With its beautiful landscapes embroidered with ever-green olive groves, cherry orchards, fig trees, and hundreds of historical sites, Idlib attracted tourists from all over the world. I was born there in 1969, one year before Hafez Assad became President-for-life of Syria. One whole year without an Assad regime, before our carefree life in Idlib was … Read more →
Middle East & North Africa
Short description of the region and the most pressing matters in the area.
Blog Posts
Blogging about Human Rights from every Corner of the World
Mourning «A Tunisian Girl »: Arab Spring blogger Lina Ben Mhenni
Arab Spring icon and Tunisian cyber activist Lina Ben Mhenni passed away this January. Her funeral was a bittersweet reminder of Tunisia’s long-held yearning for a better future. Nine years after the Jasmine Revolution she courageously fought for, the Arab world is still navigating the legacy of its democratic awakening. Her nationally celebrated … Read more →
A Tribute to Hevrin Khalaf: “the loudest voice that fought for women’s rights in Syria”
On the afternoon of the 12th of October, Hevrin Khalaf was pulled from her vehicle, beaten and shot in an execution style murder on the side of a road, south of the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, also known as Gire Spi. She was also raped, and her body was … Read more →
Lebanon is burning and the people are rising
On Saturday, London saw the gathering of over a thousand people outside the Lebanese embassy in solidarity with the protestors in Lebanon. Millions of people all across Lebanon have been protesting for the last week. To an unfamiliar spectator, the current crisis in Lebanon may seem as if it has appeared all of a sudden, but in reality … Read more →
Stuck between Turkey and Europe – new NGO pleas highlight dangers for women and children at Moria refugee camp
Salam Aldeen has been helping refugees on the Greek island of Lesvos since 2015.He left his home in Denmark on 5th September of that year, his birthday, but more significantly than that – two days after he first saw pictures in the news of a young Syrian boy … Read more →
How many journalists are behind bars in Turkey?
Speaking to BBC’s Hardtalk on 17 December 2018, Prof. Gulnur Aybet, a senior advisor to the President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, refuted Stephen Sackur’s question about Turkey being the worst jailer of journalists in the world, on the grounds that she has checked the numbers given by various organisations, including Amnesty … Read more →