BY BLANCA ARISMENDI La Paz, Bolivia 2003 The country was on the cusp of an uprising. President Gonzalo “Goni” Sanchez de Lozada’s decision to export natural gas through Bolivia’s historic enemy, Chile, triggered a nationwide rejection. Starting in February, numerous…
Month: October 2019
To Develop or To Defend
BY BLANCE ARISMENDI Cecilia stood in front of a seated crowd, both her hands gripping the microphone. With a broken but firm voice, Cecilia Moyoviri told her audience ”If this road is constructed, we as Indigenous people, along with our…
2006 Didn’t Defeat Lebanese Patriotism
BY JUANA LEE According to an IDB study conducted by the Herzliya Conference, Israeli Jews were just as patriotic following the 2006 Israel and Lebanon War. But, what about Lebanese survivors? In an interview, Nadine, now 23, recalled the strengthening…
The Day I Met My Daughters
BY TARA HEIDGER Nashik, India “Chris! We have less than an hour before we have to be there and you want to take a shower?” I asked my husband as he grabbed his soap and looked at me with a…
Endgame for Rukban
BY AMIR KHOUZAM AND TARA HEIDGER At the Rukban informal IDP camp on the Jordan-Syria border, desperation can be measured by the price of bread. This past month that price has doubled. The small markets and bakeries sustaining the 50,000…
Fleeing from Fahaheel
BY S’HA SIDDIQI On August 2, 1990, a thunderous boom rattled the streets of Fahaheel, Kuwait. It was early morning and 26-year-old Asma Ahsan had just returned to bed after nursing her infant son back to sleep. Her eyes fluttered…
Hebron Head On
BY AMIR KHOUZAM “Passports,” barked the soldier. He seemed small, smaller than the gun he held in front of him like a shield, with the muzzle pointing at the floor so he could move down the aisle of the bus.…
Neelab Yousafzai: A Journey of 6780 Miles
BY JUANA WAI SUM LEE Neelab Yousafzai, a Master’s student in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University, was raised during a particularly violent period of Afghan history. “I witnessed abductions, I saw people getting hung in front of my eyes,…
Syria’s Civil War Forces its Bravest and Brightest to Flee
BY SHRUTI MARIAN In 2011, in a square outside the Grand Mosque in Douma, WS saw a man die in front of her for the first time. The man was a protester and was shot by government security forces. His…
The Crossing
BY S’HA SIDDIQI Ajaz Khan ran, his little sister cradled in his arms as he raced through the high grass in the smoke-clogged night. His heart pounded as he barreled towards the tree line, the sound of gunshots thundering in…