BY MINQI SONG Wes Lam never thought of himself as a stranger in the U.S. Army. A son of Chinese immigrants, Wes served in the army from 1999 to 2009, including one year in Iraq right after the 2003 Invasion. …
Category: People
A Bridge Between Two Lives
BY MARJORIE TOLSDORF Bahram watched as his mother and sisters wept, soaking the white cloth that covered his uncle’s body with tears. He could hear his mother moaning her brother-in-law’s name over and over, morphing into a single monotonous tone.…
He Sought Refuge in the Kitchen. Now, He Does Not Want to Leave.
BY SARAH SAKHA “I’ll be in the red bandana.” His note had been short, but bold. I spotted Ruslan as soon as I walked into the coffee shop, with his bright red bandana, thick-rimmed crimson glasses, a gray hooded jacket,…
Kidnapped by a Libyan Militia: One prominent gay rights blogger recounts his detention by a conservative militia.
BY SEAN HANSEN “Are you a mule, or not?!” His kidnappers shouted, using a derogatory slang word for a gay person in Libyan Arabic. Abdough Ilbosiphi cowered in the back of a blacked-out Toyota, as it drove away from his…
Finding a Path to Feeling Free
BY BLANCA ARISMENDI Moving to New York City was the culmination of a lifelong dream for Qian, a second year student at SIPA. Attending Columbia was an unplanned opportunity she grabbed onto without thinking twice. Qian is excited to plan…
Halima Sahim, a young woman striving for rights and a future in conflict-affected Mindanao, Philippines
BY KEVIN CORBIN Striving for a future First thing most mornings, Halima Sahim, reaches for her cell phone, usually to post an emoji-filled sunny status update. Real life isn’t as rosy for the 24-year old woman from Muslim Mindanao as…
No More Girls: How one woman is making a name for herself in Pakistan
BY CATE BROWN “My name is Noorena Shams, and my name is based on a myth.” Noorena tugs at her cascading ponytail, her fiery onyx eyes alight, “Pashtuns believe that whoever has this name for a daughter, then they will…
Want to demolish a Palestinian home? Call the American Ambassador
BY CATE BROWN The traffic was bad. Saturday night and raining. Abed Sabbagh tapped his fingers on the dashboard of our taxi, gently strumming along to the oud streaming from Bethlehem’s 89.6FM. I watched as the procession of yellow license…
Grandma in the Frontline of Bolivia’s Gas War
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…
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…