Issues and Analysis
News and views on the people, places and topics of concern to Community Supported Film and its project partners
Recent Posts
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON MIGRATION | One year on, few options for Afghans escaping hunger and Taliban persecution
From mass deportation to unkept relocation pledges, both neighboring and Western countries have turned their backs on at-risk and displaced Afghans.
ON AFGHANISTAN | Meet the Taliban’s Would-Be Rainmaker
Hassib Habibi carries his convictions as easily as his AK-47. Now he has to resuscitate the Afghan economy as the 31-year-old deputy director of economic cooperation at the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ON THE MEDIA | YouTube hit Channel 5 News is “reporting for people who don’t watch the news”
“People who don’t watch the news watch me. People who watch the news don’t watch me.”
Callaghan believes that independent creators like him will gradually replace the traditional pillars of journalism, “just because there’s so much distrust in media as it is … left and right.” Until then, Callaghan, Mosher, and Gilbert-Katz will have the opportunity to further shape the coming generations of journalists and social media reportage.
“I pretty much create news content for the disengaged,” he said. “That’s the achievement.”
ON MIGRATION | Debunking Major Myths About Immigrants’ Socioeconomic Status in the US
Some people claim that European immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are radically different than the Latin Americans and Asians who immigrate here today.
ON MIGRATION | Maine’s open door for refugees meets a housing shortage
Portland, Maine, has traditionally been welcoming to new migrants. But it’s struggling to handle more asylum-seekers amid housing shortages.
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON DEVELOPMENT | Do Targeted Killings Weaken Terrorist Groups?
The war on terrorism will not be won with targeted strikes on leadership. That will require political and economic reforms to address popular grievances and create more responsive governance in Muslim-majority countries.
On the Media
ON THE MEDIA | YouTube hit Channel 5 News is “reporting for people who don’t watch the news”
“People who don’t watch the news watch me. People who watch the news don’t watch me.”
Callaghan believes that independent creators like him will gradually replace the traditional pillars of journalism, “just because there’s so much distrust in media as it is … left and right.” Until then, Callaghan, Mosher, and Gilbert-Katz will have the opportunity to further shape the coming generations of journalists and social media reportage.
“I pretty much create news content for the disengaged,” he said. “That’s the achievement.”
ON THE MEDIA | Journalists and Civil Society Are Teaming Up
“When [news] organizations spend valuable resources uncovering corruption, abuse, or neglect, they want to see the problem addressed. Cross-field collaborations between media and civil society organizations are one way to achieve that goal” Adrià Fruitos
ON THE MEDIA | The US is becoming a nation of local news haves and have nots
The trend will not merely exacerbate the income divide of local communities, it will worsen the cultural and ideological divide. Local news vacuums tend to get filled by national news — which is more partisan and more ideological — or through social media.
ON THE MEDIA | The changing news habits and attitudes of younger audiences
How young people’s news habits and attitudes have changed amid rising concerns about news distrust and news avoidance, increasing public attention to social issues such as climate change and social justice, and the growth of newer platforms such as TikTok and Telegram.
ON THE MEDIA | Ukrainian Public interest broadcasting from the frontlines
How local Ukrainian ‘Suspilne’ (Public Broadcasting) is bringing trusted information to audiences in wartime.
ON THE MEDIA | Dark week for journalism as four reporters killed around the world
Journalists are increasingly being targeted and killings are only the most dramatic expression of a gloomy outlook for media freedom
On Economic and Social Development
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON DEVELOPMENT | Do Targeted Killings Weaken Terrorist Groups?
The war on terrorism will not be won with targeted strikes on leadership. That will require political and economic reforms to address popular grievances and create more responsive governance in Muslim-majority countries.
ON AFGHANISTAN | Hunger crisis – 6 million people at “near-famine conditions”
19 million people in Afghanistan will encounter “potentially life-threatening levels of hunger” from June to November of this year, while 6 million people will be under “near-famine conditions.”
The lack of food will leave 1.1 million children at risk of death due to malnourishment if they do not receive more help.
ON DEVELOPMENT | How the focus on Ukraine is hurting other humanitarian responses
The Russian invasion is sucking up attention, funding, and resources. Aid workers say it’s starting to cost lives. The UN’s appeal for Ukraine is more than 80 percent funded for this year. In comparison, the UN response plan for Afghanistan is around 38 percent funded, Yemen’s is around 27 percent funded, and Sudan’s is around 20 percent funded.
ON DEVELOPMENT | New World Records: More Weapons than Ever. And a Hunger Crisis Like No Other
While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit ended with net commitments to double spending on weapons and to increase by eight-fold the number of troops in Europe, the total of hungry people worldwide now marks an unprecedented record.
ON DEVELOPMENT | Stories on drought and disaster risk reduction
“We’ve been here before. We know what acting slowly does,” said Jeremy Taylor of the Norwegian Refugee Council about the unprecedented drought that’s pushing the Horn of Africa to the brink of famine.
ON DEVELOPMENT | Beyond Ukraine: Eight more humanitarian disasters that demand your attention
While the Russian invasion sucks in media attention (and donations for Ukrainians), many other large-scale crises are quietly getting worse.
On Migration
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON MIGRATION | One year on, few options for Afghans escaping hunger and Taliban persecution
From mass deportation to unkept relocation pledges, both neighboring and Western countries have turned their backs on at-risk and displaced Afghans.
ON MIGRATION | Debunking Major Myths About Immigrants’ Socioeconomic Status in the US
Some people claim that European immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are radically different than the Latin Americans and Asians who immigrate here today.
ON MIGRATION | Maine’s open door for refugees meets a housing shortage
Portland, Maine, has traditionally been welcoming to new migrants. But it’s struggling to handle more asylum-seekers amid housing shortages.
ON MIGRATION | ‘Akin to Torture’: For-profit immigrant prison singles out Black men
The men were ordered to spend 32 days in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. One man — Garsumo Dorley, 34 — was sentenced to an additional 22 days after asking to see his psychiatrist, leaving him in segregation for a total of 54 days.
ON MIGRATION | A Border Patrol Agent Assaulted a Citizen in His Own Home. The Supreme Court’s Ruling Lets the Agent Off.
The Supreme Court barred a lawsuit against a U.S. Border Patrol agent for entering the property of a U.S. citizen without a warrant and assaulting him.
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON MIGRATION | Numbers behind Afghanistan evacuation come into focus
Which Afghans actually managed to get on the planes after the fall of Kabul? … [Of the ~76,000 evacuated in August] 30,000 of these people … are associated with the CIA … 36,000 Afghan evacuees, or about 40 percent of those rescued, could not claim any direct U.S. government service but managed to get on the planes anyway …
On Afghanistan
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON MIGRATION | One year on, few options for Afghans escaping hunger and Taliban persecution
From mass deportation to unkept relocation pledges, both neighboring and Western countries have turned their backs on at-risk and displaced Afghans.
ON AFGHANISTAN | Meet the Taliban’s Would-Be Rainmaker
Hassib Habibi carries his convictions as easily as his AK-47. Now he has to resuscitate the Afghan economy as the 31-year-old deputy director of economic cooperation at the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ON AFGHANISTAN, ON DEVELOPMENT | Do Targeted Killings Weaken Terrorist Groups?
The war on terrorism will not be won with targeted strikes on leadership. That will require political and economic reforms to address popular grievances and create more responsive governance in Muslim-majority countries.
ON AFGHANISTAN | Hunger crisis – 6 million people at “near-famine conditions”
19 million people in Afghanistan will encounter “potentially life-threatening levels of hunger” from June to November of this year, while 6 million people will be under “near-famine conditions.”
The lack of food will leave 1.1 million children at risk of death due to malnourishment if they do not receive more help.
ON AFGHANISTAN | US and Taliban exchange proposals for release of funds
Some $9bn in reserves have been held outside Afghanistan, including $7bn in the United States, since the Taliban overran Kabul last August as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of battling the group.
Doc World | Afghanistan: The Wounded Land – A Four-Part Series – Streaming Online
From the Soviet invasion to the Taliban regime, a new series narrated by ‘The Kite Runner’ author @khaledhosseini explores Afghanistan’s complex past, present & future. Watch ‘#Afghanistan: The Wounded Land’ on Sundays starting 7/10 on #DocWorld. https://worldchannel.org/show/doc-world/ #AfghanistanWoundedLand
On Haiti
ON HAITI | Video: Stolen futures, Haiti’s gangs and its children
‘Most of our friends didn’t make it to their 18th birthdays.’
Many of these gang members are under 24. Some are children as young as 11.
With few work or educational opportunities, many gang members say they have turned to the armed groups as a way of earning quick cash or gaining power. Some even say they are doing what the government has failed to do – taking care of its population.
ON HAITI, ON THE MEDIA | Haiti: Covering a chaotic nation, with deadly consequences
“‘Haiti is a minefield,’ said Harold Isaac, a journalist based in Port-au-Prince who works for the Associated Press. ‘The minute you start reporting news, there are so many threats, because it casts light on people that don’t necessarily enjoy that.’”
ON HAITI, ON DEVELOPMENT | Can Haiti rebuild a food system broken by disaster, historical injustice, and neglect?
Years of political unrest, under-investment in agriculture, and repeated earthquakes and storms have left 4.3 million people facing acute hunger.
ON HAITI, ON DEVELOPMENT | Have the lessons of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake been learned?
“Build back better” became a guiding mantra after the earthquake struck in 2010, but Haiti has struggled to follow it and prepare for future disasters.
ON HAITI | ‘Criminal and barbaric’: Two Haitian journalists killed by gang
Two Haitian journalists killed by gang members on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Thursday.
ON HAITI | ‘On the Streets, We Are Prey’
https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/haiti/on-the-streets-we-are-prey/
Background Information
Background information on the places and topics CSFilm has covered:
Download our Immigration Facts PDF
US immigration facts
- Facts on U.S. Immigrants, 2017: Statistical portrait of the foreign-born population in the United States (Pew Research Center)
- The Facts on Immigration Today, 2017: US foreign-born population and its impact on the economy, current immigration policy, and voting power of new Americans (Center for American Progress)
- Immigration Data Guide, 2018: links to the most credible, high-quality data on immigrants and immigration in the United States and internationally. (Migration Policy Institute)
- Facts about Immigration – Learn about demographics, economics, laws, crime rates, citizenship requirements and factors that drive immigration (JustFacts)
Immigration information and research
- How the U.S. Legal Immigration System Works (Migration Policy Institute)
- Mini Course on US Immigration five short email lessons on US immigration (Pew Research Center)
- Immigration Research Library (The Immigrant Learning Center)
- Frequently Asked Questions on Immigrants and Immigration in the US (Migration Policy Institute)
- Ten Myths About Immigration – information to help you and your students separate fact from fear. (Teaching Tolerance)
Refugees in the US
- Refugees in America – about refugee resettlement in the US (International Rescue Committee)
Perceptions and communications about immigrants and refugees in the US
- Out of Many, One: A Defining Moment for American Integration – attitudes that shape perceptions of immigration in the US (a report by the National Immigration Forum)
- When Facts Don’t Matter: How to Communicate More Effectively about Immigration’s Costs and Benefits (Migration Policy Institute)
- Defusing Hate: A Strategic Communication Guide to Counteract Dangerous Speech (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
- The Hidden Tribes of America – a project to better understand the forces that drive political polarization and tribalism in the United States, 2018 (More in Common)
Employment, the economy and US immigration
- Immigrants and the economy in the US (PDF)
- Immigrants and the American economy (New American Economy)
- Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy)
- Work in the United States, Introduction to Sociology (Lumin Learning)
Immigration and refugee policy, undocumented immigrants, and DACA
- The Debate Over Immigration Policy Reform (Council on Foreign Relations)
- 5 Tips for Talking About DACA – the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (The Opportunity Agenda)
- Trump administration’s proposed changes to family-based immigration and refugee admissions (Pew Research Center)
- Crime and Undocumented Immigrants (New York Times)
- The Criminalization of Immigration in the United States (American Immigration Council)
- Gender Bias and Immigration Policy (Legal Momentum, The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund)
Assimilation and acculturation of US immigrants
- What Does It Take to ‘Assimilate’ in America? (New York Times Magazine)
- Assimilation and Integration of US Immigrants and Their Descendants (Cato Institute)
- Should Immigration Require Assimilation? (The Atlantic Monthly)
- Acculturation, Development and Adaptation of Youth and Young Adults (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Faith and US immigrants
- Immigrants and Religion – data on the religious composition of immigrants (Pew Research Lab)
Women and Immigration
- Immigrant Women and Girls in the United States (Migration Policy Institute)
- New Beginnings: Immigrant Women and The American Experience (National Women’s History Museum)
- Gender Bias and Immigration Policy (Legal Momentum, The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund)
- For Immigrant Women, Crossing the Border Doesn’t End Their Struggle (The Nation)
Politics and Immigration
- Immigrants have a long history of taking their issues to the people — as political candidates (PRI-The World)
- Immigrants in US Congress, (Pew Research Center)
Points-of-view on US Immigration
- The 14 Most Common Arguments Against Immigration and Why They’re Wrong (Cato Institute)
- The Real Problem with Immigration… and the Real Solution (The Heritage Foundation)
- Immigrants Have Enriched American Culture and Enhanced Our Influence in the World (Cato Institute)
- 5 Ways Immigration Actually Enhances a Country’s Culture (Global Citizen)
Other websites with immigrant stories
- We Are America Project – high school students define via video what they think it means to be American;
- USAHello-Voices – immigrant and refugee stories of integration and overcoming resettlement obstacles
- I Am An Immigrant – stories demonstrating how immigration benefits our communities, economy, and country
- Newest Americans – a glimpse into the world of the newest Americans and a vision of our demographic future (Rutgers University-Newark, VII Photo and Talking Eyes Media)
Resources and Information for Immigrants and Refugees
- USAHello – the resources and information newcomers need to build successful lives for themselves and their families in the US
Background
- Afghanistan’s 36 Years of Turmoil in Review
- Afghanistan’s Conflict Timeline
- Links to Information on Aid, Human Rights and Conflict
- BBC- Afghanistan Country Profile
- United States Institute of Peace
- Afghanistan’s position in the balance of world power
- The Cost of War: Afghan Experiences of Conflict, 1978-2009 (PDF)
Aid and Economic Growth
- Afghanistan National Development Strategy 2010 – 2013
- The World Bank Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund
- Feinstein International Center – “Winning Hearts and Minds?”
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit – “Aiding the State?”
- Provincial Reconstruction Teams and Military – Humanitarian Relations in Afghanistan
- Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations: A Handbook of Good Practices
Lessons From Development and Conflict Elsewhere
- PBS Frontline- Nation Building in Bosnia
- Assessing the Kecamatan Development Project, Indonesia (PDF)
- Community-Based Reconstruction in East Timor and Rwanda (PDF)
- Prospects for Community Driven Development in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone (PDF)
- What Everyone Should Know About Filming (And Sharing) Injustice on Social Media (PDF)
US Politics and Afghanistan Current Events
Background
- At a Glance: Haiti (UNICEF)
- Background Notes: Haiti (US Department of State)
- BBC – Haiti Country Profile
Aid and Economic Growth
- Cacophonies of Aid, Failed State Building and NGOs in Haiti: setting the stage for disaster, envisioning the future
- Haiti: the US and Military Aid in Times of Natural Disaster
- Moving Mountains: Challenges in Contemporary U.S. Foreign Aid in the Context of Post-Disaster Haiti
- A Rational Foreign Policy Toward Haiti and How the Media Shapes Public Perception of Haiti
- Ruptures, rights, and repair: The political economy of trauma in Haiti
Lessons From Development and Conflict Elsewhere
- The post-Cold War American interventions into Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo
- The Crucial Role of Civil Society in Disaster Recovery and Japan’s Preparedness for Emergencies
- What Everyone Should Know About Filming (And Sharing) Injustice on Social Media (PDF)
US Politics and Haiti Current Events