Under the Shadow film screening

The School of Politics, Economics and International Relations would like to invite you to the launch of

Under the Shadow

A 54 minute documentary by Fiona Lloyd-Davies

Followed by a discussion panel with:

  • Fiona Lloyd-Davies
  • Vava Tampa, Congolese political youth activist
  • Sarah Blakemore, Director of Keeping Children Safe
  • Chaired by Dr Georgina Holmes, University of Reading

One woman leads Congo’s rape survivors to find healing, independence and justice through working together in the field.  But can these women escape the shadow cast by this threat of sexual violence and will the spectre of justice bring hope and resolution? We hear extraordinary confessions from soldiers who have raped women and then witness inside the court room as others are tried for this crime, the ultimate weapon of war. This immersive, observational film was made over four years, taking the viewer inside a woman’s ultimate nightmare, to show how the human spirit is impossible to defeat.

Mexican standoff? The paradox of President Trump’s policies on Mexico

By Dr Tom Long, Lecturer in International Relations, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations, University of Reading

As Donald J. Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States of America, perhaps no country is more nervous than Mexico.

The United States’ southern neighbour has good reason for concern. Its economy and society are highly linked with the United States.

Trump has shaken the very pillars of the relationship. By threatening to upend the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), the new president takes aim at the heart of Mexico’s economic strategy. About 80 percent of Mexican exports go to the United States, ranging from oil to fruit to automobiles. Trump’s highly publicised battles with companies that invest and outsource in Mexico attacks one of Mexican leaders’ key plans for job creation.

Dividing wall

Perhaps most troubling of all, Trump’s plans to deport millions of undocumented Mexican migrants and then build a border wall could tear apart the increasingly closely knit social fabric of communities that straddle the US-Mexican border.

File:Mexican Standoff.jpg

A Mexican standoff. And a wall. Picture CC Martin SoulStealer

Continue reading

Obama’s final days: Regrets – he’s had a few

It’s President Barack Obama’s last full day in office, before his successor, Donald Trump, formally takes over the reigns of power tomorrow.

Obama’s eight years in office have been beset by partisan rows and tensions between Democrats and Republicans, frustrating the outgoing President’s efforts to push through reforms.

So what might be Obama’s biggest regrets as he leaves office?

Continue reading