I lived in Juba, South Sudan during 2015 and witnessed the world’s newest nation descend into chaos. Near the beginning of the year, I accompanied the then top UN humanitarian official Valerie Amos with Hollywood actor and activist Forest Whitaker to the remote town of Wai in Jonglei state (here’s my Guardian report about it).… I…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
Daily life inside Gaza
During my recent trip to Gaza, I shot this short film on daily life. It was published alongside a feature story in the Sydney Morning Herald/Melbourne Age:
Ticking time bomb in Gaza
My feature story in the Sydney Morning Herald/Melbourne Age… (alongside my short film and photographs): Umm al-Nasr, Gaza Strip: Everybody in Gaza fears another war. After the 2014 conflict, which killed 2250 Palestinians and 70 Israelis, little has changed on the ground for the territory’s 2 million residents. A local psychiatrist, Khaled Dahlan, recently told me…
How Donald Trump threatens Obama's baby steps towards the "war on drugs"
My article in US magazine Truthout: President Barack Obama’s drug war legacy is paved with partially good intentions. It differed greatly between his domestic agenda and around the world. The former showed signs of bravery, challenging decades of draconian and counterproductive policy toward drug users and dealers,… reducing… the number of incarcerated men and women across the…
The ominous future for Palestinians without outside support
My article in The National newspaper in the UAE: A group of old women sat outside in plastic chairs on a warm, Gaza day and sang traditional Palestinian songs. It was a happy mood at the Aged Care Foundation, the only community club for the elderly in the entire territory of two million people. The…
Growing ties between Israel and the global far-right
My investigation, for MidEastWire publication, researched over many months: The global sound of fury and shock heralded by the win of Donald Trump as the new U.S. President wasn’t heard in Israel. A poll, released in early December by the firm Dialog, found that 83 percent of Israelis viewed Trump as “pro-Israel” and hoped he…
How does the media drive xenophobia?
In the age of Donald Trump and rabid nationalism, I was recently asked to write a short essay by US-based publication World Policy Journal on the role of journalists and media in creating and fanning xenophobia:… Big Question
US magazine Alternet reviews Disaster Capitalism
During my recent visit to the US, I spoke in New York about my book, Disaster Capitalism. I was in conversation with journalist Ben Norton who has just written the following review of the book for US magazine Alternet: “It is profitable to let the world go to hell,”… wrote… Jørgen Randers, professor of climate strategy at…
On the importance of hearing critical views in our time
I was pleased to be asked to sign the following statement in support of free speech and against blacklisting for “unpopular” views on Syria (though it’s equally relevant for Palestine, the “war on terror” etc). I sign alongside Noam Chomsky, Glenn Greenwald, Reza Aslan and many others: The cancellation of a lecture by journalist Rania…
RT TV interview on disaster capitalism in the age of Donald Trump
This week in New York I was interviewed on RT America by Thom Hartmann about my book, Disaster Capitalism: Making A Killing Out Of Catastrophe, and how this toxic ideology is brewing under President Donald Trump: