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NL What's going on between Damascus and the Kurds in Rojava
Source: Macondo In recent weeks, people around the world have taken to the streets to protest for the rights and autonomy of the Kurdish people in northeastern Syria, known as Rojava. In cities such as London, Berlin and Amsterdam, demonstrators filled squares and streets to call on internationals to address the growing pressure [...]
Billion-dollar projects for prestige: Sisi's Egypt in search of international recognition
(Source: AFP) Sisi's Egypt has recently been busy putting itself on the map as an innovative, ambitious country eager to lend a helping hand as a mediator in the region. A few months ago, for instance, the North African country grandiosely opened the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The museum stands [...]
Tunisia 15 years after Arab Spring: hopes of democracy dashed
Source: FETHI BELAID / AFP Street vendor starts the Revolution An extraordinary and shocking protest triggered a historic chain reaction in early 2011. Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire out of dissatisfaction with his hopeless situation. Bouazizi's self-immolation sparked a historic movement, the Arab Spring, in which several corrupt regimes in the [...]
Why 2025 was a turning point for violence surrounding the olive harvest in the West Bank
Image: Flickr Every year, when the olives ripen and Palestinian families prepare for the harvest, the West Bank should experience a period of economic growth, social cohesion and cautious optimism. The olive harvest is traditionally more than just an agricultural event: it symbolises continuity and the bond between community and land. Instead […]
Trade over human lives: The Dutch role in the war in Sudan
Image: Sourcepixel The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has received extra attention in the news and on social media in recent weeks, but the conflict has now been going on for more than two years. While serious crimes are being committed, international attention is minimal. What role do the Netherlands and the EU play in the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and [...]
Moroccan Gen Z demands change: from hashtags to street protests
Source Marketscreeners Moroccan Gen Z demands change: from hashtags to street protests There have now been demonstrations in Morocco for several weeks. Thousands of Moroccans are taking to the streets from northern Tangier to southern Agadir. The question that can be asked is whether the protests in Morocco are part of a global wave in which Gen [...]
Africa Day 2025: A New Global Order - Tickets now available!
Afrikadag, the largest event in the Netherlands on Africa and international cooperation, returns on Saturday 15 November 2025 at Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam. This year, Afrikadag celebrates a special milestone: the 30th edition! The theme of 2025 is "Africa in a New World Order". As global powers vie for influence, African countries claim their place on [...]
Syria at a crossroads: hope for democracy or a facade of elections?
Source: Pexels It has been over 10 months since the posters of former dictator Bashar Al Assad were torn down from the streets in the capital Damascus in celebratory fashion. After a gruesome 50 years under the dictatorial rule of the Assad family, in which hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been displaced, murdered, mistreated and scattered across several [...]
Revival of Arab Social Democratic Women's Union in Sulaymaniyah
Photo: Progressive Alliance On 27 August 2025, a conference of the Social Democratic Alliance in the Arab World (SDA-AW) was held in Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The central theme was the re-establishment of the Arab Social Democratic Women Union. On behalf of the Max van de Stoel Foundation, Diandra Monhemius attended. Below is her report: On [...]
Silence on sexual violence by Israel makes Netherlands complicit
This opinion piece originally appeared on Joop-BNNVARA It is almost unbearable to read: Palestinian women being raped in front of their families, forcibly stripped publicly and sexually humiliated by heavily armed soldiers. These are all facts gathered in the UN report More than a human can bear, published on 13 March 2025 by [...]