Last May, RIT journalism professor AndreaHickerson spent two weeks in Iraqi Kurdistan as part of a human rights delegation. This week, she published an op-ed explaining how that trip enhanced her view of the role of oil.
Specifically, Hickerson says the trip has offered perspective on Donald Trump's choice of Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department. Tillerson is the CEO of ExxonMobile, a company that Hickerson says "has abdicated and exploited villages in Iraqi Kurdistan." Trump himself said of Tillerson, at a D.C. dinner last night, "He's led this charmed life. He goes into a country, takes the oil."
We talk to Hickerson about what she saw on the ground, and how she feels the news media can better cover this issue.
