Maybe the name “Jeans Cruz” doesn’t ring a bell.

After all, the 600 U.S. soldiers who participated in the operation to capture Saddam Hussein in December 2003 were never named publicly.

Photo: jamesdale10

But Cruz, one of the special forces soldiers who literally pulled Hussein out of his underground hideout, was recognized by the military as a hero in the War on Terror for the role he played in ridding Iraq of its dictator.

Today, Cruz lives just around the corner from my old apartment in the South Bronx. He takes his son to school, comes home, and spends time reliving–and trying to ward off–the horrors of war. Many days, though, he fails, cutting or burning himself, and wondering when, exactly, his life fell apart.

Cruz– who like so many soldiers joined the military for its financial benefits, hoping to improve his lot in life– was honorably discharged from the military, fully expecting the benefits he’d been promised. But Cruz, like more than 20,000 other soldiers, was cut off from benefits, diagnosed by military doctors with Personality Disorder.

Cruz’s story is told in this 15 minute documentary, “Jeans Cruz,” released last week by London’s Journeyman Pictures on YouTube.

In the short film, Joshua Kors–investigative journalist for The Nation– explains Cruz isn’t the only soldier who was lauded as a hero, only to be told that he had a pre-existing psychiatric condition that now makes him ineligible for the benefits he desperately needs. 22,500 other soldiers have also been disenfranchised from care over the past six years.

The cost savings for the US government? 12.5 billion USD.

What makes the situation particularly problematic is the fact that the US military does a full psychiatric assessment of every new recruit– so even if 22,500 service members REALLY have personality disorder (a diagnosis that is rarely made anymore by civilian psychiatrists), why didn’t the military catch what it’s now claiming was a pre-existing problem in so many of its soldiers?

Kors wasn’t buying it, so he began investigating. And what he found has led to important changes in military policy. His full report can be read here.

As for Cruz, his struggle continues.

Photo: Mackenzie Stroh, Cooper Hewitt Museum

I was flipping through Smithsonian Magazine yesterday and happened across this Q&A with popular fashion designer, Isaac Mizrahi, whose dress designed of salmon skin is going to be on display as part of the “Design for a Living World” exhibit at New York City’s Cooper Hewitt Museum.

The exhibit, which opens May 14, was produced by the Nature Conservancy, which commissioned 10 designers to “develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials.”

Mizrahi’s dress is made of discarded skins of Alaskan salmon sewn onto chiffon. The result is an elegant, simple sheath dress, accompanied by shoes made of the same material.

Sounds good, especially when the Nature Conservancy says that Mizrahi’s design is “an ingenious and provocative ensemble that celebrates the tactile beauty and strength of salmon leather as a material salvaged from the abundant waste of the fishing industry.”

Yet the fact that the dress and matching shoes give new life to a material that would otherwise go to waste doesn’t necessarily make the dress an ideal expression of what can happen when fashion and environmental consciousness intersect. I was left with a few lingering questions not answered by the Q&A:

-What’s the carbon footprint of Alaskan salmon skins shipped from a processing plant to a New York City fashion design office?

-What other materials went into the creation of the dress and shoes? Surely, the salmon skin had to be treated with something in order to be wearable.

-What kind of energy was used to make the dress? There’s a big difference between hand-sewing a dress and using a sewing machine to make clothes.

-What’s the expected lifespan of the dress and shoes? Even if a product is deemed green in its design, is it truly green if it has to be replaced quickly?

Interestingly, Mizrahi makes no claims to being a green designer. In the Q&A he admits:

“Frankly, unless something is really glamorous and amusing, I’m not going to sell my artistic principles short for the sake of ‘going green.’”

What do you think about Mizrahi’s “green” dress? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Matador member Insolent Minx recently attended the Green Fashion Show 2009 in collaboration with Funkshion Fashion & Music in Miami and photo blogged from the event. Check out the green fashion here.

Feature photo: Needa Lind

Every day, travelers and expats around the world are blogging about their journeys over on our community blog. This week alone, Matador members have written about their experiences teaching in Ecuador and exploring the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa (from a wheelchair).

One of my favorite blogs this week was from Matador member Mojo, who wrote from London about his experience joining a group of Couchsurfers to give passersby free hugs.

Free Hugs in Austria, Photo: sooperkuh

“There are lots of incredible people out there… trying to make the world a closer place,” Mojo wrote.

So he joined a few of them with his own FREE HUGS sign down by the Thames. Here’s what happened next:

“The next two hours of my life were absolutely incredible. As the general public raced by I held my sign up and shouted things like, “Free Hugs!”, “Hugs are awesome and I can prove it!”, “Have you hugged a Canadian today?”.

It started off slowly. Many people tried to ignore us as they passed. Some stopped to take photos of the “crazy people” but kept a safe distance.

But then I saw a woman standing just a few feet away, watching us with a smile on her face. I walked over to her and said, “Would you like a hug?” and without a word she put her arms around me. People started to clap and cheer and it was like an invisible barrier had been broken because more onlookers started coming over and hugging other CSers…. [T]he cynics and the skeptics were massively outnumbered by the ones who walked away smiling; feeling a little happier that their day was a little brighter.”

Maybe free hugs won’t change the world… but they might just change your day.

Free Hugs in Brazil, Photo: Flavia Mariani

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

To learn more about the FREE HUGS Campaign around the world, check out the official website here.

What are you doing at 8:30 tonight?

If you’re like millions of other people around the world, you’re planning on turning out your lights for an hour.

Photo: makelessnoise

Tonight is the third year celebrating Earth Hour, a global climate change awareness project started in Sydney. More than two million homes and businesses turned off their lights for the first Earth Hour; last year, more than 50 million people around the world did the same.

This year, the organizers are aiming to have 1 billion people turn off their lights between 8:30 and 9:30 PM. Major landmarks, including New York City’s Empire State Building, will also turn off their lights.

Maybe the idea of turning off your lights for an hour leaves you wondering what you’ll do with this prime time part of Saturday night.

If that’s the case, here are 4 ideas about how you can spend your Saturday night–with the lights out.

1. Throw a candlelight cocktail party.

Invite some friends over for a last minute get-together (and encourage them to turn their lights off, too). Fire up the candles and dig out the old cocktail shaker. Need some cocktail recipes? Check this list of our refreshing world favorites and stock up before lights out.

2. Get out your guitar.

You’ve been meaning to strum some chords for a while, but you never seem to find time to get around to playing. Pull out the guitar–or whatever instrument you might play–and head to your apartment, house, or hostel stoop. Maybe you’ll meet some neighbors. Maybe they’ll even play along.

3. Go for an evening walk.

In some parts of the world, it’s still light outside at 8:30. But even if it’s not, why not take a walk? The weather’s mild in most places (except the Western US, where you may be without lights anyway due to massive spring snowstorms). You may even want to dust off that pocket astronomy guide and reacquaint yourself with the stars.

4. Share stories.

We spend so many of our days disconnected from one another–even from the people we live with. Take this hour to catch up… you never know where it may lead; you may just want to keep the lights out a little bit longer.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

While taking an hour out for the Earth is important, it’s not likely to make a big difference. You might want to use Earth Hour to think about other ways you can reduce your reliance upon power. Unplug unused appliances. Disconnect from the computer. Start learning more about the products you buy and the impact they have on the environment.

Guilt and empathy are familiar emotions to backpackers in developing countries. Some backpackers try to give back to the places they visit by volunteering, some by writing, blogging, or contributing to local charities, some by giving to beggars on the street.

Viktoria Orizarska, however, decided to do something different.

This interview is about how she’s combined backpacking and charity with incredible results.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

(MC): What led to the decision to quit your job and backpack for charity? How did your previous experiences as a traveler influence this decision?

During my short breaks from New York, I’d go down to South America and meet all those Europeans… on sabbatical and traveling for three, six, nine months.

I was so jealous. I even asked my boss in New York for 3 months unpaid leave… so I could go to Australia. He said no way. So when I saved enough, I just quit my job and started planning a long trip. The charity part of it came shortly after.

I happened to pick up a book called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. … [T]he author of the book left his high flying executive job to build schools and libraries in impoverished parts of the world through Room to Read, the non-profit… he established.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

The organization also provides long term scholarship to girls in those regions, thus giving them opportunity for education, which very often is denied to them because of economical reasons and cultural prejudice. The idea to help other gals reach out for their dreams through education resonated with me. Before I even finished reading the book, I had a plan how to raise money while traveling.

What kind of response did you receive throughout your travels?

The response has been either huge enthusiasm or indifference. I still can’t quite guess who is going to be excited and who wouldn’t care. It depends more on life experience than on gender or nationality.

Many of my white male ex-co-workers, who were also keen travelers, made generous contributions, while my appeal fell on deaf ears with the professional women’s association I was involved with in London.

The most enthusiastic and generous response came from New York, partially because I have so many friends there. But the photo show/fundraiser last December was also attended by supporters of Room To Read who I didn’t know. During the photo show, Elsa and David Brule made a very generous offer to match…every dollar raised on the evening. Their gesture inspired everyone and the total for the night (match included) was $8,500.

I just learned that after their visit in Laos this February, the Brule Family has made the incredible commitment to match every dollar raised worldwide for Laos until June 30th, 2009, up to $1 million. On the upcoming April fundraiser / photo show in Sofia, I will be raising funds for girls scholarships in Laos.

My fund raising target, when I started traveling, was quite ambitious – to raise enough to help 100 girls get education. For now, I’ve raised enough for almost 100 girls to go to school for a year, but it takes 10 years to go through the full course of education. I am not giving up, though. My travel project transformed into a life project.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

In your writing, you often mention the privilege you feel as a (comparatively) wealthy traveler in very poor countries. Do you think travelers have an obligation to give something back to the places they visit?

I don’t think giving back is an obligation, but it would be awfully nice if people don’t just go to places to drink cheap beer.

I felt terrible in India – I was, spending money to travel, to fulfill a life long dream, while people around me were surviving on a bowl of rice a day. At the same time, there were so many beggars – if I gave one rupee to everyone who begged, I would have spent all my money and wouldn’t have changed the world the slightest.

At the end of the day, everyone decides for themselves how much to take and how much to give to the world.

Why did you choose the charity (Room to Read) that you did, and why did you choose to help young women?

First, Room to Read has an established track record – they have been around since 2000. They are very efficient and keep low overhead, so more of the money I raise goes to the people that really need it. Also, Room to Read is respectful and works with the local communities…. Last but not least, everyone I met that works with RTR is incredibly motivated and very impressive… and I met people in 5 different countries – UK, US, Australia, Nepal and Vietnam.

Most importantly, I chose RTR because they were addressing an issue that I deeply cared about – young women’s access to education. I come from Bulgaria, an ex-communist country – for me school was a birthright. Young women in Bulgaria were encouraged to pursue whatever career they chose. Yet, after communism fell and the country was propelled into economic mayhem for many years, it was a scholarship that I received from a US university that made it possible to further my education….

As a professional woman in full control of my life it is impossible to not be outraged that so many women around the world are still being discriminated based on gender.

How do you think your fund raising work contributes to the societies you have visited?

By helping young women get education, you target… two problems – illiteracy and discrimination against women. I do believe that education is the only way to lift the world from poverty and 2/3rds of all illiterate adults in the world are female.

Mothers tend to pass their knowledge to their children more than fathers. So by educating women, you achieve two things – help erase inequality, and increase the amount of knowledge… passed down the generations. It is a win-win situation.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

How could other backpackers follow in your footsteps? What advice and what warnings might you give another backpacker who wants to backpack for charity? Were there any books, websites, or people in particular who aided you?

Just do it…. It is only positive – fulfilling,empowering, a great way to meet local people, and experience you can one day use in business. I did look at some volunteer opportunities before I started working (without pay) with Room to Read. There are so many non-governmental organizations out there – just pick one that you really believe in – be it for the people or for the cause, or for both.

How has this experience changed you as a traveler? What are your plans for the future?

I have become more compassionate to strangers. If you keep telling yourself that this is not your problem, and that is not your problem, you will end up traveling in a bubble. People recognize when you care, and so they are more open with you as well. On this trip I met a lot more local people than on others.

Planning to settle down somewhere (still debating on the place), maybe start a small art business – something I have been thinking about for years, and of course to keep up with the charity work.

Community Connection

Support Viktoria’s efforts to get one hundred girls back to school here. Keep up with her adventures on her blog. Learn more about Room to Read on their website.

Drill, baby, drill.

Photo: nestor galina

The global hunt for oil is on. From western Uganda to northern Greece, from the shores of Cuba to the coast of Ghana, multinational firms and state corporations are drilling test wells in hopes of striking black gold.

It’s easy to understand why.

Photo: NIOSH

The world is hooked on oil; in recent years, we’ve been consuming more than 80 million barrels of the stuff per day. It’s a staggering amount and, setting the recession aside, it has been trending upwards for the past two decades.

Oil sales earned exporters more than a trillion dollars (US) last year, a vast transfer of wealth from those countries that need oil to those countries that have it.

Who wouldn’t want a piece of that action?

Look at the list of major oil exporters, however, and you will find Angola, Iran, Algeria and many other countries beset with major social and economic problems.

This points to a sad truth: despite (or sometimes because of) the enormous income it generates, oil production can bring a host of problems.

Every country’s experience is different, but we can identify some common problems petroleum exporters have faced.

1. Corruption:

In 2004, a US Senate investigation determined that $35 million had been siphoned out of the bank account in which Equatorial Guinea’s oil revenues were paid.

Then it was announced that the central African country’s president had bought a $35 million mansion in Malibu.

Photo: annia316

Mystery solved.

That’s how it goes in Equatorial Guinea, which joins fellow oil exporters Iraq, Sudan, and Chad in the bottom 10 of Transparency International’s corruption rankings.

Maybe it’s due to the irresistible lure of the big dollars, the generosity of the big oil companies, or the fact that oil profits accrue directly to the government, but government officials in petroleum exporting countries can’t seem to keep from dipping into their countries’ piggy banks.

2. Environmental Degradation:

Oil extraction is a messy business, especially in developing countries with lax environmental regulations and little ability to police polluters.

This has certainly been the case in Ecuador, which is blessed with large oil reserves but cursed by those reserves’ location beneath virgin Amazonian rain forest.

Photo: fishbone1

The result has been environmental catastrophe. The region’s indigenous people have gone to court seeking financial compensation from the oil companies, but the damage has been done.

3. Dictatorship:

The rallying cry of American rebels was, “No taxation without representation.” That reflects the bargain most governments have struck with their citizens; if you pay taxes, you get a say in government.

What happens when citizens don’t have to pay taxes, though?

You get Saudi Arabia. Flush with oil revenue, the government gives more money to its citizens in subsidies than it collects from them in taxes. As a result, there has been little pressure on the government to introduce democracy. Saudi citizens get subsidized fuel, education and food; in return, the House of Saud has gotten to rule for 77 years.

4. Debt:

This year, you may have noticed how volatile oil prices are. It’s not only consumers who struggle with these fluctuations, but also economic planners.

In the 1970s, oil prices skyrocketed and many oil-producing countries went on sprees, spending liberally on luxury items and making huge investments in infrastructure. One such country was Mexico, but when oil flooded the market in 1981 and prices fell, Mexico was left with debt it could not afford. In 1982, it defaulted on its loans, marking the beginning of the global “debt crisis.”

5. Dutch Disease:

In the 1960s, the Netherlands began extracting oil from a large field located in its portion of the North Sea. It should have been a boon to the Dutch economy.

However, foreign demand for Dutch oil dramatically raised the value of the guilder, increasing the cost of Dutch goods abroad and reducing the cost of imports in the Netherlands. Dutch industry was crippled, and instead of a boon, the Netherlands got high unemployment, a stagnant economy, and a new economic phenomenon named after it.

6. Civil Conflict:

Oil is a huge source of wealth, so it’s not surprising many people want to control it. Some of them will launch wars to do it.

Photo: TURKAIRO

The war in South Sudan was cataclysmic, and while there were a number of causes, the desire of both the South Sudanese and the central government in Khartoum to control the region’s vast oil reserves was one of the most important of them.

7. Foreign Invasion:

It is not only groups within a country that seek to control oil, but foreign governments as well.

We are not here to discuss the motivation for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, but even if it was a desire to seize the country’s oil, Saddam Hussein would have had little ground on which to complain. Iraq’s invasions of both Iran and Kuwait were, in large part, designed to secure lucrative oil fields in those countries.

This follows a long tradition of wars fought over oil, stretching as far back as Paraguay’s and Bolivia’s 1932-1935 war over the Chaco region.

Community Connection:

Do you own a car? Are you concerned about oil dependence? Check out this popular article from the Matador archives to learn how you can stop paying for gas and run your car on vegetable oil. Learn about the ways oil dependence affects developed countries, too, by checking out this interview with the filmmakers of the documentary, “Crude Independence.”