got back on land. Hey, why take a risk? Negees aside, this could be a spectacular vacation spot. Problem is the Liberian government isn’t terribly interested in promoting the country. At least not yet.
After a 14-year civil war, Liberia is essentially rebuilding itself from scratch. Tourism just isn’t a top priority. Scholastica Doe heads Liberia’s Tourism office.

“We are not in that much of a rush as some of our private sector partners. For them, it’s a lucrative business; they see it booming in other countries in the sub region. And they feel that it can happen overnight once we have electricity, we have water, and the roads are fixed and everything.”

Many of Liberia’s roads look like they’ve been bombed out because, well, they have been bombed out. There’s almost no public electricity service. The country doesn’t even have a single working traffic light.

Typical pothole in Monrovia

Still, Liberian tourism is getting some glowing reviews in newspapers like the New York Times. So for the plucky traveler who wants a beach all to himself, and can brave the underwater spirits, it might be best to get there while the getting is good.

For the World, I’m Jason Margolis, Robertsport, Liberia.

Photos: Jason Margolis

More information:
Liberia Travel and Life Magazine
Nana’s Lodge in Robertsport
Wow Liberia Tourism
Kendeja Resort and Villa in Monrovia
“Thirty Thousand,” African surf documentary

Liberia. Source: CIA The World Factbook

The West African nation of Liberia suffered through an on-again, off-again civil war for 14 years from 1989 to 2003. As many as 250,000 people were killed. The country was economically devastated: Roads were destroyed, sewage and water largely ceased functioning, and electricity was knocked out throughout the entire country. A generation of young people, many of whom were child soldiers, never received a formal education. Many were psychologically traumatized by a brutal and at-times bizarre war.

The country has been at peace since United Nations peacekeepers came to Liberia in 2003. There are signs of recovery – a freshly-paved road or new restaurant bring hope – but progress has been difficult and slow. Formal unemployment remains alarmingly high, upwards of 60 to 80 percent.

Jason Margolis in Liberia

Liberians discuss Charles Taylor Trial

While in Liberia Jason Margolis asked people there how they felt about the war crimes prosecution of Charles Taylor. Anchor David Baron speaks with Margolis to find out about the reaction in Liberia. Read the full story here and
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Liberia struggles with land disputes

The West African nation of Liberia needs a functioning judicial system badly for many reasons, including for settling land disputes. During the country’s 14-year civil war, which ended in 2003, many Liberians fled their country. In the past few years many people have returned home, and some have found other people living on their land. Read the full story here and Download MP3

Liberian Proverbs

Jason Hepps with the UNHCR in Saclepea, Liberia

Bribes and leverage in Monrovia traffic

John Patrick Van Rensburg (Photo: Jason Margolis)

In Liberia, a different kind of factory

In Liberia, a different kind of factory. Photo: Jason Margolis

A new sewing factory in Monrovia is producing t-shirts bound for the United States. It’s staffed by 32 Liberian women, and an American boss who has returned to his native country. The enterprise is trying to become one of the first start-up factories in the world, and the very first in Africa, to manufacture “fair trade certified” apparel. The women receive a fair wage, health insurance, and a monthly bag of rice. Read full post here (Photo: Jason Margolis) Download MP3

A conversation with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

President Sirleaf. Photo Jason Margolis

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Reporter Jason Margolis got a chance to sit down with President Sirleaf in her office and ask a range of questions about how her country can economically recover after 14 years of Civil War. Sirleaf took office as the president of Liberia for a six-year term beginning in 2006. She will run for re-election next year.

Audio Slideshow: Idi Amin Slept Here

Audio Slideshow: The Ducor Hotel

The Ducor hotel in the Liberian capital of Monrovia was once considered one of the finest hotels in all of Africa. The hotel shut its doors shortly after civil war erupted in Liberia in 1989. During the war, the Ducor became home to thousands of squatters. A few dozen remain today. A Libyan company now has plans to revamp the old hotel. A few old employees of the Ducor took reporter Jason Margolis around for a tour. Watch the slideshow.

Helping Liberia’s former child soldiers

Helping Liberia’s former child soldiers. Photo: Jason Margolis

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Liberia’s capital city, Monrovia, is swarming with young men who were former child soldiers in Liberia’s civil war. Most of the young men are uneducated and have few job skills. Many have short attention spans, trouble saving money, and are prone to petty crime and violence. A team of American researchers and Liberian social workers are researching how, and whether, this culture can be transformed. Read full post here and see Jason’s photos of Liberian youth.

Re-opening tourism in Liberia

Liberian beach. Photo: Jason Margolis

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Before Liberia descended into war, the country was an African travel hotspot: five-star hotels, beautiful beaches, and a rich cultural history. Today, tourism dollars would certainly help Liberia’s economic recovery. But is Liberia ready to re-open for tourists?
Read the full post and see more of Jason’s photos from Liberia.

World Cup under way in South Africa

Football match in Liberia. Photo: Laura Cunial

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The 2010 soccer World Cup has opened with a spectacular ceremony in Johannesburg. It included a tribute to the six African teams that have qualified for the tournament, symbolized by six branches of a baobab tree. It’s the first FIFA World Cup on African soil and in Liberia, too, soccer fever is palpable, even though Liberia’s team isn’t even playing. Jason Margolis has more. See more of Jason’s photos from Liberia.

Multimedia

• See a slideshow of Jason Margolis’ photos from Liberia

Liberia facts

• Capital: Monrovia
• Population: 3,685,076 (July 2010 est.)
• Religions: Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40%
• More facts here

Pulitzer prize-winning author Tracy Kidder (right) stopped by our studios this morning for an interview with Anchor Jeb Sharp. Kidder was here to talk about his new book, entitled Strength in What Remains. The book tells the story of Deo, a survivor of the decades long civil war that ripped apart the central African nation of Burundi. Kidder follows Deo’s story as the young African arrives in New York City having fled the ethnic violence in his country.

Click here for more information about the book.

Here’s a short video of a part of the interview:

An Interview with Author Tracy Kidder from Clark Boyd on Vimeo.