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Latin American News Agency · 1998–1999

From Southampton
to the Sunday Mirror

The earliest published work of Richard Powell — co-founder of the Latin American News Agency, investigative reporter, documentary maker. He was twenty years old.

In October 1998, a second-year journalism student at Southampton Institute travelled to London to cover street protests surrounding the arrest of Chilean dictator General Pinochet. He didn't return to his degree until he had co-founded a news agency, broken a national exclusive in the Sunday Mirror, filmed a documentary in Havana, and reported from a Kurdish siege in Holland Park.

The stories below — each presented with the original newspaper clipping and the full text of the article — document the beginning of a journalistic career that would go on to span more than three hundred conflict zone dispatches from Sudan, Iraq, Liberia, Gaza and beyond.

Chronology · 1998–1999

1998
LANA Founded
Powell travels to London for the Pinochet protests. Meets Dominic Hipkins. The Latin American News Agency is incorporated.
Jan '99
Sunday Mirror Exclusive
Undercover investigation exposes pro-Pinochet demonstrators being paid £9/hour and flown from Chile to protest outside Parliament.
Feb '99
Cuba: Trouble at 40
Documentary filmed across Havana. UK Ambassador David Ridgeway interviewed exclusively. Narrated by John McNaughton.
1999
Kurdish & Meningitis
Frontline dispatch from the Ocalan protests, Holland Park. Investigative piece links US sanctions to Southampton student deaths.

01 · The Pinochet Files

Southampton Echo · 1998

Journalism Student Hits Big Time with Pinochet

A 20-year-old student leaves for London to write a couple of freelance stories — and accidentally founds a news agency.

General Pinochet's arrest in London in October 1998 sent shockwaves through Britain's Chilean exile community and drew hundreds of protesters to the streets outside the hospital where he was being treated. It also sent Richard Powell, then a second-year journalism student at Southampton Institute, north on the train with a notebook and a contact.

That contact was Dominic Hipkins, a Latin American politics enthusiast who shared Powell's fascination with the continent. The two recognised a gap in the market: British media had almost no dedicated Latin America correspondents.

"We felt there was a lack of communication between Britain and South America so it was a niche market. The BBC had only one Latin America correspondent."

Within weeks, television and national newspaper journalists were using the agency's stories and footage. John Simpson contacted the pair about travelling to Argentina to interview children allegedly abducted by the military government in the 1970s. The student's gap year had become something considerably larger.

Southampton Echo · 1998 · Original clipping transcript
Southampton Echo · 1998 · Full text
Journalism Student Hits Big Time with Pinochet
Caption: JOURNALISM STUDENT: Richard Powell.

GENERAL Pinochet's loss has been the gain of a Southampton student.

Second-year journalism student Richard Powell set out for London to write a couple of freelance stories about the former South American dictator's plight and ended up starting his own news agency.

The 20-year-old entrepreneur joined forces with a friend, fellow Latin American politics enthusiast Dominic Hipkins, and together they have submitted stories to media all around the world.

For the past month Richard has been travelling back and forth to the capital from his home in Harborough Road in Southampton reporting on street demonstrations outside the hospital where Pinochet, pictured, was being treated for a back condition and interviewing countless Chilean exiles.

When I saw on the news he was in London I called Dominic straight away. We had the idea of doing a couple of freelance stories and before we knew it we had formed an agency.

"We felt there was a lack of communication between Britain and South America so it was a niche market. For example, we were told by a cameraman that the BBC had only one Latin America correspondent."

Southampton Echo clipping: Journalism student hits big time with Pinochet
Southampton Echo · 1998 · Click to enlarge

02 · The National Press Takes Notice

Southampton Advertiser clipping: And here is the news
Southampton Advertiser · 1998–99 · Click to enlarge
Southampton Advertiser · 1998–99

"And Here Is the News"

A local feature traces how LANA's reach grew rapidly — into the national press and onto television screens.

By the time the Southampton Advertiser ran its double-page spread on the agency, LANA had already scored what would become its most celebrated early coup: a Sunday Mirror exclusive revealing that pro-Pinochet demonstrators outside Parliament were being paid £9 an hour, flown from Chile, and housed in four-star London hotels at the expense of wealthy Pinochet supporters.

Television and national newspaper journalists, the piece noted, had been impressed by the work of the 20-year-old entrepreneur and his business partner, and had been using their stories and film footage.

It started as a passion for Latin American politics — but its success has taken a Southampton student by surprise.

The pair had also returned from Cuba, where they filmed a documentary about life on the island forty years after Castro's revolution — gaining an exclusive two-hour interview with British Ambassador David Ridgeway in the process.

Southampton Advertiser · 1998–99 · Original clipping transcript
Southampton Advertiser · 1998–99 · Full text
And Here Is the News
It started as a passion for Latin American politics — but its success has taken a Southampton student by surprise.

Richard Powell, a second-year journalism student at Southampton Institute, set out for London to write a couple of freelance stories about protests for and against former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet — and ended up starting his own news agency.

Television and national newspaper journalists have been so impressed by the work of the 20-year-old entrepreneur — and his business partner Dominic Hipkins — that they have been using his stories and film footage.

The Sunday Mirror used an exclusive story from the agency telling how General Pinochet's supporters had been paid £9 an hour to protest against the former dictator's extradition to face trial in Spain.

And BBC newsreader John Simpson has asked the pair to go to Argentina in the next couple of months to interview children allegedly abducted by the military government in the 1970s.

The plan is to show on BBC2's Newsnight with Simpson doing the voice-over.

Richard and Dominic set up the Latin American News Agency almost by accident after they discovered a mutual love of South and Central American politics.

Richard said: "When I saw on the news that Pinochet was in London I called Dominic straight away. We had the idea of doing a couple of freelance stories and before we knew it we had formed an agency."

The pair have recently returned from Cuba where they were making a documentary about the 40th anniversary of President Fidel Castro's seizure of power.

Despite being followed constantly by police, they interviewed the British ambassador in Havana, a leading Cuban artist and several people who want to leave the Caribbean island.

"Now that King Hussein has died, General Castro is the longest serving leader in the world," said Richard, who lives in Harborough Road, Southampton. "I fell in love with Cuba when I first visited it."

"I found myself returning to try and document its situation in the advent of the success of the agency."

Richard is trying to get the backing of a national newspaper so he can show the documentary, Cuba: Trouble At 40, at British universities which have a Latin American politics course.

As you can imagine, juggling the degree and the company at the same time is growing increasingly difficult as interest continues to develop," he admitted.

Caption: BIRTH OF AN AGENCY: Above — Pinochet protesters on the streets of London. Below — Richard (right) and Dominic Hipkins relax after a hard day's filming. NEWSHOUND: Journalism student Richard Powell.

03 · The Sunday Mirror Exclusive

Sunday Mirror · 31 January 1999

Free Pinochet Protesters Are £9 an Hour Rent-a-Mob Living Free in 4-Star Luxury

An undercover investigation reveals that the apparent groundswell of pro-Pinochet sentiment outside the Houses of Parliament is manufactured — and paid for by his wealthy supporters.

This was the story that established LANA's credentials with the national press. Through patient source-building within the Chilean exile community and careful undercover reporting, the agency documented how a well-funded operation was flying Pinochet supporters from Chile, paying them £9 an hour to demonstrate, and housing them in central London hotels.

"The majority were simply people who were paid to stand outside Parliament... Many of them are servants of rich right-wing Chilean businessmen, army chiefs and politicians."

Sunday Mirror investigators had contacted the Pinochet Foundation in Santiago in December and attended meetings of powerful Pinochet supporters at the exclusive Club de La Union. One worker told investigators the protesters were "talking about it loudly."

The story ran across a full page of the Sunday Mirror and sparked significant political debate. It remains a textbook example of what a small independent agency can achieve when it has the right sources and the tenacity to pursue them.

Sunday Mirror · 31 January 1999 · Original clipping transcript
Sunday Mirror · 31 January 1999 · Exclusive · By Graham Johnson and Fiona Cummins · LANA reporting
Free Pinochet Protesters Are £9 an Hour Rent-a-Mob Living Free in 4-Star Luxury
Chilean General Pinochet is flying his supporters in from Chile — then paying them £9 an hour to stage phoney demonstrations outside the Houses of Parliament.

A GROUP headed by General Pinochet is flying his supporters in from Chile — then paying them £9 an hour to stage phoney demonstrations outside the Houses of Parliament.

The rent-a-mob have their flights paid for and work six-day shifts. Many of them are servants of rich right-wing Chilean businessmen, army chiefs and politicians. Others are hard-up students tempted by a free holiday.

Pinochet's flying pickets are put up in luxurious 100-a-night four-star hotels and enjoy cocktail parties. They are even threatened to go on sightseeing tours of London.

But despite the inducements, some "supporters" have not been happy with their pay and conditions — and now they are demanding overtime.

The Sunday Mirror has learned that three women demonstrators — who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals back home in Chile — threatened to go on strike to get more cash.

The women claimed they should get home money for standing outside the House of Lords for extra hours during crucial hearings for the Law Lords.

They also wanted extra cash for being outside in the cold, and compensation for sore throats caused by constant shouting.

When their claims were dismissed by Pinochet's campaign organisers, the women briefly defected to "the other side" — and begged political asylum. But Pinochet's men found out and they were sent home.

Chilean interpreter Maria Carlos, 21, sells her services to both sides, but is only employed as a spy for journalists and camera crews. "I have no opinion on Pinochet or his regime. But it's well known that Pinochet's supporters are being paid to protest. About 60 people have died now setting fire to themselves in the last two months."

"At the beginning the majority were simply people who were paid to stand outside Parliament. They would admit it freely to other Chileans because back home no-one would think this is unusual."

"Most of them were working-class people, the employees — domestic servants and so on — of rich Pinochet supporters."

Pinochet activist Carmen Maria Carlos said: "Both sets of demonstrators have one thing in common, the commercial opportunities are fantastic."

He says they were hoping to interview people at the National Communist Training School but they were not allowed to do any filming.

"We spoke to some Americans who were there illegally and they told us if they went back to America they could be put in jail simply for visiting Cuba."

One Santiago student, Christian Campora, had his hotel 'extras' — including drinks — paid for by Luis Cortes, the executive director of the Pinochet Foundation.

Last night Mr Cortes said: "People who want to go to London and do not have the means to do so will be supported by businessmen and members of the Pinochet Foundation."

At the end of each day the national song of Chile is sung and tears are shed.

The protesters returned to the Stakis London Metropole Hotel in Edgware Road in taxis.

"We are running out of money," said a source in the pro-Pinochet support group.

Sunday Mirror clipping: Free Pinochet protesters are £9 an hour rent-a-mob
Sunday Mirror · 31 January 1999 · Click to enlarge

04 · Cuba & Consequences

The Visitor: Our Man in Havana
The Visitor · 3 February 1999 · Click to enlarge
The Visitor · 3 February 1999

Our Man in Havana

Powell and Hipkins film the Cuba documentary, gaining access to a British ambassador and navigating the perils of filming under Castro.

The Visitor newspaper ran a feature on Dominic Hipkins of the Latin American News Agency, documenting his Cuba documentary and the pair's experience of being followed by Cuban police throughout their visit.

The piece covered Hipkins' two-hour interview with British Ambassador David Ridgeway — featured in the documentary — and the frank testimony of dissidents unwilling to go on camera, fearful of the consequences under Castro's new laws making contact with foreign press a potentially imprisonable offence.

The Visitor · February 1999 · Original clipping transcript
The Visitor · February 3, 1999 · By Ingrid Kent, Visitor news editor · Full text
Our Man in Havana
IT is now exactly 40 years since Fidel Castro's Communist party overthrew the Batista military dictatorship in Cuba. Visitor news editor Ingrid Kent meets a Lancaster man who has made a documentary about life in Cuba today.

CUBA 40 years after the revolution has been captured on film by a Lancaster-based writer.

Dominic Hipkins, who is part of the Latin American News Agency, has just returned from Cuba where he interviewed people about life under Fidel Castro.

The documentary film 'Cuba: Trouble at 40', will be about 25 minutes long and it will be sold to television and American channels.

While in Cuba, Dominic met many fascinating people and got into a few tricky situations.

He witnessed the splendour yet decay of the capital city of Havana and talked to Cuban dissidents about their struggle to survive.

"It is now 40 years since Castro overthrew Batista," says Dominic. "We wanted to see how Cuba was doing — the good, the bad and the ugly."

Dominic's first port of call was the British Embassy in Havana.

"They answered all our questions about UK/Cuban relations. They said they are opposed to the American embargo and they are trying to achieve a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba by speaking to the Cuban government. They are pulling out all the stops for doing business. The commercial opportunities over there are fantastic."

He says they were hoping to interview people at a National Communist Training School but they were not allowed to do any filming.

"We spoke to some Americans who were there illegally and they told us if they went back to America they could be put in jail simply for visiting Cuba."

He met Cuba's answer to Picasso and a fisherman who was working on the chairman on Coca Cola's yacht.

"There were police everywhere," he says. "You can get the death sentence for being in possession of soft drugs. Castro has been introducing Draconian new laws recently. It's two years since I went there last and the situation has got a lot worse."

One man was fined two days' wages for talking to Dominic. Everyone has to have an ID card or risk being stopped by police and sent to jail.

"I spoke to a dissident who said Cuba is basically a one party state that doesn't take into account ordinary people any more."

"He had a message for the world not to forget human rights abuses. We recorded his voice but he would not go on camera."

He told Dominic they have an organisation called the 'Committee for the Defence of the Revolution' and neighbours can turn out to be spies for the government.

Dominic says Havana is a beautiful city but many people want out. "It is stunning but it is crumbling to dust — a bit like the revolution itself."

"The one good thing is the health service. They have really made great strides."

His next project is to go to Argentina to report on human rights abuses there. "It's going to be a really big story," he adds. "It will be about 'the stolen children'. The military killed their parents and the children were adopted by the army. It is going to be an incendiary issue."

Caption: Welcome break: Dominic Hipkins and Richard Powell of the Latin American News Agency taking a rest during their filming. Top man: David Ridgeway, the UK Ambassador to Cuba who Dominic interviewed for two hours.

Southampton Independent: Meningitis — Could it be avoided?
Southampton Independent · Issue 4 · Click to enlarge
Southampton Independent · Issue 4 · By Richard Powell, LANA

Meningitis — Could It Be Avoided?

A bylined investigation draws a direct line between US foreign policy and the deaths of Southampton University students.

This piece connected the deaths of three Southampton University students from meningitis — including first-year student Melissa Irvine — to a Cuban vaccine blocked by US sanctions under the Helms-Burton Act.

"Would they and the Southampton students have died if they had been given the Cuban vaccine?"

Cuba had entirely eradicated the disease using a vaccine which a research team from St Mary's Hospital London had pronounced "gone very well" — but which British hospitals were legally prevented from purchasing under US trade embargo legislation.

Southampton Independent · Issue 4 · Full clipping transcript
Southampton Independent · Issue 4 · Page 7 · By Richard Powell of The Latin American News Agency · Full text
Meningitis — Could It Be Avoided?

Last year 2,660 people in England and Wales contracted the deadly brain disease meningitis. Among the tragic fatalities were three students from Southampton University, including first year student Melissa Irvine. A further three students contracted the disease between October and November and fortunately survived. Additionally, two more freshers have caught it since — one of whom had previously been vaccinated.

The University, which initially offered the vaccine only to first year students (where there was a 94% take up rate). Later this was extended to include everyone else, some 8,000 staff and students), admitted that 'It was possible to be immunised and still catch the virus as it is only 80% effective'.

The existing vaccine has now been overshadowed by what medical experts are hailing as a new 'miracle vaccine' created in the Caribbean Communist state of Cuba. The impoverished island has succeeded in completely eradicating the disease, which was rife only a few years ago, where the superpowers had failed.

The United States, or more specifically its 'Helms-Burton Act' trade embargo, continues to prohibit the purchase of the vaccine which might prevent further deaths in countries like Britain.

Last year's meningitis figures in England and Wales were the highest for 50 years and 243 people that died as a result of the disease might have had a much higher chance of survival if they had been injected with a hybrid of the old and new vaccines.

Last week the British ambassador to Cuba, David Ridgeway told me in Mirimar, Havana, that the recent visit to the island by a British medical research team had 'gone very well'. His enthusiasm about learning how to produce the vaccine, instead of directly purchasing it and breaking US sanctions, was echoed by the leader of the team — Professor Mike Levine from St Mary's Hospital in London. He said 'We were very impressed... There has been some prejudice that a tiny little island like Cuba (smaller than England by a some 6,127 sq. miles) can beat the greatest minds in other countries, but one has to sit up and take notice of this'.

A spokesperson from Southampton University said, 'We hope the medical team come back with further knowledge of the [vaccination] so we can use it'. Asked for their feelings about being prohibited from using the Cuban vaccine for their students they replied, 'We don't think the medical authorities in this country have yet decided whether or not it would be a good idea to use the vaccine'.

Professor John Heckels, a researcher in Micro Biology at the University has since been sponsored for £200,000 by the National Meningitis Trust develop a 'homegrown' vaccine to prevent further deaths.

Until that time, the death toll continues across the country including a 14 year old girl and a 15 year old boy from Wath Comprehensive school in South Yorkshire, and a toddler who attended a BBC crèche in Llandaff, South Wales.

The question must be asked, would they and the Southampton students have died if they had been given the Cuban vaccine? Will more young people's lives be cut short due to what some people regard as 'superpower pride'?

The Pope, during his historic visit to Cuba last year, joined many other countries in denouncing the American embargo as preventing the saving of lives in other parts of the world, calling it 'ethically unacceptable.' Despite the embargo being set up by the US to economically strangle Cuba after Castro's successful revolution forty years ago, it is beginning to affect Britain, and students in Southampton, in a very real way.

As a researcher at the University wryly commented, 'there is more that connects the US to Southampton than just a renewed interest in the Titanic.'

Within the last couple of weeks another Southampton University student has just been rushed to the hospital with suspected meningitis.

05 · Cuba: Trouble at 40 · Documentary Script · 1998

Cuba: Trouble at 40

Documentary script · Written by Hipkins & Powell · Narrated by John McNaughton · Copyright 1999 LANA

The Cuba documentary was LANA's most ambitious early project: a film shot across Havana and the island's provinces, documenting the contradictions of life under Castro four decades after the revolution. Powell and Hipkins gained extraordinary access — interviewing British Ambassador David Ridgeway, Cuban dissidents, artists, academics, and American citizens in Havana in open defiance of US sanctions.

The complete voiceover script is reproduced below. Stage directions are shown in blue.

Fade in moving shot of Old Havana from the bus

"This is the decaying facade of Havana's promenade. Though Cuba's regime is as rocksteady as ever, its buildings are not. Despite being declared a UN heritage site many examples of colonial splendour are crumbling beyond repair. Built by the Spanish who owned Cuba until 100 years ago many families still live precariously as the salt water continues to erode their homes. People like this man told us of the problems Cubans face living in such circumstances when overcrowding leaves no other option..."

Cut to man talking about state of building... police appear...

"Later on he had other explaining to do. After Castro's surprise new laws following Christmas, this man was questioned by the police and fined a week's wages. Harsh perhaps, but talking to the foreign press can now result in a 20 year prison sentence as a counter-revolutionary act."

Still shot of silhouette police photo

"In the shadow of Cuba's national assembly building, its record little more than a rubber stamp for Fidel Castro's speeches this man is subject to a random ID card check. The fate of citizens who fail to produce valid papers is explained by Carlos."

Cut to police ID check on bike / Cut to interview / Shots of jineteras

"The massive increase in tourism has given the island a reputation that echoes its playground past from the days before the revolution. The official line is that prostitution does not exist but the hundreds of girls who, until recently paced the promenade in search of dollars suggests a gap between rhetoric and reality. Prostitutes, or 'jineteras', as they are known are now targets of Castro's latest crackdown on those attracted by the promise of consumer goods in return for their services."

Cut to moving Nacional / Establishing shot of Nacional

"In the dying days of Batista's brutal and decadent rule the legendary gangster Meyer Lansky occupied the top floor of this world famous hotel before fleeing to Miami with the rest of the resident US mafia."

Shot of Al Capone / John Wayne / Errol Flynn / Winston Churchill / Nacional door with Christmas decorations

"Havana in the 1950's was dubbed the Paris of the Caribbean and the place to be seen for anyone from John Wayne... to Errol Flynn... to Winston Churchill."

"This is only the second time in 40 years that Christmas has come to Cuba. The festive celebrations, once deemed to be subversive, have returned to the island following a concession in the wake of last year's historic visit by Pope John Paul II. Many Cubans are rather bemused by the sight of Christmas trees and tinsel in the sweltering heat of Havana, still Santa Claus was certainly not welcome. Perhaps seen by the government as the ultimate symbol of capitalist consumerism, his presence was banned as counter-revolutionary."

Cut to night shot of Cubans revving up vehicles and driving off

"As Cubans prepare for a period of unprecedented economic growth fuelled by foreign investment and the influx of tourism it seems as with China there will be little accompanying political liberalisation. Senior sources in the British embassy maintain that as long as Fidel Castro remains the 'maximum leader' any political openings will meet a firmly closed door."

Shot of lighthouse

"Once the beacon of third world independence, Cuba now seems adrift in the turbulent waters of the global economy. Only 90 miles away Cuba maintains an uneasy stand-off with its all-powerful neighbour to the North. Nowadays the threat of an invasion seems unlikely as memories of the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 linger on in Washington. The long standing US trade embargo is ritually condemned by the United Nations and has more recently been denounced by the Pope as 'ethically unacceptable'. It has undoubtedly hindered Cuba's economic development following the collapse of the Soviet Union and indeed seems a relic of the Cold War. If its objective was to dislodge Castro then it has failed its own foundations set more than 30 years ago."

Shot of out of focus malecon by night

"In spite of the difficult circumstances some Cubans go to extraordinary lengths to cope with conditions of rationing and food shortages..."

Cut to interview with 'fisherman' / Pan shots of swordfish / Fishing village on outskirts of Havana

"This fishing village on the outskirts of Havana seems a million miles away from the newly constructed hotel complexes that provide lucrative employment for citizens chosen to work there. The hard currency that tourism provides is a lifeline to an economy still reeling from the withdrawal of Russian subsidies 10 years ago. Tourism has even overtaken sugar exports as the primary source of income for the country with Fidel Castro affectionately calling it 'white gold'. Brain surgeons and teachers can earn up to ten times their usual wage by driving taxis or becoming tour guides. They are typical of many Cubans who have had to adapt to the new economic realities, a situation Fidel Castro calls the 'special period'. The collapse of the Warsaw pact countries meant Cuba lost 90% of its foreign trade overnight and was a bitter blow that left the economy reeling."

Shot of man flicking greenbacks / Shots of marketplace

"A few years ago this man's handling of dollars was considered a serious offence, their reluctant legalisation was more a tactical necessity than any ideological conversion by the Cuban government. Other tentative steps taken towards a market economy meant surplus produce could be sold by individuals and 'paladors' or family run restaurants were allowed, though subject to stringent rules. It remains that tourism has been the major factor behind Cuba's economic revival. The government's joint ventures with Spanish and Canadian companies seek to tap the holiday potential of what an enraptured Christopher Columbus described as 'paradise'."

Shot of Columbus / Child's picture of new airport terminal

"Unlike Columbus's experience, visiting Cuba is made easier with regular flights to the new multi million dollar international terminal — Jose Marti airport."

"The dollars that tourism provides have been both a lifeline and a curse. Those with access to dollars are still in a minority and most Cubans receive almost worthless pesos. A form of economic apartheid exists which has caused resentment and confusion. The gleaming consumer goods in dollar shops are tantalisingly out of reach of all but a few. Ironic given the legacy of the revolution where equality was always emphasised, in theory at least. Indeed Cuba seems beset by contradiction. The once fresh revolution — now a beleaguered institution — but still demands the unquestioning devotion of its citizens."

Cut to Siempre Rebeldes UJC pan shot / Guard outside the museum of revolution / UJC Che T-shirt / CDR signs and buildings

"According to official figures 95% of Cubans voted to endorse a government approved list of candidates last year. Cubans are expected to join an organisation called the committee for the defence of the revolution which has branches in every neighbourhood. The government maintains these are an instrument of grass roots democracy but all too often provide a constant watch for any sign of dissent. Strangely, no independent trade unions exist in this worker's state and strikes are illegal."

Shot of Granma international / Dissident interview

"The state run media seems more concerned with past glories than debating contemporary issues. In a recent case two journalists publishing underground publications were jailed for jeopardising national security. The climate of mutual suspicion and hostility between Cuba and the US has left precious little breathing space for voices that dare to differ."

"A balanced picture of Cuba has been the first casualty in a war of words and ideology caught in the crossfire between a defiant Castro and the nine US presidents that swore to depose him."

Shots of cigar shop and cigars

"The second of them, Kennedy, who bungled the Bay of Pigs invasion, procured a stockpile of cigars before ordering the trade embargo that exists to this day. The world's finest tobacco has featured prominently in US-Cuban relations in a saga that has frequently reached farcical proportions. In one of their nine estimated assassination plots, the CIA even sent the Cuban leader an exploding cigar. Like efforts to put poison in his shoes that would result in Castro losing his famous beard, it failed. In an act of self-sacrifice Fidel gave up cigars to promote his national anti-smoking campaign several years ago."

"Under the 'Trading with the enemy Act' Americans who share Kennedy's taste for the Monte Cristo or the Cohiba can be fined up to $100,000 by their government."

Shot of US flag from behind the fence / Interview with American

"US citizens are prevented from visiting Cuba under the Helms-Burton Act with the threat of heavy fines and even imprisonment. Recently some defied this law despite the consequences like this man we met in downtown Havana..."

"Apparent by the yachts moored in this marina are others whose desire to travel is incompatible with America's foreign policy. Among this unlikely band of affluent rebels was the yacht of Coca-Cola's chairman — Charlie Monger."

Cut to kids in fishing village

"If Americans find it difficult to come to Cuba, perhaps they should consider the Cubans journey across the Miami straits which is fraught with danger and uncertainty. Over 1 million exiles form a fierce opposition to the rule of Fidel Castro in Florida and many have relatives in Cuba, contact between whom is not easy."

Shot of telephone

"This has recently been made even more difficult following Castro's order to cancel telephone links with the US due to an outstanding bill incurred by American phone companies. Many in Miami have a dubious background going back to the days of Batista and links with the CIA whilst others are disillusioned one time supporters of the revolution. The early years of the revolution saw numerous sabotage attempts including hijacking and bombings — the work of exiles backed by the CIA. A more recent example was a plane dropping propaganda leaflets, subsequently shot down in Cuban airspace in March 1996. This resulted in the punitive Helms-Burton law which sought to prevent foreign investment in the island and complete the task of what John F. Kennedy called 'the building of a wall around Cuba'."

Shot of 'Senor Imperialista: We have absolutely no fear of you...' / Establishing shot of Fusta's place

"The siege mentality that resulted was used by the regime to maintain a vice like grip on political expression that shows no signs of easing. Inevitably the one party model tolerates little criticism but still has a base of support from an older generation of Cubans who revere Castro as an anti-imperialist icon."

"One man who can remember life before the revolution is the internationally renowned artist Jose Fuster — regarded in Cuba as the Picasso of the Caribbean. He began painting at a time when the unshaven rebels in the mountains only dreamed of victory. Cuba's rich cultural life is nourished and force fed by the ideals of the revolution."

Shots of Fuster's paintings / Man working on carving / Plaza d'Armas and books

"Indeed the gains of the revolution means Cuba has a system of social welfare that is the envy of the rest of Latin America. The health service in particular is regarded as a glittering prize and a symbol of understandable national pride — the statistics speak for themselves. Life expectancy and infant mortality rates compare favourably with some western nations including major cities in the US, including Washington DC."

"Literacy is almost 100% and Cubans are recognised as being highly skilled and culturally advanced. In Havana many people now speak English fluently as a second language, where Russian and German once prevailed. Though the education system is regarded as technically excellent its scope has been questioned. Marxist-Leninist philosophy is still a major course in universities, though figures have fallen dramatically in the last few years."

Shot of Lenin painting / School children stills

"In primary schools young children or pioneers salute the flag and sing songs to the memory of Che Guevara in their immaculate red uniforms. Nostalgia for this James Dean of revolutionaries continues to be of almost religious proportions. In the west Che's gaze remains a marketable commodity but to the Cubans it remains the most vivid expression of those who founded this society."

"Fidel Castro has astutely used this image of his martyred deputy to legitimise his own actions 30 years after Che was slain in the jungles of Bolivia attempting to export the idea of popular revolution. At 71, his appetite for power undiminished, the longest serving head of state in the world cuts a very different figure from that of the romanticised revolutionary."

Shot of revolution cubana picture

"Ritually re-elected at regular intervals by the national assembly, their near unanimous approval is compromised by the predictable absence of any other candidates. Attempts to demonise Castro as a brutal dictator by the US state department are responded to with relish by a man who points to America's involvement with regimes which are far more unpalatable than his own."

"Deteriorating relations in the early 60's resulted in US diplomats packing their bags. The old embassy is locked and deserted, a far cry from its status in pre-revolutionary days when it effectively ran the island and its presidents. Another superpower soon sought to replace America's influence."

Shot of the Russian embassy

"This imposing building is the Russian embassy — for nearly 30 years the nerve centre of Soviet influence in Cuba. The almost catastrophic missile crisis of 1961 is the most vivid memory of an era when Cuba's reputation far exceeded its actual power. This was an image Castro cultivated with an adventurous foreign policy that saw Cuban troops and doctors scattered around the globe. Cuba's encouragement of third world rebellion fuelled the paranoia of Cold warriors in the White House."

Shots of embassy buildings en route to Mirimar / Pan shot of map of the two countries

"Despite the disappearance of its old socialist bloc allies, Cuba is not as isolated as would be expected. Over 90 countries have ambassadors in Havana and world leaders no longer feel compromised by visiting Cuba."

"Whilst we were here the presidents of Venezuela and Colombia met with Castro to seek his advice and experience about problems in their own countries. Castro's outspoken views on foreign debt and economic neo-liberalism have lead many underdeveloped nations to have a sneaking respect for him. However, the leader's mortality is an issue never discussed here that undoubtedly lurks in the back of many minds. Observers with a vested interest in this island's future all agree with one thing — the hope for a peaceful transition following the death of the revolution's architect. Cubans refer to this prospect simply as 'after'."

Shot of Robaina / Establishing shot of embassy / Shot of Ridgeway and Dom

"Our man in Havana, ambassador David Ridgeway, is a seasoned veteran of diplomacy in Latin America and a firm advocate of a policy of 'constructive engagement'. This involves an 'active dialogue' with the Cuban authorities that seeks democratic change but not at the cost of mutual co-operation. One area where the UK and Cuba have worked closely is in cracking down on narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean."

"International sympathy for Cuba's great leaps forward in social policy is tempered by reservations concerning that most controversial of issues — human rights. Around 200 political prisoners were released following the recent visit of Pope John Paul II, but even so people willing to speak out publicly are still few and far between."

Dissident interview / Moving shots of central and old Havana including Malecon

"The majority of the discontent realise the consequences of harassment, unemployment and possibly prison make a still tongue, if not a happy life, then at least a quiet one. These streets witnessed the last public expressions of opposition in the 1994 food riots which briefly wrong-footed the regime. Angry mobs vented their fury by ransacking a popular hotel. The unrest, resulting in the deaths of two policemen culminated in the attempted hijacking of a ferry. In the end Cuban vigilante groups loyal to Castro quickly put down this potential uprising."

"Though Cuba seems tranquil today memories of the desperate events seven years ago lie just beneath the surface. In precarious home made rafts and rubber tyres up to 2,000 people a day decided to brave the 90 miles to Miami. For once the United States seemed reluctant to admit the would-be refugees. The grim consequence: whole families dying at sea, some drowning others whose fate requires little imagination in the shark infested waters."

"But on December 18th last year a tragic incident happened which received little mention in the international press. A boat en route to Miami capsized killing all 84 of its Cuban passengers. Despite these tragedies the desire to leave the island continues to lead Cubans to a largely unreported, similar fate."

Shot of backstreets / Shot of old woman sewing

"Life goes on for most Cubans as they learn to make do and mend with their increasingly threadbare revolution."

Shot of kids playing football / Girl with boyfriend on malecon / Happy kids on malecon

"The new generation of Cubans seem relaxed despite the uncertainty of the years ahead. A large proportion of the population are in their teens, more interested in sport music and consumer goods than the political slogans daubed across Havana, and the rest of the country."

"In the face of much adversity a society exists in Cuba where the street children and disease found elsewhere on the continent is noticeably absent. The bloody civil wars and death squad repression that plagued the recent history of most Latin American countries have never been features of Castro's Cuba. Nations with far greater resources and more favourable circumstances have either been unable or unwilling to enact the kind of social policies that the regime can always point to. For both better and worse Cuba has seen stability up until this, its 40th anniversary. On the brink of the millennium the toasting of past triumphs is at odds with life in the twilight years of Castro's rule."

Shot of Our Man in Havana book cover / Shot of hotel Sevilla / Shot of flag blowing in the breeze on malecon

"The intriguing story of Cuba's history makes a tale as fascinating as any celebrated novel set in the streets and hotels of this both charming and chaotic city."

"Though many people here can sense a wind of change it will take a mighty storm to achieve anything approaching a multi-party model of democracy. It undoubtedly possesses an authoritarian system that seems unresponsive to very real concerns. When not aloof to criticism it reacts in a heavy handed manner to ordinary Cubans without exception labelled 'collaborators with the United States'. Recently four 'dissidents' or subversives have been the first prosecutions following a new year crackdown on crime and unauthorised political activity. They were accused of subverting the socialist state and arrested on grounds of national security."

Shot of horse and cart travelling down road

"Their trial is subject to intense international scrutiny and their fate a reasonable indication whether Cuba will ultimately travel down the road of political reform."

Fade out / Shot of black and white of man turning on bike in Ciego / Fade in music / Roll credits

Copyright 1999 LANA · All rights reserved

06 · Kurdish Protests, London · 1998

Latin American News Agency · 1998 · By Richard Powell & Dominic Hipkins

Strong Protests After Ocalan's Arrest

Though LANA's remit was Latin America, Powell's instincts as a reporter took him to Holland Park when five hundred Kurds gathered to protest the arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan — and he found the story of a community willing to die for a man's acquittal.

Two weeks ago some 500 Kurds gathered outside the Greek embassy in Holland Park, West London furiously protesting against the arrest of their leader Abdullah Ocalan. Following the tragic incident on Tuesday 16th of last month where the 15 year old schoolgirl, Nejla Kantyeper infamously set fire to herself, Powell travelled to the scene to find out what was going on.

At the same time similar protests and self-immolation were being carried out in 20 countries across Europe: from Marseille to Vienna and up to Copenhagen in Denmark. During the two days stay a new body count would ritually be announced at the end of each day and a minute's silence held for those who had perished in protest.

"We are not creatures. We didn't come from another planet. We are human and we can feel pain. We've been tortured, we've been massacred for centuries and centuries. We cannot take anymore." — Sonjiern, 34, Kurdish student, Holland Park 1998

The dispatch is notable for its absence of sensationalism. The scene is vivid — burning Turkish flags, drums, the carnival-like atmosphere of grief — but the reporting stays close to the ground, gathering testimony from a teenage boy splashed with petrol, a sociology student who arrived too late to join the embassy siege, a woman explaining why people were willing to die for a man's acquittal.

LANA · 1998 · Complete text of original dispatch
Latin American News Agency · 1998 · By Richard Powell & Dominic Hipkins · Full text · Copyright 1999 LANA
Strong Protests After Ocalan's Arrest

Two weeks ago some 500 Kurds gathered outside the Greek embassy in Holland Park, West London furiously protesting against the arrest of their leader — Abdullah Ocalan.

Following the tragic incident on Tuesday 16th of last month where the 15 year old schoolgirl, Nejla Kantyeper infamously set fire to herself I decided to travel to the scene to find out what was going on.

At the same time similar protests and self-immolation were being carried out in 20 countries across Europe: from Marseille to Vienna and up to Copenhagen in Denmark. During my two days stay a new body count would ritually be announced at the end of each day and a minute's silence held for those who had perished in protest.

What then is the basis of this unrest and why are people killing themselves in the most horrific manner because a man has been arrested?

In the dull glow of torched Turkish flags and over the noise of the drums and whining horns of what could easily be mistaken as a carnival atmosphere, Sonjiern — a 34 year old, Kurdish student of English explains...

'We are not creatures. We didn't come from another planet. We are human and we can feel pain. We've been tortured, we've been massacred for centuries and centuries. We cannot take anymore'.

Looking at the history of the Kurdish people it becomes clear what she is speaking of. When the Ottoman empire disappeared at the end of the First World War the new Turkish government refused to ratify an autonomous Kurdish province outlined in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres which governed the empire's break up. The subsequent Treaty of Lausanne didn't even mention the Kurds and it was here that the notion of Kurdistan as a country officially evaporated. Since then approximately 30 million Kurds have collectively become the world's largest ethnic group without a country to call their own.

Explaining the need to make the fight for sovereignty an armed one she continues 'If someone comes to kill your mother, you might forgive them if you are an amazing person. Then if someone killed your father too, you might still forgive them. If someone killed your sister and your brother, all of your family one by one, what can you do?'. Sonjiern is one of the hundreds of asylum seekers in Britain who have left Turkey 'because of the fascist regime'. 'I am madly, madly homesick. We don't want to disturb anyone, we just want to live in our country'.

No sooner had she finished speaking there was an almighty roar in the crowd and it looked at first like fighting had broken out. For a few seconds there was chaos as people rushed forwards into the barriers. A policeman took a petrol filled bottle directly in the face...

The frenzy resulted in two fuel soaked Kurdish men being saved from having to carry first degree burns for life. Hassam, a 15 year old school boy stood somewhat shocked in the aftermath of what could easily have been another minute's silence that night. With his jacket covered in the petrol that splashed off the two near-martyrs he nervously told me what happened... 'Two people just put petrol over themselves and tried to light it but everyone went on top of them and tried to take the lighters away'. As we watched the police carrying one of them away I asked him why it was important he was here. 'Our leader got caught and we must support him' he told me. 'The Turkish government want to kill him — We just want to know where he is and what happened to him'.

The 'leader' he is speaking of is the 50 year old head of the PKK (Kurdish People's Democratic Party) who Turkey is trying under Article 125 of 'Trying to set up a separatist state'. Ocalan, Turkish for 'avenger', is blamed for starting a war against Turkey in 1988 in which 30,000 lives have been lost and 2,000 Kurdish villages were destroyed making thousands more homeless. The Kurds biggest fear is that their leader's fate will be torture, a show trial and then death.

If Turkey does decide to execute its public enemy no.1 it risks increasing complications with its desire to be accepted into the EU in the light of its consistent human rights violations. It remains a possibility though that Turkey, an ally of the West which guards the South East flank — a major NATO area of concern — could ignore Britain and Holland's request for a fair trial by continuing to deny Ocalan access to his lawyers.

The Turkish prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, who ordered the invasion of Cyprus, has responded with calls for foreign countries 'to stop meddling in Turkey's internal affairs'. Such affairs inevitably include Turkey's attempts to kill off the idea of an independent Kurdistan for good which is supposed to lie in South East Turkey, Northern Iraq (where Saddam Hussein gassed resident Kurds in 1988) and Western Iran. The underlying, wider fear is of Iraq being fragmented to accommodate an independent Iraqi Kurdistan and the belief that this would provoke an uprising of Turkish Kurds to develop a similar adjoining state there which could merge and be expanded into Iranian territory. The media only became interested when people began incinerating themselves to communicate their disgust at their treatment.

On my second day there it was announced that the 77 Kurds who were holding the Greek embassy under siege (for its part in Ocalan's capture) would give themselves up and release their hostage. At 1pm, the appointed time for the 63 men and 4 women to exit the embassy, the crowd stood silently, giving a victory sign and staring at the army of police between them and the embassy. Young members of the PKK and several other members of the crowd began simultaneously wrapping swathes around their faces and I began to wonder if I would be going home that night.

The atmosphere remained tense for the next hour until three figures emerged from behind a barricade of police vans. These were the negotiators: Lord Rea, a Labour peer, Ann Clwyd, a Labour MP and Halgun Gerger, a dissident Turkish academic. The siege had 'passed without incident' according to the press conference and all 77 Kurds were 'taken to Charing Cross and Paddington Green police stations' where they were 'questioned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act'.

Asked if he knew anyone from the siege Mehmet Merid, 36, a local sociology student from Turkey replied 'Yes, everybody'. 'They were just normal people that were here at the right time. Unfortunately I arrived late so I missed going inside'. As we were speaking news filtered through of another Kurd who had torched himself in Germany — which holds the highest population of Kurds in Europe at 500,000.

Mehmet, somberly looking at the floor, commented 'It's their choice. I respect them. About 60 people have died now setting fire to themselves in the last two months. Kurds don't have any sense of fear anymore'. Speaking of the girl who burnt herself that week in London, he continued 'I think it's a very clear message. What passion, what feeling she has for her country. She is only a teenager'.

Looking around I saw that a lot of the Kurdish protestors were teenagers who were growing increasingly impatient for the siege members to be released without charge. This, of course, didn't happen. Now only time will tell whether Ocalan's destination will be the same as theirs if they are sent to prison or whether the Turks will dare to use the death penalty.

07 · Solent Alumni Magazine · c.2003

Southampton Solent University Alumni Magazine · c.2003

The Great Reporter

Graduating with a 2:1 BA (Hons) in Journalism, Powell immediately set about building a platform for the next generation — endorsed by John Simpson and John Pilger.

By the time Powell graduated from Southampton Institute in 2000, the seeds of Greatreporter.com had already been planted during the LANA years. The site — designed to let graduates, professional reporters and photographers publish work and get paid when pieces sold — launched in May 2003 and attracted 350,000 hits within months.

The endorsements were significant: John Simpson and John Pilger both backed the platform, lending it credibility that translated directly into readers, publishers and potential employers taking the work seriously.

"Breaking into the media is a tough business. Getting qualified is one thing, getting noticed by the industry is another. But one alumnus is determined to change this."

Running alongside Greatreporter, Powell had incorporated Presswire Media Services Ltd — supplying editorial, PR and photography to the national and international media, and a team of freelancers writing for a permanent BBC Interactive contract. All while filing as a freelancer for BBC News 24 and BBC News Online, and reporting from the Iraqi north border.

Southampton Solent Alumni Magazine · c.2003 · Full transcript
Southampton Solent University Alumni Magazine · c.2003 · Full text
The Great Reporter
Breaking into the media is a tough business. Getting qualified is one thing, getting noticed by the industry is another. But one alumnus is determined to change this.

Richard Powell, who graduated from the Institute in 2000 with a 2:1 BA (Hons) Journalism, has set up his own website designed to showcase new talent. Recent graduates, professional reporters and photographers who have just entered the media can log on to greatreporter.com and post their work.

With the endorsement of top journalistic names like John Simpson and John Pilger, the site is proving popular with readers, new publishers, and in terms of those posting their work, potential employers. Since its launch in May 2003, the site has already had 350,000 hits.

Aspiring reporters across the globe can publish their work and get paid if the piece is subsequently sold to a third party. Contributors can write about any specialist topic and while many choose to focus on political and social issues such as the crisis of the 'disappeared' in Kashmir or the lack of NHS dentists in Britain, there are currently reports on sports, events and even The Matrix posted on the site.

As well as showing off their writing skills, reporters can also make use of greatreporter.com's discussion forum for networking and finding leads, and the informal blogging diary. They can also post their views on articles on the website using the online commentary facility.

Richard also runs the media services company Presswire Media Services Ltd which provides editorial, PR and photography to the national and international media. Presswire has sold articles from greatreporter.com to over 10 publications worldwide, and currently uses a team of freelancers to write for a permanent contract with BBC Interactive, as well as other national newspapers and magazines. This provides a reliable income for writers involved in the site.

The plans don't stop there and while he works as a freelancer for BBC News 24 and BBC News Online and expands the two companies, Richard is also developing a site for photographers to publish their work and a site specifically for the Spanish and Latin American media markets.

Caption: Richard reporting from the Iraqi north border.

Southampton Solent University alumni magazine: The great reporter
Southampton Solent University Alumni Magazine · c.2003 · Click to enlarge

08 · Field Work · Iraq, c.2003

Richard Powell interviewing Hannah Hill of the World Food Programme
Richard Powell interviewing Hannah Hill, World Food Programme · Iraqi north border · March 2003
Field Photograph · Iraqi North Border · March 2003

On the Ground: The Iraqi Border as the First Bombs Fell on Baghdad

March 2003. Powell is at the Iraqi north border interviewing Hannah Hill of the World Food Programme — as the first bombs are landing on Baghdad.

This photograph was taken in March 2003 at the Iraqi north border, at the moment the war began. As coalition forces launched the opening bombardment of Baghdad, Powell was already in position — notebook out, interviewing Hannah Hill of the World Food Programme about the humanitarian situation unfolding on the ground.

The WFP, anticipating a refugee crisis and widespread food insecurity in the conflict's immediate aftermath, was coordinating emergency relief logistics across the border region. Hill's testimony represented exactly the kind of frontline institutional accountability that Powell had built his reporting around since the LANA years.

March 2003. The first bombs are falling on Baghdad. Powell is at the Iraqi north border, notebook in hand, interviewing the World Food Programme.

It is a quiet, composed image — two people in conversation while history happens just beyond the frame. That composure, that ability to hold the interview steady while the world outside accelerates, is as good a definition of conflict reporting as any. The student who set out from Southampton five years earlier to cover the Pinochet protests had become this.