Welcome to Kawaakibi Foundation’s newsletter, where we keep you informed on our updates, work and research!
Team updates
Amid major government crackdown of protests against proposed tax hikes, we've been providing psychosocial support to survivors of torture in Kenya.
Marcel Younes has joined the team as our Bitcoin Educator, focused on helping activists and human rights organisations become more financially resilient in repressive contexts.
Leyla Hussein has also joined the team as our Head of Wellbeing, focused on mental wellbeing initiatives in the human rights space.
Events
We're in the United States for the duration of August, and are hosting events in Michigan, New York and Washington DC!
In Detroit, we led a session at the Islamic Center of Detroit on disinformation, narratives and intersectional solidarity. The workshop was delivered to an audience of young professionals and students, ending with a lively discussion on how to better enable solidarities between causes in the Muslim and MENA region.
In New York, we’ll be co-hosting a tour around the historic neighbourhood of Little Syria - the nation’s first Arab neighbourhood - with Asad Dandia of New York Narratives. Come along to meet the team!
Stay tuned for details of our DC event.
In the news
Head of Communications Razan Saffour commemorated the 44th anniversary of the Tadmur prison massacre, where 1000 prisoners were killed by the Assad regime.
Arts Co-Director Khalid al-Baih compares the post-truth attitude of radicalised supporters of both Donald Trump and Sudanese warlord Hemedti.
Khalid Al-Baih was also profiled in GQ Middle East on his work being a dedication to a generation longing for home.
"“Every time my work goes viral I feel like something is wrong because it’s usually tied to a pertinent issue like migrant death or people getting arrested or killed,” confesses Albaih, who was born in Romania, raised in Sudan and later lived in Doha."
And finally, Khalid's latest piece on Palestine being a glimpse of the dystopic future that awaits us can be read here.
The Zoom-Out
News we're following
MENA
Syria: A senior Assad regime security official was arrested in the US last month. A former head of Adra Prison, he was head of the security branch in Deir Ezzour in 2011, and is directly responsible for the torture of prisoners and various massacres killing hundreds of civilians at a time. Meanwhile, amid anti-Syrian pogroms in both Turkey and Lebanon, there are indicators of growing rapprochement between the Turkish government and the Assad regime.
Tunisia: The regional situation continues to deteriorate: anti-black pogroms in Tunisia, where authorities are demonstrating their impunity by arresting lawyers during live interviews. Sihem Ben Sedrine, the judge who headed the transitional justice (Truth & Reconciliation) commission, has been arrested on politicised charges. Last year she wrote for The Guardian: "A dictatorship has been built in the birthplace of the Arab Spring & the silence from the world is deafening."
Egypt: Refugees are also being targeted. An Amnesty International report found that Egyptian authorities have used EU-funded security forces in a campaign of mass arrests and forcible deportations against refugees from Sudan, forcibly returning over 800 Sudanese refugees between January and March 2024. Another alarming sign is the emergence of state-backed tribal paramilitaries in the country, a warning sign that the state may be unravelling.
Libya: Italian authorities intercepted Chinese Wing Loong II drones disguised in a shipment headed towards would-be military dictator Haftar, all whilst banknotes printed by Russia to support his military regime are contributing to the local currency’s struggles. Last year, both rival governments were criticised for failing to account for the deliveries of billions of dollars’ worth of banknotes - British for the (recognised) Tripoli-based government, and Russian for Haftar. Ninety-five Libyan nationals have been arrested on suspicion of receiving training at an "illegal'' military camp in South Africa.
Meanwhile, it remains possible to get donations directly into the hands of Gazans within minutes, unaffected by Israel’s aid blockade, using Bitcoin. The ability to use Bitcoin in such a constrained situation illustrates its potential as “uncensorable money”.
Western Europe/USA
The European Parliament has re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission. A negative force for human rights in the MENA region, our previous newsletter highlighted her pursuit of externalisation of EU borders regardless of the violations it enables.
The new British Labour government has announced the UK’s dropping of its opposition to ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli politicians for war crimes, despite pressure from Washington not to do so.
It has emerged that in July 2020, Israeli officials seized documents about Pegasus spyware from its manufacturer, NSO Group, in an effort to prevent the company from being able to comply with demands of a US court to hand over information. This further highlights the proximity of the Israeli government to the “private” company exporting dangerous surveillance technology to dictators around the world.
US officials are investing public funds in Israeli bonds, in deals that raise ethical concerns - and reveal how the network of the Apartheid regime’s financial support extends to state and local government in the US.
Global
After at least 300 deaths at the hands of police, the government's lethal force against student-led protests in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Hasina has resigned and fled the country. Protests began over quotas reserving government jobs and contracts for special groups, and grew into anger at the country’s one-party (and one-woman) rule.
The deadly protests in Kenya against proposed tax hikes have been followed by anti-corruption protests in Uganda, denouncing corruption and calling for the sacking of problematic government officials. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, tens of thousands across the country took to the streets to denounce high living costs, despite being met with tear gas and bullets. This has spurred experts to question: is an African uprising in the making?
Finally, a friend of Kawaakibi Foundation, Hadar Cohen, is teaching a course on unlearning Zionism. The 8-session course is focused on Arab Jewish and Palestinian solidarity. Sign up here.
Stay connected
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