Slavery
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The Netherlands apologises for slavery
A dark period in Dutch history and its modern legacy
The government in the Netherlands, one of the last European nations to abolish slavery, has made an historic apology. But some feel that there is still a long way to go. By Ella Joyner
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Abdulrazak Gurnah's "Paradise"
"Freedom is not something they can take away"
When Abdulrazak Gurnah was named winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021, the German translation of his novel "Paradise" was out of print. In early December, it was re-released. "Paradise" upends the prevailing black-and-white view of colonialism in the most striking manner. By Felix Stephan
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Discrimination against black people in the MENA region
Not just a Western problem
Racism exists in the Arab world. People with dark skin are discriminated against and often see their rights curtailed. Activists have had enough of such treatment and are starting to rise up. The greatest progress has been made in Tunisia. By Mona Naggar
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"A Slave Between Empires: A Transimperial History of North Africa"
Decolonising Maghreb history
M’hamed Oualdi presents the story of a manumitted-slave-turned-dignitary in the Ottoman province of Tunis and the posthumous conflicts over his estate as a case study to deconstruct the modern history of Tunisia and the wider Maghreb region. Muhammed Nafih Wafy read the book
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Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Exploited, locked up, abandoned
Thousands of migrant workers from Africa are currently living in degrading conditions in detention centres in Arab countries. A human rights organisation has accused the Gulf States of racism that is "structured to perfection". By Bernd Dörries and Dunja Ramadan
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Muslim racism and imperialism
Power and exclusion
The outpouring of solidarity worldwide following the violent death of George Floyd should prompt us to step back and fundamentally question racist structures and privileges based on injustice – wherever they exist in the world. An essay by Tayfun Guttstadt
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Album review: Bab L'Bluz's "Nayda"
Rocking the gateway to the desert
The Franco-Moroccan band Bab L'Bluz has named their debut CD "Nayda!" after the musical youth movement. Stefan Franzen introduces the unique music combo
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Charlotte Wiedemann: "Now is the time for utopias"
The end of white dominance
In her latest book – "Der lange Abschied von der weissen Dominanz" – recently published in German, journalist Charlotte Wiedemann describes the upheaval in our changing, multi-polar world with startling clarity. By Christopher Resch
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Pursuing prosecution in Germany
Justice for Yazidi survivors of Islamic State genocide
The extremist group "Islamic State" attempted to wipe out the Yazidis. Many thousands died, and survivors tell horrific tales of abuse and enslavement. Now, German investigators have taken up the fight for justice. By Matthias von Hein
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Human rights in Lebanon
Kafala and its ʹcommoditiesʹ
"Where is your bint from?" is not an unusual question in Lebanon. 'Bint' means girl in Arabic, but here refers to housekeepers, maids or nannies working in Lebanon under kafala sponsorship. It is a loaded term that refers to thousands of African and Asian workers arriving in Lebanon every year. By Antoine Abou-Diwan
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Slaves of Islamic State
The fight to find the missing Yazidis
Islamic State is fighting its endgame with Yazidis waiting anxiously. Angered by Iraqi government silence following reports that IS killed 50 of their women, they are pushing for real action to find 3,000 of their own. By Judit Neurink
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Jerusalemʹs Africans
Alienation and counter-alienation
Yasser Qous, son of African-Palestinians, explains the feeling of foreignness experienced by Africans in 1970s Jerusalem and the alienation of African parishioners from each other at the time