October 4, 2009
These photos were taken in Hebron, including in the settlement in the center of the city. There is a significant and intimidating military presence in Hebron–much more than in Jerusalem, for example–and the soldiers are mostly there to provide security for the (mostly armed) settlers.
Children running behind a truck in Hebron.
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September 23, 2009
This interview with my friend Tamara Abdul Hadi was published on Change.org, as part of their series “the Feminist Queries.”
This week’s Feminist Query interview is with Tamara Abdul Hadi, who is an Iraqi Canadian photojournalist. She’s been based in the Middle East since 2004, where she worked for Reuters and completed assignments for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more. After living in Dubai for 3 years, Tamara moved to Lebanon, where she is currently working on personal projects and giving photography workshops to disadvantaged groups of people.
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Sometimes. Being a woman, it is in my nature to stand up for our gender. It’s a given. When I’m in Saudi Arabia, where I’ve been on numerous occasions on assignment, I find myself feeling the need to ‘stand up’ for my rights as a woman. I believe that being in a place like Saudi Arabia where women’s rights are little to none brings that out in me. Any form of injustice, be it towards women or not, is something that needs to be seen or heard. As a photographer, I have the power to expose such injustices, so I use that when I can.
Read the rest of the interview, and view some photos, here at change.org.
September 21, 2009
Last week I interviewed Wesam Ahmad, a program officer with Al Haq, in Ramallah. Al Haq is a Palestinian NGO that documents violations of international law in the Occupied Territories, promotes the rule of law, and advocates for human and humanitarian rights. The organization was founded in 1979, and is an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists.
I spoke with Wesam about the challenges of using international law to promote human rights, and why he thinks it’s worth the struggle.
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September 19, 2009
September 18, 2009
Here are my first photos from the West Bank. The first few are from Ramallah, including Arafat’s tomb, and the last two are from Nablus, in the North.
The Wall, near Qalandia checkpoint
September 18, 2009
US envoy and former senator George Mitchell ended his mission to bring Israel and the Palestinian Authority into trilateral talks on Friday, as Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank frustrated his attempts at shuttle diplomacy. Mahmoud Abbas has said that he will not enter into talks as long as Netanyahu refuses to cease building settlements in the West Bank, and Obama has repeatedly called for a significant freeze.
Read the rest of the article here at Air America.
September 13, 2009
I’ve just posted a few photos from Jordan on my Flickr Account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leahwawro/
The first few are from Amman, and the others are en route to the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge border crossing to Israel.
September 11, 2009
Although the Civil War in Lebanon officially ended almost 20 years ago, there are still physical reminders of the 15 years of conflict that left approximately 250,000 dead. Destroyed buildings are scattered throughout the city, beside homes, big new hotels, and, in the case of the Church below, in the middle of an empty square.
A bombed out cinema in downtown Beirut, with a new mosque behind it.
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September 11, 2009
I just arrived in Jerusalem this morning, so I wasn’t sure if the groups of policemen that kept coming through the streets were just heightened security because of Ramadan, or if something was up.
Two Palestinians, a 13 year old boy and a 40 year old man, were shot in East Jerusalem this evening.
The Palestinians were shot and wounded in East Jerusalem by a gunman who was arrested on the scene, according to Israeli police. The gunman, in his twenties, told the police that he felt “threatened by the fact that Arabs were standing next to him,” and claimed that six Arabs had attacked him.
I wrote a post about it for Air America–read the rest here.
September 7, 2009
As part of my research, I interviewed Fouad Hamdan, the current director of the Arab Human Rights Fund. He used to work for Greenpeace, and he is an active advocate for human rights, democracy, and environmental protection in Lebanon.
Hamdan’s unique sense of pragmatic optimism is inspiring. I really like his academic skepticism and realism, which he combines with an NGO-er’s confidence that there will (and must) be change. In the interview, we discussed human rights in Lebanon, international justice, and why he thinks the Middle East is headed for change.
