Job Offer - But A Dangerous One

[Anarchy]

Apologies to Casey for going OT, I'll start a fresh thread on the subject of addiction to shit holes.

a couple who I'm good friends with, can't stay away from Africa either. one ended up getting roped into writing speeches for one of the west African dictators, including an address to the UN, a few years back.

The other probably has an undiagnosed PTSD flare up at the moment, from fighting a loosing battle against serious corruption and malpractice on several big "development" projects in Africa. Their employer removed them from the projects - then, after pissing all over its own belly as it grovelled in front of the corrupt contractors - it failed to get it's supervision contract renewed.

I keep expecting to read of several hundred people getting killed when the inevitable result of the corner cutting actually happens.

T. I. A. (That Is Africa) or when Angola is involved it becomes TIA^A

 

[Casey_03]

@scout86 Thanks for the very sound feedback and questions worth considering; the boss is really my biggest concern. I know him fairly well and know that he is incredibly biased and will edit anything I write to make Russia look bad -- which would blow back on me since I'd be in Russian controlled territory. The posting is new, so I wouldn't be replacing anybody. Previously, this newspaper kept its reporters based in Kiev. Now, they want someone to live in an apartment in Donetsk to report from pro-Russian controlled territory.While I don't trust the boss or think he'd care too much if something happened to me, I know dozens of other people on the ground there who would help me if I needed it. BUT I think the best bet is to negotiate some really good insurance and have a plan B in place just in case things go haywire. I think it is worth the risk as long as I have some insurance. I have been looking for more meaningful work for a long time and I think this is it. Throughout this conflict, I have increasingly become angry that a) so much of the reporting is distorted to be flat-out propaganda - on both sides and b) the residents affected by the conflict don't seem to get enough coverage. Maybe I can change that. And, I almost forgot, I will definitely talk to my therapist about this before making any decisions! @darrenS - Thank you for your comments as well. Although I don't think this plan of mine is motivated by PTSD or a death wish, I do have concerns that the PTSD could get worse, so I will take your words to heart and seriously consider why I want to do this. And same to you @Anarchy - Appreciate your comments. I will have to do more soul-searching about whether or not this is just me not seeing other options. It could very well be.

 

[Anarchy]

@Casey_03 The idea does seem to have got you inspired. Are there less biased editors and news outlets you could go there for?

Have you read the story of how Malcolm Muggeridge and a Welsh guy who's name I forget, secretly travelled to Ukraine in 1933, to investigate rumours of a "famine"?

They had their reports smuggled out in diplomatic bags, and the then Manchester Guardian (our beloved "Grauniad") - really did not want to publish what they had both reported - it went against all that they and their readership wanted to believe.

Walter Duranty, stayed in Moscow, regurgitated the platitudes he had been fed by regime's propagandists, and won a Pulitzer for it...

 

[Casey_03]

@Anarchy - I've considered doing freelance reporting from there (which gives you more control over who publishes your stuff), but it's not very reliable -- you often have to wait months to get paid. And because I pay $800 in student loans each month, I'd need a steady monthly income. Another reason the Ukraine job is appealing is that the salary is based in U.S. currency, so it's not susceptible to currency fluctuations. My current job pays in Russian currency, so its worth just keeps falling ... and falling ... and falling. I have not read about Malcolm Muggeridge, but I will make a point to do so - can't say I'm surprised about the story though. Even now, I can say I have firsthand experience of a lot of important reports not getting published just because they will piss someone off or threaten diplomatic relations. It's sad that journalism hasn't changed much ... The funny thing is, most of the "Russia experts" appearing on CNN, NBC and all those U.S. talk shows about the Ukraine crisis (and writing for many Western publications), do not speak Russian or Ukrainian and have only been here for two-day visits from time to time. That says a lot about mainstream journalism today ...

 

[joeylittle]

@Casey_03, just reading your writing about the new job opportunity, it sounds (to me) like you are excited about it. If you can get insured (I don't know a thing about what goes into that), wouldn't life insurance with your father as the beneficiary relieve your concern about the loans all defaulting to him?

Also, the currency thing actually sounds like a step in the right direction.

I'm not recommending you go, just seeing that there are ways to eliminate your initial concern about the debt, should something happen to you. And change can lead to more change, but not changing things will only result in things not changing. if that makes sense. So this new position might not even be something you are in for long, but it might get you to the next thing.

 

[scout86]

The fact that you know other people on the ground there sounds like a huge plus. The editing doesn't sound like such a good thing, but there's not much you can do about that, I suppose. (Can you get away with doing a little blogging on the side?)

I heard a story in the last day or so, from a major US network, interviewing local people in the Ukraine. I think you're right, they have largely been left out of the coverage and they are the ones who are paying the biggest price. I think their stories deserve to be heard. I also think, in the long run, if the rest of the world comes to see that this is affecting real people who have real lives, instead of it just being some kind of abstraction, maybe there will be more of a motivation to find a better way to work things out.

Where I live, I have limited access to free network programing and I refuse to spend money on satellite TV. I listen to public radio a lot. In their coverage of the war in Iraq, they got acquainted with a few local individuals who were willing to tell their stories and they checked in periodically with these people over time. The most recent was checking in with a guy from Mosul, just the other day. I appreciate that kind of reporting. THOSE people very much have "boots on the ground" and yet they are so often over looked.

I think you're doing the right thing, by checking things out and running the idea past others. Stay as safe as you reasonably can, where ever you are!

 

[AlmostFellForIt]

Is it possible that wanting to work in such an environment is to do with wanting to stay adrenalized?

I know for years I have been fascinated (and thus worked in) heavily complex industrious , almost macabre and significant industries like refineries and processing plants were the risks are high and the responsibilities are immense.The bigger, scarier and more confronting, the more in love I was.

Only recently I found out I'm a flight type adrenalized individual... And this environment supports being adrenalized.

I realized this when I left this environment and went to an office job where I effectively had a breakdown because the constant flight mode endangerment seeking part of me wasn't being satisfied.

Weird huh, took me years to work this out.