Island of refugee despair
While the outrage of Europeans has been turned to Donald Trump’s wall and the handling of migrants at the border with Mexico, they ignore a humanitarian disaster closer to home. The EU has left Greece to handle the influx of refugees on its own and those stuck on Lesbos are living in abysmal conditions.
Read MoreDissenting into the abyss dug by Saudi Arabia
Western inaction against Saudi Arabia is emboldening the region’s regimes to clamp down harder on dissent. But by silencing peaceful and constructive change, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern regimes are paving the way to violent and destructive rage.
Read MoreAn explosive musical comeback for Salafist superstar
Arab audiences are not ready for the return to music of a pop superstar who became a Salafist extremist and allegedly took up arms against the Lebanese state.
Read MoreRefugees in Greece: “Instead of protecting me, they treated me like a murderer”
In the two years since the EU’s inhumane deal with Turkey, the plight of traumatised refugees arriving on the Greek islands has worsened significantly. Instead of refuge, they are being offered prison.
Read MoreDonald Trump, hypocrisy and the Holy Land
In their reactions to Donald Trump’s hypocritical Jerusalem declaration, many Arab and Muslim leaders have exhibited their own grotesque double standards.
Read MoreGreek island teaches Europe how to welcome refugees
The Greek island of Tilos has hosted more than seven times its population in refugees… and has done so with dignity, respect and with almost no external assistance.
Read MoreDreaming of a vanished Syria
“A lot of Syrians are indulging in a nostalgia that requires a lot of denial,” says Syrian-American author Alia Malek. “This is why I’m a student of history, not to live in a fantasy but to learn why and how we are where we are today.”
Read MoreDonald Trump and his terrifying Middle East playbook
America’s decision to democratically elect a dictator has Middle Eastern reformers bewildered, but the region’s despots are celebrating Donald Trump’s victory – a sure sign of troubling times ahead.
Read MoreSyria and freedom from death
Where once Syrians struggled for the ideals of freedom, equality and dignity, the freedom that most counts in Syria today is the freedom from the fear of death.
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