Reporters on the Job

• Solar Tea, Please: Monitor photographer Melanie Stetson Freeman and staff writer Scott Baldauf visited a camp in eastern Chad where 17,600 Darfur refugees live. A Dutch group has helped the refugees build 6,000 solar cookers, to save on firewood and reduce the number of dangerous trips made by the women who are often attacked while foraging.

Throughout their trip, Scott and Melanie were impressed by the generosity of those who have so little. As they prepared to leave a workshop where solar cookers were being assembled (see story), they turned to find a young woman holding a tray with cups of tea. "She was about the 20th person to offer us tea during the visit, but she didn't take no for an answer," says Scott. "And it was solar cooked. My first solar hot beverage!

• Sprouting Mosques: Eight years ago, when correspondent Isabelle de Pommereau first moved to Frankfurt, Germany, most Muslims were still worshiping out of the public eye. She recalls going shopping in the Arab part of the city, where she often found a good selection of meats and vegetables. "I went into one shop, and it wasn't a shop at all. There was a sign on the wall saying it was a mosque. That's the way it was a few years ago: the mosques were in hidden places, in basements and courtyards. Today, they're popping up all over the place (see story)."

– David Clark Scott
World editor