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JINN MAGAZINE
PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
Issue No. 4.12
06/09/98 - 06/22/98
VOICES: First-Person Essays Linking the Private to the Public
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In Their Own Words-- An Indonesian Calls on Indonesians to End Campaign Against Ethinc Chinse
By Ida Sohimbing
Date: 06-09-98
This report, posted on CNN discussion boards on the Internet, provides a first person account of the plight of Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. In tone, it combines confession and accusation in a distinctive way; articles in the Australian press confirm that rights monitoring groups in Indonesia have received many accounts of women of Chinese descent being raped and abused during last month's rioting in Indonesia. PNS correspondent Ida Sohimbing is a writer located in Palembang.
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In Their Own Words-- Distance Cannot Ease the Anguish for a Kosova Albanian Far From Home
By Isuf Hajrizi
Date: 06-09-98
The flat, black and white, impersonal buzz of e-mail cannot mask horrific news from home. For Isuf Hajrizi, an Albanian from Kosova now living in New York, knowing, but not knowing, creates an almost unbearable tension -- and prompts a cry for action. Hajrizi is an editor of the Albanian-American newspaper Illyria published in New York.
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An Issue of Space as Well as Skin Color -- U.S. Prisons Incubators of Racism
By Joe Loya
Date: 06-15-98
The brutal murder of a black man in Jasper, Texas has drawn particular attention as a "hate crime" -- Jessie Jackson has called on the President to go there on the anniversary of the "conversation on race" and talks of a deep seed of racism. But the bigotry that inspired the crime grew out of a prison culture Americans need to address if they are to take an inclusive approach to eradicating racism. PNS Associate Editor Joe Loya is a California writer currently writing an autobiography.
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Speaking American
By Richard Rodriguez
Date: 06-19-98
Debates about multiculturalism these days are driven by the question, "What does it mean to be American?" But even as Americans worry about the loss of common ground, both newcomers and native born end up speaking "American. " Our language proves America exists. PNS commentator Richard Rodriguez, author of "Days of Obligation," is an essayist for the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer.
HERESIES: Thinking the Unthinkable About the Future
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Killing Out Own? Disclosure of Nerve-Gas Assassinations of U.S. Servicemen in Laos Evens Up MIA Arithmetic
By Yoichi Clark Shimatsu
Date: 06-10-98
Revelations that a secret U.S. Special Forces unit used sarin gas to eliminate alleged U.S. deserters in Laos may resolve the 20-year-old puzzle of American MIA's in Indochina. A full investigation is desperately needed to determine whether acts until now only imagined in Hollywood movies were actually committed. PNS commentator Yoichi Clark Shimatsu is former editor of The Japan Times Weekly in Tokyo.
PACIFIC PULSE: The Pacific Century and Its Impact on the Americas
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Youth Perspective -- India's Urban Youth Unfazed bu Nuclear Club Status
By Madhavan Pillai
Date: 06-12-98
Over half of India's population is under the age of 25, and a growing percentage of these young people now live in cities. How do these educated young Indians view their country's entrance into the world's nuclear club, let alone what U.S. policy makers fret will be a new nuclear arms race on the subcontinent? PNS correspondent Madhavan Pillai is a 23-year-old journalist who writes a weekly column for Mumbai's MidDay newspaper.
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The Unthinkable is Happening -- A German-Style Reunification on the Korean Peninsula
By Josh Parr
Date: 06-17-98
The message some Korean Americans took away from the U.S. visit of South Korea's new president Kim Dae Jung was clear: a German-style reunification is underway, and the key architect is the United States. PNS correspondent Josh Parr, who spent a year reporting from Seoul, is an editor of Brave New Word, an association of twenty-something writers and journalists affiliated with PNS.
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Vanity Could Prove Fatal Flaw For South Korean President
By Kapson Yim Lee
Date: 06-19-98
Hailed as the Nelson Mandela of South Korea, President Kim Dae Jung evoked a very different image on his recent trip to the United States for one prominent Korean American journalist: that of former Korean strongman Syngman Rhee. She worries that an enormous ego could prevent Kim from realizing his potential, much as it crippled Rhee. Kapson Yim Lee is the editor of the Korea Times Bilingual Edition published in Los Angeles.
THE AMERICAS: The Growing Enmeshment of the U.S. and Latin Worlds
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The Other Side of NAFTA -- Mexican Workers Grappling With 'Flint' Problem of Their Own
By David Bacon
Date: 06-18-98
In what may be the most significant labor action in many years, US auto workers are directly challenging the practice of "outsourcing" -- buying parts from suppliers who pay wages less than 10% of prevailing US rates. Many of these suppliers operate in Mexico near the US border, and PNS correspondent David Bacon reports that there are signs of profound unhappiness coming from that direction as well. Bacon covers labor and immigration issues for PNS.
CALIFORNIA COLLAGE: California as Trendsetter for the Country and the World
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Black Voters Crossing Racial Lines -- A Sign of Weakness or Political Maturity?
By David Gaither
Date: 06-08-98
Are blacks in Oakland, California being edged out of power, or are they exhibiting a new maturity by voting for a white politician? The question has resonance for the entire state, as blacks are a declining percentage of the new majority of ethnic groups increasingly setting their imprint on the political landscape. PNS commentator David Gaither is an Oakland based journalist who writes regularly for the black press.
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Speaking to the Sleeping Giant-- Ethnic Media Comes Into Its Own In 1998 Elections
By Alfonso Serrano
Date: 06-11-98
The emerging political clout of California's communities of color has been the subject of much discussion, but little doubt this election year. Perhaps the most striking sign of this phenomenon is the role now being played by the state's ethnic media. PNS Associate Editor Alfonso Serrano is formerly the editor of El Mensajero, a bilingual weekly published in San Francisco.
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Gleanings From the New California Media
Edited by Alfonso Serrano F.
Date: 06-16-98
What do Indians and Pakistanis think about the recent bomb tests? How are Latinos faring at the polls? What do the Ku Klux Klan and the Nation of Islam have in common? You probably won't find answers to these questions in mainstream media outlets. Every two weeks New California Media, a network of ethnic media organizations, digests news and commentary from this rapidly growing segment of the news media.
CIVIL CONFLICTS: Interpretive Reports on Ethnic, Religious, and Inter-National Conflicts Worldwide
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Sounds of High Purpose and Hope Offer No Help on City Streets
By Lonny Shavelson
Date: 06-10-98
The just-concluded UN conference on drug control was filled with resounding pledges of cooperation and determination offered with the best of intentions. Drug users seeking treatment however are more likely to hear words of rejection from underfunded programs. PNS commentator Lonny Shavelson is a physician and writer based in Berkeley, California and author of "A Chosen Death."
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