My investigation in New Matilda: Despite a mountain of transgressions – including spying on a federal senator – Transfield somehow got a new contract. Antony Loewenstein takes up the story. Barely a day goes by without new allegations of sexual assault,… self-harm, violence or dysfunction at Australia’s privatised, immigration centres. Whether on the mainland, Nauru or…
Category General
How the US continues to manipulate Haiti
My investigation in Alternet: The industrial park in Caracol, northern Haiti, never receives tourists. It’s a collection of factories producing clothes for some of America’s leading retailers including Walmart and Target. The opening of the facility in 2012 saw then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller, and…
The Lahore Times reviews "Disaster Capitalism"
The following review of my newly released book is written by Robert J. Burrowes and appears in The Lahore Times: In his just-released book, ”˜Disaster Capitalism: Making a Killing out of Catastrophe”˜, Antony Loewenstein offers us a superb description of the diminishing power of national governments and international organisations to exercise power in the modern…
Ongoing failures to hold South Sudanese war criminals to account
My article in Foreign Policy: In the middle of a hot, clear day on Aug. 21, roughly 2,000 people packed around the John Garang Mausoleum in downtown Juba to shout down the latest deal to end South Sudan’s nearly two-year-long war. Organized by the government, it was an event for true believers, those somehow insulated…
What disaster capitalism brought New Orleans
My following article appears in Al Jazeera America: “Envy isn’t a rational response to the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” Chicago Tribune editorial board member Kristen McQueary wrote in a recent column, referring to the monster storm that nearly wiped out the city of New Orleans in 2005. “Hurricane Katrina gave a great American…
Al Jazeera English's The Stream on Hurricane Katrina and disaster capitalism
Yesterday I appeared on the Al Jazeera English program, The Stream (thankfully the poor internet here in South Sudan came through): Deadly floodwaters caused one of the biggest evacuations in US history when Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, Louisiana. Ten years on, the city still hasn’t fully recovered. New economic, educational and housing models…
The desperate need for peace in South Sudan
My piece in The National: A woman in a black and white dress stood with a huge pot on her head. She had walked for days, with her two young children also carrying goods, to reach the camp for internally displaced persons in Bentiu, South Sudan. They were all exhausted by the time they registered…
How little we know about the Western war against ISIS
My story in the Guardian: We don’t know whether the Australian military has killed or injured civilians in Iraq, and if so, how many. Since Canberra joined the US-led mission against the… Islamic State (Isis) on 8 October 2014, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has provided barely any information about its operations. So the new report…
Civilians in South Sudan bearing brunt of cruel war
My feature in Foreign Policy: BENTIU, South Sudan — Every day, some 200 people stream into Bentiu, the site of South Sudan’s largest camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Women trudge past armed U.N. peacekeepers while carrying large pots and bags on their heads and tiny children in their arms. They sit on the cracked…
Mining company operates in repressive Eritrea, questions abound
This week the Guardian published my story on the role of Australian and foreign mining companies in Africa. One of the companies I identity is Australian firm Danakali, currently operating in Eritrea. 10 days before publication I emailed questions to the corporation seeking answers. No response. A few days later I emailed again and called…