Foreign Exchange

Over the summer, tens of thousands of Kashmiri protesters jammed the streets demanding independence from India. It was the biggest public outcry since the revolt of 1989, when mass demonstrations were a prelude to years of militancy. The difference today is that a new generation of politically-minded youth is leading the way. While frustrations over the heavy-handed presence of Indian forces and economic inequalities still run deep, they are choosing non-violent means to push for change.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been detained by the US, one and a half million have had an immediate family-member detained, almost every Iraqi knows someone who has been through the US detention system. Few American institutions affect the lives of ordinary Iraqis more directly and profoundly than the US detention system.

At one point during "the Surge" the US was holding 27,000 Iraqis. Today it holds 17,000.

Still, nearly 700,000 Indian troops are deployed around the state. And there are mounting concerns that if the government does not reduce its presence, frustrations may spark a new cycle of violence.

Credits:

"Kashmir's Uneasy Peace"

East Africa's Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake—but some experts think it may disappear within twenty years.

Water levels have dropped dramatically in recent years thanks to climate change, hydroelectric dam projects and increasing pressure on the lake's threatened resources. The crisis endangers the livelihood of the more than 30 million people who rely on the lake for food and work.

World Water Day on March 22 reminds us of the 1 billion people on Earth who lack easy access to the water most of us take for granted. Global climate change is making that struggle worse, as we see in this report from the rugged region of southern Ethiopia, where drought is drying up wells, threatening an ancient way of life and fueling conflict.

If you can not access the video on YouTube, you can download a wmv file.

Credits:
Special thanks to Salihu Sultan and the Ethiopian Red Cross

Film director Karim Chrobog talks about "War Child," the conflict in Darfur and how Emmanuel Jal copes with his newfound fame.

The amputee soccer players—formerly child soldiers of opposing rebel groups—are held up as the new hope of Liberia. Although these players win medals, they still struggle to meet their basic needs.

Reporter Ruthie Ackerman and photographer Andre Lamberston travel from Staten Island to Liberia, exploring the challenges faced by youth in post-war Liberia and those who've arrived on American soil.

New alliances with Sunni militias have reduced attacks on American troops in Anbar and elsewhere in Iraq, but will this new strategy lead to lasting stability, or is it feeding a sectarian civil war and exacerbating a growing refugee crisis?

"Another Darfur?" aired as the In Focus piece on Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria.

Pulitzer Center grantees Jeffrey Barbee and Stephanie Hanes document poaching around Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.