Hey, this is Sham Jaff, your very own news curator. Each week, I highlight some of the biggest stories from regions and countries that are historically underreported in "Western media". My goal is to burst our Eurocentric bubbles, and expand the view we hold of the world. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime by replying to this mail. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up at whathappenedlastweek.com.
Issue #400 is about the winners of the 'other Nobel' prize, a new UNICEF report on sexual violence against children and the declining state of press freedom in Kyrgyzstan. Plus, a banned Kurdish film in Turkey, the wonders of 3D technology and what it can do for Indonesia, a status update on the mpox vaccination campaign in DRC, the movies that got everyone talking at last week's Bisan International Film Festival, why you should make time for a visit to the Otsuka Museum in Naruto, a very personal piece on a Sudanese nurse trainee and how she's surviving her regular kidney dialysis amidst war, a rapping pregnant lady criticizing body-shaming and a LinkedIn post for the ages. Plus, so much more.
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Good reading, and catch you in your inbox next week!
Sham
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🔍 Estimated reading time: 10 min 🔍
You have access to all of my sources by clicking on what's underlined.
Big shout-out to Wikimedia Commons for the helpful maps.
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Here are the winners of the 2024 Right Livelihood Award
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What happened
The winners of the 2024 Right Livelihood Award have been announced.
Why this matters:
I'm not a fan of awards and prizes (my closest friends know this about me; they add a weirdness to collective solidarity), but the Right Livelihood Award has consistently put a number of individuals and groups in the spotlight that I hadn't heard of before, and this newsletter has been a grateful recipient of those picks.
Tell me more
The Right Livelihood Award was created in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German philanthropist. Jakob, who was both a journalist and a stamp expert, thought the Nobel Prizes were missing the mark by focusing too much on industrialized countries and not addressing the big issues humanity was facing. So, he set up this award to shine a light on those overlooked efforts. Since then, it’s been given to 198 laureates from 77 different countries.
Fun fact: Some media also call this award the 'Alternative Nobel'.
Who are the 2024 winners?
Here are this year's winners:
- Issa Amro and "Youth Against Settlements"
The Who and What: Issa Amro, a 44-year-old Palestinian from Hebron, and his organization Youth Against Settlements (YAS) are being recognized for their non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation. YAS documents human rights abuses and organizes peaceful protests to empower Palestinians. Their approach has inspired other cities to embrace non-violent resistance as well.
What's life like in the West Bank after October 7? Issa Amro tells Right Livelihood that the city was already under stress before but has become much worse due to the Israeli military actions and settler violence. He emphasizes that both civilians in Gaza and the West Bank are paying the price of the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. He also talks about how Hebron is under curfew due to the Israeli holiday of Rosh Hashanah, meaning checkpoints are closed, preventing Palestinians from leaving their homes. Streets, schools, and public places are shut down for Palestinians. It's almost like a total lockdown, with military checkpoints blocking access even for essential services like ambulances and electricians. Listen to the interview in full here.
- Anabela Lemos and "Justiça Ambiental!"
The Who and What: Anabela Lemos, a 71-year-old environmental activist from Mozambique, and her group Justiça Ambiental! (JA!) are being honored for their fight against mega-projects threatening local communities and ecosystems. Their work, especially opposing the Mozambique LNG project, has drawn international attention to environmental and human rights abuses, empowering local communities to resist exploitation.
What does "projects threatening local communities and ecosystems" really mean? I got pictures for you. Gregor Zielke, a German photojournalist, documented the relocations of 700 families in Mozambique's Tete province because a large coalmine had been constructed.
- Forensic Architecture (FA)
The Who and What: This research group from Goldsmiths College, London, uses cutting-edge tech like data modeling and spatial analysis to investigate environmental and human rights violations. Their work has been used in court cases around the world, from the Grenfell Tower fire in the UK, the racist attack on February 19, 2020 in Hanau, Germany to documenting the genocide in Namibia. They’re being recognized for pioneering digital forensics to ensure justice for victims of human and environmental abuses.
If this is the first time you've heard of this group (I've had the pleasure of interviewing them for some of my journalistic podcast productions in the past), I suggest listening to some interviews with Eyal Weizmann, the guy behind the idea of FA. He's exceptionally clear in his messaging and very passionate about how FA can help deliver justice in ways we hadn't thought of doing in a very long time. You could perhaps start here.
- Joan Carling
The Who and the What: Joan Carling, a 61-year-old Filipino activist, is recognized for her decades-long fight for indigenous rights. Starting in the Philippines, she has become a global advocate, particularly in pushing for indigenous voices in green transformation projects. Carling’s work has not only stopped harmful projects but also influenced UN guidelines on indigenous women’s rights.
Why are Indigenous voices important for a so-called green transformation? I found this interview of hers from five years ago to be helpful in answering that question. Here, she explains how the world can re-learn important values from indigenous people in the way they interact with the planet; for example, like harvesting fruits only when necessary, sharing with neighbors, building houses with trees cut only for that purpose, etc.
In other news, the Nobel Peace Prize was also awarded last week. The winner? Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo for "its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again".
- Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of the group, said to NHK (Japanese public broadcaster): "I think that the reason (we received the prize) is that the international situation today has made it so. With the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the war in the Middle East, I think the risk of nuclear weapons being used has increased greatly, and I personally have a premonition that a nuclear war will break out in the not-too-distant future."
- Toshiyuki Mimaki, another co-chair, was pushing back tears when he talked about his worries for children in Gaza and Israel.
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One in eight girls sexually assaulted or raped before turning 18, says UNICEF
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What happened
Right now, over 370 million women and girls – nearly 1 in 8 – have experienced rape or sexual assault before they turned 18. A new report from UNICEF calls this level of violence against children “overwhelming,” saying survivors carry the trauma into adulthood. The scale of the issue is described as “abhorrent.”
Why this matters:
This is the first-ever global estimate of how big the problem of sexual violence against children really is.
Tell me more
The report is based on surveys done between 2010 and 2022 across 120 countries. It also includes data on boys, men, and non-contact sexual violence using various sources and methods. Unicef says it’s been tough to get a clear picture because of stigma, difficulties in measuring the problem, and a lack of investment in collecting data. This is especially true when it comes to understanding boys’ experiences and non-physical forms of abuse. Plus, since the 2000s, widespread internet and digital tech access has created new ways for kids to be abused and exploited.
What else did they find out?
The problem is even worse when you count non-contact sexual violence, like inappropriate sexual jokes, being exposed to pornography, or someone flashing their genitals. That pushes the rate up to 1 in 5 kids. While girls and women are the hardest hit, about 1 in 11 boys or men have also experienced sexual violence as children. UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, said: "Sexual violence against children is a stain on our moral conscience. It causes deep trauma, often by someone the child knows and trusts, in places where they should feel safe."
How deep does this report go?
The report actually shares anonymous stories of survivors. For example, Analyn, a 12-year-old from the Philippines, was rescued and taken to a shelter after she was involved in live-streamed child sexual abuse at the age of 10. A neighbor had offered her money to participate.
Dig deeper: Speaking of the Philippines, a year ago, ABC News' Foreign Correspondent did a 30-min documentary into the global taskforce that is fighting sexual violence against children by Australian offenders in the Philippines. One of the things I've learned – and this might be the most disturbingly concrete information I've ever learned on this topic – they show Skype chat logs where men in Australia are negotiating the price of a 5-year-old undressing for them on videocam. It ended up costing him 40 Australian dollars. Over the past four years, the group has rescued over 600 victims.
Who are the abusers?
It’s usually someone close – family, friends, or intimate partners.
What about during war?
Russell pointed out that kids in conflict zones or areas with weak institutions or refugee populations are especially at risk. In these fragile settings, 1 in 4 girls faces rape or sexual assault. "We’re seeing horrific sexual violence in conflict zones, where rape and gender-based violence are used as weapons of war," she said.
Where are children the most unsafe?
Sexual violence against children happens everywhere, but the highest rate is in Oceania, where 34% of women – about 6 million people – have been victims. The highest number is in sub-Saharan Africa, with 79 million women and girls (22%) affected. However, UNICEF warns that comparisons between regions should be made carefully, as under-reporting and cultural factors can affect the data.
What is "the international community" doing?
Back in 2015, they vowed to end all forms of violence against children by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. To be continued.
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Press freedom in Kyrgyzstan is in a terrible place right now
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What happened
Rights groups are slamming the Kyrgyz government for convicting four journalists from an anti-corruption news outlet, accusing them of stirring up unrest, reports Eurasianet. The head of the news outlet plans to appeal, saying the government is using the courts to build a "dictatorship".
Why this matters:
This is another hit to press freedom in the Central Asian country. Reporters Without Borders ranked the country 120th out of 180 countries in its 2024 Press Freedom Index, a sharp drop from its ranking of 82nd in 2020, before the current president came to power.
Tell me more
A total of 11 journalists from the Temirov Live YouTube channel and its social media arm Ait Ait Dese were on trial, which wrapped up last week on October 10. Four of them were found guilty of allegedly encouraging unrest by making content that the government didn’t like (this is an understatement, obviously), especially President Sadyr Japarov and security chief Kamchybek Tashiev. Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, one of the co-leaders, got a six-year prison sentence, while poet Azamat Ishenbekov got five years for his work with Ait Ait Dese. Two others received suspended three-year sentences, while the other seven were cleared due to lack of evidence.
Good to know: In a highly unusual form of punishment, the court also took custody of Tazhibek kyzy and her husband Bolot Temirov’s 12-year-old son, ordering him to become a ward of the state, despite close family members being able to care for him. Temirov, who lives in exile, described this as "hostage-taking." Bolot Temirov lives in exile in Russia and was not a defendant in the case.
What's Temirov Live?
Temirov Live is an investigative YouTube channel that partners with the global watchdog, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). It launched in 2020, just before Japarov became president. Ait Ait Dese, a related social media platform, uses music and poetry to explore political issues. Temirov and his team have faced government pressure for years. In 2022, Temirov was charged with various crimes, including drug possession and illegal border crossing, but he said the charges were politically motivated. Although acquitted of the most serious offenses, he was deported to Russia.
Where's Krygyzstan in terms of press freedom?
Temirov and international watchdogs like Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) argue that Kyrgyzstan is moving away from democracy and free speech. CPJ stated that Kyrgyzstan, once a relative safe space for press freedom in Central Asia, is now entering a troubling period. "Kyrgyzstan has forfeited its reputation as a relative haven of press freedom in Central Asia and entered a dark new page in its history," a CPJ statement quoted Gulnoza Said, the organization’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, as saying.
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Bad
Turkey: The Culture and Tourism Ministry has blocked the theatrical release of Rojbash, a film that tells the story of a group of Kurdish stage actors reuniting after 25 years. (Bianet) In the same week, two historic synagogues in İzmir's Kemeraltı Bazaar, La Sinyora and Algazi, were vandalized on October 7. (Bianet)
India: India has topped the list for internet shutdowns for nearly a decade, according to data from digital rights group Access Now. While countries like China, North Korea, and Russia heavily censor and control the internet, India’s citizens generally enjoy free access. However, India stands out among democracies for frequently enforcing internet blackouts, with 771 shutdowns between 2016 and 2023, according to the data. (rest of world)
Tunisia: The EU won’t be able to get back any of the €150m it paid to Tunisia, even though the funds are now linked to human rights violations, including claims that some went to security forces accused of raping migrant women. The money was part of a migration deal with Tunisia, despite concerns about the country’s growing authoritarianism and unchecked police abuses. A recent investigation by The Guardian exposed multiple abuses by EU-funded security forces, including widespread sexual violence against migrants. It turns out, there’s no system in place to recover the money, even if it’s tied to these serious violations. (The Guardian) In the same week, President Kais Saied secured 90.7% of the vote in the election on a turnout of just 27.7%. (The Guardian)
Interesting...
South Korea/India: Hyundai is selling US$3.3 billion worth of shares in its Indian business to grow in India’s booming car market, which is the third largest in the world. This will be the biggest-ever stock sale in India and the largest in Asia this year. The shares will start trading in Mumbai on October 22. (Nikkei Asia)
Cameroon: No more gossip allowed. Cameroon’s government has put a stop to all the chatter about President Paul Biya’s health after rumors started swirling again about why he hasn’t been seen in public for a while. President Biya is 91 years old. (The Guardian)
Japan: Japan’s political parties have officially started campaigning for the upcoming general election on October 27. This election follows a scandal involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), where many members didn’t properly disclose political funds. The LDP, now led by new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, is focused on winning back public trust as it competes for 465 seats in the lower house of parliament. (Nikkei Asia)
Good
West Papua: New research from West Papua reveals how ancient seafarers, the ancestors of today’s Pacific Islanders, first made their way into the Pacific more than 50,000 years ago. This discovery helps fill in the gaps about when and how humans first reached the region. (The Conversation)
Mauritius/UK: The UK and Mauritius have finally reached an agreement to return sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, allowing the Chagossians to return to most of their islands. For far too long, the UK treated the (white) Falkland Islanders one way and the (black) Chagossians another, forcibly expelling the Chagossians from their homes. However, the new treaty also allows the vast military base on Diego Garcia, where most Chagossians are from, to remain under the joint UK-US control on a 99-year lease, keeping it off limits again. (euronews)
DRC: Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have started vaccinating against mpox, nearly two months after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global emergency. Some of the 265,000 doses donated by the EU and the US were given out in Goma, North Kivu, where hospitals have been struggling to manage the new, possibly more contagious strain. The DRC has reported around 30,000 suspected cases and 859 deaths, accounting for over 80% of Africa’s cases and almost all the deaths this year. All 26 provinces in the DRC have been affected by mpox. (The Guardian)
Indonesia: Yay! Thanks to 3D technology, scientists are able to monitor coral reefs more quickly and accurately, offering a new way to assess their health and restoration. By capturing thousands of underwater photos, researchers can create detailed models that help track reef recovery, such as in Indonesia’s largest coral restoration project. This technology could transform conservation efforts by making it easier to measure changes and support restoration of these vital ecosystems. (The Conversation)
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Watch… "Yen and Ai Lee" (link to trailer). The movie by Taiwanese filmmaker Tom Lin Shu-Yu is a "bold portrayal of a traumatic mother-and-daughter relationship," say the critics at the Busan International Film Festival. Together with Rima Das for "Village Rockstars 2" (India/Singapore), the two filmmakers claimed the Kim Jiseok Award at the festival last week. I'm a sucker for documentaries, and one of the docs that won, was the experimental "Works and Days” by Park Minsoo and Ahn Kearnhyung about the lives of nine "ordinary" individuals living in South Korea (yes, the premise is that simple). The doc plays in Lisbon, Portugal later this month if you're there and interested.
Visit... The Otsuka Museum of Art in Naruto, Japan. The Otsuka Museum of Art here is offering a rare chance to dive into the world of great paintings—quite literally. Until Nov. 4, visitors can don costumes mimicking the subjects of famous historical paintings, like become one of van Gogh's sunflowers, and participate in photo shoots on similarly decked out sets, Asahi Shimbun reported.
Read... "Dialysis Clinic Like a Family" ( link to article) by Mayada Abdullah for Alive in Sudan/DT-Institute . The war in Sudan has pushed an already underfunded healthcare system to its breaking point, and they are in desperate need of additional staff. Need an example of how that looks like? Meet Adeela Omer Rizq, a 32-year-old mother, nurse trainee and a patient at Nuri Dialysis Center. Since 2017, she’s been going there regularly for kidney dialysis. She’s not the only one—around 8,000 people in Sudan need dialysis to survive. But getting the supplies for these treatments has become really difficult, especially in areas hit by conflict. At Nuri Dialysis Center, Adeela doesn’t just focus on her own health—she’s dedicated to helping other patients too. Even after her own dialysis sessions, Adeela makes sure everyone else is taken care of, whether it’s getting them food or helping them feel comfortable.
- Speaking of Sudan, Jonathan Freedland (what a memorable last name) published an opinion article in The Guardian last week, writing "Remember when we said that Black Lives Matter? We didn’t mean it. That much is clear now, as the world watches a war that is killing tens of thousands, that has displaced more than 10 million and which is threatening to devour 13 million more through famine – and barely gives it a glance. Most of those are Black lives, and it could not be more obvious that, to an indifferent world, they don’t matter at all."
- Spotlight: Radio Dabanga reported that Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Director Henrik Urdal endorsed the grassroots humanitarian network Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) in his personal annual list for Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Why? "For their critical role in providing lifesaving aid amidst one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises."
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Rapping while pregnant I South-Korean-Japanese rapper Chanmina proudly showed off her pregnant belly in a bold music video for her single "NG". There's one line I particularly liked (of course, I had to translate the lyrics, but it goes like this): "Too skinny, too fat. Too big, too short. Dying, dying, dying, women are dying".
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Alex Lieberman, co-founder of Morning Brew, last week tweeted, "Quite possibly the most unhinged Linkedin update I've ever seen. Former co-CEO of FTX heads to federal prison today to serve 7.5 years. But not before he drops this banger on social."
The banger being this right here.
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Hey, I'm Sham, the person behind this newsletter. Since 2014, I email a bunch of strangers once a week, curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and the Americas. I work under the assumption that, here in the West (I live in Berlin, Germany), we don't read or know much about the global majority, aka the rest of the world.
My goal is to help you burst your Western-centric bubble.
If you want to know more about me, visit my website or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
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