Kristen van Schie is a South African freelance multimedia journalist writing about the environment, health, development, human rights and international law. She is a regular contributor to AFP, and South Africa’s Mail&Guardian and Daily Maverick. Previously working as a general reporter for Johannesburg’s leading city newspaper The Star, Van Schie covered everything from crime scenes and protest marches, to the Oscar Pistorius trial and the death of Nelson Mandela. She has filed dispatches from Syria, Somalia, the Central African Republic, Antarctica, and across southern Africa. Her work has won numerous local awards. She is currently based in Cape Town.