This week Feedback highlights some of the comments, praise and complaints sent in by our listeners and readers on everything from smiling to journalism, use of photos and censorship.

First, it is always wonderful to feel that the work we do is appreciated, so our thanks goes to Syed Athar of Gujranwala, Pakistan, who wrote:

“I like your Radio programmes. They are so fine. I love them and want to listen again. Keep broadcasting.”

Syed was not the only one who wanted to revisit a programme this week. Soledad Brava heard a feature on The State We're In and was frustrated in trying to find it to hear again [edited for space]:

“...Sunday, Oct. 31, I heard a compelling story about  an Afghan journalist jailed under Karzai's government... Now the story is not on your website. Why? This is so frustrating...  if you can provide a link to it, at least I can hear it again.”

Producer, Greg Kelly, responds:

“Thanks for contacting us. The story is in fact on the website, so just go to the The right to a dignified old age page and click on the player below "Listen to this week's show in full" and you'll hear it.”

We get a lot of post for The State We're In, and sometimes people send in lovely stories of their own. A recent theme on TSWI looked at various issues around The right to smile, including features on Henrietta Spalding who was born with a rare condition which leaves her unable to make any facial expressions, the hundreds of thousands of children around the world who have cleft lips and palettes, and what happened when Rana Qumsiyeh smiled at an Israeli/West Bank checkpoint .

Stewart Lessel, a listener who lives and works in Japan, was moved to send us his own experiences around smiling in that country:

“In Japan people rarely smile, children might, but the average adult won't unless they know you. If you don't know someone you see walking down the street and you pass by, they won't greet you or look you in the eye. However, when you enter the supermarket, the average Japanese working there has a superficial smile due to business.”

Sometimes we get post from people who just want to get something off their chest, and is not in response to any feature or programme in particular. The following mail came from Gabriele [edited for space]:

“I don't know if I am writing to the right place, but I live in Holland since 2006, and I am experiencing very bad racism. I am from Italy, I am into IT security and moved to your country as I found a very good job opportunity. It lasted for nearly 2 years, till April this year I moved to a small company where after 4 months the company was nearly bankrupt.

… up to now I've sent out  something like 2000 CVs in order to find a permanent position, but each time - even if the role is advertised in English – I am left out with the excuse I don't speak Dutch... If I stick to the declaration of human rights, Article n.2 states that: "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, etc... I don't want to go back to my home country, but if I don't find a new position ASAP that's what I am forced to do.”

Sadly, we cannot offer any employment advice, nor indeed comment on your experience, however, Feedback has passed on your mail to Curious Orange to see if they wish to investigate the situation for foreign workers in terms of language here.

Now, sometimes we just get it wrong, and then we depend on our readers and listeners to help point this out to us so we can make amends. The following post came from someone who identified themselves as Tinkerbell [edited for space]:

“I read an article you published about Julio Poch’s ‘death flights’, and noticed a photo that had been published on the lead: Argentinian pilots took turns on death flights
 
Poch and an unknown US soldier are posted in the top photo. The article says he (the US soldier) is a colleague, and does not omit his face. The US soldier who had neither involvement nor knowledge of these horrendous crimes, is shown in the photo you have obtained... yet the perpetrator's face is omitted.
 
I am a relative of that US soldier, and seeing that picture posted up on your news article is inexcusable and offensive to my family.... That soldier was a brave, honourable man who loved his country, and would be horrified to learn of what has transpired. Would it be that he was still among the living, he would be writing this letter to you instead of me.
 
He is no colleague of a man who killed innocent people. On his behalf, as well as his family, I request this picture be removed immediately.”

Web editor Theo Tamis responds: 

“Please accept our apologies for publishing an inappropriate photograph on our article about Julio Poch’s 'death flights'. You're absolutely right, the US soldier's face should have been made unrecognisable. The mere fact that he's featured in the photo makes it inappropriate for this article. We have therefore changed the photograph.”

And, finally, sometimes it is not so much that we got it wrong, but that decisions have been made for reasons that are not always clear to our readers and listeners. Such a case occurred recently with an interview conducted for Earthbeat that was not in the end aired.

Francesca Romana Orlando sent the following mail [edited for space]:
 
“I read that you censored an interview to Dr. William Rea from Dallas about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity because you were not sure it was a physical illness. Actually, if this is true, it is absolutely absurd because only ignorance can let people believe that MCS is a psychological condition. The scientific evidence is such that no one doubt remains about the toxicological origin of MCS; this is a condition triggered by chemical exposures..."

Michele Ernsting, Content Coordinator for RNW English, responds:
 
“Thank you for your comment. We did not censor this story. We came to the conclusion that, as a medical story, it was outside our realm of expertise. As such, it needed more time and research than we were able to devote to it in order to do the story justice.”

Doing it right and doing it justly are important to us, so please keep writing.