Spotlight: Pakistan

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In early 2018, I was commissoned by Spotlight magazine in Munich to write an article on contemporary Pakistan - Spotlight is an English-language magazine read across the German-speaking world. It’s also a brilliant language-learning tool. That lots of people in Pakistan speak English was central to the commission, and the idea was to take it from there.

I was, however, determined to eschew the usual stereotypes of Pakistan. With some terrific interview partners, and a great layout, we came up with what I hope is more nuanced depiction of the country than that usually presented in much of the press across the world. Thanks particularly to Kamran Khan (general secretary of the UK Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Ramsha Jahangir, a forward-thinking young writer at Dawn newspaper, who has high hopes for her country.

Issue 5/2018 Spotlight magazine

Pakistan – behind the headlines

Pakistan really is a land of opportunity,” says Kamran Khan, general secretary of the UK Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “It has so much potential, it’s situated in a strategic location, it has a very young population and it is very dynamic.”

To hear Pakistan described as a “land of opportunity” may come as a surprise to some. Since the British left India in 1947 and partitioned the country, India and Pakistan have struggled to recover from the terrible violence and population transfers that ensued: a million people died and 15 million were displaced. Since then, Pakistan has rarely appeared in the media in a positive light.

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Business Spotlight: Israel

Tel Aviv has a great energy,” says Amir Fattal. “It’s such a young, vibrant city,” he adds. “It’s open 24/7 and there are always people out on the street. It feels so lively when you’re there. And there is the amazing weather all of the time, and the beach is within walking distance — it’s such a great life.” Then, however, comes the qualification: “If it weren’t for the political situation, the place would be heaven.”

Conflicted Country, article for Business Spotlight (issue 6/2018)

Conflicted Country, article for Business Spotlight (issue 6/2018)

Writing about Israel is rarely straight forward – for the simple fact that so many people have an opinion on it. Nevertheless, it can be hugely rewarding. For my article in Business Spotlight magazine in September 2018 (Spotlight Issue 6/2018), I talked to Berlin-based artist Amir Fattal, who discussed his family origins in Iraq, why some creative people feel the need to leave Israel and his passion for 3D publishing (bigrep). British economist Paul Rivlin (senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies) provided wise words on the Israeli economy while Osnat Lautman Mansoor (who is part German, part Brazilian) did likewise about Israel and cross-cultural communications (her latest book, Israeli Business Culture Building Effective Business Relationships with Israelis, has just been published)

Business Spotlight is available in shops across Germany, and by print or digital subscription or one-off copies via Spotlight Verlag.

Business Spotlight magazine: South Korea

“Divided into democracy and dictatorship after a catastrophic war. Separated by a militarized border. And home to vastly different economic models. Sound familiar? Yes, there are more than just symbolic similarities between post-Second World War Germany and the post-war Korean Peninsula.”

In a recent article for Business Spotlight magazine I pick up on the striking parallels between South Korea and Germany in the 20th century. But, as I make clear, these similarities shouldn’t be overdone, because at the same time they also have much that also separates them.

South Korea article for Business Spotlight (issue 5/2018)

South Korea article for Business Spotlight (issue 5/2018)

The article includes interviews with, for example, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a senior lecturer in international relations at King’s College London, Anne Ladouceur, the Canadian-born owner of the website Korea4Expats.com, and Susanne Woehrle, who worked for BMW for 25 years and now works in vocational training for the German Chamber of Commerce in Seoul.

Pardo delves into the tricky business of Trump, relations with North Korea and the challenges of future economic growth. Ladoucer stresses the importance of personal networks and Woehrle goes through the intricacies of doing business there.

Business Spotlight is available in shops across Germany, and by print or digital subscription or one-off copies via Spotlight Verlag.

Thousands of dead fish ... the rivers of Babylon

After all the troubles that Iraq has suffered in past decades, as recent reports have highlighted, it has also added the environment to its long list of serious woes. The proclaimed defeat of ISIS in 2017 was followed by elections in May 2018, but the country is still waiting for its next government to be finalised. And in Basra, fed up protesters took to the streets during the scorching summer heat, demanding everything from a reduced Iranian influence in Iraq to reliable supplies of electricity and water.

Uploaded by عراقية on 2018-11-02.

As this video shows in the historic region of Babylon, this part of the Euphrates River is suffering from what seems to be lack of water, which is killing what looks like tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of fish. I’m not familiar with the reliability of the sources here, but according to Kurdistan24 it appears it’s not clear exactly how much of the cause is environmental (i.e. water shortages) and/or disease. The latter report I’ve linked to also says, ‘The Ministry of Agriculture has not ruled out that the deaths were intentional, though the exact strategy behind any proposed scheme was unclear.’

What is absolutely clear, however, is Iraq’s national – as well as its wider geo-political – challenges might end up being the least of its problems if the wider world doesn’t begin to seriously address water shortages and other major environmental issues there.

Lacrosse interview – German and US players in Munich

In almost two decades of journalism, my writing has taken me on a cruise down the Danube, to Michelin-starred restaurants in London and South Tyrol, Bayern Munich’s training ground to speak to star players, and refugees fleeing from war-torn Syria. This morning, on a particularly chilly autumnal Munich morning, I’d arranged to meet two Munich-based lacrosse players for an article in Spotlight magazine.

Jackie Klaus, outside the HLC Rot-Weiß München club house (© Paul Wheatley)

Jackie Klaus, outside the HLC Rot-Weiß München club house (© Paul Wheatley)

Laura Koroschek (below) came south to Munich from Kiel more than a decade ago, and quickly joined HLC Rot-Weiß München. She has gone on to represent the German national team (German). She was accompanied by Jackie Klaus, (left) originally from the US, who moved to Cologne in search of adventure – and to coach the local lacrosse team. She now coaches and plays for HLC Rot-Weiß München.

Laura Koschorek, outside the HLC Rot-Weiß München club house (© Paul Wheatley)

Laura Koschorek, outside the HLC Rot-Weiß München club house (© Paul Wheatley)

We met for the interview on the edge of the huge Westpark (German), outside the HLC Rot-Weiß München club house, and in total we talked for around an hour, with my kids watching and listening intently in the background (if they found it still fascinating after an hour, that’s good enough for me!). These athletes are increasingly professional in an amateur sport, and such interviews can often prove to be the most interesting and rewarding - this certainly was.

The interview will appear in Spotlight in early 2019. In the meantime, thanks to Laura and Jackie for taking the time to talk about lacrosse, and for providing so much interesting background information on a host of lacrosse-related issues – and thanks for letting me know that today is a bank holiday! Being a freelancer and working ostensibly from home has many positive sides, but one of the things not so great is so often losing track of days.

Thanks very much, ladies! And I hope to see you in action for your final home game before the winter break on 11 November (see map above for location).