Welcome to ''The Evidence of War''
''The Evidence of War'' is the collaborative development wiki system for the creation of the guide to understanding scenes of war and disaster. The book is conceived as a practical companion to ''Crimes of War.''
''The Evidence of War'' will be a book, a guide to scenes of war and disaster, a handbook for journalists, humanitarian workers, researchers, the military, and the public. It is a tool to help witnesses correctly and completely report what they see. In one sense, it is a guide to "pre-investigation," showing the kind of research to help decide whether a full investigation of a scene is appropriate.
This wiki is both the tool for collaborative writing and the internet companion to the book. It is composed of articles, from A to Z, on various kinds of scenes, as well as interviews with people who have front line experience. The articles are designed to help someone understand what they're looking at, by pointing out what an expert sees in a scene. There will also be articles of general interest, such as a piece on the [[Anthropology of War]] or [[Forensic Victim Identification]].
Each article will have a "shooting script" and a "interview script." The shooting script is a guide to visual documentation, to ensure the reporter captures all the important elements of a scene from an evidentiary point of view. The interview script gives the ''legal'' issues that an investigator would want answers to.
Some examples:
* at a scene of food distribution at a refugee camp, it is worth knowing that in many countries, men and women use resources differently, so seeing who is getting the food will tell a lot about how it's being used.
* at a site of many dead bodies, there are many indications of whether they are victims of a massacre or victims of some other event.
* at a mass grave, an excavator (a big mechanical shovel on wheels) is probably the worst way to dig up the bodies, since it destroys all the contextual evidence.
* at a bombing, there may be bodies will no obvious marks, and survivors who will die (even hours later) due to hydrostatic shock. The shock wave from the blast can destroy the vascular system without scratching the skin.
* Children who have been deeply upset by events sometimes appear joyously hyperactive.
* (please contribute more examples)
Getting Started
This site is a place to write and edit articles, to exchange views, and to comment on articles. We are all learning how to use it. Feel free to ask for help from [mailto:[email protected] David Gross].
Begin by searching for your article. If it doesn't exist, you can create it. It's worth spending a minute with the [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide], learning how to use wiki formatting for italics, hyperlinks, and such.
Only registered users can edit pages in this system, although anyone could see if (if they knew it was here). Contact [mailto:[email protected] David Gross] to request that a person be allowed to join the project.
BaseCamp Project Management System
This is another system of checklists, draft-writing, etc., which could be useful.
[http://mimetic.updatelog.com/projects/1312173/project/log BaseCamp Management System]