@manarisms
International aid and development. Conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Posts on Middle East, Africa, conflict, restorative justice, social movements, political transitions, and human rights. Views are my own.
a thing historians will marvel about when they study this era is the extent to which the "war is a thing that happens to poorer, browner people" class went about systematically dismantling every aspect of the global political order that confined the costs of war to poorer and browner people
"In short, regime change is an example of what might be termed a 'catastrophic success': because it is so often carried out by stronger actors, regime change often achieves its short-term objective...but the longer-term consequences...are frequently disastrous."
www.amazon.com/dp/1501761145
A maternity ward doctor donated his own blood during surgery to keep a pregnant patient alive.
One woman gained fewer than 10 pounds over her entire pregnancy.
Another collapsed and had seizures during labor.
(Published Dec. 2025)
More than 6,000 people were killed in over three days when a Sudanese paramilitary group unleashed "a wave of intense violence" in Sudan's Darfur region in late October, according to the UN. n.pr/3OtbFJv
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
The latest of late stage capitalism has decided these vulnerable populations are no longer useful for its project. So it discards them and hands them a death sentence. The richest’s disdain is palpable. But we are more than them and our empathy is our weapon.
“When the world is silent as children are killed, starved and displaced, that silence is complicity. Every child who dies waiting to be saved represents a failure of humanity.”
No Child Deserves to Die Like My Daughter www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/o...
Donald Trump and Kristi Noem think you will believe them over your own eyes. No.
Alex Pretti wasn't a terrorist. He was a VA nurse.
When agents pushed a woman to the ground, he tried to help her up. His last words were “Are you okay?”
Enough.
Kristi Noem should resign.
The violence inflicted on black and brown communities and the Global South for decades was always going to hit "home" at some point. Trump's project is not entirely new. It's an extension of a dark and brutal history in America. One that never saw reparation or accountability for past injustices.
New investigation: The Egyptian government has sharply escalated deportations of Sudanese refugees, even as war worsens across the border. Through leaked documents and extensive interviews, we examine how the system operates and how UNHCR has failed to protect those affected. buff.ly/jkkaCkg
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
As we witness horrific scenes in El-Fasher, the UAE continues arming the RSF — which the U.S. has determined is committing genocide.
Enough. We must pass my bill to block arms sales to the UAE until it stops fueling the RSF's war crimes in Sudan.
The UAE needs to be held accountable for its arming of the genocidal RSF. That's why I have introduced my Stand Up for Sudan Act that would block sales to the UAE until they stop sending weapons to the RSF.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has reportedly issued a presidential pardon for the imprisoned Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
He is set to be released once Sisi’s decision is published in the Official Gazette. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...
The Mediterranean has become a graveyard for refugees. A site where escape feels within reach and humanity feels worlds away. Failed policies and and systems that exploit the most vulnerable have not kept anyone safe.
I came across this issue of The Continent on the war in #Sudan and I couldn't find a better contrast to Western nihilism when it comes to its perception of countries in the Global South. It is an absolute must-read.
An entire news crew working for Al Jazeera was killed by Israel as they sought to bring the world firsthand reporting from #Gaza.
Among them was prominent journalist Anas Al-Sharif, who had been previously smeared and threatened by the IDF.
#NotATarget
Full statement: cpj.org/2025/08/isra...
22 months into this genocide and over 200 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel. Most, like Anas, targeted deliberately. However, truth tellers live on through their stories, images, and the narratives they help us shape. Palestinian journalists have shown us what real journalism looks like.
This is not humanitarian assistance. It is a killing field. The cruelty of trapping a starving population. Making them walk hours to get aid only to mow them down with bullets in their moment of desperation. The horror of knowing this and not being able to stop it. Silence is complicity.
Today, the US Senate voted to make everyday Americans hungrier and less healthy, to make the rich richer, to cut critical jobs leaving many unemployed, and to give more tools and toys to a 'modern-day gestapo' with unchecked powers.
A dark, dark day in US legislative history.
We should all be disgusted by the flood of anti-Muslim remarks spewed in the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC mayoral primary — some blatant, others latent.
Shame on the members of Congress who have engaged in such bigotry and anyone who doesn’t challenge it.
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social decisively won the Democratic nomination. He is a loving son and husband, and community organizer who puts the people first.
The vile, Islamophobic attacks on him are disgusting and the normalization of anti-Muslim hate is dangerous.
“Depicting this as an invasion of this city by undocumented migrants then allows the Trump administration to invade the city on its own terms.” — @vietthanhnguyen.bsky.social
It is 100% carrying water for the opposition to participate in this collective delusion that Dems for some reason need to answer for every teen who throws a rock rather than hold the Trump admin accountable for intentionally creating chaos and breaking the law to stoke violence.
They are in charge.
LE MONDE asked me to write an article about American literature in the age of Trump, but then decided it didn't like what I wrote. Oh well. Here it is in LitHub: "Most American literature is the literature of empire."
The onslaught on Zamzam camp in Elfashir continues, with reports that RSF executed 6 humanitarian workers with an org called Relief Intl.
Over 100 ppl reported killed since yesterday.
Zamzam is a displacement camp where almost 1 million ppl have been besieged for over a year.
#KeepEyesOnSudan
BREAKING: An immigration court determined our client Mahmoud Khalil to be removable from the U.S. based solely on his political speech.
The fight isn't over — we'll keep fighting for Mahmoud's freedom and all of our First Amendment rights in federal court.
Sudan’s emergency response rooms are best known for running communal kitchens, but last year they found themselves navigating frontlines as they organised the largest civilian-led evacuation effort of the war. Thousands were saved from militia attacks: ⬇️
I've been following Hossam's reporting since the genocide began. In his short 23 years of life, he accomplished more than some have in a lifetime. He risked it all to document the genocide of his own people and to lift up their narrative. Journalism is not a crime. Palestinians deserve to live.
