The State We're In, 27 August 2011. A Rwandan mother flees the 1994 genocide on foot, with her infant son in tow. An Australian girl riding a panicked horse heading for the highway sings a song to it and saves her life. A woman in Louisiana once convicted of a so-called “crime against nature” becomes a horticulturalist, and a rickshaw driver in India explains how he became a local hero.
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While waiting at the airport in Kigali, Leah Chishugi got caught up in the 1994 assassination that triggered the Rwandan genocide. Leah tells host Jonathan Groubert about all the decisions she made to escape the country... on foot with her infant son.
Leah eventually settled in London, presuming her partner and family had been killed. But a phone call prompts her to fly to Africa and find out what happened to her family and to meet the man who killed them.
Leah's charity Everything is a Benefit has a Facebook group
Video: Rape in a Lawless Land - Leah Chishugi recorded the testimonies of over 400 women and girls raped by militias in eastern Congo, 2008
Sasha Pavey was 10 years old and bored on a family holiday in Australia, so she perked up when they drove past a horse riding school. But what started off as a gentle country trot became one of the most terrifying, and revealing, moments of her life.
“Crime against nature”
In 1993 Deborah in New Orleans was accused of committing what’s called “a crime against nature” - a legal expression for oral and anal sex. She did her time, but even now her identity papers are marked with the label “sex offender”. Deborah, who is now a gardener, tells Jonathan what living with that label has been like.
Wall Street Journal - Louisiana’s ‘Crime Against Nature’ Sex Law Draws Legal Fire
Rickshaw hero
Shiv Kumar (pictured below) used to drive an auto-rickshaw in Bangalore, India. He didn’t make enough money, his days were long and dirty, and yet he’s unfailingly kind and thoughtful. In fact, he’s received many awards for having returned jewellery to passengers and rescued a woman from being assaulted. A poet and singer, and now radio presenter, Shiv tells Jonathan why he decided to make kindness his life’s work.
DNA India - An auto driver hits the radio road in Bangalore
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Was totally inspired by this brave young woman. Listened to her as I was walking downtown here in Montreal. A lovely fall day & her story added to the joyful feeling of being alive. Thanks for this
I thouroughly enjoy the program. I listen to it while doing the cleaning of my little house in Adelaide, Australia, every Saturday afternoon.
Thank you for making my house chores a time to listen to interesting stories!
All the best
Luisa
Thanks to both you Luisa and Brad!
Thanks to Ms. Chishugi for her candid account of her story.
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