♪ this is this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i am richelcarry and here are t top stories. >> first case of ebola is scary and unprecedented. >> doctors downgrade the condition of a dallas man with ebola to critical. isil forces target syria and iraq. iraqis are fighting back against isil with satire. a notorious dictate has died.

the world's health organization says ebola is still spreading in west africa. the latest account puts the official number of dead at 3400. in the u.s., the threat of ebola continues to grow. today's, more from dallas, his condition has taken a turn for the worse. for an update action live to diana sorok outside of dallas presbyterian hospital where he is being treated. what are health officials there saying? >> reporter: . >> richelle, they are saying thomas duncan's condition has been downgraded from serious to critical. we have a call out to the hospital to get more information about that. we have not heard back yet from them. yesterday, you may recall, haz-mat team went into the apartment he had been staying at. they cleaned that apartment.

they took several items, several personal items, towels, linens and put them in containers. they were sealed and carried away. the family has been moved to another location in dallas. they are staying in a private home. they are still under quarantine. cdc said today that the number of people that they are looking at that they consider to be at high risk has been reduced from 10 people to nine people. and richelle, those numbers are very fluid. they have been change from day-to-day. >> diane, as i said when i introduced you that it's really the fear of ebola that's really gripping a lot of people. there was a scare on board a plane that landed at newark airport in new jersey today. can you tell us about that? >> reporter: that's right, richelle. >> that's a story that's still unfolding. there was a passenger on board a united airlines flight that was bound to newark airport from brucels. there was a passenger on who became illssels. there was a passenger on who

became ill. he was taken off of the plane and tain to a local hospital. we know the 255 passengers and crew on board the flight were allowed to deplane. the cdc is looking in to that. and earlier today, the cdc held a press conference. they talked about the protocols that they have in place at airports, the kind of screening they have been doing around the world, looking for people who might have symptoms that could be related to ebola. they said they have some good protocols in place and they are looking at strengthening those protocols, but dr. thomas freiden, the director of the cdc also sounded a warning about putting in photo protocols that might be too stringent. >> we are all connected. and although we might wish we could seal ourselves off from the world, there are americans who have the right of return. there are many other people who have the right to enter into this country. and that we are not going to be able to get to zero risk no matter what we do unless and

until we control the outbreak in west africa. >> reporter: there was also a patient at howard university hospital in washington, d.c. who was suspected of possibly having ebola. >> patient has been cleared. richelle? >> so far, as you said in the beginning of your report, only one confirmed case here in the united states. diane live in dallas. diane, thank you. a french nurse who contracted ebola while working in liberia has recovered. the woman had traveled to liberia as a volunteer for doctors without boarders. she was flown back to france on september 19th. today, the french health minister said the nurse no longer showed any signs of the disease and, in fact, had left the hospital. under the cover of night, isil fighters advanced against saturday to the border town of kobane in syria's north armed with military vehicles and tanks. isil surrounded from the hills and surrounded the town. they were pursed back four times before kurdish and western coalition forces fought them

off. the central demand said today they bombed four isil position around kobane. the syrian opposition coalition is warning of imminent genocide there. the turkish army is preparing to defend their border. to the east across northern iraq, another battle is raging between isil and curbkurdish peshmerga. thousands fled in northern iraq. monica is on the ground with more. >> reporter: it is a very difficult something else for the refugees here in erbil. a lot come from several sect orders of iraq who basically had to flee when isil came to their town and were really not even able to pack or grab any of their belongings and are finding themselves here in the city, in the suburbs. authorities and ngos are telling us that they are quite overwhelmed not really knowing where to house all of these refugees that keep on coming. we went to one of the camps where they were is hebrading eade. many people telling us that they

were sad that they could not really sell it the way they would like to. some charities were donating meat and they were able to have the traditional immediately that they said that they would have loved to give presents to their children to be able to celebrate. of course, that wasn't the case. in the meantime, the peshmerga forces are pretty much on the defensive again here without really giving hopes to these families that they will be able to go back to the hometowns any time soon because isil is still establishing a majors presence in some of these territories and their situation on the ground really hasn't changed much for them. >> monica reporting from erbil there. the human toll is mounting as is pressure on neighboring countries to support refugees. tissuing is playing host to hundreds of thousands of syrians escaping the advance ofs isil. a report from southeastern turkey. >> reporter: life as a refugee is usually one of boredom, frustration and uncertainties.

the only thing these newly arrived kurdish families families know for sure is they will probably be here a long time. if yes, in tissuing, they have food, water, and healthcare t and these people are safe from the fighters of isil. but they are not really free. am. >> i am 80 years old. i spent my life in aleppo and kobane. we fled aleppo and now we are freeing from isil. all we do is flee. >> we have enough food. the problem is trying to find shelter. small camps have sprouted up all along turkey's border with syria. some are just weeks old. others have been there more than three years. there are now more than 1 and a half million syrian refugees in turkey. among the kurds, there is also a feeling of helplessness. these men wanted to go into

kobane to help defend it. but the turkish authorities have closed the border for the kurds' own safety, they say. syrian kurdish fighters we have spoken to are more optimistic about their chances of holding the town after a couple of u.s. air strikes on friday evening hit isil positions. but, the isil offensive continues. there has been artillery and gunfire all day. those refugees aren't going home soon. burnett smith, on the turkey- syria border. >> isil is recruiting thousands of men but they are luring women to live in the self declared islamic state. this installment of our series, five days of fear, nick sheeve written takes us on one man's journey to find his wife and son. >> every time shain akin looks through these photos, every time he flips through these pages, he feels the family he had may never return. >> translator: i remember those

beautiful days. i remember what i lived. it's impossible to forget those days, the day my child was born. >> single years ago, he met setlana. he was a muslim from turkey, she, a christian from kirgastan. she liked to travel and drink and have fun. they were happy and had a son. the boy loved his father. he walked toward him on the sidewalk, looked at him from the pool. but after their son was born, his wife began to change. she spent hours online. she converted to islam. first, she put on a head scarf and then she became asia myspace amui abdullah. she wanted to mary a fighter in the islamic state. she completely isolated herself. had he brain became stone. her soul became blinded. her eyes become closed. >> because the boy was only three, a judge awarded her custody and they disappeared. he scoured for them online. he created a fake facebook

account. he posed as a woman looking for a radical husband and one day, he had a break through. >> his detective work brought him to this neighborhood and to that building. he said that was an isil safe house. this isn't a poor area full of disaffection that isil prays on to. she and her son were ludics here by a recruiter who passes between turkey and syria but by the time shihim arrived here, she and his son had left. she fled to the epicenter of isil's brutality. this is rare video secretly filmed. isil calls this its headquarters. on the streets, women enough stay covered or face whipping but dozens of women bill grimmage here one woman speaks to her family in french. >> translator: i don't want to come back. what you are saying is bull (bleep). if i want to come back, i can.

i don't want to. i am happy here. >> is hihim knows his son isn't happy. >> do you steel fill that connection with your son? do you feel like you know what he is going through right now? >> i saw him in my dreams. he strips out his hand and i try to on take his hand, but impair lies. >> isil presents itself as family friend friendly. propaganda features foreign families with kids. >> i am thinking i am in a dream world. if i don't work up, i am here. >> isil has recruited thousands of families, ripped thousands of families apart. shihim hasn't opened his door in three months. this was his son's room. his favorite shirt. the hats he wore when they sailed together, the rocking horse he ate breakfast on. >> do you keep this room as it is because you expect him to

come back? >> i want the world to help me. i want my child. give me back my child. his place is here where he was born. >> so he searchs every night on his boat. it's named destine after his son. nick sheeve written, al jazeera, istanbul, turkey. >> he says he will keep hunting not only for his own child but other families who is children have been kidnapped into the islamic state group as well. amid the violence, the iraqi people look for ways to move forward with their lives and for ways to cope. a troop in baghdad is turning to satire and presenting a comedy show that was broadcast across the country saturday night. the program called "arab i can state of superstition" put the a mocking spin on it. they say they are trying to counter isil's propaganda machine to fight the extremists. it was another violent day in the eastern city of donetsk.

proceed russian separatits continue to attack government forces at the airport which has been put out of commission for months. the army says they have the upper hand against reynolds equipped with heavy weapons and armored vehicles. still, a few hours before dawn in hong kong where pro-democracy protesters have been fightingtiously not with police but citizens opposed to the demonstration. those clashes beginning on friday have brought the week of protest to a new level as local divisions emerge. scott heidler has more. >> reporter: over the last few days, the focus on the hong kong protest has shifted from the umbrella to the heated argument. this is among kok where that began. for the first time, there was vie reference between citizens of hong kong on friday. the police were in the middle. the tension was still there the next morgan. some protestods came out because they saw the attacks on t.v. as the street protests reached the end of week one, some locals

where the occupations have taken place have had enough. the fight for democracy do not give you the right to occupy your streets and disturb us. we have a mortgage to pay and need to make a living. went sleep at night. >> the reason here it are so upset and want the protesters to go is local and different than why people in other parts of hong kong want the protesters to take their sit-ins elsewhere. across victoria harbor in the city's main shopping district, people are more concerned about the broader impact on hong kong. >> the city's economy has been affected and a lot of shops are losing business because people are avoiding the protest barriers. >> one historian sees a similarity between riots in 1967 be and what's going on now. bolt caused by police violence, but then, the people of hong kong were on the same side. >> right now, it's not quite so clear t seems to me that you got

some interesting class divisions. you've got divisions between students and non-students. but then even among the non-students, you have differences, too. >> in the wake of the 1967 riots, the government worked to close the gap between state and society and lesser reforms. once this current unrest ends, the government is going to have to deal with expanding divisions within the city's population. scott heidler, al jazeera, hong kong. >> a memorial was installed today off of the coast of the italian island of lampa dusa. they attached a memorial to the hull of a ship. more than 360 asylum seekers drown. it it will prompted italy to increase sea patrols. thursday and friday, the italian coast guard rescued more than 200 my grants off of the coast of sicily. t the political battle in

brazil, and a race too close to call. what's at stake for the south america nation? a man who terrorized haitians for -- death of a man who terrorized haitians for decades. we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america.

top officials made a rare and surprise trip for high-level talks. the first such meeting five years. the north korean delegation is being led by the curreountry's second highest official. the two koreas agreed to res orm formal dialogue. the health of the leader isrupled to be fail. >> one of the most vicious dictators in haiti's history, baby doc, he was eventually run out of the country but not before he stole more than $400 million. mo more. >> baby doc took over after his father's death at the age of 19

in 1971. he also became head of the brutal para military his father had created 12 years earlier a machete wielding private named after a mythological creature who eats children for breakfast. according to human rights watch, baby doc and his father known as papa doc are estimated to ordered the deaths of 3028 civilians. many were executed under the two regimes. during the '70s and '80s, boat people tried to flee haiti for the u.s. shores of florida. duvalier's response was to demand kickbacks. he made flimsy attempts by releasing political prisoners to placate then u.s. president jimmie carter. he lived a lavish lifestyle. his state sponsored wedding is estimated to have cost between 3

to $5 million in 1980. in 1985 after an election where he claimed 99% of the vote, demonstrations erupted protesting the high unemployment, political repress and pour living conditions. he failed to put down the popular uprising and fled the country in 1986, aboard a u.s. military transport plan plane to a self-imposed exile in france. in the late 1980s, a u.s. accounting firm estimated he stole at least $400 million from the government. hee returned to haiti 25 years later in january of 2011 and was arrested the next day on charges of embezzlement and human rights abuses. he had said his return was to help the reconstruction of haiti after the extensive damage of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake the year before. while awaiting trial, he stayed mainly in an expensive hotel above p port au prince.

he faced charges of crimes against humanity. >> coming up tonight, we will take a deeper look at baby doc's life and that is tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, five pacific. on sunday, brazilians will choose their next president. opinion polls suggest that a female candidate is close behind. gabrielle alazondo if files this report. >> here in downtown, they are hoping to glimpse a candidate when she is expected to give her big last campaign rally here she has been polling at about 40, 43% or so but the way it works noor brazil is if no candidates gets 50% plus one on the first ballot t will go into a run-off. she is hoping a late surge will maybe present that and have h heroining the first ballot. we don't know because she is facing very, very tough competition in a very difficult election on one side. you have the former

environmental minister that's positioning herself as sort of the new face of brazilian politics and she has been campaigning very hard as of late as well, but she seems to have lost a little bit of her moment thank you very much she had early, late august and early september. on the other side, you have the young and charismatic senator who has been hitting hard on economic issues saying when rusef took over four years ago, brazil was growing at 7.5%. now, this year, gdp droeth is expected to be less than 1%. he is saying he is the candidate that will get brazil growing again. it will be the brazilian people ultimately decide more than 130 million voters expected to go to the polls on sunday to decide who they think should lead brazil for the next four years. >> gabriel alazondo joining us and getting ready with the direct offer of the center for western hemisphere studies at

the city of the university of new york. we appreciate your expertise at a time like this. so under the party, the country did well. but it's been slipping under her. there have been protests, a lot of dissatisfaction. what are the issues that voters are dealing with as they go to the polls? >> the issues that are really the economy is not doing as well as it was, as you pointed out in the recent past. >> uh-huh. >> the reasons are many, but for the economy not doing so well, they also have social needs. new ones and old ones that haven't surfaced in the middle of a slow down in the economy which is pretty serious. then they have political kind of institutional reasons, mean, by that, i mean not only too many patterns and too much confusion in politics but, also, corruption issues. and they know they have to change a system. they know they have to deliver better services to the

populations in the cities and small cities and large ones and they know they have to get the economy going, but these are e theibs that are now perplexing the electorate. people are tired after 12 years of one government not being able to solve all of the problems they thought they would. >> okay. so let's talk about that. when you say some of the issues are corruption or some of the people are just tired of the same party, you would think that candidates have changed would automatically be out front while they seem to be giving her a run for her money, they not out front. >> well, marina silva is running kind of by an accident really. she was not prepared. i think there was a lot of it sympathy vote for her at the gunning and thent it would wear off, wear off. and she is now down to in fact the last poll just before i came

suggests that she may be beaten. it may be a cliff-hangar tomorrow. we will watch to see what happens. it may be him. but so she came down for reasons that are explainable and then duma, who served the president, well, she commands an awesome organization, the brazilian government, and they have sfls offices and services all over the country. and they can get the troops out. so that's the short answer to your question. dilma, she is a good, tough lady. she is a tough politician. >> so let's just assume that she does end up winning. do you think that she feels the pressure to change anything even if she does win? >> she will win the first round, which is tomorrow, sunday. i don't know when you go on the air. and then the question is the second? >> the run-off? >> on the 26th. we will see what happens and then it not interval, we will have to wait. >> it's the law that everyone

has to vote in brazil? right? >> that's right. >> how does that shape an election? what effect does that have on an election. >> it has a tremendous impact because you have good turn out and you have an electronic machine, better system in some ways than what we have. it is faster. you have results pretty early a few minutes after the polls close. and so you have a lot of voters, poor, all classes participate, and it's a very exciting event. >> absolutely, it is. >> it shapes -- it shapes because this year, you have -- it's very diverse. you have the north. >> the candidates are very ethnically diverse as well? >> ethnically diverse. i think part of what we are seeing is kind of the old approach that the work party had mo for many years has been

questioned probably in ways it has not been before. the worker's party had a good run between 2003 and when lula was president in 2009 that coincided with the chinese demand for commodities, soy, mineral did and that was a boon for brazzil. >> has come into somewhat of a slowdown. ] quite a bit. >> a lot of competition from the u.s. and brazil until terms of soy, minerals is not what was happening before, and then brazilian economy is not doing so well in the industry. so that's the answer. why they did so well, those eight years or nine years, and then since then, the growth rate of brazil has been under roussef has been about 2% on average and right now, technically is in recession mod at least until last month. >> those of all of the issues voters will gap he will with?

>> and they had to put them together. very exciting. >> it will be. i think it's going to be realignment of brazilian politicians. >> we it appreciate your expertise? >> thank you. how the ebola outbreak is affecting some religsous traditions in western african africa hoo us it fwault in america. >> have you evering from lower back pain? >> do you wake up with nagging aches and stiffness? now, you can stop suffering relief your pain with chiroback, the drug free it will treatment for back pain. >> suthing treatment from the comfort of your own bed, couch, or floor. >> it's like having your own personal chiro practor right in your home? >> i use my hands to provide

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their focus to nine people had contact with duncan but so far, none have shown any signs of the infection. isil forces attacked the syrian town of kobane four times overnight. kurdish forces maid to put them back with co alition airstrikes. >> two million muslims to make it to mecca, the hage that all muslims are supposed to take once in their life time. worshippers went to saudi arabia despite the spread of disease. the ebola outbreak from west africa is having an affect on the celebration. during the celebration, sheep are traditionalingly slaughtered. nicholas hoff reports from dakar. >> these three traveled hundreds of miles hoping to sell the

small herd of sheep. >> no one is buying our animals. this is very unusual. we can't go back to our village until we have sold our livestock. >> the asking price for a sheep is $200. >> that's more than double the normal price, a small fortunate for most senegalese. >> since the ebola outbreak, prices have gone up. animals are just too expensive. senegal and neighbors restric d restricted. this has damaged trade. the muslim majority country doesn't have enough livestock. we have asked mauritania to allow herders to travel. >> some traders are using the ebola restrictions their advantage. they are waiting for the last minute before putting the animals for sale to make a good prophet. for others?

>> it's a race to the city's market. thanks to the shortage in livestock, the restrictions created ismail and his companions are selling their sheep for a far higher price. they believe people will eventually sacrifice their savings to celebrate their faith. nicholas,as, senegal. >> yellen eade is facing a situation, where rebels are now in charge. 3458 issue a men organizing in sanaa. state security is nowhere to be seen. most have only limited education and never lived in a big city. i am necessary about taking law and order on their hands: this

is a real challenge. this year is worse than the previous. war has affected everything. but on this holiday, yemenis dig deep because custom obvious blings every family to buy a lamb and new gifts for the children. >> i have been saving money all year so i can buy eade gifts for my children. >> you couldn't see this but it is time that makes yemenis not only forget about inexecute but also but they don't have money in their pockets. >> traders say people are still shopping, even the poorest come here to spend the last penny they have. there is also another reason: wisell more during times of war for fear they won't be able to find any later. it's not like this normally.

oil production has declared from half a million barrels to less than 200,000 this year. it's apparently due to lack of investment and tribal attacks on the pipelines. yemen has been promised $8,000,000,000 by international donors but a third of the cash has arrived so far. without a government in control and with capital in the hands of armed militiass, t al jazeera. sanaa. >> it was revealed this week that j.p. morgan chase was the victim much a masses attack with 83 million accounts affected. the "new york times" reports nine other cust trees by the same group of hackers. the group operates from russia and may be connected to the government. one senior official telling the times it could be in retaliation for sanctions connected to ukraine. these breaches are just the latest in a string of hakz.

last year suffered a huge cyber attack affecting more than 100 million customers. they hit home depot putting credit information at risk. ebay came under attack hackers getting the personal data of 145 million customers. there was some good news on the economy from the latest jobs report after a disappointing august, u.s. employers added 248,000 jobs from six % to 5.9. president obama said the country is on face for the strongest job growth since the 1990s. . >> the progress we have been making, it's been hard. it goes in fits and starts. it's not always been perfectly smooth or as fast as we want, but it is real and it is steady, and it is happening. >> the president was speaking at a factory in indiana where he was touting growth. as tom ackerman reports, some companies are struggle can to

find qualified workers. >> in detroit where the official jobless rate is nearly 10%, good jobs still go begging. just as the staff at mccomb community college where graduates who earn a two-year degree can be in plenty of demand. >> the employers are clamoring with people with the right. skill level. for every student in my robotics and welding program, there are probably two or three jobs waiting for them. >> tony barretta has a full-time job but he is taking classes in advanced robotics to get better ones >> trying to take advantage of the facilities they have here are amazing. it's tough. i don't get much sleep but i mean i know it's going to be worth it in the end. >> the worker shortage isn't only apparent. according to a receipt survey, 30% say they are having trouble filling financial positions and 20% report it's difficult to

find manufacturing personnel. at this small plant which makes lighting fixtures, the owner with the skills the business requires to stay competitive in a fast evolving market. >> acquiring the personnel that's needed to run the equipment to assist with our vertical intelling grashings that is where as far as one fantastic strategic partner for us. >> half of the company managers in that survey said they were not offering more pay the job seekers and employers lookness to understand that not all of the answers are known when you go into that industry and that

you have to be able to adapt. >> as the u.s. economy keeps expanding, so does the challenge. nine in 10 personnel managers say they expect their labor shortages to get worse. tom ackerman, al jazeera, detroit. >> each year, over a million high schoolers play organized football. school officials have been struggle to go find ways to limit the impact of concussions, but as paul beban explains, that report took a place for the worst after three players died on the field this week. >> high school it football is full of it fast plays and big hits. going down hard and getting up slow are just part of the game. but during the past week, players and parents across the country have been reminded just how dangerous the game can be. since last friday, three high school football players have died. all of them collapsed wearing their uniforms on the field.

>> this was just a tragedy. this was just a damn tragedy. >> more than a million american boys play high school football and in an avenue year, 11 of them die from football-related injuries. less than one third are injuries directly connected to the game such as head or spinal injuries. the majority are called indirect fatalities, things like heat exhaustion, heart problems and stroke. friday, friends and teammates honored 17-year-old demario harris who died last week after a tackle. harris's father says his son suffered a brain hemorrhage caused by the hit. >> and thursday, in long island new york, a vigil was held for 16-year-old thom kutenella. his teammates gathered where he collapsed and later died after a collision. >> school officials say they will investigate to see if more could be done to keep players

safe. they will examine helmets and other equipment as well as review safety procedures. still, the district's superintendent says kutenella's death was a rare mishap. >> i think it was the result of a typical football play. it was a freak accident. >> freak accident or otherwise, what is clear is that part of the game we call typical football is tragedy. paul beban, al jazeera. >> since 2009, all 50 states have implemented safeguards to make high school football safer. >> 43 mexican students are missing after a police shooting last week, and to make matters worse, the government and media took days to acknowledge this. parents wants to know why. al jazeera's rachel laven has mosh from mexico city. >> it took more than a week of pleading and begging by these desperate parents before officials from the federal government would see them. but the government could no

longer ignore their anguish. >> they need to force the police who took our children to tell us where they are. president peneto and his administration have been silent about the disappearance of 43 students who were attacked by local police and gun men last friday in the troubled stay of gurero. on friday, the minister of interior promised federal assistance but he refused to say why it took so long for government action. >> we have not going to do an interview. >> despite the growing frustration and anger of the families and the stud incident, the story is getting very little attention in the mentionco can media. here in the capitol where some people aren't aware that the crisis is happening. >> the missing students didn't make the front page of a leading mexican newspaper for three days in a row this week. it's a common belief among many mexicans that the lack of media attention is intentional and

some find it disturbing. the media is hiding everything 13 talking about other issues creating a moak screen instead of telling us about what is happening with the students answerer is growing, earlier this week, protest orders blocked major highways. they are now threatening to take over government buildings if they don't get answers as to why 43 students disappeared. coming up on al jazeera america. >> something out of a horror movie. >> 125 million women in the world have been circum sized. we will hear from one survivor and tell about efforts to eradicate the practice.

in washington, a group of experts from across the government held the first meeting to address the practice known as female genital mutilation. according to the world health organization, more than 125 million girls and women alive today have suffered this violation. the practice has concentrated in africa and the middle east. but victims are also in western countries. it's unclear how prevalent it is in the u.s. this is where issue where the u.k.s is far ahead of the united states. more from london. >> when fahima was about 7 and living in mogadishu, she was held by four adults and cut. at 35, the memories are still raw. >> i remember it now as i felt it then. if that makes any sense. the flashbacks come back i will

remember the cutting of it, what felt like, even though it was supposed to be numb, it was still seeing blood and it was somethi out of a horror movie. >> it can leave women with many physical action sexual and psychological problems. at a clinic in central london, doctors try to help survivors overcome some of those issues. it is now possible for some patients certainly for many so they can have sex without pain, they have lesser chance of having repeated infections but i think it goes far beyond that there are many women who report they feel much better about themselves as far as having the procedure. trying to raise awareness about fgm here and countries where it is prevalent.

the taboo surrounding fgm make it difficult to detect and deal with. >> communities don't talk about this. they don't talk about it amongst themselves and certainly don't talk to the police about it. what we really need to do is start engaging with communities and finding a way to change that mindset is it fahima has gone on to be a mother. by speaking out, she hopes other will listen and also try to put a stop to fgm. >> this afternoon, the director of the women's rights division at human rights watch. we thank you for joining us. difficult to listen to her talk about it. i can't imagine how difficult it is for her to talk about it.

you have girls from a year to 15. it's hard. you can see why wanting to control women and young girls sexuality. depending upon where you go and who you speak to, people will talk about religious reasons. they will talk about their tradition. they will talk about national identity. it's a complex phenomenon from that point of view. >> because it's so engrained in some cultures, does that mean that sometimes, it's even older women that end up doing it to the younger women because they feel like it's something in other words to do? >> in our experience, it is the older woman who are the custodians of the practice. as far as they don't have a lot of control over that because of the expectation that girls are

going to be cut. but it is community mid wives, the sort of the sort of woman who are the he woulders, who are respected in the community who usually do the cutting, themselves. one of the things i found very moving in the work that we did in iraq was talking to these women about how difficult it is, you know, to do this, and very often, women don't take their own daughters. they take their cousin's daughters or their nieces because it is something that's very painful to watch as a mother. >> how do you begin to eradicate this? i know there was a conference in washington which obviously means it is being taken more seriously but how do you begin to eradicate a practice like this? >> you need a high level of political will. i think in 2012, we had the general assembly pass one of the first resolutions on eradicating fgm. that was, i think, a very important milestone. it's a complex phenomenon. you need a range of strategies. you need to ban it in law although it's important to note that of the 24 countries out of the 29 that are most effective,

most of those, 24 have laws banning it. you need to have sort of education strategies. you need to have targeted straj jeedz that reach out to community leaders, religious leaders, youth, healthcare workers, the police. so this is not the something that you change overnight because really, what is going to make a difference is changing beside behavior and improving women's status in communities because it's not -- it's not a coincidence that countries at the high level of fgm also want to have high levels of equality between men and women. >> you said that obviously criminalizing it helps but in some ways, though, do you end up criminalizing women who have been the vict isil's of it and that are now perpetuating it? >> i think you point to something that's very difficult as human rights watch when we did the first report on fgm, looking at iraqi kurdistan, that was something we debated for a long time because precisely for that reason. if you criminal eyes it, you are going to criminalize women, going to criminal eyes mothers,

the community midwives. you are going to criminalize precisely the people who have the least control over why this practice is happening. >> that's why you need a sort of a multi-facet,000 strategy that does have some criminalization but that recognizes the need to educate, to empower and, also, really, to make sure that the sort of structure in which women are i can making these decisions change. >> is there any way to know if this is happen in the u.s. as well? because i am sure people don't talk about it? >> we know it's happening. what we don't know is the extent of it. we don't have a lot of good data about how many. but we know it happens in immigrant communities, that girls are often taken during their summer vacations back to their countries to be cut and we know that there is increasing evidence that girls are being cut in the u.s. so i think it is a real concern and i think the conference in d.c. last week was an important indicator of sort of that the government is beginning to recognize that it needs to act if it wants to protect girls from fgm. >> thank you for coming in,

liesl. >> thank you very much. >> having means and access to the a great education doesn't always guarantee entry to a top-notch university, nor does a portfolio many professionals would envy. >> that's the focus of "edge of 18" documentary about the young dirlz. >> paraphernalia dime, steven moiier. >> since i was 12, i basically have been trying to get the best grades i can, best test scores i can. every film festival i entered, every film festival i won and i thought, i've got this. and i didn't. >> why? >> what did i do? >> some of our kids would come from pretty affluent background. their problem may be that they just can't fulfill their ambition for one reason or another but they have the resources to do so if they chose. >> my parents invested in private schooling since third grade all the way up to 12th grade. all with the intent of getting me into a top university, and

they invested apt of money with this promise that money is going to pay off in the end. it's an investment because you are going to get into a great college. >> we are not doing enough to make opportunity possible for these children. >>, i think, is one consistency. it breaks your heart at times: one kid who is an undocumented woman from arizona. >> i need help to pay for my tuition. a reasonable and fair interest rates. if you are a good student, care about grades, community and you are undocumented, it doesn't matter. to me, that's kind of upsetting. that's kind of really sad

actually. >> senior prom is coming up soon. you have on got to hurry up and purchase your tickets. >> you know how i do it? >> learning to live with a whole new set of values. for example, our acceptance of the gay and lesbian community, the lgbt community but for the parents of one of the kids in the show, you know, it still presents enormous challenges. >> follow you. who is the girl following you to the prom? >> a boy? >> for me, you are not born gay. don't tell me that story because i know you. i know you. don't tell me you born gay. >> the new episode of "edge of 18" airs here on al jazeeramey. and coming up on al jazee"al ja america," a unique look inside eyeland's volcano.

>> the president of estonia rising tensions with russia...

>> one country has decided it no longer needs to follow the rules >> european union under stress >> the framework that was set up is not holding anymore >> and building for the future >> i require tough reforms and political will... >> every saturday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera, only on al jazeera america >> a look inside the volume canalo canalo: the up close and personal look at the pool of lava was short-lived because the heat melted the face of the camera but the sd card was unharmed and the operator was able to up load that remarkable video you see right there. >> the world's oldest woman is believed to be from peru at 116, she is older than the japanese

woman who is conductor in the guinness book of records. a report from behuda in peru. >> at one 16, she said each step is a victory almost 4,000 meters in the peruvian andes. her government says she is the oldest woman leaf i only know i have world all my life and now, i don't remember my age. >> one of peru's pooreste regions, she survived the death of 4 of her 8 children, her youngest says his mother can't hear that well any more and is losing her memory but she is still healthy.

>> she is like a baby now. >> the peruvian government discovered her as part of a campaign to help elder lyn people in poor conditions. >> we found out she was born on december 20th, 1887. this is not an exception in this region. last year alone, we found 19 more poor people older than 90 years living in rural areas. >> experts say this is not surprising. the quality of the food and the lifestyle promotes longevity. people consume healthy food free of pesticides and transgenic

substances. it's time to leave this earth. >> a desire, she says, notina world record can change. al jazeera. i am richelle carey. "talk to al jazeera" is next. >> i am not sfraed of code. >> the president of estonia tried his hand at computer programming when he was 13 years old. his country is now a world leader in technology. you can start a company in estonia in a little as 18 minutes. >> we could store our national data in nsa computers. are a son of refugees who fled soviet ruled