On October 10, Iraq held its parliamentary elections to determine the members of its Council of Representatives. Just prior to the elections, Human Rights Watch, based on the feedback of people with disabilities, advocated for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission, or IHEC, to ensure greater accessibility at voting polls. Iraq has one of the largest […]
Tag: Iraq
The Fate of a Nation
In the span of three years, from 1986 to 1989, the Iraqi Military Force killed between 50,000 to 182,000 Kurds and destroyed 90 percent of all Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq. This dark episode in history is often referred to as the Anfal Genocide. As the persecutions against the Kurds continued in Iraq, many sought […]
Basra in Flames, with No Water to Put out the Fire
Basra is a city located in the southeast of Iraq, bordering the countries of Kuwait and Iran. Basra is known as the oil capital of Iraq, yet despite the abundance of wealth, the whole country, and especially Basra, has been suffering from a stagnant economy. Government corruption, financial mishandling, and high unemployment took the Basrawis […]
A Look at the Aftermath of the Battle for Mosul
On any given morning, the vibrant but battered city of Mosul is bustling with commercial activity, the liveliness of its citizens contrasting starkly with the devastation of the landscape that lies around them. After more than two years under ISIS’s oppressive rule, the city is finally beginning to enjoy the fruits of its rehabilitation efforts. […]
The Sovereign State: A Look at Catalonia and Kurdistan
“Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavoured to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us.” ― Thomas Paine, Common Sense Part I: Catalonia Catalonia, an independent region in the northeastern part of Spain, has recently returned to the international scene. On October 1st, 2017, […]
Stranded
This piece introduces a series addressing several issues I saw during my time at a refugee camp in Samos from June-August 2017, including mental health, children in the camp, criminal justice, the asylum process, and more. For anyone interested in supporting the refugees and Samos Volunteers, the situation on the island is getting worse every […]
Nothing is Fair, Sanctions or War
At the ripe age of 12, most American kids are concerned with making friends at school or convincing their parents to let them see R rated movies. When Joseph Kim was 12, he was solely concerned with survival. Joseph grew up at the height of North Korea’s decades’ long drought in the 1990s. Before even making […]
The Reformation Conundrum
Why Ayaan Hirsi Ali is wrong. Islam does not need a reformation. The rise of ISIS has created a number of question about the nature of Islam, ranging from the state of the religion today to fundamental theological questions that arise from the justification given by individuals or groups who use the religion of Islam to […]
Turkey’s Role in the Syrian Crisis
Turkey’s assistance to the Islamic State goes beyond providing open borders for ISIS militants. By the end of 2015, Turkey is expected to host as many as nearly two million Syrian refugees. The country opened its doors to create a ‘safe haven’ for those fleeing persecution, many of whom ended up moving to cities on […]
Iraqi National Reconciliation
Iraqi army officers made two attempts on the life of the country’s prime minister, Haider Al-Abadi, before being thwarted by the US Embassy in Baghdad, according to a high-level Iraqi official. This is the latest symptom of the ongoing radicalization and sectarian violence that has plagued post-2003 Iraq. The roots of ISIS’ rise can be […]