@robwriting

Br-Australian speechwriter @EMA_News. Documentary filmmaker 'The Adopted' 👇. Former Journalist @Independent @NikkeiAsia. #MECFS foot soldier. #grateful

 Amsterdammed
kickstarter.com/projects/meandmefilm/adopters-a-feature-documentary
Joined October 2009
  • Tweets14.7K
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  • Followers2.9K
947Media
#TheAdopted by numbers 161 - #Kickstarter backers 17,735 - Amount (€) raised thru Kickstarter 1,650 - Footage clips logged in post production 21 - Interviews 5 - Cinematographers 4 - Countries (US, NL, Germany & Belgium) #grateful #Documentary #film kickstarter.com/projects/mea…
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Dutch health minister, in her infinite wisdom, cuts funding for #longcovid clinics & research. Will instead send patients to GPs, who are notoriously shit at identifying/diagnosing these conditions. Worst of all worlds. Bloody idiots. share.google/ZeYvFQWE9FVoA5A…

Doctors critical of gov't plan to cut funding for Long Covid research, put care on GP's

House doctors, medical specialists, and scientists are very critical of Health Minister Sophie Herman’s plans to cut funding for expertise centers on Long Covid and similar conditions, like ME and Q...

nltimes.nl
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Each time a new high profile case emerges...it's like the world is learning about this for the first time. #mecfs #longcovid
BBC News (UK)
@BBCNewsOct 16
The Olympic sprinter now bedbound for 22 hours a day bbc.in/3TWaqpx

Beth Dobbin: British Olympic sprinter in bed for 22 hours a day after ME diagnosis

Beth Dobbin ran for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Five years on, she is largely bedbound after being diagnosed with ME, a devastating illness for which there is no cure.

bbc.com
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BBC News (UK)
@BBCNewsOct 16
The Olympic sprinter now bedbound for 22 hours a day bbc.in/3TWaqpx

Beth Dobbin: British Olympic sprinter in bed for 22 hours a day after ME diagnosis

Beth Dobbin ran for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Five years on, she is largely bedbound after being diagnosed with ME, a devastating illness for which there is no cure.

bbc.com
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stuart murdoch@nee_masseyOct 11
I wanted to film the sunset for any ME/CFS people, long covid people, fibro people, or anyone with an illness that keeps them inside or in bed. It’s there waiting for you, I hope, I pray you feel better soon.
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Adam@ABrokenBatterySep 16
Having the reality of your illness denied “is almost as bad as the actual physical symptoms themselves.” Ed Yong, speaking about #LongCovid patients being disbelieved and dismissed, and how gender and racial bias affect their care.
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Adam@ABrokenBatterySep 5
“My daughter was told to exercise and ended up in a wheelchair... For GPs not to be aware of the harm that exercise can do is hugely damaging.” Janet Sylvester (MEAction Scotland), speaking about her daughter who has ME while giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament Sept 2026.
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So, I got royally knighted today. Woot!? Yes, I did. Adopted from Sri Lanka, knighted in the Netherlands. Who would've thought! The most important thing is that this award belongs to the whole community. Everything we do is teamwork. I'll write more after I recovered. #pwme
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Adam@ABrokenBatteryAug 28
. @AnilvanderZee has been awarded a Dutch knighthood. Refreshing to see someone fighting against bad ME/CFS research being honoured, rather than someone responsible for it. Very well deserved, and hopefully a sign that things are changing. nos.nl/artikel/2628647-fysie…

Fysiek uitgeschakeld maar belangrijke bron van kennis, lintje voor ME-patiënt Anil van der Zee

Anil van der Zee is benoemd tot Ridder in de orde van Oranje Nassau voor zijn aanhoudende inzet voor patiënten met slecht begrepen ziektes als ME en long covid.

nos.nl
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One war, two families. How a Dutch family adopted fallen Lansing hero lansingstatejournal.com/stor… via @LSJnews

One war, two families. How a Dutch family adopted fallen Lansing hero

In the 1980s, Huub Bessems' family started caring for Lansing's Hubert Thane Bauman II's grave. Now, the two families are connected across the globe.

lansingstatejournal.com
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Rob O'Brien@robwriting15 Oct 2025
Whatever happens, #grief will have her way. humanparts.medium.com/whatev…
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Rob O'Brien@robwriting28 Sep 2025
Update 27 for #TheAdopted: about an adopter from Eindhoven & the heroics of 464 Squadron during World War 2. Join the campaign! #grateful #education #history kickstarter.com/projects/mea…
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🦍One of Sir David Attenborough's most memorable moments? This encounter with a group of playful mountain gorillas in Rwanda in 1979. Happy 100th birthday Sir David! 🎉 🎧 bbc.in/4wnTPtc
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Many of you may recall last year I had the honour of visiting and meeting with late Erik Adriaensen, who cared for the graves our fallen aviators in Eindhoven. You can read more on this in the @abcnews long read below: abc.net.au/news/2026-04-26/d…

Thousands of Dutch families adopted the graves of people they never knew

In The Netherlands, a quiet commitment to honour the young soldiers who were buried thousands of kilometres from home has continued for 80 years. 

abc.net.au
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Adam@ABrokenBatteryApr 19
Powerful testimony on #MECFS by Emma Shorter in the Scottish Parliament from 2018 “It turns fit and active people into ghosts… I know teachers who can’t teach, children who can’t play, and parents who can no longer hold their children.”
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Adil Haque@AdHaque110Apr 18
The wilful killing of aid workers should be unthinkable, but it has become routine.
UNICEF
@UNICEFApr 17
UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip. The victims were killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza. UNICEF extends our condolences to the families of the men killed. Full statement: unicef.link/4cVCyP9

Statement by UNICEF on the killing of two water truck drivers in the Gaza Strip

unicef.org
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Our post production journey on #theadopted continues. A story about the beautiful Dutch people who started bringing flowers to the graves of their #WWII liberators. Feels timely. #worldwarII #education #margraten #veterans
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'I Swear' is such a gem of a film. Real purpose behind it, reflects a lot stigmatism we haven't addressed in our societies...even tho we have all the tools. A beautiful message behind it.
Thoml@thoml75Apr 1
I swear : Portrait d’un homme atteint du syndrome de la tourette. Film drôle et émouvant, traversé par une bienveillante humanité, remarquablement interprété par Robert Aramayo
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stuart murdoch@nee_masseyMar 23
Likewise in Scotland,our only specialist ME nurse,Keith Anderson,died in 2023, and hasn’t been replaced. I’ve been outside the Scottish Parliament on three separate occasions, talking to ministers, as they agreed something should be done.Nothing was done. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-6…

ME services at 'rock bottom' in Scotland say campaigners

A charity voices concerns about the care on offer following the death of Scotland's only specialist nurse.

bbc.co.uk
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stuart murdoch@nee_masseyMar 23
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpv8… Article about ME, so sad for those suffering. A piece like this has appeared every year for about 20 years, nothing changes. ‘Invisible’ illness is right.

ME: Swansea man was active but now he can't walk or talk at 28

Tomos is one of thousands with ME in Wales, with services described as “a desert” for those most affected.

bbc.co.uk
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Rob O'Brien@robwriting31 Oct 2025
#TheAdopted by numbers 161 - #Kickstarter backers 17,735 - Amount (€) raised thru Kickstarter 1,650 - Footage clips logged in post production 21 - Interviews 5 - Cinematographers 4 - Countries (US, NL, Germany & Belgium) #grateful #Documentary #film kickstarter.com/projects/mea…
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