Darfur refugees dream of return
QANTARA DW (2/9/2019) Military and pro-democracy leaders signed a power-sharing agreement in August paving the way for a promised democratic transition after 30 years of authoritarian rule in Sudan. But refugees who fled genocidal violence in Darfur are expressing their reservations about the deal. When Ahmed Yusuf Ahmed heard that Omar al-Bashir had been overthrown […]
Read →Little hope for change among Sudanese refugees who fled violence in Darfur
AL ARABY (15/8/2019) Ahmed was 16 years old when he fled his village in the Karnoi area in west Darfur. “In the beginning there were planes bombing the area. In November 2003, the Janjaweed came. There were rapes, beatings. They killed my father and stole our cattle,” he says, referring to the Arab militias recruited […]
Read →“Discounted Maids” – ads perpetuate modern slavery conditions in Jordan
PUBLIC RADIO INTERNATIONAL (14/6/2019) “Discounted maids!” announces a male voice on the radio. “If you’re not satisfied you can return your maid for free.” Every week, ads aired on the radio in Jordan offer “one-month trial” periods and “cash on delivery” options for employers who want to hire migrant domestic workers. Online ads via social […]
Read →Music and art help Yazidi genocide survivors to heal
EQUAL TIMES (1/7/2019) In an art therapy session for Yazidi survivors, a girl drew a portrait of her friend who committed suicide to avoid rape while under Da’esh (the so-called Islamic State, or IS) captivity. Another one drew a butterfly because her biggest wish, she explained, was to be able to fly away. These girls […]
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Newroz brings hope of a brighter tomorrow, and reminders of dark past, in Iraqi Kurdistan
EQUAL TIMES (27/3/2019) On 20 March 2019, families and groups of friends gathered at sunset in the mountains surrounding Sulaymaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan. Wearing traditional Kurdish clothes, many sat on picnic blankets, some danced to the sound of popular music, while others gathered to talk around bonfires. With the Kurdish New Year of 2719 fast-approaching, […]
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After fleeing conflict at home, African refugees battle racism in Jordan
EQUAL TIMES (22/3/2019) “There is war in Sudan. Many people are getting killed, women raped, men beaten. In Jordan, we just stay at home but it also feels like war. Discrimination. Not being able to work. It’s just like war,” says Abdul*, who fled Darfur in 2010. He is among the more than 4,000 Sudanese […]
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Tourists, tourists everywhere
NEW INTERNATIONALIST (MARCH 2019) Lurdes Magalhães no longer sees her neighbours, she only sees tourists. The neighbourhood chatter has been replaced by the sound of suitcase wheels on the cobblestones. Tourism is booming in Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, where visitors now outnumber residents 8 to 1 – a higher ratio than Barcelona or […]
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Portuguese shopkeepers using ceramic frogs to ‘scare away’ Roma
Al JAZEERA (4/2/2019) Portugal’s ceramic frogs croak racism. Al Jazeera reveals racist practice that plays on superstition among Roma who consider frogs symbol of bad luck. Porto, Portugal – Surrounded by baskets of oranges and tangerines, a bright green ceramic frog stands at the entrance of Helena Conceicao’s grocery shop. “Everybody has frogs here,” she said. […]
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Gentrification in Porto: will the city turn into a hotel?
OPEN DEMOCRACY (9/1/2019) Tourism is booming in Portugal, but so is housing speculation. Gentrification has been causing the displacement of the poor, a proliferation of hotels and shrinking public space. “The bookshop closed, the greengrocer and the florist closed. The city will turn into a tourist’s hotel”, sings the band Samba sem Fronteiras. They sing in the Worst […]
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The Jordanian women fighting for labour rights
EQUAL TIMES (4/12/2018) In Jordan, more women than men are going to university and girls have been consistently outperforming boys academically. Yet women’s participation in the workforce remains one of the lowest in the world. Meet some of the women trying to change this. When Dina Saad attended a job fair in Jordan’s busy […]
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