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Scarred Childhoods of the Kashmir Conflict
By Ifat Gazia
“I want children of the future to have memories different than my own - so that when they remember the sunshine, it is not in the pain of loss, in the heat of flames,” write Ifat Gazia in her first piece for Weave News. Gazia has lived through the daily reality of militarization in Kashmir, where the impact on ordinary people is tremendously underreported. Join her on this journey of memory, anger, and hope.
Echoes of Sandino: Artists Respond to Nicaraguan Violence
By Torri Lonergan
In the latest installment of our Weaving the Streets project, Torri Lonergan reports on a new art exhibit in Costa Rica that features creative, critical perspectives on the ongoing political violence in neighboring Nicaragua.
“Xenophobia Stinks”: The Politics of Nicaraguan Immigration in Costa Rica
By Torri Lonergan
As political violence continues in Nicaragua, neighboring Costa Rica is receiving a significant number of Nicaraguan refugees. In recent months, Costa Rica has seen an upsurge in anti-immigrant sentiment as well as popular demonstrations in support of the refugees. Torri Lonergan reports from Costa Rica in her second installment for our Weaving the Streets project.
UN Funding Cuts Jeopardize Deaf Children in Gaza
By Asmaa Tayeh
Zeyad Aabed has devoted his career—26 years—to running an NGO dedicated to offering education and health services to the deaf. It was, to say the least, a labor of love. But now, much of the funding on which his NGO depends is drying up. And today, he feels exhausted and depressed, fearful he will have to close the El-Amal Rehabilitation Society altogether. (Reposted from We Are Not Numbers)
Will Costa Rica Be the Next Country to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage?
By Torri Lonergan
The issue of marriage equality, set within a larger struggle over LGBTIQ rights, has become a central element of Costa Rica’s ongoing political debate during the country’s 2018 presidential election campaign. In her first post for our Weaving the Streets series, Torri Lonergan reports on how the potential legalization of same-sex marriage is sharpening the fault lines between progressive Costa Ricans and those who hold more more conservative Catholic and evangelical views.
Interweaving with Hanif Abdurraqib: “To know that I cannot move the world on my own means that I can’t be silent”
By Nicole Roché
On the morning of October, 11, 2018, poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib spoke with students on the St. Lawrence University campus, where the subjects ranged from Kanye West to Black Lives Matter to Abdurraqib’s extensive sneaker collection. After the Q&A, Nicole Roché, who teaches a class about storytelling and identity in the first-year program at St. Lawrence, interviewed Abdurraqib about his work and about his experiences talking with young people in America.
Training Citizen Journalists and “Building Community Power”: SLCJI Launches in Canton, NY
By John Collins
On an early fall weekend, a diverse group of North Country residents gathered on the campus of St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, to inaugurate an innovative new experiment in grassroots journalism: the St. Lawrence Citizen Journalism Incubator.
Protect the Protest Task Force Launches With A Promise: An Attack On One Is An Attack On All
By Jana Morgan
For decades, powerful interests have attempted to intimidate and silence public watchdogs, journalists, and advocacy groups by filing meritless lawsuits. This repressive tactic — called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs) — is an abuse of the court system and a violation of the First Amendment rights of those who speak truth to power. Weave News contributor Jana Morgan announces a new initiative designed to push back.
What Has Caused the Decline of Prosperity in Barre, Vermont?
By Adam Marcinkowski
Barre, VT, once an affluent hub of granite exportation, has experienced a dramatic decline in prosperity. Home to an industry that once employed thousands of workers spread between more than sixty manufacturing firms, the Barre Granite Association has dwindled to just over five hundred employees in two dozen firms. The effects of these labor cuts can be observed within the city limits of Barre, which has since fallen into dramatic decay. The downtown and surrounding suburbs are scattered with many rundown storefronts and homes in need of repair. The town is also known to have a severe problem with drugs and poverty. Adam Marcinkowski explores the history of the Barre Granite Industry and attempts to determine key factors that helped initiated this shift in economic standing.
Lured To Injustice: The 'Sleep of Reason' in Poland
By Łukasz W. Niparko
Reporting from Poland, Łukasz W. Niparko warns of a troubling trend toward authoritarianism in the country as thirty years of post-Communist “shock therapy” give way to sustained attacks on democracy and the rule of law by the ruling PIS party.
In Vogue: Localism as a Response to Globalization in Geneva, New York
By Eliza Maher
Though not a global city, Geneva, New York, located in the Finger Lakes region of the state, has become increasingly popular among tourists, entrepreneurs, culinary artists, and young, creative people. In the first installment of our new “Glocal Dispatches” series, Eliza Maher critically analyzes the revitalization of Geneva into a city driven by local businesses, art, music, Hobart and William Smith colleges, and Seneca Lake, and explores the shift to an image-saturated society. However, the shift, often characterized as positive, innovative, and diverse, fails to acknowledge the influence the urban branding will have on the minority groups in Geneva who cannot afford the lifestyle driven by localism.
Pigs In Our Politics: The #MeToo Movement in France
By Alexandra Nicoletti
In this reflection on the experience of living and studying abroad as an American in France, Alexandra Nicoletti explores the complex process of cultural translation involved when the #MeToo movement crosses the Atlantic.
Somdeep Sen on Israeli Settlements and the Normalization of Palestinian Dispossession
By John Collins
What role does spatial planning play in the Israeli process of colonizing Palestinian land? Researcher and longtime Weave News contributor Somdeep Sen discusses this issue in a recent podcast hosted by the Danish NGO Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke.
Haymarket: Living History on the Streets of Chicago
By John Collins
“We want to honor Lucy Parsons’ legacy, Albert Parsons’ legacy, and the legacy of what brought us this idea that one day, all the workers of the world will unite.” With these words from labor activist and tour guide Larry Spivack, reporter John Collins reflects on a labor history walking tour of Chicago.
The Case for Increasing Accountability in Development
By Khadeeja Hamid
Khadeeja Hamid aruges that a more robust accountability regime that places emphasis on downward, inward and horizontal accountability is crucial for the integration of human rights with development practice.
Journey Into the Unknown: One Professor's Take on a Community-Based Art Project
By Jessica Sierk
What happens when high school students in rural northern New York get the chance to speak for themselves, through art, about the pressures they are facing? Jessica Sierk describes the genesis and implementation of a unique community art collaboration bringing together students from Canton Central School and St. Lawrence University.
Iran's "Twitter Revolution" - Western Media's Flawed Coverage of the Green Movement
By Rob Williams
In this piece originally published by the Global Critical Media Literacy Project, Rob Williams and Emily von Wiese deconstruct the media narrative surrounding the role of Twitter in Iranian political protest.
Enough is Enough: School Walkout at St. Lawrence University
By Wyatt Adams
At 10:00 a.m. on March 14th, St. Lawrence students and faculty gathered on the university’s Quad as part of the national school walkout against gun violence in schools. More than 200 students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered despite heavy snowfall in a show of solidarity with students across the nation standing up against the epidemic of shootings in America’s schools.