Correspondent Gizem Yarbil and producer Bryan Myers report on how traditional religion and modern democracy are trying to coexist in Turkey today.

For more on secularism in Turkey:

• Read Do Islamist groups pose a threat to democracy in Turkey? by Dr. Ömer Taşpınar, the director of the Turkey Project at the Brookings Institution
• Tune in to Worldfocus Radio: Turkey torn between East and West where we examine push and pull factors

Photo: Gizem Yarbil

Correspondent Gizem Yarbil, a native of Turkey, recently reported with producer Bryan Myers on the signature story Female soccer players shoot down Turkish taboos. Gizem shares how women are pioneering a place in traditionally male-dominated sports.

Turks are mad about football (soccer), but most of them are unaware of a new development in the field: A new professional women’s football league. Now, a group of brave girls is trying to challenge the gender divide in Turkey.

The new league has been met with resistance, and some boundaries have yet been broken down. Many in Turkey still believe that women should be confined to the home, and that the football field is no place for women.

The team we followed is from a conservative city called Sakarya in the northwest corner of Turkey near Istanbul. I got to know the girls on a 12-hour bus ride en route to a crucial away game.

The girls we interviewed grew up playing ball on their neighborhood streets. Parents opposed them playing football — thinking it un-ladylike. And there was a concern that girls were too physical with guys on the streets.

But despite disapproval and some jeers, these girls continue to pioneer their new league, trying to prove to all of Turkey that football is not only a men’s sport. I read a New York Times story about how men are going to their games and heckling them from the bleachers.

“We should play you” some of the men yelled sarcastically, implying they’d beat them right away.

“To them, we’re just women,” says the team captain Esra Erol.

To me, our story about women’s football in Turkey is about women being capable of doing anything. We still have a long way to go in Turkey. And, it’s not only soccer. I recently read a story about a Turkish woman who won an international weightlifting competition.

The female weightlifter talked about how she wasn’t accepted by the weightlifting community. For Turks, weightlifting is one of the most important national sports and it’s also emblazoned as men’s turf. The female weightlifter explained how professional coaches did not believe in her because she was a woman and how they thought it would be a waste of time to train her. But she proved them all wrong.

It’s a huge improvement to have a professional women’s football (soccer) league in Turkey after it’s been established in so many European countries for many years. Girls playing football or lifting heavy weights for competition are at the beginning of a long road to establish total equality for women and men in Turkey.

It’s not going to be easy, but these women — from the Sakarya women’s football team to the victorious female weightlifter — insist on proving they can be and do anything they want.

- Gizem Yarbil

As Worldfocus correspondent Gizem Yarbil and producer Bryan Myers discovered, part of the resistance to women playing soccer is religious and part of it is cultural.

Also, explore an interactive feature and Q&A on women’s soccer around the world.

“Remember Me”: A bust commemorating Kemal Ataturk. Photo: Bryan Myers

Worldfocus producer Bryan Myers is currently reporting from Turkey. He writes from Istanbul about the country’s love for one of its most famed figures, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who appears on everything from office buildings to lapel pins and souvenirs.

It’s not a sight an American is accustomed to encountering when checking into a large hotel. Instead of the usual flowers or water fountains, in Istanbul, it’s a bust accompanied by the words “Remember Me.”

Those words, and the image above them, belong to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. And in Turkey, they are as inescapable as minarets and kebab shops. They are emblazoned everywhere — on the walls of schools, in public parks, at entrances to bridges and even in the lobby of private office buildings. Visit the souvenir shops in Istanbul, and they’re there too. Ataturk wrist watches seem to be the hottest item.

This Ataturk omnipresence isn’t merely a gesture of respect — it’s worship. That observation isn’t meant to belittle his memory. In fact, to do so is a crime in Turkey. It’s just that as an American, it is rare to see a politician so beloved. The last time I can remember seeing a politician’s face on a watch in America was Nixon or Agnew in the early 1970s, and I’m pretty sure those watches weren’t meant to be a tribute.

Having forgotten much of my high school world history lessons, I decided to do a little boning up. Kemal Ataturk rose to prominence as a military officer in World War I. Unfortunately, Turkey — then called the Ottoman Empire — picked the wrong side, allying itself with Germany and the other Central Powers. After its defeat, Turkey was carved up by the British, French, Italians and Greeks (mention of the Greeks’ role in World War I in particular seems to irk the Turks, but perhaps that’s a topic for another blog).

Ataturk led the army that chased the foreigners out and unified the country once again (his official bio goes on to note his love of animals and his prowess as a ballroom dancer). The name “Ataturk” literally means “father of the Turks,” and was bestowed on him by the Turkish parliament in the 1920s. According to fellow Worldfocus producer Gizem Yarbil, herself a native Turk, the Ataturk story is so moving, it’s been known to reduce small children to tears when taught in elementary school.

But for adults, the image of Ataturk has become a potent political symbol, and I think that gets to the root of why his image is found all over town. Besides being a war hero, Ataturk was also a fierce advocate of a secular state. He thought the only way to bring Turkey into the modern era was by rejecting traditional ways rooted in religion. That was a bold stand in a country that was just about entirely Muslim. And today, while many Turks are not devout Muslims, some are, and they’d like to see a return to the Islamist ways of old.

So it is that today, an Ataturk lapel pin or portrait on an office wall quickly identifies one as a “secularist,” and in their view, a modernist more closely in tune with the West than the East.

All of this got me thinking about the early planning for our trip to Turkey, and our visit to the Turkish consulate in New York for visas. As often happens when journalists stop by for a consular visit, we were loaded down with books and pamphlets intended to introduce us to the country. One contained a series of official portraits of the presidents of modern Turkey, beginning with Ataturk. It is the photograph most commonly seen of Ataturk, in which he’s dressed in a white tie and tails.

I’m speculating here, but I’m guessing he picked this somewhat unusual outfit because at the time it was considered the the height of formal European fashion, and as such symbolized a clear rejection of traditional garb. That style was mimicked by all the other Turkish presidents in the book up until the 1970s. Perhaps they were hoping that by doing so, a little bit of the public’s affection for Ataturk would rub off on them.

“Remember Me?” After several weeks in Istanbul, it will be hard to forget Turkey’s founding father.

- Bryan Myers

Watch for Worldfocus’ signature series from Turkey in the coming months.

Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer venture to the “Salar de Uyuni” — the largest salt flat in the world, and one that may turn out to be the key to Bolivia’s future economic growth.

For more on how Bolivia and other developing countries might leverage their resources, listen to our online radio show on resources in the developing world.

It’s a proposal that has left many landowners unhappy. Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer report from Santa Cruz, where many of Bolivia’s largest landholders — ranchers, cattlemen and industrial farmers — live. 

But Bolivia’s leftist leader, Evo Morales — himself a former coca farmer — recently expelled U.S. drug enforcement agents from the country. As Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer discovered, many impoverished Bolivians depend on the coca plant for their livelihood.

Also, pass through a drug checkpoint in Bolivia’s mountains (web original video).

A woman makes pizza at Minuteman. Photo: Ivette Feliciano

Worldfocus producer Bryan Myers is currently reporting from Bolivia and writes about one memorable dining experience high in the Bolivian Andes.

Self-described “foodies” have been known to travel far and wide for a memorable or offbeat dining experience. For sure, the ability to say one has visited an up-and-coming chef toiling away in some lonely outpost is often worn like a badge of honor.

But perhaps no food pilgrimage requires more stamina than the trek to Minuteman Pizza, located high in the Bolivian Andes in the town of Uyuni. If you haven´t been, there are only two ways for a tourist to get there — an entire day spent bouncing down dirt roads in a four-wheel drive SUV, or an overnight ride on a freezing cold train.

Minuteman Pizza claims to be the “highest” pizzeria in the world — and at an altitude of some 13,000 feet, no one is arguing. Minuteman is run by Chris and Sussy Sarage, thirtysomethings with quick smiles. But their easygoing manner belies the enormous perseverance behind everything they do.

“You have to be creative in Uyuni,” Chris told us. “We make our own tomato sauce from local tomatoes. Our fresh basil is trucked in from La Paz overnight. Tour buses operators bring us olive oil from Peru. And I have my cheese flown in from Argentina.”

That commitment has made Minuteman the second most famous tourist attraction in Uyuni. The town is also home to the famous “Salar de Uyuni,” one of the world’s largest salt flats. The “Salar,” as its known around here, is popular among the adventure set.

Each night, weary backpackers crowd the Minuteman. A cacophony of languages can be overheard in between bites of pizza and quaffs of beer.

Chris and Sussy Sarage run Minuteman Pizza. Photo: Ivette Feliciano

Sussy (pronounced “Suzie”) is a native of Uyuni. Her father was once the town’s mayor. She and Chris met at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in the mid 1990s. Sussy was studying there; Chris had recently graduated and was managing a pizzeria in Amherst. After marrying, they made their way to Bolivia, first opening a pizzeria in the capital of La Paz, and then deciding to give it a go in Sussy’s hometown.

Finding fresh ingredients and getting them shipped to Uyuni isn’t their only challenge. As anyone who’s ever tried it can attest, baking at high altitude is nearly impossible. For the pizzeria, Chris designed his own special pizza ovens, built by a restaurant supply company in La Paz. When we asked him how they work, he responded in time-honored fashion: “That’s a trade secret.”

Training their local staff to prepare an “exotic” dish like pizza also took time. Most Bolivians have never even eaten pizza, let alone made it. But now, the native Bolivian women who work the kitchen at Minuteman can pound the dough and spin the pies with a flair that would make a Brooklynite proud.

“They may not known how to say ‘hello’ in English,” Chris said, “but they know all the names of the pizza ingredients by heart — caramelized onions, roasted peppers and sun dried tomatoes.”

Minuteman offers plenty of combinations that would be familiar to any American, like pepperoni, Hawaiian and the classic Margherita. But it also offers some with a local twist, like the spicy llama pizza.

So how’s the pizza? Pretty good. Our crew agreed that the classic Margherita, wafting of fresh cut basil leaves, was as good as any we’ve had in the States. But the winner by a landslide? The spicy llama. Unfortunately, you won’t be finding it any time soon at your local Dominos. For that, you’ll have to make the trek to Uyuni.

- Bryan Myers

Watch for Worldfocus’ signature series from Bolivia in the coming weeks.

Americans used to flock to the city, but now largely avoid it. In 2005, a banner year for tourism, some four million people visited Tijuana.  Last year, the number dropped to around 400,000. Residents, too, are fleeing in fear. 

Worldfocus correspondent John Larson, producer Bryan Myers and field producers Megan Thompson and Ivette Feliciano explore Tijuana, beginning in a hospital that not only treats the victims of drug violence, but that operates in fear that its own people will get caught in the battle.

While many Mexicans would be revolted by the grisly murders, there is also a popular subculture that celebrates this sort of violence.

Worldfocus correspondent John Larson, producer Bryan Myers and field producer Ivette Feliciano report on “narco” culture. Megan Thompson shot the piece.

One Tijuana business owner who refuses to be named, pictured or recorded without voice modification tells the story of how he was kidnapped by organized crime and ransomed to his family.

There is also the growing problem of people simply vanishing. Known as the “disappeared,” Mexico’s kidnapping victims are often never heard from again — 97 percent of the country’s kidnapping cases go unsolved by police.

Worldfocus correspondent John Larson, producer Bryan Myers and field producers Megan Thompson and Ivette Feliciano report from Tijuana.

Teodoro Eduardo García Simental, “El Teo,” is a major player in Tijuana’s drug war, a larger-than-life figure who has escaped the law and left gruesome corpses in his wake.

Worldfocus correspondent John Larson, producer Bryan Myers and field producers Megan Thompson and Ivette Feliciano spend five days in Tijuana, where life in El Teo’s reach is surrounded by death.

The company’s 48,986-ton P-51 oil platform rests over a hundred miles off the coast of Brazil and is the first semisubmersible platform built entirely in Brazil. It may produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day — if the global financial crisis doesn’t necessitate a change in plans.

Worldfocus correspondent Edie Magnus and producers Bryan Myers and Megan Thompson report from Angra dos Reis, south of Rio de Janeiro, on Brazil’s unfolding role as oil giant.


Worldfocus explores the P-51 offshore oil platform near Angra dos Reis, which for many represents not only the future of oil exploration but also the future of Brazil. /files/2008/11/th_brazil_oilv2.jpg /files/2008/11/th_brazil_oilv2.jpg ]]> http://worldfocus.org/blog/2008/11/25/brazil-emerges-as-an-oil-giant/2929/feed/ http://worldfocus.org/blog/2008/11/07/brazil-today-religion-ethanol-and-roads/2528/ http://worldfocus.org/blog/2008/11/07/brazil-today-religion-ethanol-and-roads/2528/#comments Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:55:13 +0000 Worldfocus http://worldfocus.org/?p=2528 From the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro to television screens across the nation, the Pentecostal church is growing in numbers and influence in Brazil, and more than doubled between 1980 and 2000.

Brazil’s infrastructure has not kept up with its explosive economic growth over the past several years. Now, Brazil has embarked on a multi-billion dollar plan to correct the lack — a plan that has enormous implications for the country.

Brazil is the second largest producer of ethanol after the U.S., and expects to harvest 12 percent more cane than last year and increase exports by 25 percent. For more on worldwide use of ethanol and other fuel, see our map on global energy.

Producer Bryan Myers and correspondent Edie Magnus report on “Brazil Today” — a series that explores Brazil’s spiking conversion to Pentecostalism, its pioneering path toward energy independence and its improving — but expensive — roadways.

The Pentecostal growth in Brazil comes as the world’s largest Catholic community shrinks, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Pentecostals often view their churchgoing experience as more personal and social activism — particularly outreach to the poor — as more common.

Producer Bryan Myers and correspondent Edie Magnus report from the Assembly of God New Zion church in Rio de Janeiro.

Below, see what bloggers are saying about religious shifts in Brazil and across South America.

The “My Brazilian Brasil” blog discusses the “dangerous” relationship between religion and politics in Brazil, writing about the possibility that a Pentecostal may soon become Rio de Janeiro’s mayor.

The “Upside Down World” Web site writes about the role of Pentecostal churches in poor urban neighborhoods in Brazil.

Todd Martinez, a Fulbright research scholar studying in neighboring Uruguay, explores the reasons behind increasing conversion across Latin America at the “Small State” blog.

Also watch PBS NewsHour’s report on the Protestant church’s impact on Latin America.

Producer Bryan Myers and correspondent Edie Magnus report from the roads of Brazil.

This piece was part of the Blueprint America project on infrastructure.

Read producer Bryan Myers’ blog posts from the field: Truckin’ through Brazil, Brazil plans to improve highways and Brazil privatizes its roadways.

An overturned bus alongside the BR 101 in Brazil.

Bryan Myers reported with Megan Thompson from Brazil on a story about roads and infrastructure.

Read Bryan’s other blog posts from the field: Truckin’ through Brazil and Brazil plans to improve highways.

As part of its plan to enlist private companies, the Brazilian government has leased several of its major highways to private companies, making those companies responsible for maintenance and repairs and, in return, allowing them to collect tolls. Currently, seven stretches of Brazilian highway are in private hands, and that number is expected to grow.

The tolls aren’t cheap. We took a drive on a highway that has already been privatized, the Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo highway. We paid $20 (U.S.) for the privilege of driving about 175 miles. That amounts to the daily take-home pay of the average Brazilian.

We also visited a highway that was being repaired in anticipation of being privatized — a highway running north from Rio de Janeiro to the town of Campos. A road crew was busy repaving the roadway with a soupy mixture of oil and stone, not the dense macadam Americans are accustomed to seeing on their highways.  The crew’s foreman told us that once his bosses put their toll booths in place, some members of his crew probably wouldn’t be able to afford to drive the very road they were helping to fix.

The debate about turning highways over to private hands mirrors one happening in America. Here too, some state and local governments are trying to privatize roads. A recent effort by officials in Pennsylvania to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike — the first major road ever built in America — to a consortium led by banking giant Citigroup has been met with stiff resistance.

In America, at least, many believe the push to privatize flies in the face of the concept of “public works.”  Last year, a poll of Pennsylvania drivers showed the majority opposed to the idea. Many of them seem to agree with Adam Smith, the man who first articulated the concept of free market capitalism, when he wrote that governments should provide some things to all its citizens — public works like roads being one of them.

Back in Brazil, we asked a contractor in charge of work on the BR 101 near the port of Sepetiba about all of this. He told us that even if the poor can’t afford to pay tolls, they would still benefit. The poor, he said, don’t even own cars, so for them, the issue of tolls was moot.  However, he said they do take buses and that bus accidents are a big problem in Brazil.  So, he said, anything that makes the roads safer will also help the poor.

After we finished our interview, we hopped into our car and drove off. About five miles up the road we saw a bus overturned, lying in a ditch on the side of a road. The passengers had already been evacuated and the bus didn’t appear to be heavily damaged, but it served as an eerie reminder of the contractor’s words.

- Bryan Myers

Brazil is the second largest producer of ethanol after the U.S., which uses corn rather than sugarcane.

Even though the global financial crisis has hit the Brazilian ethanol industry hard, global demand for sugarcane-based ethanol is growing. Brazil expects to harvest 12 percent more cane than last year and plans to increase exports by 25 percent.

Correspondent Edie Magnus and Producer Bryan Myers report from Brazil, where ethanol has transformed the country’s transportation.

For more on worldwide use of ethanol and other fuel, see our map on global energy.

See blogger reactions to ethanol use below.

Though Brazilian ethanol has been touted as a model for success, growing demand could push cane growers into the forests and contribute to massive deforestation.

“Rick’s Blog” says Brazil’s experience with pollution showcases the downside of energy reform.

In contrast, The “Automotions” blog praises the Brazilian ethanol industry as a “brilliant” program that will lead to energy independence.

David Morton writes in the “Rabbit Valley Road” blog supports Brazil’s efforts and decries corn-based ethanol.

The “AutoBlogGreen” details the arrival of a new car to Brazil — modified to suit Brazilians’ taste for ethanol fuel.

Last year, President George Bush signed a deal with his Brazilian counterpart, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, to develop alternative fuel sources.

In an October debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, the former said that unlike his opponent, he would eliminate the tariff on ethanol from Brazil and oppose subsidies.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user visionshare under a Creative Commons license.

Correspondent Edie Magnus and producer Bryan Myers travel to two neighborhoods — La Boca and Palermo — to sample Argentinians’ thoughts on media, infrastructure, healthcare and justice systems in their country and in America.