Peacekeeping

A woman was being carried down the road in a bed.

I have encountered some strange things in South Sudan—seen malnourished children; nearly stepped on a large opalescent snake—but nothing more compelling than this.

What impressed me as I struggled to catch up was the speed at which the four men carrying the women were moving, each supporting a leg of a bed constructed of rough-cut wood and a lattice of rope.

Jina Moore, for the Pulitzer Center

One of the luxuries of Monrovia is working in my native language -- almost. English is the official language of Liberia, and the lingua franca of all things government. But it's not really what the people speak.

Jina Moore, for the Pulitzer Center (Photos by Glenna Gordon)

Jina Moore, for the Pulitzer Center (Photo by Glenna Gordon)

I made my first trip to Africa nearly three years ago, and I savored the kind of knowledge that amounts to faith. I was going to Rwanda, and I had no idea what it would be like. I only knew that it wasn't –couldn't be – as bad as everyone seemed to think. "Have you seen Hotel Rwanda?" they'd ask. "Yes, but that was ten years ago…"

"Troubles in Congo" aired on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on Tuesday, August 11 as Hillary Clinton visited a war-ravaged Congo, bringing the country's troubles into focus. In this video, Jason Maloney offers a special report on peacekeeping efforts in the country.

This video is part of a series from the Pulitzer Center on Fragile States, a collaboration with the Bureau for International Reporting.

For many, Nepal conjures up notions of Mount Everest, Buddhist monks, and hippies seeking a Himalayan high. But this next story shows another side of Nepal -- a country recovering from a decade of civil war in which Maoist rebels recently brought down the long-standing monarchy. It faces the age-old problem: how to integrate former adversaries into a single army.

Produced and reported by Jason Motlagh

Edited by Robin Bell
Bell Visuals

Produced in association with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

More than a year ago, the United Nations mandated a peacekeeping force for the violence-torn Darfur region of Sudan. Two and a half million internally displaced people, known as "IDPs," remain in camps, under threat from government-sponsored forces. Undermanned and under resourced, the peacekeeping force is losing the trust of those it was meant to protect.

Produced, directed and shot by Susan Schulman

Co-produced and edited by Chris Milner

In association with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Susan Schulman, a photojournalist who was embedded with Unamid peacekeepers in northern Darfur last year, recalls the day their convoy was shot at by suspected government soldiers.

On one of my last days in Khost in 2007, I remember the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers guarding Forward Operating Base Salerno's main gate were shocked that we'd go into the city without guns, dressed like westerners.

Days before, we asked Saifullah, our translator and fixer, if we needed to wear the shawal kameez -- the long shirt and baggy pants -- worn by men in central Asia. He said no, but at the gate, he said next time we went to town that it might be a good idea.

(06-30) 04:00 PDT Chitwan, Nepal — Four years ago, a science student who goes by the nom de guerre Hardik dropped out of a Kathmandu university to join Maoist insurgents. Today, the 25-year-old rebel idles in a U.N.-monitored camp, studying English grammar or playing the flute between training drills.

On a sun-baked plain four hours' drive south of Kathmandu, the capital, a platoon of Maoist fighters in jungle fatigues is on the move. A cry of "lal salaam!" ("red salute!") pierces the air as the drill instructor orders a halt, and the soldiers make thrusts with their mock-up wooden rifles. Even in the haze of dusk, it is clear there are still two armies in Nepal.