Epic adventure of places less visited
TO THE EDGES OF THE EARTH Peter Pickford Loot.co.za (R289) BOOKSTORM
PETER Pickford and his wife Beverly are veteran professional wildlife photographers and committed conservationists and explorers.
To the Edges of the Earth is their 11th book.
It will take you places you have never been to before and some you are unlikely to have heard of, this is its special magic.
The Pickfords, over four and a half years, travelled through every continent, mostly overland.
Their travels took them to Antarctica, South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and everywhere in-between.
The narrative is delivered from the diary entries Peter Pickford used to document the extraordinary places and his vivid descriptions go some way to “taking one there”.
This, from the chapter on Antarctica, gives a good idea of what to expect from the book: “To the south, Isla de los Estados appears from beneath layered cloud, and
I stand alone at the stern for an hour photographing its emergence as albatross and petrels drift on stiff wings through my view.
The birds are fearless of my presence, some coming so close that I can touch them with my outstretched hand.”
It is a little surprising and somewhat disappointing that a book written by a top-notch photographer is so poorly served visually – 12 pages of monochrome pictures, more personal than adding to the narrative. Photos would have particularly filled the gap with places mentioned with which one is not familiar.
Having said that, To the Edges of the Earth is majestic in its breadth, engrossing and fascinating reading.
The Pickfords' epic adventure is not a quick read, but to be at their side is a privilege and an unforgettable experience.
US PRESIDENT Joe Biden announced that Washington would impose economic sanctions on the leaders who carried out a military coup in Myanmar and voiced support for crowds risking arrest to protest against the ousting of elected officials in the Southeast Asian nation.
The move marks Biden’s first implementation of new sanctions, a punitive tool with varying effectiveness. The White House did not announce names of current and former military leaders who will be targeted or other details.
Biden said he had approved an executive order “enabling us to immediately sanction the military leaders who directed the coup, their business interests, as well as close family members.” Biden said his order will block the generals’ access to some $1 billion (about R14.6bn) in assets in the US.
It is not yet clear whether the US is going after the country’s long-time military chief, Min Aung Hlaing, who is now the nation’s de facto leader, or how onerous the new penalties will be on military figures thought to control assets in other countries. Many senior military leaders in Myanmar are already under sanctions imposed in protest of military action against the Muslim Rohingya minority.
“The military must relinquish power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma,” the president said at the White House, using another name for the country.
Biden also renewed the US call for the elected leadership to be released, including deposed de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military took power by force on February 1, claiming that the victory by Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy political party had been fraudulent. Military leaders promised a new election in one year and placed Suu Kyi and others in detention.
“The people of Burma are making their voices heard, and the world is watching,” Biden said. “We’ll be ready to impose additional measures and we’ll continue to work with our international partners to urge other nations to join us in these efforts.”
Demonstrators have filled city streets in Myanmar, demanding that the military restore civilian leadership and release more than 150 political detainees. The events appeared to end a march toward democratic rule in Myanmar over the past decade.
The military, long the most important non-religious institution in the country, had gradually relinquished direct control over the government, released Suu Kyi from house arrest and invited foreign investment,
The protests have continued despite the threat that authorities might use military force to clear the crowds. The military has banned gatherings of more than five people and implemented a curfew in Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s two biggest cities. The military also banned the use of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for citizens “until further notice”.
Yesterday, the world’s biggest internet companies raised alarm over cyber laws floated by the new junta, saying they would contravene fundamental rights and hurt the economy.
The proposed bill would give censorship powers and violate privacy, contravening democratic norms, said the Asia Internet Coalition, whose members include Apple, Facebook,
Google and Amazon. A copy of the proposed bill says internet providers would have to prevent or remove content deemed to “cause hatred, destroy unity and tranquillity” to be “untruthful news or rumours” or to be inappropriate to Myanmar’s culture.
Meanwhile, ethnic groups in Myanmar fear being forced off their land once again after hard-won gains by minorities during a decade of democratic transition. A fragile ceasefire with several armed ethnic insurgent movements is now at risk of unravelling, said Paul Sein Twa, an ethnic activist.
Decades of ethnic conflict and military rule in Myanmar drove hundreds of thousands of people off their land and led to forced evictions and confiscations, according to Human Rights Watch. Refugees returning to Myanmar have often found their land taken for a national park, military use or leased to palm oil concessions and rubber plantations under a law that earmarks land for commercial use.
Many people from ethnic groups also lack formal documents for their land.