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CNN Student News

Aired February 18, 2002 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching "CNN STUDENT NEWS" seen in schools around the world because learning never stops and neither does the news.

MICHAEL MCMANUS, CO-HOST: Your Monday "CNN STUDENT NEWS" has your ticket to travel. First off, Asia as we follow U.S. President Bush on a three-nation tour. Next stop, China for a night at the opera. From singing to dancing, we head to South Africa for a new perspective on an old tradition. Then, you'll get a French lesson in our "Culture Report."

Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS for Monday. I'm Michael McManus.

The President and Mrs. Bush are on the first leg of a weeklong tour of North Asia. They'll spend the first few days in Japan. The three-nation tour will also take them to South Korea and China. The Bush's landed in Tokyo on Sunday ahead of the president's scheduled talks with Japan's Prime Minister.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the war on terror, which Japan supports, but the primary focus will be reforms for Japan's recession-tattered economy. Shoring up the country's finances is considered key to stabilizing the entire region. Japan's economy also has critical links to the U.S. economy. It too is battling a recession.

As Rebecca MacKinnon reports, Japan and the U.S. have many long- standing ties that began decades ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emperor Hirohito is alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way, Jose.

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two Japanese comedians from 2001 wake up after an auto accident in the bodies of kamikaze pilots at the end of World War II. Comedy aside, the play's message is serious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not so different from us.

MACKINNON: The pair get so caught up in the emotional atmosphere they end up volunteering for a suicide mission. Soon after Japan's defeat in real life, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur received Emperor Hirohito at his Tokyo home.

(on camera): They met here where MacArthur lived while he ran Japan right after the war. Ever since Japan got its sovereignty back in 1952, this has been the U.S. Ambassador's resident at the center of a very close U.S.-Japan alliance that's done much to shape Japan into what it is today.

(voice-over): To this day, Japan's constitution, written by MacArthur's men, forbids Japan's military from waging war unless Japan is directly attacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more war.

MACKINNON: Like most Japanese, these actors are proud of Japan's now peaceful image. But the play's director says his government refused to support their overseas tour because of its message: every person is a potential kamikaze.

MASAYUKI IMAI, ACTOR/DIRECTOR (through translator): When I studied the lives of kamikaze pilots for display (ph), I grew proud of their spirit and love for their country. We should emorate (ph) that spirit but not use it for war. Unfortunately, we rarely talk about such things or about what we want (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to be in the future.

MACKINNON: But questions of what Japan's future relationship with its former enemy turned best friend should be did arise when the Commander of U.S. Pacific Forces recently spoke with the Japanese press. They asked questions like why the U.S. still needs to keep 50,000 troops in Japan.

ADMIRAL DENNIS BLAIR, COMMANDER, U.S. PACIFIC FORCES: I hope that many American servicemen will have the benefit of being able to live in your fine country and perform their duty in the interest of both of our countries for many, many years in the future.

MACKINNON: Washington actually hopes Japan will play a greater role in its own defense, but what about...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... a military that more resembles other militaries in the region?

BLAIR: Absolutely. I think that's very, very possible and in many ways desirable.

MACKINNON: Whether having a real military again some day is desirable for most Japanese is still a matter of much debate, not only on stage, but more importantly, in the halls of parliament.

Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Muslims the world over are observing the Hajj. It's one of the five pillars of Islamic faith and involves the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the city to which Muslims turn to pray. Mecca is also the birthplace of the profit Muhammad to whom Islam was revealed.

We take a look at the age-old history of the Hajj and the modern- day security measures being used this year to thwart potential terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For anyone who wants to know more about Islam, the Hajj is a perfect study. For centuries, millions of men and women have endured danger and disaster to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. It's the supreme spiritual destination for Muslims. This year, there'll be more than two million pilgrims.

They have to be as pure as possible for ritual. During the Hajj, they can't cut their hair or nails, have sex, wear jewelry or be violent.

The Hajj is an evolving event that changes shape over many days. First, the cube-like structure called the Kaaba is circled seven times to symbolically show that God is at the center of life. Muslims believe the Kaaba to be the first house of God built by Abraham. Then a linea (ph) ceremony, pilgrims run between two hills and pray. It reenacts the time when Abraham's wife ran back and forth looking for water for her son until a well is said to have appeared miraculously. Next, a move from the urban to the rural, pilgrims empty out of Mecca into the Mena Valley (ph) giving up worldly comforts for life in a tented city amid the desert dunes.

At sunrise, it's to the Plain of Arafat where the profit Muhammad delivered a sermon. It's the most important day of the Hajj, and pilgrims stand in prayer asking for sins to be forgiven. At sunset, they head back and rest at a place called Musdalifa (ph). The stoning of Satan is next. Pilgrims gather seven small stones and head back to the Mena Valley where they throw the stones at three pillars to symbolically show their rejection of Satan and temptation. Then it's back to Mecca and around the Kaaba again, followed by a three-day celebration, the Festival of Ed (ph), which is celebrated by Muslims all over the world at the same time.

(on camera): Over the years, Mecca has been transformed from a small oasis town to a cosmopolitan urban city with modern infrastructure. One thing has remained unchanged, the arrival of pilgrims each year that dress and the rituals. Those have remained unchanged since the time of the profit, in tact for about 1,400 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice over): Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are in Mecca performing sacred rituals in the Holy city. But as they circle the Kaba (ph), they're being watched by more than 650 roving eyes. Surveillance cameras are spread out around the Grand Mosque in Mecca. A 24-hour monitoring system set up by the Saudi Government is in the basement, watching for any sign of trouble. In the past, there have been clashed with Iranian demonstrators and even a siege at the Grand Mosque. Many have been killed.

(on camera): September the 11th has made security a sensitive issue at the Hajj. Osama bin Laden is from Saudi Arabia and has supporters in the country, and there's concern that some of those supporters may try and use the Hajj as a cover to regroup or to recruit.

(voice-over): Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Ibu Abdul Aziz says it would be un-Islamic for anyone to try and undermine the Hajj, and warns that the government will act decisively against any protesters.

About 12,000 guards are deployed around Mecca and its surrounding areas, and plain clothed officers are combing the crowds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main thing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) supposed to be done against any people who are trying actually to ignore the Hajj calls and try to do any harmful to the people or to the pilgrimage.

VERJEE: After touchdown in Jeda (ph), the pilgrims themselves go through a rigid baggage check, where suitcases are X-rayed and searched for weapons. Pilgrims are carefully questioned before a stamp of approval is issued.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're very, very strict with regards to what comes in. They check the food. They check your bags.

VERJEE: Pilgrims also surrender their passports when they arrive and get them back only when they leave. Eye scanners and digital fingerprinting methods are used if there's suspicion a potential troublemaker's trying to sneak in as a pilgrim.

On the way to Mecca, five checkpoints on the main roads, where officers track who's who. On Sayid al Sufur's (ph) sheet, he marks the country the pilgrims come from, the number of people, their gender, and the kind of car they're in.

About two million people will be at the Hajj this year. Many pilgrims say they feel safe. The Saudi government hopes it stays that way. Zain Verjee, CNN, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Today's "Chronicle Report" takes us to Beijing, China.

Many elders still enjoy a night out at the opera, but over the years, the art and culture of a live show has taken a backseat for Beijing's youth. Now the opera and many of its supporters are attempting to revive interest in a very old and artful tradition.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARTHA GRAHAM, CNN INSIDE ASIA: Members of the Beijing opera company perform one of the highly stylized pieces for which the art form is famous. Beijing opera is a mixture of music, dance, art and acrobatics. While the performers are as dedicated to their craft as ever, audiences, unfortunately, are not. Often less than half the theater seats are filled and many of those in them are non-Chinese tourists. Officials are hoping the use of English subtitles will bring in even more international visitors, but they know they need the support of local fans if the opera is to survive.

Many older Chinese still love traditional opera. They gather in Beijing's parks to entertain one another by singing the songs.

"The older you get," he says, "the better you understand Beijing opera that's why most of its fans are old people."

But if young people can't be attracted to the theater, who will fill the seats in the years to come?

LUO DIANWEN, OPERA FAN (through translator): I could see that in the past few years Beijing opera was in danger of dying out, however, it has revived because of China's opening to the outside world. We cannot lose it because it personifies the Chinese spirit.

GRAHAM: But 200 years after its creation, the future of Beijing opera is uncertain. Even though they often perform to small groups now, the actors try to strike a positive note.

LIU YULING, BEIJING OPERA ACTRESS (through translator): I believe Beijing opera will make progress in developing line with social developments. I am not worried about the future of Beijing opera and I have confidence in it.

GRAHAM: Beijing officials seem confident too. They've announced plans to build two new multimillion-dollar theaters for traditional opera.

Martha Graham, Inside Asia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Exploring our world, here now is CNN STUDENT NEWS "Perspectives."

MCMANUS: To promote unity within its democracy, South Africa did away with racial classifications that in the days of apartheid split its population to whites, blacks and colors.

But as CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault reports, cultural pride within those groups remain strong, and one group in particular is passionate about preserving a tradition that helped them cope during the country's racially oppressive era.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called jazzing, a dance the mixed race, so-called cape coloureds, say they created long before some of these young aficionados were born.

TERRENCE WANNENBERG, JAZZ DANCER: They wanted their own identity and they came up with a mixture of the jive, the rumba, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), everything mixed.

HUNTER-GAULT: That I learned as I walked with one of jazzing's veterans along a barren, windy hillside that was once home to Capetown's coloured population. It was called District 6 (ph) and jazzing was how its coloured packed up all their cares and woes, as the old jazz song goes, and danced the nights away until the white- ruled apartheid regime packed them all up and shipped them out to more remote locations, part of the infamous forced removals aimed at creating and preserving all white enclaves in the most desirable parts of the country.

WANNENBERG: It was a tough (ph) time and people had to readjust their lives.

HUNTER-GAULT: They took their homes but not their soul. The Cape Coloured kept on jazzing.

WANNENBERG: When you dance you forget, you're in your own world.

HUNTER-GAULT: Apartheid is now a thing of the past, jazzing is not. Only in the country's almost 8-year-old nonracial democracy they're singing a different song if not dancing to a different tune.

KURT MOSS, JAZZ DANCER: A definite sense of freedom, that is what I live for nowadays. The beat of jazz and the instruments that they use just uplift me when I come onto a floor. It brings out the better person within me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to do it again. I'm turning on my front foot.

HUNTER-GAULT: And as with any tradition, preserving it depends on...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't watch them. Watch here, watch here, watch my feet.

HUNTER-GAULT: ... passing it on.

Here twice a week, friends and neighbors bring their friends and neighbors and sometimes their neighbor's children for jazzing lessons, joined this once by yours truly.

(on camera): OK, now I'm going to have a private lesson, but guess what, you can't watch.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, CNN, Capetown.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KISHA MCDANIEL, ATLANTA GEORGIA: Hi, my name is Kisha McDaniel from Atlanta, Georgia. And my question to CNN is how do fashion trends develop and why are they different from coast to coast?

SALLY SINGER, "VOGUE" FASHION NEWS DIRECTOR: Well, Kisha, fashion trends develop in two ways, they either come up the runway and are then filtered through magazines and through retailers to every level of the market.

The other way they develop is from the street and this tends to have much more of a local or regional flair to it. And I think that also explains how it changes coast to coast because that's where you see the difference between a lifestyle oriented idea of how to dress, which is what you have in L.A. or often in the hotter climates, and a more trend directional way to dress, which is what you see in places like New York or colder climates where you can wear the chunky boots and the big coats and all the kind of funky pieces that just don't work when the temperature is over 75 degrees.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: The state of Louisiana has a rich heritage, a melting pot of Islanders, Creoles, Cajun French and Africans. Now the public school system in one city is going the distance to make sure those bonds remain strong.

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh explains what's on their curriculum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The elementary school kids in Opelousas, Louisiana are learning some of their first words of French.

Teacher Assoumane Abocar, from the French speaking West African nation Mali, says his students often remind him of home.

ASSOUMANE ABOCAR, FRENCH TEACHER FROM MALI: Because sometimes while talking to the student I used to tell them, ah, you look like one of my former students in Africa. You are really -- you are like twins.

VAN MARSH: Almost all of the kids at South Street Elementary, about two hour's drive outside New Orleans, are African-American. Before Abocar came three years ago, Louisiana school officials say students showed little interest in French even though many of their ancestors spoke some form of the language as slaves working the fields and bayous of the deep south. The state also says for students who want to learn French, convincing French teachers to come to rural Louisiana is a challenge.

(on camera): Facing a shortage of French speaking teachers and realizing they'd have more and more students each year, South Street Elementary School, like many public schools across Louisiana, decided it was time to go outside state lines to find more French speaking talent. (voice-over): South Street Elementary found a dear friend in David Cheramie, he's wearing the gray suit. His state created Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL, recruits French teachers from around the world. It's Francophone Africa recruiting drive turned up instructors in Mali, Benin, Coatewar (ph), Togo and Guinea to name a few.

Cheramie says placing African teachers in American schools helps dispel the notion that French is a language just for white people.

DAVID CHERAMIE, DIRECTOR, CODOFIL: I think it kind of gives these students a greater sense of pride, a greater sense of identity, a greater sense of belonging, and I think that's one of the main elements that students need within their educational process.

VAN MARSH: Abocar was a CODOFIL recruit, now he's helping other African teachers through the state administered screening process. He says it's important for students to understand being bilingual can open a world of opportunity.

ABOCAR: I'm here in the United States thanks to French, yes, so a language can link people to one another.

VAN MARSH: Links run deep in Louisiana where people like their Zydeco music loud, their food spicy and where Creole and Cajun culture is still relevant.

ABOCAR: Whenever we have the possibility to put in a Cajun vocabulary or a Creole vocabulary we do. And to -- just to let the children know that what they hear sometimes at home the grandparents speaking is also French.

VAN MARSH: Abocar is one of three African teachers leading South Street Elementary's French immersion program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it because it's much fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you get to learn new things and in things of the French and you speak a different language.

VAN MARSH: Parent and student interest is so high that Abocar formed an after school cultural exchange program. He says he's happy to put in the time if his African background get kids excited about learning.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Opelousas, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: And while we're on the subject of French culture, the people of France have officially bid adieu to the franc. They are trading in their old money for the euro, Europe's newest currency.

Jim Bittermann has more on the passage from one currency to another.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a Sunday market in Normandy, the French were spending euros with abandon. In fact, even though it was the last day to spend French francs, there were barely any to be found.

The butcher said he had not seen a franc in days. And the baker said she had just one customer who bought a loaf of bread with a 200 franc bill who will be happy not to be making change in two currencies she says.

In fact, while you could still find a vegetable salesman calling out the prices in francs, according to the French Central Bank, by last week more than 70 percent of French francs were already out of the monetary system.

And if now you can no longer spend French francs, you can still turn them in at the Central Bank for another 10 years. Unless you find a nice candy lady like this one who said she would still accept francs from children for another few days.

Even if the French have adopted the euro, at least two out of five, according to a poll released over the weekend, are nostalgic for their old money.

(on camera): After more than 640 years of slipping through their fingers and into their pockets, it's probably not at all surprising that the French have grown a little attached the their francs. At least that's what the hope is here in the small town of Francville Santier (ph).

(voice-over): The energetic mayor here just got the good news that Francville has been selected for the site of a monument and museum dedicated to the franc. Now all he has to do is raise 2.3 million euros to transform this site and others and his town will become a tourist magnet for those who miss their old money.

In fact, exactly how one should observe the passage (ph) from one currency to another, something which rarely happens willingly, must have taxed minds at the French Finance Ministry as they created a ceremony marking the occasion. The prime minister set the tone.

LIONEL JOSPIN, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The French people went to the euro (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We are not losing a money but getting one.

BITTERMANN: And with that, brief fireworks and the European anthem, franc flags at the Ministry were lowered into oblivion while the euro banners waved on. After which, this being France, everyone retired for a congratulatory glass of champagne. And by the way, if you needed further proof the franc is well and truly finished, on leaving, each guest of the ceremony was given a half million francs to take home, well shredded and compressed to be sure.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Here in the U.S., the news media have what's called freedom of speech. It is a privilege not shared by journalists everywhere around the world. Perhaps you are an aspiring journalist. Do you work on your school paper or newsletter? Do you think you have the same freedoms and rights as professional journalists? Well that's a question up for debate.

CNN Student Bureau explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's not afraid to stand up for the students that she teaches.

DUSTIN GROVE, CNN STUDENT BUREAU (voice-over): In fact, Terry Nelson is willing to lose her job defending her students. Twenty-six years of teaching and challenging anyone who says her student reporters aren't real journalists.

TERRY NELSON, JOURNALISM TEACHER: They're absolutely real journalists. Any time you publish for an audience you are a real journalist.

GROVE: A sincere thought but not always supported by school administrators. In 1979, the principal wanted Nelson to turn over the name of an anonymous student source.

NELSON: And I explained to the principal that I couldn't tell him who wrote that letter, and he demanded that I did or I would be fired.

GROVE: She wouldn't do it. A real newspaper wouldn't have to, but they did fire her.

NELSON: The principal was under the belief that he could make me do anything, even something against my ethics, you know even something that would damage another student because he was principal and he said so.

GROVE: One of those cases in 1998 at another school where Mrs. Nelson had just started teaching again.

NELSON: They were going to demand that I sign this piece of paper and the piece of paper said that I agree that students at Muncie Central High School do not have freedom of expression.

GROVE: Luckily she never had to sign it. The principal, reassigned to another school. Today Terry Nelson is still here,...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She really cares about every individual.

GROVE: ... still teaching.

NELSON: I think it's our responsibility to help train the kids to have a voice and to not be afraid to use their voice.

GROVE: And for her voice, Nelson is this year's National Journalism Teacher of the Year, a milestone at her crusade.

NATE BEASLEY, JOURNALISM STUDENT: That's an asset that I think we might even take for granted to have a teacher like that that's willing to stick up for us.

GROVE: And willing to keep standing up as long as it takes.

NELSON: I believe strongly in kids. They can rise to the occasion and they can put out stuff with such emotion and such background that it can change their world.

Dustin Grove, CNN Student Bureau, Muncie, Indiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ONSCREEN: "Where in the World?"

Citizens encouraged to have only one or two children.

Covers more than one-fifth of Asia.

World's oldest living civilization.

Can you name this country?

China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: That wraps up another edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. But before we leave you, a sneak peek at tomorrow's show.

Our Shelley Walcott recently spent some time in South Carolina with the Gulla. They are decedents of enslaved Africans who still practice many of the same traditions practiced by their ancestors nearly four centuries ago. You don't want to miss this story about a people who have been called the most authentic African-American community in the U.S. That's tomorrow.

I'm Michael McManus here at CNN Center. Have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow.

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