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 →Islamic traces in Portugal’s past
AL ARABY (13/6/2019) Last year, Lisbon’s Islamic Community celebrated its 50th anniversary. The community was established by migrants in the 1960s, but Islam has much more ancient roots in Portugal. “Islam is in Portugal’s soul,” said the Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa while standing at the entrance of the Central Mosque of Lisbon for the […]
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Where Christians pray facing Mecca
QANTARA (27/5/2019) Archaeologists in Mertola have spent the last 40 years looking for traces of Portugalʹs Islamic past. What they found shows that Islam is not alien to Europe and has in fact deeply influenced Portuguese history and culture. When archaeologist Claudio Torres first visited Mertola, a small town in the south of Portugal, he […]
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Echoes of al-Andalus: The Portuguese town celebrating its forgotten Islamic past
MIDDLE EAST EYE (23/5/2018) An imposing building with cylindrical towers stands out on the steep hill of Mertola, a southern Portuguese town on the banks of the Guadiana river, not far from the Spanish border. Is it a church with a mihrab? Or a mosque with a cross? The whitewashed building with horseshoe arches is […]
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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In Jordan, Some Refugee Fathers Find a Place to Be Vulnerable
NEWS DEEPLY (26/3/2019) Humanitarian aid organizations tend to view men as more capable of coping with hardship and often overlook them as a vulnerable population of refugees, writes Marta Vidal. One group in Jordan is trying to change that. Each week, a group of 15 or so refugee men meet at a community center in East […]
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Desert green: Jordanians on frontline of climate change turn to permaculture
MIDDLE EAST EYE (23/3/2019) Olive, lemon and palm trees provide shade over the small garden where Abu ElHajj recently started growing carrots, tomatoes, beans and herbs. Surrounded by arid cliffs and a harsh desert landscape, it seems an unlikely place to start cultivating food. Facing drought and rising temperatures, Jordan is on the frontline of climate change. Overgrazing […]
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