• NOVEMBER 21, 2009

The Wide Angle Archive

RECENT PHOTO ESSAYS

  • What Karadzic Did to Bosnia: Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is on trial, but whatever the outcome, the pain of war will remain. (Nov. 11, 2009)

  • Falling Like It's 1989: Maybe history didn't end in 1989, but the world would certainly never be the same. From Berlin, to Beijing, to Burma, here are some of the most memorable images from a "year of miracles." Part of an FP series, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Nov. 4, 2009)

  • Planet Slum: Norwegian photojournalist Jonas Bendiksen spent six weeks living in the slums of Nairobi, then Caracus, Mumbai, and Jakarta. His remarkable panoramic images take us inside slum families' lives, revealing the profound human impulse to fashion not only shelter but a home. (Nov. 5, 2009)

  • Oh, the Places He's Been: One year after his election, a look back at Barack Obama's travels to 15 foreign countries. (Nov. 2, 2009)

  • No Place to Hide: Refugees fleeing the carnage of Mogadishu find new dangers in Somalia's supposedly safer north. (Oct. 28, 2009)

  • Bolivia's Lithium-Powered Future: What the global battery boom means for the future of South America's poorest country. (Oct. 21, 2009)

  • A Third Intifada?: Contention over the disputed Al-Aqsa mosque and Temple Mount site have once again unleashed violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Could a third intifada erupt? (Oct. 15, 2009)

  • Edward Burtynsky's Oil: A decade of photographs exploring the impact of oil from the acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. (Oct. 9, 2009)

  • Europe's Lactose Intolerance: Dairy farmers in Europe are having a cow over low milk prices and have taken themselves -- and their bovines -- to the streets. (Oct. 6, 2009)

  • Let the Red Times Roll: Beijing has spared no expense to ensure that the military parade and mass pageant planned for October 1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China are both spectacular and free from security snafus. (Sept. 29, 2009)

  • China Turns 60: Thursday, October 1, 2009, marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. While the country gears up to celebrate, FP looks back on six decades in the world's oldest continuously red state. (Sept. 28, 2009)

  • Vova and Dima 4eva?: Does Russia's tandem still get along? (Sept. 16, 2009)

  • Revenge of the Rivers: A summer of severe storms has left much of the world underwater. (Sept. 11, 2009)

  • Back to School with Swine Flu: Students are going back to school in many parts of the world, but this school year, there's something new to worry about in addition to grades and exams: swine flu. (Sept. 2, 2009)

  • Fasting and Feasting During Ramadan: Muslims everywhere are observing a holy month of fasting and feasts, a time of religious reflection shared with family and friends. (Aug. 28, 2009)

  • Seeing Red: The Soviet Union was a repressive regime that stifled all forms of creative expression. But author David King discovered a treasure trove of visual relics from the communist era by little-known photographers, designers, and artists. (Aug. 24, 2009)

  • Voting Day in Afghanistan: Despite the milestone achievement of those Afghans who voted in the recent election, the country still has a long war ahead. (Aug. 20, 2009)

  • Hillary in Africa: Three weeks after U.S. President Barack Obama visited Africa, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to the region for a sweeping, 11-day, seven-country tour. What both dignitaries shared, besides rock star-worthy receptions, was a rhetoric urging political reform, extolling good governance, and affirming Africa's "promise." (Aug. 13, 2009)

  • Afghanistan's Long War: With presidential elections approaching and a wave of U.S. troops who entered last month, Afghanistan has been struggling to establish itself as a stable state. The war that began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has dragged on, and the only thing certain is that there's still a long road ahead. (Aug. 7, 2009)

  • A Whale of a Controversy: Japan's dolphin-hunting industry gets skewered in The Cove, a just-released documentary by director Louie Psihoyos. But after this year's setbacks at the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting, dolphins aren't the only marine mammals that are in trouble. (July 31, 2009)

  • The Obamans Abroad: While U.S. President Barack Obama stayed in Washington to work on domestic issues, Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarked on separate overseas tours. From Tblisi to Thailand, the two drew large crowds, crossed swords with a few enemies, and made one or two slip-ups as well. (July 24, 2009)

  • Don't Call It a Surge: A wave of U.S. troops entered Afghanistan this month, but don't dare call it a surge. President Barack Obama's preferred terms are "increase," "reinforcement," and "enabling forces." Meanwhile, July has proven to be the deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan. (July 17, 2009)

  • Who Are the Uighurs?: What motivates China's restless Muslim minority? (July 9, 2009)

  • The Least Free Places on Earth: As the United States celebrates its Independence Day, here's a look at some places with nothing to cheer about. The following images are from the bottom 21 countries and territories from Freedom House's Freedom in the World report, with text prepared by the staff of Freedom House. (July 2, 2009)

  • Children at Work: While many children are now enjoying summer holidays from school, others are toiling away in sweatshops. Amid the Great Recession, more parents may be pulling their children out of school and putting them to work to supplement family income. (June 25, 2009)

  • Portraits of Instability: Haunting images from the world's most fragile states. (June 22, 2009)

  • Gay Pride, From Zagreb to Shanghai: People around the world are rising up and demanding dignity and equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. And despite a backlash, the LGBT movement marches forward, refusing to go back in the closet. (June 18, 2009)

  • Ahmadi Bye-Bye in Iran?: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has tarnished his country's international standing, presided over a crumbling economy, and doubted the Holocaust. As Iranians head to the polls June 12, many fed-up voters are chanting, "Ahmadi bye-bye." (June 9, 2009)

  • Land War: The Battle over Israel's Settlements: As Washington gears up for a showdown over Israel's settlements, settlers are taking matters into their own hands. (June 8, 2009)

  • The Cars That Are Killing GM: General Motors is on government-provided life support. Here are some of the cars better-suited for the 21st century's fast lane that are picking up speed and sending GM to the junkyard. (June 4, 2009)

  • Working in Hell for $11 a Day: Working with oozing molten sulfur at a steaming crater lake, the miners of Indonesia's Kawah Ijen volcano endure wheezing lungs and bloodshot eyes to haul heavy slabs of the bright-yellow element, used in everything from cosmetics to gunpowder. (May 28, 2009)

  • A Day at the Races in Baghdad: Dictatorship, war, looting -- none of it can stop the twice-weekly horse races that are Baghdad's best show in town. (May 21, 2009)

  • Happy Birthday, Buddha: Swine flu and the Taliban in Pakistan may be worrying many people, but for Buddhists, now is a time of celebration. It's Buddha's birthday. (May 7, 2009)

  • Pig Panic: Swine flu is spreading across the world. In a globalized society, can a possible pandemic be stopped? (April 28, 2009)

  • 10 Environmental Challenges We've Got to Solve: Climate change and a rapidly growing middle class are putting enormous pressure on the Earth. Unless we innovate ourselves out this dire situation, the planet is in peril. (April 22, 2009)

  • The Land of No Smiles: Renowned documentary photographer Tomas van Houtryve entered North Korea by posing as a businessman looking to open a chocolate factory. Despite 24-hour surveillance by North Korean minders, he took arresting photographs of Pyongyang and its people—images rarely captured and even more rarely distributed in the West. They show stark glimmers of everyday life in the world’s last gulag. (April 20, 2009)

  • The World's Biggest Election: What do you call 714 million eligible voters, 5,500 candidates, 1,055 political parties, and 830,000 polling stations? Call it the world's biggest election ever, to be held in India, the world's largest democracy, beginning April 16.  (April 15, 2009)

  • Portraits of Insecurity: A new alliance between Rwandan and Congolese forces may be a rare occasion for optimism, but as Michael J. Kavanagh of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting shows in this exclusive series of portraits, eastern Congo's future is still uncertain. (April 10, 2009)

  • So You Want to Visit Cuba?: As the United States eases travel restrictions, Cubans are ready to cash in. (April 9, 2009)

  • A Light in Burma's Darkness: Burma is well-known for the repression of its ruling military junta. Nevertheless, the country’s economy is growing, in large part to due to the drug trade, migration, and foreign investment. (April 1, 2009)

  • Pakistan's New Homeless: Pakistan has engaged in its own 'war on terror' against Islamist militants in the northwest part of the country. The collateral damage: at least 450,000 Pakistanis forced from their homes. (March 25, 2009)

  • Baghdad's Back, Six Years After the Invasion: March 20 marks the six-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The war sparked a bloody insurgency, but in Baghdad today, normal life is cautiously reemerging. (March 18, 2009)

  • Spring Break Gone Wrong?: This time of year, many American college students head to Mexico's beaches for spring break, but a recent State Department travel alert about violence south of the border might be giving some party animals second thoughts. (March 11, 2009)

  • Jobless in a Land of 1.3 Billion: The economic crisis has been rough for everyone, but especially so for China’s migrant workers. With jobs in the cities vanishing, some are returning home to the countryside. (March 4, 2009)

  • China's Next Generation: A look at the six men who are vying to shape China's future. (March/April, 2009)

  • Portrait of a Failed State: Somalia's tattered landscape is a window into the country's troubled past. (March 2009)

  • Abu Ghraib's Extreme Makeover: In his first address to the joint session of Congress, President Obama said the United States does not torture. Iraq might be trying to send the same message about itself with the recent makeover it gave to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. (Feb. 25, 2009)

  • Kosovo Year 1: Kosovo just made it through its first year as a self-declared independent country. People there may be celebrating, but Kosovo's continued poverty shows that independence is no quick fix. (Feb. 18, 2009)

  • The Financial Crisis That Won't Go Away: From New York and Reykjavik to Dubai and Tokyo, the economic news only seems to get worse. (Feb. 11, 2009)

  • India's Real-World Slumdogs: With Slumdog Millionaire winning eight Academy Awards, it's easy to view Mumbai's slums as wastelands of filth and misery. But they're actually vibrant business centers filled with scrappy entrepreneurs. If some wealthy elites get their way, though, the slums' days may be numbered. (Feb. 4, 2009)

  • Daily Life in Yemen: An ancient land that globalization seems to have passed by, Yemen is not just about choking traffic, crushing poverty, and Islamic extremism.

  • Election Time in Iraq: On Jan. 31, Iraqis will head to the polls for the first time since 2005. If the provincial elections go off without a hitch, it'll be a positive sign that Iraq can hold it together as U.S. and coalition troops begin to depart. (Jan. 29, 2009)

  • The Inauguration Heard 'Round the World: The inauguration of Barack Obama wasn’t the event of the day just in the United States. It received above-the-fold coverage in countries all over the globe. (Jan. 21, 2009)

  • Russia Leaves Eastern Europe Out in the Cold: Russian gas monopoly Gazprom was supposed to have restarted the flow of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine Jan. 13. How much is actually getting through is uncertain at this point, but one thing is certain: Eastern Europe has been left in the cold ever since Gazprom ceased gas flows Jan. 7. (Jan. 13, 2009)

  • On Gaza, Children, and War: The current Israeli offensive into Gaza has taken a heavy toll on everybody, but it's the innocent children on both sides whose suffering is most undeserved -- and most often exploited. (Jan. 9, 2009)

  • China's 30 Years of Economic Overdrive: Thirty years ago, China set in motion economic reforms that have transformed it into one of the most powerful countries on the planet today. The country may be officially “communist,” but it knows how to play the capitalist game—well. (Dec. 12, 2008)

  • Mayhem in Mumbai: Drifting in on inflatable boats, 10 young men brought India’s largest city to its knees in a 60-hour siege last month. But, Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, has been quick to get back on its feet and resume business as usual. (Dec. 5, 2008)

  • Gaza's (Literal) Underground Economy: Since Hamas gained control of Gaza in June 2007, Israel has blockaded the flow of goods into and out of the territory. But when trade is closed aboveground, the economy simply moves underground, in more ways than one. (Nov. 19, 2008)

  • Cholera in a Time of War: With its bounty of natural resources, it could have been one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Instead, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been plundered and wracked with fighting. And if one rebel leader has his way, the government will be overthrown in this latest outbreak of violence. (Nov. 13, 2008)

  • For China's Polluting Factories, a Change of Address: Breakneck economic development has turned China into one of the most polluted places on Earth, and the country’s ceramics industry is hardly blame free. In the ceramics capital of Foshan, entire factories that produce everything from glazed sculptures to porcelain tiles have been relocated in an effort to clear the air. (Nov. 5, 2008)

  • Making Peace, One Trinket at a Time: This autumn, an ancient trade route that crosses the disputed Kashmiri border between India and Pakistan opened for the first time in 61 years. For Kashmir’s famed artisans, at least, it’s a rare sign of hope. (Oct. 31, 2008)

  • The Baby Bazaar: In FP's November/December issue, E.J. Graff investigates "The Lie We Love" -- an international adoption system plagued with misrepresentations, corruption, and emotion. Follow adoption through several continents and countless families and lives in this accompanying online photo essay. (Oct. 28, 2008)

  • Cairo's Trash Collectors Down in the Dumps: Cairo’s zabaleen form the backbone of the city’s garbage disposal system. Largely scorned by Egyptian society, the trash scavengers recently lost one woman who had worked tirelessly for their well-being—Sister Emmanuelle, a Belgium-born nun who died Oct. 20 at age 99. (Oct. 22, 2008)

  • Christians Under Attack in Iraq: Comprising one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, followers of Jesus have lived in Iraq for nearly 2,000 years. But with thousands of families fleeing on a biblical scale since the 2003 U.S. invasion, Iraqi Christians face an uncertain future. (Oct. 16, 2008)

It takes only weeks for a diamond, once uncovered in an African mine, to travel to India to be cut and polished and land in the showrooms of Paris or New York. The journey reveals some of globalization’s greatest fault lines—inequality, child labor, and outsourcing—and the people who too often fall through the cracks. View the essay-->
Where do ships go to die? Thirty years ago, Europe's shipyards took apart most of the world's supertankers. But rising costs eventually sent much of the ship-breaking industry to Bangladesh. In just two months, teams of workers will reduce a 240,000-ton tanker to scrap metal using crowbars, hammers, and their bare hands. View the essay-->
Every evening, as many as 40,000 children in northern Uganda hike for miles from their rural villages to shelters in town. These so-called night commuters are hiding from the Lord’s Resistance Army, a radical, religious paramilitary group that seeks to swell its ranks by abducting children while they sleep. If caught, their next march will be as Uganda’s youngest soldiers. View the essay-->
Running a poor country has never been a tougher job. Civil servants are asked to do the people’s work with very little, sometimes with nothing at all. They see to it that the job gets done—or grinds to a halt. Meet the bureaucrats. View the essay-->
Iraq is virtually littered with bombs. After two decades of war and fighting, there are more than a million tons of live munitions lying under foot. When it comes time to clean up the country, these are the men who are called to carry away the most dangerous debris. View the essay-->
Technology drives the forces of globalization. But when we replace our computers and flat-screens with the newest in high-tech cool, what happens to the hardware we throw away? Welcome to the digital dumping ground, where the poor make a living off other people’s spare parts. View the essay-->

More Photo Essays

Playground Baghdad

Revisiting the Most Controversial Olympics of All

Turkey’s Year of Turbulence

United by Independence

Bend It Like the 3rd Battalion

Burma Picks Up the Pieces

China’s Tragic Aftershocks

Highway Robbery

Legacy of a War

Springtime for the Taliban

The People Caught in Between

Torch Capades

Waterworld

Five Years of Fighting

Israel at 60

Rebellion in Tibet

Seeking Salvation in Zimbabwe

The Olympians of Afghanistan

The Pope Takes America

The White Gold of Thailand

Where the World Shops for Guns

Bush in Africa

China vs. the Blizzard

Reverse Exodus

The Many Faces of Putin

The World Celebrates Valentine's Day

TODAY | PAST WEEK

MOST
READ

MOST
COMMENTED

  1. Karzai's Cronies
  2. The Terrorists Among Us
  3. The Al Qaeda Diaries
  4. Planet Slum
  5. The Real Shock of Fort Hood
TODAY | PAST WEEK

MOST
READ

MOST
COMMENTED

  1. Edward Burtynsky's Oil
  2. Think Again: God
  3. Bolivia's Lithium-Powered Future
  4. Planet Slum
  5. Plague: A New Thriller of the Coming Pandemic
TODAY | PAST WEEK

MOST
READ

MOST
COMMENTED

  1. The Al Qaeda Diaries
  2. Zardari in the Crosshairs
  3. The Real Shock of Fort Hood
  4. This Week at War: Heading for a Bad Breakup
  5. The Terrorists Among Us
TODAY | PAST WEEK

MOST
READ

MOST
COMMENTED

  1. The President, the Professor, and the Wide Receiver
  2. The Real Shock of Fort Hood
  3. Is There a Palin Doctrine?
  4. The Terrorists Among Us
  5. The Only Hope Left?
  • NET EFFECT

    Why are people creating Facebook profiles for Holocaust victims?

    BY EVGENY MOROZOV

  • PASSPORT

    North Africa's escalating soccer war

    BY JOSHUA KEATING

  • ARGUMENT

    How the Chinese media covered Obama's visit

    BY WILLIAM MOSS

  • SMALL WARS

    The U.S. and Pakistan are heading for a bad breakup

    BY ROBERT HADDICK

  • DANIEL DREZNER

    Time's not-so-shocking Obamaland expose

  • BEST DEFENSE

    What would George Marshall think of today's generals?

    BY THOMAS E. RICKS

  • SHADOW GOVT.

    What does containing North Korea actually mean?

    BY JAMIE FLY

  • THE CABLE

    How the Chinese government censored Obama's visit

    BY JOSH ROGIN



  • 1. Aligning on Afghanistan? President Obama and PM Brown Turn Focus on Exit Strategy
  • 2. R.I.P.: Russia to Continue Ban on the Death Penalty
  • 3. All for One: Jailed Fatah Leader Implores Palestinian Unity
  • 4. Global Warming Time Out: Stagnating Temperatures Baffle Climate Experts
 See All Photo Essays
  • Planet slum: From Nairobi to Caracas, Mumbai, and Jakarta

  • Falling Like It's 1989

November/December 2009
  • Feature

    Revolution in a Box

  • Feature

    Plague, by Robin Cook

  • Opening Gambit

    My Plan to Overthrow the Mullahs

  •  See Entire Issue

     Preview Digital Edition

  • Made in China—and sold there, too.
  • Why Sarah Palin is unlikely to be the future of the Republican Party.
  • What to drink on Thanksgiving: Napa cabernet.
  • Geithner Is Not Going Anywhere
  • GM Customers Give Back
  • Ron Paul Wins Lifelong Fight, Now May Be Forced To Vote Against Everything He Believes
  • What Would the Pilgrims Say About Tofu?
  • What Would the Pilgrims Say About Tofu?
  • What Kobe, LeBron and Dwyane Owe Spencer Haywood

About FP: Meet the Staff | Foreign Editions | Reprint Permissions | Advertising | Corporate Programs | Writers’ Guidelines | Press Room | Work at FP

Services: Subscription Services | Academic Program | FP Archive | Reprint Permissions | FP Reports and Merchandise | Special Reports | Buy Back Issues

Subscribe to FP | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | RSS Feeds | Contact Us

FP Logo


1899 L Street NW, Suite 550 | Washington, DC 20036 | Phone: 202-728-7300 | Fax: 202-728-7342
FOREIGN POLICY is published by the Slate Group, a division of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC
All contents ©2009 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC. All rights reserved.