Den Haag

The International Criminal Court, which houses part of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Picture from Wikimedia.

Den Haag library. Picture from library website.

I’m meeting up with an old friend who is now a Dutch radio reporter, and tomorrow and Friday we will be observing the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor. Sadly I forgot the cable to connect my camera to my computer, so I’ll be blogging sans original pictures.

I’m freelancing for two news outlets. I’m interested in Special Court outreach efforts to Liberians in Liberia and the diaspora. Are Liberians following the trial? How do they get information about the trial? Taylor’s trial is creating gradually a complex picture of what happened in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Anonymous and open witness testimony from Taylor’s deputies, rebel leaders, and civilians affected by the conflict have created narratives of battles, power struggles, looting, executions, and survival. How is this impacting Liberians at home and abroad? Is this new information dividing Liberian communities or uniting them? Or are Liberians paying so little attention that there is no impact?

Perhaps it’s not the best idea for a reporter to post online her story topics before the stories get written, but based on the three or four days that Taylor’s trial has made the news, I don’t think I have much competition.

I welcome any thoughts on the questions above through the “comments” link below.