The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Central Africa" ...
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Out of Africa
Education Week reports on the increase of African refugees who are moving to Columbus, Ohio and the challenges of teaching students with little or no previous education. "While Somalis at the elementary level participate in regular ESL programs, older Somali children can attend one of two 'welcome centers' at the middle and high school levels before entering a regular ESL program." Students in the Welcome Centers "may interact with native-born American students at lunch or during electives . . . all of the core academic classes are self-contained. . . Students are further divided into six levels according to their literacy skills . . . Their central philosophy is that immigrant students should be placed in a transitional, self-contained program for a short time to learn ESL and academic content before attending regular schools." This article reports on the benefits of these programs, but also raises the concerns of Somali community organizations who disagree.
Tags: refugees; education; teachers; ESL (English as a Second Language); Somalia
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Diamonds and Blood
An ABC News investigation into the Central African diamond trade reveals an industry controlled by violent rebels. The ABC News crew was the first American newsmagazine crew to go into Sierra Leone since the civil war ravaged that country. The crew found a region rife with violence -- "men, women and children were getting their limbs savagely amputated by rebel thugs and these thugs were buying their weapons with the proceeds from diamond sales... So, buyer beware -- that beautiful diamond you are buying for your loved one might very well have caused the death or mutilation of somebody else's loved one in the heart of Africa."
Tags: VIDEOCLIP; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Sierra Leone; Central Africa; weapons; rebels; diamonds; violence