The Frontline Club

Journalists Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levey discuss their new book: 'The Exile: The Stunning Inside Story of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda In Flight' and the recent resurgence of the terror group, as Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza is lined up to take over the terrorist organisation.

THE EXILE tells the extraordinary story of the almost ten years that Osama Bin Laden evaded intelligence services and special forces units, drones and hunter killer squads. Through the eyes of those who witnessed it, Scott-Clark and Levy offer an insider’s account from bin Laden’s four wives and children, his deputies and military strategists, his spiritual advisor, the CIA, Pakistan’s ISI, and many others who have never before told their stories.

Having gained unique access to bin Laden’s inner circle, Scott-Clark and Levy, recount the flight of Al Qaeda’s forces and bin Laden’s innocent family members, the gradual formation of ISIS by bin Laden’s lieutenants, and bin Laden’s rising paranoia and eroding control over his organisation. They also reveal that the Bush White House knew the whereabouts of bin Laden’s family and Al Qaeda’s military and religious leaders, but rejected opportunities to capture them, pursuing war in the Persian Gulf instead, and offer insights into how Al Qaeda will attempt to regenerate itself in the coming years.

The sporadic release of documents by the Defence Department in recent years only represented about 1 percent of the million-plus document trove recovered in Abbottabad. “We need more detail and not less. We require more nuance and understanding if we are to ever tamp down a bloody conflict that threatens the globe,” write Scott-Clark and Levy, “And it is from this place— a desire for a contemporary, complex, untidy, knotted, verbal history, where no one is regular or consistent, and where allies are murderously betraying their friends, in which good men make poor choices, and switch sides, and wives become double agents—that this book begins.” While we think we know what happened in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011, we know little about the wilderness years that led to that shocking event.

Godfrey Mwampembwa, a.k.a Gado is a renowned political cartoonist. He joined us to discuss politics and the role of satire in Africa in conversation with Professor Nic Cheeseman. Presenting a range of his work, there will be a particular focus on speaking truth to power and the build up to, rejection of, and subsequent re-running of the Kenyan presidential elections of 2017.

Godfrey Mwampembwa, is a renowned political cartoonist. Originally from Tanzania, Gado has lived and worked as an editorial cartoonist in Kenya for many years, and currently works for The East African Standard in Nairobi. His cartoons have also been published in Daily Nation (Kenya), Le Monde and Courrier International (France), Deutsc he Welle (Germany), and The Guardian (UK) among others. He is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Buni Media, an independent multi-media company based in Nairobi, where he produces the weekly satirical puppet show, The XYZ SHOW. Gado is a recipient of many awards including the Kenya National Human Rights Commission Award in Journalism in 2005 and 2007 and the prestigious Cartoon for Peace 2016 International Editorial Cartoon award. In 2011 Gado was among 12 extraordinary leaders to receive a Visionaries Award from Ford Foundation for their innovative efforts on the frontlines of key social issues. In 2014, Gado was named as one of the 100 most influential people in Africa by the New African.

The Frontline Club will be screening MOSUL, a new film by Olivier Sarbil and James Jones followed by a Q&A with Olivier and James.

In October 2016, an elite team of Iraqi Special Forces was tasked with leading the fight to defeat ISIS in Mosul. It was the beginning of a brutal battle of attrition that was to last almost nine months.

Filmed over the course of the whole campaign, MOSUL follows the experiences of four young soldiers: Anmar, a college graduate seeking revenge after his father was the victim of a suicide attack; Hussein, a ruthless sniper and aspiring football player; Jamal, a wise-cracking sergeant; and Amjad, a young recruit excited to be on the frontline.

Full of hope and good intentions at the beginning of the campaign, the soldiers are forced to confront the reality of fighting an elusive and vicious enemy in a city full of trapped civilians who are themselves fearful and suspicious of the army. And with victory in sight, tragedy strikes. When ISIS eventually capitulates, much of the city is destroyed, and the surviving soldiers are left haunted by what they have seen and done.

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGRsBxgO4j4

Credits:

Filmed and Directed by Olivier Sarbil

Co-Directed and Produced by James Jones

Produced by Raney Aronson-Rath, Dan Edge

Edited by Ella Newton

Production Managed by Pip Lacey

A PBS Frontline production in association with Mongoose Pictures and Channel 4

We see mafias as vast, powerful organisations, harvesting billions of dollars across the globe and wrapping their tentacles around everything from governance to finance. But is this the truth? Travelling from mafia initiation ceremonies in far-flung Russian cities to elite gambling clubs in downtown Macau, Federico Varese sets off in search of answers. Using wiretapped conversations, interviews and previously unpublished police records, he builds up a picture of the real men and women caught up in mafia life, showing their loves and fears, ambitions and disappointments, as well as their crimes.

Mafia Life takes us into the real world of organised crime, where henchmen worry about their bad managers and have high blood pressure, assassinations are bungled as often as they come off, and increasing pressure from law enforcement means that a life of crime is no longer lived in the lap of luxury. As our world changes, so must mafias. Globalisation, migration and technology are disrupting traditions and threatening their revenue streams, and the Mafiosi must evolve or die. Mafia Life is an intense and totally compelling look at these organisations and the daily life of their members, as they get to grips with the modern world.

Federico Varese, Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford, was joined at the Frontline Club by journalist Luke Harding.

From Southern Europe, to North Africa via the Levant, the mediterranean plays an important role in geopolitics. It’s political and economic insecurities have far reaching consequences for neighbours in Europe and Africa, as migration, demographic booms and corruption affect the region.

Inequality has played a role in and worsened current crises such as migration and extremism. The EU is trying to invest in sub saharan africa to deincentivise economic migrants.

The evening was organised by The Mediterranean Growth Initiative and the International Crisis Group and was chaired by Dr Claire Spencer – Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House. Dr Claire Spencer is Senior Research Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programme and Second Century Initiative at the foreign policy institute Chatham House. In this role, she works with the Director on new initiatives. Prior to this she was Head of the MENA Programme at Chatham House for 8 years, which she expanded significantly, having previously served as Head of Policy for the Middle East and Central Asia for the development agency Christian Aid. Until 2001, she was Deputy Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at Kings College, University of London, where she set up and ran the Mediterranean Security Programme.

Speakers

Cleopatra Kitti –Founder Mediterranean Growth Initiative.

The MGI refocuses the lens on the Mediterranean through data and analysis; it is aimed at investors, policymakers, and analysts, as well anyone who wants to gain an in-depth understanding of the region and its potential. Cleopatra is a certified independent director and an advisor to government and corporations on governance, problem solving and growth strategies.

Comfort Ero has been Crisis Group’s Nairobi-based Africa Program Director since January 2011. She previously worked with Crisis Group as West Africa Project Director. As Program Director, Comfort oversees projects covering South, West, Central and the Horn of Africa. She has a PhD from the London School of Economics, University of London. Comfort also sits on the editorial board of various journals, including International Peacekeeping.

Issandr El Amrani oversees Crisis Group’s North Africa Project. Prior to joining Crisis Group, he was a writer and consultant on Middle Eastern affairs based in Cairo. His reporting and commentary on the region has appeared in The Economist, London Review of Books, Financial Times, The National, The Guardian, Time and other publications. He has also advised leading investment firms and NGOs on the region.

Geoff D. Porter – Founder, North Africa Risk Consulting Dr. Geoff D. Porter is the founder and managing director of North Africa Risk Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm specialising in political and security risk in North Africa. North Africa Risk Consulting’s clients include multinational corporations as well as US government agencies. Prior to establishing North Africa Risk Consulting, Dr. Porter was the Director for Middle East and Africa at a political risk consulting firm.

Before the independence referendum of Iraqi Kurdistan on the 26th September 2017, The Frontline Club hosted a film screening of No Friends But the Mountains along with a Q&A with the makers of the film to discuss the possible outcomes.

No Friends But the Mountains is an insightful personal tale from Kae Bahar, a Kurdish asylum seeker who explains how many wars and the ever growing refugee exodus from the Middle East are fuelling the call for an independent Kurdistan.

Kae himself endured torture under the regime of Saddam Hussein and was forced into exile in 1980. 35 years on, Kae returns to Iraq to win first hand insights into the war against ISIS and explore whether independence in the Kurdish region could become a reality. Along his way he meets Ezidi Kurds who escaped the 2014 ISIS massacre in Sinjar and ended up in Iraqi refugee camps or in Germany. He also interviews those who are still fighting on the frontline – the Peshmerga and the PKK.

In exile, Kae dreamt about Kurdish independence during all his life and with this film he wants to conduct a reality check back in his homeland. Are the 6-7 million people who are living in the Kurdish region of Iraq also keen on independence? Or could there be a more nuanced attitude to dealing with the real-politik of the region? Kae is also asking how best to prevent further conflicts and more refugee dramas.

Watch the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/230207480

The Trans Sex Workers of Istanbul – Andy Hayward. The number of transphobic related murders in Turkey is one of the highest in Europe. Hayward explores the world of trans sex workers in Istanbul who share with him their day-to-day experiences, intimate thoughts and emotions against a backdrop of prejudice and violence.

Watch the trailer for The Trans Sex Workers of Istanbul here: https://vimeo.com/218785390

Run Time: 22 mins

Sununú: The Revolution of Love – Olivia Crellin. Fernando Machado and Diane Rodriguez have captured the media’s attention for being the first transgender parents in South America. Fernando became pregnant by his girlfriend Diane and gave birth to a son. This documentary portrays the humdrum life of the couple, that is similar to that of any young parents. But outside of the family sphere, Diane and Fernando are tackling larger issues that have global consequences to our attitudes to gender and family diversity.

Watch the trailer for Sunnú: The Revolution of Love here: https://www.sununufilm.com/

Run Time: 25 mins

Notes:

Andy Hayward:

02:00 - Turkey hits marchers with water cannon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-33307028/turkey-pride-march-hit-with-police-water-cannon

02:55 - Transphobic murder in Turkey is the highest in Europe

http://transrespect.org/en/map/trans-murder-monitoring/

06:15 - Michelle Demishevich fired for appearance

http://planettransgender.com/michelle-demishevich-first-and-only-turkish-trans-reporter-fired-for-red-lip-stick/

6:30 - IMC TV Shut down

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMC_TV

09:20 - LGBTI Organisations in Turkey

https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/list-of-lgbti-organizations-in-turkey/

10:30 - Turkish singer sits with Erdogan

http://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/erdogan-shares-ramadan-dinner-turkish-transgender-diva-ersoy-978736609

12:30 - Turkey removes evolution from curriculum

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/world/europe/turkey-evolution-high-school-curriculum.html

15:45 - Honor Killings in Turkey

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur44/2108/2015/en/

16:34 - Trans Panic Defense

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xw8w54/being-freaked-out-by-gay-and-trans-people-is-still-a-legal-murder-defense-in-48-states

Olivia Crellin:

23:30 - Trans murders in South America higher than anywhere else

http://www.aidsalliance.org/assets/000/000/405/90623-Impunity-and-violence-against-transgender-women-human-rights-defenders-in-Latin-America_original.pdf?1405586435

24:00 - Diana Rodriguez' Wikipedia Page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Marie_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Zambrano

26:00 - One World Media

https://www.oneworldmedia.org.uk/

50:30 - Frontline Defenders

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/

Gaza – A strip of land with a population of 1.7 million citizens, wedged between Israel and Egypt and isolated from the outside world. 26 miles of coastline with a harbour that no longer services ships. Hardly anything gets into Gaza and even less gets out. The young generation is growing up with very little perspective – occupied and jobless. But against this background there is a small movement. Our protagonists are part of the surf community of Gaza City. Round about 40 surfboards have been brought into the country over the past decades with great effort and despite strict sanctions. It is those boards that give them an opportunity to experience a small slice of freedom – between the coastal reminder of a depressing reality and the Israeli-controlled three-mile marine border.

Taking four years to complete (including the harrowing war in Gaza in 2014), Gaza Surf Club shows an incredibly engaging and enlightening story of a group of people whose similarities with our ‘human condition’ bring out the wrangling contrasts of our differences.

Director Philip Gnadt and Producer and Co-Director Mickey Yamine will be present post-screening for a Q&A with the audience.

Watch the trailer here:

https://vimeo.com/185917266

Find out more about the film and future screening dates at:

https://www.facebook.com/GazaSurfClubFilm/

Photo Credit

http://niclasmiddleton.com/

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Notes:

08:00 - 24th August 2010 - Surfer's Village on Matthew Olsen

http://www.surfersvillage.com/content/gaza-surf-club-gets-delivery-23-new-surfboards

09:35 - "God Went Surfing with the Devil"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iAfzoqgsGc

32:00 - Surfing for Peace

https://www.facebook.com/Surfing4Peace/

32:45 - Explore Corps

http://explorecorps.org/About_Us.html

City of Ghosts is a film about the war in Syria and particularly the fight against ISIS. Nation states, state sponsored and independent militias have all waged war against the group for years in the physical realm but there’s another theatre of war that’s less bombastic, equally draining and with the same terrible consequences. It’s a war of ideas and those ideas are largely disseminated online.

City of Ghosts follows the journey of a handful of anonymous activists who created and ran ‘Raqqa is being slaughtered silently’ a citizen journalist group, reporting on the activities and atrocities carried out by ISIS in Raqqa, the groups de facto capital. Documenting the realities of life under Daesh and sharing that with the world, was a display of resistance and extraordinary bravery. Captured activists and their families were tortured and killed by the famously brutal group.

Consequently, many of those activists have now left the country for their own safety and look on, agonised, as other activists continue to post images and write about Daesh’s latest atrocity. It’s those who escaped that award winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman spent several months documenting. Heineman, who won an emmy for his documentary Cartel Land, brings his incredible talent behind a camera and ability to get into the emotional subtext running beneath Hollywood storylines to the documentary.

He was joined at the Frontline Club by Paul Conroy, a british journalist who was evacuated from Homs by Syrian rebels and wrote about his experience in Under the Wire: Marie Colvin’s Final Assignment.

The great Africa photographer Guillaume Bonn discusses his new book The Mosquito Coast: Travels from Maputo to Mogadishu with Jon Lee Anderson, his old friend, fellow African traveller and a staff writer for The New Yorker.

“For many years I have been trying to come to terms with the changes that are transforming Africa into a place that is far removed from the familiar, comfortable Africa I knew as a child.” Guillaume Bonn writes in the introduction to ‘Mosquito Coast.’

Bonn was born in Madagascar and has spent much of his life living traveling and photographing Africa. In this book, along the malarial, mosquito coast of Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia he documents the remnants of a colonial legacy amid the development of a new African identity. “I cannot push away this feeling of sadness I have in seeing all these changes.” writes Bonn, ‘My antidote has been to document the old Africa struggling to survive and the new one that is emerging.”

Jon Lee Anderson writes about Mosquito Coast and his friendhsip with Guillaume in the New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/guillaume-bonn-life-along-the-mosquito-coast