http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/ Articlesen http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/ 1816ArticlesTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssMon, 14 May 2012 09:09:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/chinese-doctors-are-battling-to-save-the-life-of-this-baby-girl-after-people-across-the-country-dona.html Chinese doctors are battling to save the life of this baby girl after people across the country...
The doctor in charge of her treatment, Zhang Chengye, said: "We are doing everything we can for her but the situation is not good. "She should have started receiving treatment a long time ago and is now much harder to help her. Because she has been unable to hold down her food for so long she is now critically weakened. To be honest it's amazing that she is even alive now – she must have an enormously strong will to survive. She is a fighter.

"There are numerous health problems that need to be treated, she weighs just 5.2 kilograms, in comparison with a normal child of her age who would be around about 11.5 kilograms on the average." They are pinning their hopes on keeping her alive until she reaches her second birthday in two months by which time they believe she will be much stronger, and respond better to treatment for her various ailments.

So far £20,000 has been raised in China to pay for the treatment.

Journalismwithoutborders.com has also offered to pass on any donations to the fund directly.]]> Wed, 09 May 2012 16:43:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/nazi-victims-cash-used-to-fund-euro-2012.html Ukraine has been accused of swiping money destined for the poorest members of its community...
Speaking in Cologne in Germany Michael Schnatz who is the ABS project coordinator for central and East Europe said: "The Euro 2012 is a prestige project. But the Ukraine is totally overstretched in trying to finance it. The development and building of the key locations has 100 per cent been at the expense and provision of social services and that has meant the weakest and most sick members of society have suffered more."

In Kiev Svetlana Levkovska, managing director of the Ukrainian Samariterbund said: "I am really pleased that we have the Euro 2012 in our country. But at the same time we had completely different expectations: The creation of jobs, investment in infrastructure and hospitals. Instead of that we have had a massive shortfall in investment in social programs, and the building of five-star hotels which nobody here needs and also a massive increase in prices. Of course I want all the fans who are going to come to our country to feel good and to feel welcome and to experience a great football event – but it shouldn't be forgotten at whose cost the whole thing has been carried out."

The ASB pointed out that in Kharkiv there were over 100 former victims of the Third Reich that were being cared for through joint project with the Ukrainian Samariterbund and have been since 2008. But this vital care had now been cut down to the very basics because 75,000 Euros that was supposed to come from the regional government had simply not been transferred over.They have launched an appeal for funding to try and make up some of the shortfall from government sources.

ASB is a charity and first aid organisation that is independent and across Germany has more than 1 million members and 15,000 full-time staff. As well as its work with the emergency services and in disaster zones it also gets involved in care for the elderly, children and teenagers and helpful people who are disabled both at home and abroad.


An account for anyone who wants to support the ASB's efforts in the Ukraine has been set up:

IBAN: DE81 3701 0111 1241 1130 00
BIC (Swift-Code): ESSEDE5F370]]> Mon, 07 May 2012 09:02:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/boy-6-has-his-face-burnt-off-in-china.html The Chinese boy left trapped behind a mask of scar tissue after a fire burned his face and hands...
A journalist from the British charity Journalism Without Borders said: "We are collecting money for the family to pay the medical costs but they already have enough to start the process. "We also want to help him with a teacher, so he can make a start on his schooling that will fit around his medical appointments." Dad Wang Yougui, 32, is a rural migrant worker who earns about 200 pounds a month to support his family while the boy's mum Zheng Weixiu, 30, is a housewife. The couple spent their life savings - around 15,000 - and had almost given up hope before the boy's story appeared in the media and donations started to come in.

Doctor Li Jinning, from Ningxia Medical University hospital, said Xiaopeng needed a minimum of three surgeries to get an at least "human" look and probably much more to do a proper job.

Dad Yougui said: "The summer was always the worst for him, the heat makes his burns painful and he really suffers from mosquitoes, but his biggest wish is to one day go to school like the other children. That's why we want him to study now so that he has the basics if the operations go well."

At the moment even if a school would take him he has trouble seeing - and he lost a lot of his fingers making it hard to hold a pencil or a book. He does have a few friends who have got used to his appearance but he is alone when they go to school. Although a Communist country, China does not have a cradle-to-grave free-at-the-point of use healthcare system. Instead around half of the population buy basic medical insurance which covers for half the costs of their healthcare. The remainder is paid either by patients or their health insurer.

However, this leaves the poorest in China struggling to meet medical bills for serious condition like Xiaopengs.]]> Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:04:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/micro-light-success-as-rare-ibis-returns.html A critically endangered bird species that lived in Europe for 1.8 million years before it was wiped...  
He said: "We now have the birds established in three mountain locations. It's a great success - but we are counting the days now until the first birds return after running the gauntlet of hunters."
 
Last year German student Stefanie Heese, 25, and Austrian student Daniela Trobe, 29, took six months off from University to act as parents to the latest new arrivals.
 
From first light until sundown the two were on hand to cater to the baby birds every need – from feeding them as chicks through to grooming them and then later into educating them on how to survive in the wild. Educational games such as hunting worms together were designed to expand the birds interest in the world around them, and in training in how to find food on their own – and that effort culminated in the last six weeks of their time together with flight training.
 
Every day the pair and would lead the birds to a microlight plane and would then practice flying and gliding over the Austrian Alps in Salzburg in preparation for the long migratory flight to Tuscany.
 
Finally last year in October the pair accompanied their 16 charges as they made the 1,353 kilometre journey accompanied by three support vehicles over 36 days to their winter feeding ground in Italy. Every day they stopped at a prearranged spot and met up with the ground crew where food was provided for the birds to keep their strength up, and then they carried on with the trip.
 
Dr Fritz who initiated the project a decade ago after working with the birds as part of research project organised by the Conrad Lawrence Research Centre said he had been motivated by the difficulties he observed there in reintroducing captive Ibis birds back to the wild.
 
Fossil records show that the Northern Bald Ibis, regarded as a critically endangered species, had been present in Europe for 1.8 million years but it vanished 300 years ago - and now thanks to the work of Dr Fritz not just one but three breeding colonies have been established back in Alpine Europe.
 
He said: "I was also sceptical about being able to reintroduce this unique bird back into the wild but all that changed when I saw the film Fly Away Home and was really impressed by William Lishman's success with Canada geese. I decided to try and repeat the experiment."
 
Single-handedly he started his project and over the years has built up supporters including Schonbrunn Zoo, the world's oldest zoo, located in the capital Vienna which has a large captive Bald Ibis colony and which provides many of the eggs for the yearly trip down to Italy.
 
The project has hit many snags – and Dr Fritz, 45, would be the first to admit that starting from scratch there was a lot to learn.
 
He said: "The imprinting where the birds are taught from the start to recognise a specific person as a parent bird was the first hurdle.
 
"It is amazing to watch, when the human they don't recognise is around the birds avoid contact and fly away. But when their adopted parent appears they will run or fly to the person as soon as they spot them – calling and rocking their heads in a welcoming gesture that shows they clearly recognise their parent. That position allows the human to teach the birds a lot – for example not to be afraid of the microlight."
 
The first batch Dr Fritz acted as a parent for he admitted was ultimately a heartbreaking experience. None of his 10 hatchlings still survive and now every year he selects students to be parents for the birds. The latest batch of 16 were hatched out by the two students and of the 16 that set off 15 made it. He said: "That is a fantastic success rate."
 
And Dr Fritz added: "It shows how far we have come. Only one became ill and couldn't make it – and that bird has now been put permanently with a captive colony in Carinthia in Austria to spend the rest of it years there. The other 15 are now flying around in Italy with others as part of the community down there."
 
The team have managed to iron out teething problems with the imprinting to make the adoption a flawless process and also overcome all the birds obstacles to following the microlight down to Italy where they spend the winter learning from other birds how to feed themselves and about life in the wild.
 
But they haven't managed yet to overcome the one big obstacle – man.
 
Dr Fritz said: "Every year we lose birds to hunters. There's always been a tradition in countries like Italy about shooting migratory birds which used to be eaten. Nowadays, it's mainly done for fun, even though it's illegal to shoot the Ibis which is on the red list as highly endangered.
 
"This will be the first time we get to see the real advantages of the electronic tagging. We started tagging a few birds last year (2011) and by October we had managed to tag 50 percent of the birds. The device was specially created for us and our requirements. By March (2012) we had tagged all of our birds."
 
He said that although they mix in one group in Italy the birds are actually from separate breeding colonies and one group will fly back to Burghausen in Bavaria, Germany, while the others will fly back to colonies in Salzburg and Scharnstein, both in Austria.
 
Fritz is trying to teach and inform hunters about the project to prevent further losses of the birds by gaining publicity in the media.
 
He said: "The technology allows us to track exactly where the birds are. This will help us protect them and control their movements."
 
To find more about the project email or write to Dr Fritz on info@waldrapp.eu  / +43 676 550 3244.]]> Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:17:00 +0100 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/abortion-agony-of-pip-mum.html A woman expecting her first baby is involved in a desperate race against time to find a medical...  
The pharmacist discovered she was pregnant in the same week as she was told her 2008 implants were from the batch produced containing potentially lethal industrial silicone. A scan revealed they had already started to leak.
 
"Just as I'd realised my dream of a baby, I have been told I have to give it up. Every time I see baby powder or nappies I burst into tears," she told the Munchener Merkur newspaper.
 
Surgeons have refused to remove her implants due to a blood condition which massively increases her risk of blood clotting - believed to have been caused by leaking silicone - and which means she might not survive the op.
 
Now changes to her breasts caused by the pregnancy mean growing pressure on the implants mean they could burst, threatening both her and her unborn tot.
 
The woman had been to more than 10 local surgeons who all turned her down before opting to have the abortion, scheduled to take place next week.
 
"I have always wanted a baby – and I got pregnant at the same time as I then discovered that I had been given the PIP implants," said Manuela, who is part of a class action law suit with the German legal firm Zierhut und Graf that is  suing the now insurance company Allianz in France that had insured the now bankrupt French firm that produced the implants.
 
So far 150 of the estimated 5,000 - 10,000 women in Germany are being represented by the firm that is also taking legal action against the firm that delivered the implants to Germany.
 
Since 2009 she has been suffering from a blood disease that meant she needed chemotherapy. Her lawyer Michael Graf said: "As this disease is usually hereditary and yet no-one in her family has had it before, we believe it was caused by the implants."
 
She had been training as a beautician in 2006 when she decided to have her first breast implant, saving all her earnings to pay for it. She said: "I was young and it was common in the branch for people to have beauty ops. I didn't really think about it."
 
She then needed a correction in 2008 and was given the cheap implants by a Munich surgeon.
 
She said: "He told me that he would only be using the best quality implants."
 
Journalismwithoutborders is hoping that by spreading her story world wide the young woman will be able to get help to have the implants removed.
 
Any medical institution that may be able to help is urged to email news@journalismwithoutborders.com ------ This article was written with the help of Munchener Merkur journalist Bettina Stuhl Weissenburg and photographer Klaas Haag who is allowing the picture to be used by English-speaking media ONLY. The picture is NOT to be used in Germany without permission from the photographer. Please write to office@journalismwithoutborders.com for details or contact the newspaper direct.]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:58:00 +0100 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/brides-tragic-treatment.html This is the moment 24-year-old Chen Cuilan gets her final wish - to have a set of wedding photos...
He said: "We both came here as migrant workers. We never had much money but we had each other and we were very happy. We married in 2008 and our happiness was complete when our daughter Zeng Xingyue was born in 2009.

"Chen Cuilan had been getting stomach pains for some time but we had been too poor to go to a doctor straight away - when we did go in May this year we were told she had terminal cancer. My world ended when I heard that. When she said she wished we had done the pictures at the wedding - I knew what I had to do and straight away arranged to borrow the money."

The photos cost just 200 euros - equivalent to a months salary for the dad who will soon have to care for their daughter alone.

He said: "With the medical bills and the continuing treatment costs it was a struggle. But I found the cash by borrowing from friends - then I found my wife's dress and brought it to her at the hospital - it was great to see her smile.

"I took her in a wheelchair to the studio - when the photographer saw us crying rather than laughing he asked why and when he heard our story he refunded our deposit. "And he came back the next day to reshoot with our daughter in the pictures as well, again for free."

The bride's mother who was present at the second shoot had to hide behind a mirror so her daughter did not see her tears - and there was not a dry eye in the hospital as the couple's daughter hugged her mum and begged her to come home with them. Chen Cuilan said: "I think she sensed something was wrong. But she is a brave girl - she will understand."

Doctors believe that she has six months to live if she follows her medication - but without treatment she could die at any day.

She said: "We could not afford the wedding pictures - I always regretted it. Now I am content in the love of my husband and my daughter who have done this for me - and I hope they will think on me when they see the pictures."

Husband Zeng Sai agreed saying: "It was a day of beauty for us all to remember. She looked as lovely as the day we were married - but it was so hard to stay brave and smile." Although doctors say Chen Cuilan's condition is terminal, good medication will help to extend her life and Journalism Without Borders is collecting donations to help pay for this and to help clear the family's debt from previous treatment.]]> Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:01:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/brave-face.html Brave mum Wei Yanjun has vowed to raise 50,000 GBP for reconstructive surgery after her...
"We are not rich, not even comfortable, but I will do anything in my power to make my son well again," said mum Wei Yanjun, 32. Local schools have banned the youngster, afraid they won't be able to cope with the dozens of creams and painkillers he needs to take every day.

"That is hard for him so after school I take him to their playground with a few friends so he can pretend he's at school," said Wang's mum.

Now surgeons say they can rebuild the lad's face in a series of operations - but they'd cost more than the entire family could earn in a lifetime.

"My boy has all sorts of problems. Lately his lips have started to grow together. But we will and we must raise this money," said his mother. Journalism Without Borders is collecting donations for Wang's treatment.]]> Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:47:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/inside-out-girl.html The shattered mum of an inside out tot born with her heart outside her chest has told how the... Journalism Without Borders is collecting donations for Beersheba's treatment.]]> Wed, 18 May 2011 23:00:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/margarethe-linseis.html The family of a woman crippled by a drunken Irish football fan have launched a charity to fight... The family of a woman crippled by a drunken Irish football fan have launched a charity to fight for the rights of others whose lives have been ruined by football violence. Margarethe Linseis, 85, who had been visiting friends in Salzburg was so badly injured her family were told she was unlikely to survive after the attack by Paul Kelly, 23, from Dublin. But in fact the woman from Priem am Chiemsee in Bavaria, Germany, survived - but suffered such severe brain damage that she now needs 24-hour care. At Kelly's trial in October 2010 public prosecutor Barbara Feichtinger told the court in Salzburg how Kelly and his friends had been among the 500 other Irish fans in Salzburg on the evening before the champions league qualifying game between the Bohemians Dublin and the local FC Red Bull Salzburg. Kelly had stolen a bike belonging to waitress Bianca Boeck, 27, who had chased after him and grabbed his shirt so that he fell off. But he had then picked himself up and ran off with two pals Brendan Devlin, 22, and Mark Flynn, 20. Kelly had pushed the old woman out of his way as he tried to escape but had then been grabbed by an Austrian man, Paul Auboeck, 23, who had seen the way in which he had pushed over the old woman. The court heard how Auboeck had held onto Kelly but had been punched and kicked to the ground by his two pals Devlin and Flynn who had then rained blows on him as he lay on the floor - then they ran off. Auboeck who also suffered head injuries and was in hospital for two weeks had afterwards refused to press charges against the two, saying he wanted to move on with his life. Margarethe's architect son Wolfgang Linseis, 56, said: "He knew what he had done at the time and all the radio stations were talking about the fact that my mother might not survive. She had even been given the last rites. But he ran off." Police had sealed off the city after the incident because they expected it would be a murder hunt, but once it was clear the Irishman had left it was not pursued so enthusiastically. The court heard how Wolfgang himself had identified a crucial piece of evidence after talking to taxi drivers that told him one of the three had fallen against a tree, leaving a small blood stain that had been picked up by forensic experts. It meant that by February 2010 they had managed to extract a sample of DNA from the bike that identified the Irishman as the same man who had provided a DNA sample when police had cleared an Irish pub in Salzburg - and taken the personal data of the 100 people present. Salzburg police chief Andreas Huber said at the time he remembered the Irishman, saying: "Kelly was very arrogant then so the suspicion against him had solidified." But Irish officials had proved reluctant to extradite Kelly, and it meant police had to wait until he left the country – and that happened in September 2010 when he went for a holiday on Ibiza and was arrested at the airport - and extradited to Austria after a month in a Spanish jail. Wolfgang added: "You get the feeling that almost everything is okay in the name of football. We really had to pursue this at every step of the way to make sure he was brought to justice - and when he finally appeared in court instead of an apology it was quite obvious he didn't feel at all that he was in the wrong. He had had a few too many drinks. He was arrogant and aloof and has even now still not apologised." Jobless Kelly had pleaded not guilty to charges of negligent serious assault (Margarethe), theft (of the bike), assault (Mr Auboeck) and making threats when he appeared in court. Although he was found guilty he was given just a seven months sentence, six suspended. Because he had been in custody for a month awaiting extradition he was allowed to walk free straight away. And although the cost of round-the-clock care for Mrs Linseis has been estimated at close to 400,000 Euros, that included the 1,000 a day for 5 months in intensive care and then various rehab centres, he was ordered to pay just 10,000 Euros in compensation. The only other income the family has is a pension for the care of their mother of 650 Euros a month. Defence lawyer Clemens Zeilinger said it was an "unfortunate series of events", stressing that his client was no violent criminal. But Wolfgang Linseis said that the fact he had never apologised spoke volumes. He added: "He claimed to be unemployed but he also said he had been to hundreds of Bohemians games each of which costs up to 40 Euros to attend. I wonder how he can afford that being unemployed. Stefan Rieder, Margarethe's lawyer, told the court that although Kelly had arrived with his father and tried to seem as if he wouldn't hurt a fly he had in fact already been registered with police in Wiesbaden, Germany, as a "dangerous hooligan". Wolfgang said: "My mother suffered a third degree traumatic brain injury and a basal skull fracture, is physically disabled and suffered a serious post traumatic change of character. One eye is a also destroyed. The neurologist who treated her told me that several brain areas had been cut off from oxygen so nobody can tell how she will recover psychologically. When you talk to her she might tell of some nice event of the past but she is unable to answer concrete questions." He added: "This whole affair has ended the active and vibrant life of my mother who is now in need of 24-hour care, my sister has had to give up her job to provide that care and we have all had to suffer while this was brought to court. But although we have had help from the victim support group the white ring and even from the German football fans in FC Bavaria - we feel there is not enough being done in material terms for the physical needs of the victims of such sporting violence. "We want to start an organisation to build a care centre where they can get treatment and advice for victims and families - we have had nobody that has been able to come in and look after our mother so we could take a break. We want to set up a unique residency to treat victims and support them by various therapies including sports, traditional Chinese medicine, psychosocial care and also job and finance related issues." At a press conference in March in Vienna the family unveiled details of the new charity for victims of hooligan violence which they call the "Roter Ritter", German for "Red Knight". By Richard Wolf We would like to thank the Austrian Press Agency for their help and support with this project.
 
Journalism Without Borders helped the family set up the charity including liaising with media and advising in related matters and is now collecting money to fund the project.]]> Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:10:00 +0200 http://www.journalismwithoutborders.com/details/article/coral-boys-plea-for-help.html These are the heartbreaking images of Chinese toddler Li Shenghan who urgently needs treatment in...
But his parents who are migrant workers who earn less than 100 pounds a week have no savings left after spending more than a year travelling from hospital after hospital as the condition got worse.

Mum Mu Xiaojie, 33, said: "My husband and I did not have a lot of money but we have always wanted to do the best for our child which is why we went outside of our area to work. Now the doctors say it may well have been the pollution or something else in the environment he picked up while we were travelling that has made him so ill.

"He was always such a very happy child and got on so well with other children – now he's in pain all the time and he does not want to play with other children. But he still laughs and people have been very kind sending him toys."

"About a year ago I noticed some pimples on his arm. At first, it resembled a common skin disease, so I took him to hospital and doctors said the pimples were likely to be caused by an insect’ bite.

"The doctors prescribed some ointment; however, one week later, the pimples were still there. So I took him to a bigger hospital where they gave him the same ointment and by then the pimples had covered more of his body.

"Doctors didn’t know what the pimples were and didn’t risk removing the pimples directly. Finally the pimples grew bigger and spread to his whole body, making him look like a living coral."

Now his father Li Wenrui and his mother Mu Xiaojie, 35, who have both given up work to care for their child have finally got a diagnosis after taking their son back to their hometown at Shengjing hospital at Shengyang.

Mum Mu Xiaojie said: "When he first came here he was in a lot of pain and refused to move at all but the doctors and nurses here have been wonderful and they do their best for him. He is actually in a much better condition now than he was although he is still weak. In addition many people have been very kind sending my son presents – and I believe with semi-people caring that we now have a chance."

But the family need donations to go through with the treatment.

Doctors say he is suffering from a very rare version of Acute Monocytic Leukemia, and that if he does not get the full treatment soon then the cancer cells could spread to bone marrow and lead to acute leukemia.

Wang Huan, The doctor in charge of Shenghan’s case, said: "The child’s disease is quite serious, in the past 2 decades; we just had one similar case."

According to doctor Wang, the coral like skin covering is even present inside his mouth and under his eyelids causing incredible pain and is also probably the reason why he's not eating properly.

He said if the treatment is done properly the boy has a 50 percent chance of survival.

He said: "We need to carry out a bone marrow transplantation, and he also needs extensive chemotherapy."

The family needs to raise another 50,000 Euros for the treatment and is already in debt to the total of 10,000 which they estimate they will have to spend the rest of their lives earning to pay back friends and family.

Journalism Without Borders is collecting donations to help fund the treatment.
 ]]> Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:35:00 +0100