2020

Community and COVID: Tackling the pandemic from the grassroots level

Community and COVID: Tackling the pandemic from the grassroots level

After almost a year, COVID-19 still has a significant impact on our lives. In Canada, the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario have recorded some of their highest case numbers in the past month. Globally, COVID-19 cases have almost hit 50 million at the time of writing. With rising misinformation and a second wave well underway, it is clear that we must take a critical look at the global COVID-19 response.

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Women’s Empowerment in Saudi Arabia: Free at Last?

Women’s Empowerment in Saudi Arabia: Free at Last?

On June 24, 2018, worldwide headlines shared the news of Saudi Arabia’s lifted ban on female drivers. However, some of the most influential Saudi Arabian women’s rights activists could not be found celebrating; they were instead, behind bars. In a gross violation of human rights, Saudi Arabian leaders authorized the imprisonment of a multitude of activists prior to the implementation of the new driving laws. This secondary narrative demonstrates the corruption that still exists in this country: those who dare to defy the monarchy are exposed to continued restrictions on their human rights.

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Economy before equality: China’s Uighur Population Ignored in COVID-19 Response

Economy before equality: China’s Uighur Population Ignored in COVID-19 Response

In 2014, the BBC revealed that the Chinese government had initiated a mass persecution and detention of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang in April 2013. The Uighurs act as an ethnically, culturally, religiously, and economically independent group in China, where the majority of population is ethnically Han Chinese. Religiously, the Uighurs adhere to Islam, while ethnically, they are more comparable to that of Turkish customs and traditions. This has caused strong linguistic, cultural, and religious divisions between the Uighurs and Han Chinese.

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No Flights Home: How I Got Stuck In Iraq Due To COVID-19

No Flights Home: How I Got Stuck In Iraq Due To COVID-19

Since tensions between Iran, the US, and Iraq grew strong in the start of January 2020, my family felt quite nervous about my brother and me travelling to our homeland, Iraq-Kurdistan, for reading week in February. My brother and I had heard about COVID-19 before we left Canada, but it wasn’t a really big deal at the time – little did we know that the virus would prevent us from coming back to Canada just two weeks later. 

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Revisiting Social Democracy: Imagining a Different World As a Response to COVID-19

Revisiting Social Democracy: Imagining a Different World As a Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 caught the world by surprise at the end of 2019. With now over four million cases globally, the short-term consequences are far-reaching and profoundly negative. Both the containment and treatment of this disease are extremely dependent on the individual rather than using government-enforced preventative measures to stop the virus from spreading (at least in the West).

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Thailand’s Fishing Industry: Caught in the Net of Human Trafficking

Thailand’s Fishing Industry: Caught in the Net of Human Trafficking

In March 2018, the deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Chatchai Sarikulya, sent special teams to survey and arrest offenders, who were committing human trafficking crimes in the fishing sector. Thai and non-Thai vessels were investigated for violating the fishing labour laws, and 50 cases were prosecuted.  After this unusual event, the Thai police announced they were determined to continue surveying sea vessels to stop the illegal labour practices occurring in the fishing industry. 

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The Cape Town Drought – Looking Beyond the Lack of Water

The Cape Town Drought – Looking Beyond the Lack of Water

When a crisis hits, it is crucial to shine a light upon the various factors that led to the issue, exacerbated its impacts, and hindered its resolution. An insightful example of this is the Cape Town water crisis in South Africa, which received a lot of media attention in 2017 and 2018. The crisis was so pressing at the time, it was anticipated that Cape Town would run their water reservoirs completely dry.

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