welsh at Brave New Films

Crisis looms in drought-stricken Niger - Nov 8 08

2008-11-13T02:55:05Z

In Niger, there are too many mouths to feed, and not enough productive land. The country already struggles with extreme poverty but now Niger is being hard hit by climate change.

Rural populations are being starved off their land and as a result there is a mass exodus into the cities.

Al Jazeera's May Ying Welsh reports.

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Authors@Google: Irvine Welsh

2008-11-13T14:50:50Z

The Authors@Google program was thrilled to welcome Irvine Welsh to Google's New York office to discuss his new book, "Crime".

From The Guardian:

"Welsh is a brave writer, which means he tries everything, and sometimes his editors let him get away with one metaphor too many. But this is still a great, redemptive book. It leaves you wanting more, much more. It leaves you wondering how many other writers could intertwine, in the closing chapters, a thoughtful dissection of the organic intelligence of pedophilia rings with an exposition of the thoughts of chairman Wallace Mercer in the urinals of Dundee's Dens Park on the infamous 1986 day when Hearts threw away cup victory. What am I saying, many other writers? There's only one and you should be reading him again."

This event took place on September 9, 2008.

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Authors@Google: Irvine Welsh

2008-11-06T10:56:58Z

Irvine Welsh visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book "Crime: A Novel." This event took place on September 19, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series.

Welshs sizzling new novel, Crime, is a thrilling journey into the bright glamour of the Sunshine State and a seething underworld of utter darkness.

Now bereft of both youth and ambition, Detective Inspector Ray Lennox is recovering from a mental breakdown induced by occupational stress and cocaine abuse, and a particularly horrifying child sex murder case back in Edinburgh. On vacation in Florida, his fiancée Trudi is only interested in planning their forthcoming wedding, and a bitter argument sees a deranged Lennox cast adrift in strip-mall Florida. In a seedy bar, Lennox meets two women, ending up at their apartment for a coke binge, which is interrupted by two menacing strangers. After the ensuing brawl, Lennox finds himself alone with Tianna, the terrified ten-year-old daughter of one of the women, and a sheet of instructions that make him responsible for her immediate safety.

Irvine Welsh is the author of eight previous works of fiction, including Trainspotting and most recently, If You Liked School, Youll Love Work.

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Endangered minds of Niger's future generation - 18 Jul 08

2008-10-28T03:29:39Z

Education is not only a fundamental human right for all children, but the gateway out of poverty, as education is empowerment and empowerment is the key to a better life and future.

However, in Tazerzait, a remote area in Niger, the only school that was providing an education for children, was seized by the army.

Children were forced out of the school and left without a place to learn.

Education is often taken for granted in developing nations; however impoverished families in Niger are forced to accept that their children will remain out of the classroom due to the civil unrest.

The civil war has damaged children, their potential, and Niger as a whole.

Al Jazeera's May Welsh reports from northern Niger, on the endangered minds of Sahara's future children.

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Human cost of war in Niger -17 Jul 08

2008-10-27T21:30:54Z

Life is a daily struggle for Tuareg villagers living in Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, they are often left with nothing in their flight from conflict.

Civil war and drought routinely disrupt the largely subsistence economy of this African nation.

Al Jazeera's May Welsh reports from northern Niger, on the violent struggle between rebels and government troops, that make it increasingly difficult for many villagers to survive.

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Niger's natural wealth exploited - 16 July 08

2008-10-27T21:30:27Z

The Tuareg people of Niger struggle to maintain their nomadic way of life in the face of uranium mining, an industry run by foreign companies that many say is having devastating environmental repurcussions.

Al Jazeera's May Welsh reports on civilians and rebels in the uranium mining zone.

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Desertification threatens Niger's nomads - 15 July 08

2008-10-27T21:29:25Z

The effects of global warming can be starkly seen in the Sahara desert, where Niger is one of the countries most vulnerable.

Al Jazeera's May Welsh reports from the country, where she found a bedouin tribe fighting possible extinction.

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Niger's nomad army - 14 July 08

2008-10-27T15:31:30Z

Niger's Tuareg population say that the benefits of uranium mining are not being distributed fairly, and a military campaign against the government is their only option.

In the first of a series of reports, Al Jazeera's May Welsh travelled to a Tuareg base in the northern Air mountains.

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