Lerner KL.
Washington — Syria's Use of Chemical Weapons: We Must Act. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
AbstractAUGUST 28, 2013
Washington — An attack on Syria may indeed spread the war -- and risks escalation and backlash -- but larger interests are at stake. Like it or not, the US is the world's sheriff in these matters.
A deeply flawed analysis recently published in the Guardian exposes the weakest of all arguments against the West taking action, that being because, "chemical weapons are far from being the greatest threat to Syria's people."
The point is that WMD use is a threat to ALL humanity. (more)
Photo Credits: Save the Children of Syria. TAHIR SQUARE, Egypt — While Egypt's Revolution has, at least for now, moved into a battle for ballots, the legacy of Arab Spring remains bloodied by bullets and bombs in Syria. The destruction, danger, and death in Syria is not new but groups in Egypt tried to raise awareness during the 2012 Egyptian Presidential campaign, both as a direct call to action and as warning of what might happen should civil war break out in Egypt. 25 May, 2012. ©LMG. Photo by K. Lee Lerner. All rights reserved.
Lerner KL.
Cambridge, Mass -- A Union of Higher Ideals (July 3, 2013). Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
AbstractCambridge, Mass. July 3, 2013 -- It's the sesquicentennial of Pickett's charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
Given the significant advantages enjoyed by the industrialized North, without a loss of resolve by the Union or significant foreign intervention on behalf of the South, the American Civil War was a "lost cause" for the Confederates from the outset. That the outnumbered and outgunned rebel soldiers earned early victories and thrust into Pennsylvania in 1863 owed significantly to superior military leadership.
Both Union and Confederate soldiers fought and sacrificed, but during the war's early years, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, and others simply outmaneuvered vastly stronger Federal forces.
Following failed attempts to break the Union army flanks at Gettysburg, it was, however, Lee's insistence on a charge designed to break the center of the Yankee lines that marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. <more>
Photo: Memorial Hall, Harvard University.©LMG Photo by K. Lee Lerner. All Rights Reserved.
Lerner KL.
Pétionville Internal Displacement Camp, Haiti — A Lesson in Dignity. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstractPétionville Internal Displacement Camp, Haiti -- Unaccustomed to comfort, the young woman roused herself from the shade and shelter provided by her tent. She shifted her nursing baby to her left hip, and swept back the remaining bit of flap serving as her front door to step into the heat, dust, and din of Haiti. Displaced Haitian mothers still struggle to ensure their children have food and access to medical care, often spending a considerable amount of time each day traveling between aid distribution sites and clinics. Life in the displacement camps places an extra hardship on women, who are still expected to assume responsibility for domestic chores, cooking, and child care…" (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Santiago, Chile — Spanish Lessons. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstractSANTIAGO, Chile — Writing finished, a late night walkabout for a cerveza while working in Santiago, Chile, a few weeks ago ended with me sitting with a woman at a bar hosting a lusty karaoke night. That's karaoke with verses sung in Spanish, of course.
My drinking companion, wearing a dress considerably too short for her age and the cool fall Chilean weather, first approached me outside the bar and offered me a successive series of services. There were no strings attached, just fees. (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Fukushima --Inside the Nuclear Disaster Exclusion Zone. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstract[Author's note: In April 2013, along with a half-dozen other journalists and writers from around the world, I was allowed access to photograph inside the media-restricted Fukushima exclusion zone. As a form of protest, a local official (identified and described below) unlocked gates to the contaminated zone then off limits. Accompanied by a translator, I was then allowed to take photos of the instrumentation used to monitor radiation levels, contaminated soil removal facilities, and other sites. I was in the zone for two hours, — a time calculated to offer a reasonably safe level of radiation exposure. — K. Lee Lerner]
NAGADORO, Japan — Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initially reported the safe scram — execution of a nuclear plant’s emergency reactor shutdown plan — of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi plant located about 150 miles north of Tokyo. (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Iwate Prefecture, Japan — Tsunami Impact Zone (Photo essay). Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstractIwate Prefecture, Japan — A deadly wall of water sweeping inland submerged the bridge in the background and scrubbed tracks from the high-speed concrete railroad bed in Rikuzentakata, Japan. (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Rikuzentakata, Japan — 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan: Recovery, Reconstruction, and Radiation. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstractRikuzentakata, Japan — A memorial Senbazuru (1000 origami cranes) hangs from a piling at the heavily damaged dock in Rikuzentakata, Japan. In the distance are remnants of a flood gate through which a deadly wall of water swept inland to claim the largest loss of life of any city lying in the broad band of destruction along the northwest coast of Japan. following the 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami. (read)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Jakarta, Indonesia —Jakarta's Docks Serve as a Hub for Human Trafficking. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2013;(April).
Publisher's VersionAbstract
Jakarta, Indonesia — UNHCR and other agencies, including the International Organization of Migration (IOM), argue that displaced people are highly vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. Advocacy groups contend that maritime ports across Asia, including the docks of Jakarta, Indonesia, are ports to prostitution and work slavery for displaced people lured or taken from disaster zones and economically distressed areas of South Asia. At an international meeting to discuss security issues related to human trafficking and displaced populations. Both relief and law enforcement personnel agreed that displaced populations are at special risk for exploitation. UNHCR officials, granted anonymity due to the fact they were not authorized to speak to the press, said that Jakarta's dusty and dangerous docks serve as one of the main hubs for human trafficking in Asia. (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Madhapur, India --Desertification creates Displacement Perils: Life around a dying lake. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstractMadhapur, India — The remains of statues thrown into a lake in Madhapur, India, during Hindu festivals from years past lay scattered on the exposed lake bed. Local annual precipitation is now sufficient only to form temporary pools in the lowest parts of the lakebed. A decade ago, the lake supported local fishermen. (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Hyderabad, India --Indian Mujahideen Bomb Makers Linked to Recent Bombing. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. (April 2013). Originally published as part of the project: Displaced by Disaster. Harvard University. . 2013;(April).
Publisher's VersionAbstract
HYDERABAD, INDIA-Now home to more than eight million people in the metropolitan area, Hyderabad, the capital city of the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, and nearby Secunderabad, have long experience with the plight of displaced people and the civic tensions displacements create. An area shared by Muslims and Hindus, deadly terrorist bombings in February 2013 again stirred religious and cultural tensions in an area where land disputes concerning displaced people continue over grants dating to the 1947 Indian partition with Pakistan (which eventually evolved into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh). (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Geneva, Switzerland — Displaced by Disaster. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2013.
Publisher's VersionAbstractGeneva, Switzerland — With major disasters on the rise, media’s short attention span leaves millions alone on the road to recovery
Driven from their homes and communities, displaced people are vulnerable to violence, exploitation, poverty, and disease. In a chorus of languages that crosses continents, displaced people also lament that the media’s short attention span to their plight leaves them voiceless and alone on the road to recovery.
In contrast to the flow of media-enticing bloodshed provided by conflicts, the hardships and perils facing those displaced by natural disasters usually slip quickly from news headlines. Media attention inevitably shifts international attention from one natural disaster to another. (more)
Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
Lerner KL.
Disaster Relief and Recovery: The Role of Situational Awareness. A graduate school paper prepared for Disaster Relief and Recovery, Harvard University. 2013.
Abstract
Analysis by specialists (medical, government, security personnel, etc.) enhances situational awareness, reduces situational analysis uncertainties, boosts the capacity to act and react with what Howitt and Leonard describe as situational anticipation, and enables crisis mangers to more quickly recognize and respond to novelty in crisis situations. more