The News Review:

- Survivor reveals horrors of African civil war.
- A ginger industry for the 21st century
- Students try to solve the world’s problems

Survivor reveals horrors of African civil war.
Free with registration – Columbus Dispatch – AccessMyLibrary.com – Feb 18, 2007
–> COPYRIGHT 2007 The Columbus Dispatch Byline: Bill Eichenberger Feb. 18–In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah recalls the four years — from age 12 to 16 — he spent as a refugee from, then as a soldier fighting in, Sierra Leone’s protracted civil war. Beah — who later fled Sierra Leone for Guinea and, eventually, the United States — leaves sentimentality to Hollywood, where it belongs. His words arrive stripped of emotion, his memories relayed simply as a series of things he witnessed, things he did. A Long Way Gone (a featured book at Starbucks) isn’t a work of introspection or even of reflection: Events are recounted, unembellished, in real time — which lends the.

A ginger industry for the 21st century
Jamaica Observer – Feb 18, 2007
In the Caribbean colonies, fresh ginger was fermented in lime and rum. The Spanish brought it to Mexico (presumably through the person of Francisco de Mendoca), so-called New Spain, in the early 16th century, from India and to Jamaica, in about 1525. Portugal raised it in Brazil and Sierra Leone. The early American settlers obtained all their ginger from Jamaica; thus it was called Jamaica ginger and was probably introduced to the American Indians. Presently, cultivation is done in most tropical countries, with the Indochina region, Japan, other East Asian countries, Australia, some African and Latin American countries, and Hawaii as major producers. After the 17th century, it seems that the use of dried ginger declined because of the trend in serving fresh rather than aged meat…
To cut this part of the trade history short, the present position is that the Pimento Board is the designated purchaser of “surplus” dried ginger (and fresh ginger for drying) and they are having a hard time finding ready buyers abroad. Cycles of Boom and BustIn addition to the cycle of boom and bust, the years from the early pre-World War II years to the present have introduced factors which complicated the trade landscape of Jamaican ginger. The increase in the export of dried ginger from Sierra Leone, India and especially Nigeria and their improvement in quality figured prominently in the earlier years of this period. Now China and Australia have become prominent players in the world trade. The decline in quantity, quality and the rise in cost were such that, in recent years, the export trade in ginger has, it appears, gone virtually extinct. Locally, the low quantity available and the high prices asked for unattractive, often unwashed ginger led to the massive importation of ginger from the East (China, India), much more attractive in size and appearance and less expensive. This has led to the Government reacting with a programme of having farmers grow the crop in newer areas, especially in St Thomas, to obtain relatively pathogen-free material to be used as seed stock for the traditional growing areas.

Students try to solve the world’s problems
Roanoke Times – Feb 18, 2007
In the Washington and Lee version, Stickley stood for the African nation of Sierra Leone as a member of a mock World Health Organization committee. “It’s been great to learn how the United Nations works and about diplomacy between countries,” Stickley said. Mary Woody, a senior at Roanoke County’s Cave Spring High School, shares an interest in medical issues with Stickley and both of them sat on a mock WHO committee. Woody, like the other delegates, did extensive research on her assigned country to learn its stance.