Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

C-Sections Deliver Cachet For Wealthy Brazilian Women

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:34:00 +0000

The office is immaculate, as you would expect in an upscale neighborhood in Sao Paulo — all sterile, white, modish plastic furniture and green plants. Behind the reception desk are pictures that would look more appropriate in a pop art gallery than a private maternity clinic.

The list of services at the clinic in Brazil's largest city is long: fertility treatments, specialized gynecology and, of course, obstetrics. But one thing they rarely do here is preside over a vaginal delivery.

Dr. Alexandre Sasaoka struggles to remember the last time he assisted at one.

As Youth Crime Spikes, Brazil Struggles For Answers

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:39:00 +0000

In Rio de Janeiro, tourists are drawn to Copacabana for its wide beach and foliage-covered cliffs. But a month ago, not far from the tourist hub, an American woman and her French male companion were abducted. She was brutally gang-raped; he was beaten.

Perhaps what was most shocking to Brazilians, though, was the age of one of the alleged accomplices: He was barely in his teens.

"Why? That's what you ask yourself," says Sylvia Rumpoldt, who is walking with a friend at dusk by the sea in Rio. "It's horrible. It's criminal energy."

Her friend, Maria de Paula, agrees.

In Gritty Sao Paulo, Artists Take To The Streets

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:03:00 +0000

It's lunchtime in the heart of Sao Paulo's financial district. Surrounded by tall buildings of cool glass and steel, men and women in suits and business attire walk back and forth busily in Brazil's largest city.

Standing amid the bustle is Leticia Matos — who is, for want of a better word, a crochet artist. She couldn't look more different from the people around her.

Wearing a short-sleeve shirt and covered in bright, quirky tattoos, Matos is at work, too.

A War Survivor, An Iraqi Makes A New Home In North Carolina

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:44:00 +0000

Ten years after the Iraq War began, NPR is catching up with people we encountered during the conflict. Back in 2008, NPR's armored car was targeted with a so-called sticky bomb in Baghdad. Ali Hamdani, an Iraqi who worked for NPR as a translator and producer, narrowly escaped. Shortly afterward, he left Iraq for the Unites States as a refugee.

The last time I saw Ali Hamdani was in a compound protected by armed guards surrounded by Baghdad's dun-colored buildings.

Sneaking A Bite During Ramadan's Long, Hot Days

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:18:00 +0000

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has fallen on the longest and hottest days of the year, which means up to 15 hours of fasting in soaring temperatures.

This seems to have increased the number of Muslims who aren't fully observing the fast, and may be sneaking a bite or a drink — though no one wants to say so on the record.

"I'm thirsty from 7 o'clock in the morning to the evening.

Palestinians Fear New Israeli Moves In West Bank

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:03:00 +0000

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen for almost two years. But Palestinians say that doesn't mean events aren't happening on the ground.

Recently, the Israeli military issued orders calling for evacuation and demolition of nearly a dozen Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians see this as evidence of Israeli plans to annex the territory, though Israel denies this.

Palestinian Ismael el-Adrah, 67, is a shrunken man with a snow-white beard and a bright blue shirt, who is unusually dapper for a farmer in the remote Hebron hills.

Israel Monitors Egypts Call To Modify Treaty

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 10:55:00 +0000

Israel is welcoming Egypt's military efforts to stamp out Islamist militants in the Sinai following the recent border attack there that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers.

Latest Target For Palestinians' Protest? Their Leader

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:58:00 +0000

The Kalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank is best known as a flashpoint between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces.

Report: Violence Against West Bank Palestinians Is Up

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Farming is the mainstay of the Palestinian communities around the West Bank village of Yanoun. Animals graze the land, and Palestinians make their living by harvesting citrus fruits and olives.

Last Saturday, Palestinians say, a group of Jewish settlers killed some of the sheep belonging to the Bani Jabr family.

Walls Of Palestinian Homes Come Tumbling Down

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:51:00 +0000

Israel has dramatically increased its demolitions of unauthorized Palestinian homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a recent United Nations report.

Last year, 1,100 Palestinians — more than half of them children — were displaced, an 80 percent increase from the previous year. And demolitions this year continue at a high rate.

For Sami Idriss, the Israeli bulldozers came while the 26-year-old Palestinian was at work.

"I came back and they were already tearing my house down," he says.

Medical Marijuana Use Sprouting In Israel

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:55:00 +0000

Israel has become a world leader in the use of medical marijuana. More than 10,000 patients have received government licenses to consume the drug to treat ailments such as cancer and chronic pain.

But while the unorthodox treatment has gained acceptance in Israel, it still has its critics.

Susan Malkah breathes in the cloud of smoke from a plastic inhaler especially formulated for medical marijuana use. She has a number of serious ailments and is confined to a wheelchair.

"It's not like we're kids and we're getting high and going out and partying.

Arab-Jewish Tensions Creep Into 'Peace Village'

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:34:00 +0000

The Israeli village of Neve Shalom was founded decades ago as a place where Arabs and Jews could coexist in the volatile Middle East. The area has weathered regional wars and uprisings, but earlier this month, vandals targeted it and spray-painted anti-Arab epithets on the school's walls.

"We discovered first of all that a number of tires had been punctured, and then we noticed the damage at the school, slogans painted on the walls saying 'Death to the Arabs,' " says Howard Shippin, a longtime resident of Neve Shalom village.

Israel Presents Itself As Haven For Gay Community

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 21:08:00 +0000

The sun is setting, gay pride flags wave next to the water, same-sex couples kiss and cuddle on the beach. This is Tel Aviv — which the government of Israel is now pushing as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world — and gay tourism is booming.

"It's a place you have to go, good parties, nice people, beautiful people and just different from all the other tourist destinations you can go to," says Jorg Grosskopf, a German tourist who, together with his partner, Peter, is on his seventh vacation in Israel.

Tel Aviv will host its annual gay pride parade June 8.

In Change, Palestinians Now Seek High-Profile Visits

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:51:00 +0000

For decades, Muslims around the world have been unofficially boycotting Islam's third holiest site, the Al-Aqsa mosque Jerusalem.

Many Muslims believe that visiting legitimizes Israel's claim to the site, which also sits atop the holiest place in Judaism.

Palestinians Tout Non-Violent Resistance

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:31:00 +0000

This week, Palestinian prisoners ended a mass hunger strike aimed at improving their conditions in Israeli prisons after reaching a deal with Israeli authorities. The success of the collective action in wresting concessions from Israel has some Palestinians calling for a greater emphasis on nonviolence in their opposition to Israeli policies.

Palestinians were out in force this week, marking what they call the nakba, or "great catastrophe" of the founding of the state of Israel.