TRIPOLI, Lebanon– Walking to al Nour Square in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a set of colourful tents stand out with people sitting, bantering, pacing in and out of what has become the central space for protests in the Sunni-majority coastal city amid ongoing anti-corruption rallies in the country. A huge …
TRIPOLI, Lebanon- In a new neighbourhood of Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, it’s everyday business in a small cafe on a commercial street on a weekday. A few customers are inside smoking, chatting and drinking coffee. In the far corner of the room, sitting at his laptop, Madi Karimeh greets us with …
BEIRUT, Lebanon- A series of open discussions led by a variety of groups of citizens are held daily around Lebanon helping to feed the hearts and minds of the revolutionary movement since the start of the country’s so-called “October Revolution“. Walking toward central Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square, crowds of protesters can be seen scattered along …
KASSERINE, Tunisia- Taking a walk around downtown Kasserine, in central western Tunisia, there was very little sign of an election coming up just days before the polls. In the busy streets, there were hardly any posters or flyers for any of the presidential campaigns. Except for a couple of candidate’s images along the main road and …
Haftar’s military push for Tripoli initiated early this month marks a dramatic turn of events in the long political power struggle that has torn Libya since 2011. On April 4, General Khalifa Haftar with his self-styled Libyan National Army [LNA] launched a military campaign to take over Tripoli under the guise of “purging it from terrorist elements.” …
ZARZIS, Tunisia- A 600 square metre plot of land, formerly part of a landfill, some eight kilometres from Zarzis, in southern Tunisia, serves as an informal burial site. It is not like any other cemetery. The small piece of land provides an ad-hoc place for burial for the men, women and children …
ZARZIS, Tunisia- On March 8, a boat carrying 64 irregular migrants, including four women, was rescued by Tunisian navy off Zarzis, after it broke down. The migrants, of African origin, were coming from Libya and attempting to make the crossing to Italy. “We spent three days at sea without food and water …
While Tunisia has struggled with its own security concerns and economic problems since the 2011 revolution, ongoing instability in Libya poses a continued threat Tunisia has faced many challenges since its 2011 revolution, especially security and the economy, and lawlessness in its southern neighbour Libya have only exacerbated them. The twin terror …
Country’s black minority and sub-Saharan immigrants report regular attacks and abuse A Tunisian woman has been given a suspended jail sentence and fined for racist insults against her daughter’s teacher, marking the first conviction under Tunisia’s new anti-racism law. The anti-racism law was passed in October to address what rights activists say is …
TUNIS, Tunisia- On 8 December, Tunisian activists circulated an official statement on social media announcing the launch of a new grassroots group (“gilets rouges”) that intends to organise peaceful protests against the governmentʹs failure to improve economic conditions. Emulating the French “yellow vests”, the group takes its colour from the red of …