A Jordanian Village, a School and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Kufr Yuba Journal: A Jordanian Village, a School and the Syrian Refugee Crisis | Merissa Khurma.

Merissa Khurma on efforts by local Jordanians to help Syrian women and children. These efforts deserve our support, and we need more of them.

Advancing Freedom and Fundamental Rights Demands a Global Effort

Advancing Freedom and Fundamental Rights Demands a Global Effort | The George W. Bush Institute.

Amanda Schnetzer is director of Human Freedom at the George W. Bush Institute co-authored this op-ed commemorating the International Human Rights Day and calling for a global push to advance human rights. The op-ed includes a reference to my interview in the Freedom Collection: … By the same token, a lack of international outcry can do serious damage to nonviolent dissident efforts. In his contribution to the Freedom Collection, Syrian activist Ammar Abdulhamid lamented the “international indifference” to dictator Bashar Al-Assad’s attacks against his own citizens. “[H]e used tanks, and no one said anything. Then he used heavy artillery, and no one said anything. Then he used helicopter gunships, and no one said anything . . . In these kinds of conditions, you cannot sustain a nonviolent momentum.”

Peaceful protest leader in Syria disappears; Islamist rebels suspected of role

Peaceful protest leader in Syria disappears; Islamist rebels suspected of role – The Washington Post.

But of course, if you believe in democracy and human rights, your enemies in this world are many, and your friends few. But we will keep forging ahead until Razan, Samirah, all our prisoners of conscience and all our people, even those who now oppose us and accuse us of terrible things, are free. There is no room for compromise when it comes to freedom.

On Madiba’s Passing

Amarji Special

He was a great man. He had a difficult life, the last 23 years notwithstanding. It took much pain for him to get there: to freedom. Though he saw his dream fulfilled, I am sure he was aware of the toll of it all, on himself, on his nation, and I am sure he was weary near the end and ready for rest. I am also sure that he was whole and fulfilled. He was surrounded by loved-ones, and his legacy was undeniable. Very few people will ever have this chance: dying while whole and fulfilled. It needs to be earned, and Madiba definitely earned it. His memory will live on, his legacy will be remembered and humanity will be better because he had once lived. But the fuckups will continue, and many of them will be committed by those who claim to have appreciated and understood his legacy. But those who really appreciate act, they don’t grandstand. I, for one, am not sure where I fit. I am still trying to understand I guess. I haven’t had the chance to reflect about this yet: Madiba’s Legacy.