FTW Media Coverage
If 300 or so women traveled from Beirut to Jerusalem by motor coach no one would give us the time of day. Our tactical media weapon, the bicycle, lands us the proverbial fifteen minutes of fame. Resourcefully, we turn the camera’s attention to the struggles, suffering and daily ordeals endured by women and children in the Middle East -- a topic the press does not ordinarily regard as a “sexy subject.”
When you participate in an FTW ride, you may be interviewed by television, press, radio. An American rider’s opinions and statements are often sought out by the Arab media. It is important for the US Team to articulate our opposition to the U.S. government’s fundamental policies in the region. Doing so offers hope to the region’s populace that active and informed American citizens can steer the U.S. government towards a foreign policy based on peace with justice.
News Items Below are a list of a few news items generated by our Follow the Women rides. If you have a link to a news source which covered an FTW ride (scanned or online) or a video link, contact us so that it may be added to this page. A big thanks to Sylwia M. Groszek,
FTW - Poland for her ongoing coordination of media about FTW.
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2010 media
California Report of 2009 FTW Ride by Marilyn Marzell, FTW USA Team, California, "Road Runner," January 2010, Santa Cruz County Cycle Club newsletter
Follow the Women by Samar Maatouk Boutros, Kuwait, Marie Claire Arabia, December, 2009, In Arabic with 5 pages of terrific photos (PDF)
Cycle for Peace Palestine’s Follow the Women by Yiota Kamaratos, FTW Cyprus Team, This Week in Palestine, August, 2008
Follow the Women Italy by Guiseppe Bonavolonta, RAI, National Italian Television, June 23, 2008, 1:24 minutes (Italian and English)
Follow the Women Italy, Telenuovo, August 5, 2008, 2:27 minutes (Italian, but many visuals)
Women on Two Wheels: A Middle East Dialogue Tour by Iman Azzi, Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 2008
Women Cycle for Mideast Peace Sharing Hopes, Fears by Yiota Kamaratos, FTW Cyprus Team, Middle East Times, April 13, 2007
Follow the Women through the Eyes of a Man by Yiota Kamaratos, FTW Cyprus Team, Middle East Times, April 22, 2007
Cycling for Freedom Zeynep Korkunc, FTW Turkey Team, Frank a youth magazine (Australia), 11/06, PDF, skip to page 16 for article.
En Marche by Flore-Aël Surun, FTW France Team, Le Monde, December 22, 2005 (French)
Each New Town Had a Story to Tell by Sophia Haque, FTW UK Team, Chronicle (England), October 6, 2005
A Bike Ride for Peace by Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times, September 22, 2005
Women for Peace by Syria Times, September 20, 2005 (PDF document)
A Rare Event by Sophie Nicholson, FTW UK Team, Adventure Cyclist, May 2005 (PDF document)
Photo Banner, Jane De Jarnette, California interviewed Jordan media by Betsy Schwartz, US
Photo Gallery Top Left Octavia Taylor, Massachusetts and Kim Mander, Colorado Top Center Al Quds news story on Follow the Women Top Right standing next to Arafat poster Middle Left, Evening performance in Ramallah by Betsy Schwartz, CA Middle Center Italian rider Luisa Trigila waving by Colleen McGuire, NY Middle Right, al-Husainia Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, greeting FTW, by Colleen McGuire, NY Bottom Left Syrian cellphone users by Karin Strauss, Austria Bottom Center, Dancers in Lebanon, 2008 by Martha Sara Bottom Right, Two Syrians in Golan by Colleen McGuire