Most of the articles that struck me this week were along the lines of “this horrible thing is actually happening.”  People try to silence or reframe horrible truths for myriad reasons, including expediency and convenience.  The authors below work against that impulse in stories from Afghanistan, the internet, and the two Sudans.

Wronging Rights nearly always hits it out of the park, but this post on the slavery of young girls in Afghanistan is especially compelling.  Una Moore reveals the horrors of the traditional practice of Baad, while also calling the …

A nice mix this week, if I do say so myself.  And not ALL depressing! Why does everyone talk about conflict minerals when they talk about the DRC?  And CAN Europe integrate its Muslim citizens and residents? (Does it really want to?)

I’ve been fascinated by this Washington Post look at the opinions, desires, triumphs, and fears of African American women today .
I was pleased to hear the Kojo Namdi show (which usually focuses on local DC issues), talking about conflict minerals (and the overemphasis on them).  With Texas in Africa …

Jose Tenga
Canada/Sudan

“This is the very first time in my life when I have been asked to suggest ways and means for ending this war. And it has happened because you called this meeting. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to make my contribution to the search for peace in my country.” (Female delegate to the DDR Sensitization workshop in El Fasher, North Darfur, August, 2011)
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Mention the name Darfur and the mind immediately conjures images of death, destruction, and desolation caused by more than a decade of relentless factional fighting …

Nancy Apiyo
Uganda
Editor’s Note: Below, Nancy Apiyo tells the story of her countrywoman Anne, who was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army as a child.  Nancy works with women who were once abducted  at Justice and Reconciliation Project in Gulu, Uganda.
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I always think about Anne. I wonder how she was able to go through that gruesome experience and still remain calm. She is a very gentle woman.  When you look at her you can never tell what she has hidden within her. It is a story of her …