Tuesday, May 14, 2024
As Libya Tries Peace, a Saharan City Builds It
Over 200 Ubari residents gathered in September to formally inaugurate the open-air marketplace, which includes a community park for recreation. Local civil society groups helped develop it with support from USIP and funding from the United Nations’ World Food Program. A central marketplace—where many of Ubari’s 35,000 residents buy produce, household goods and other essentials—has always been a core of the city’s life and economy. But the old market was forced to close during a three-year surge in fighting between the area’s ethnic Tebu and Tuareg communities.
To Honor Veterans, Bolster the Real Alternative to ‘Forever Wars’
Months after U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003, Army Colonel Paul Hughes quietly slipped out of the fortified U.S. headquarters in Baghdad’s “Green Zone” on a personal mission—to meet Iraqis and analyze the rising danger signs of disasters to come. American forces lacked a viable plan to stabilize this violent, trauma-scarred land, and Hughes’ nighttime conversations with Iraqis—scholars, business owners and former military officers—confirmed to him that the U.S. effort was dangerously isolated from Iraqi realities that would soon ignite an insurgency and eventually breed the Islamic State (ISIS) and a new war.
We Must Try ISIS’ Terrorists—or Risk Creating New Ones
As nations worldwide debate how to handle thousands of their citizens who became fighters for the Islamic State, some people argue for revoking their citizenship, barring them from their homelands. This would leave ISIS ex-fighters in an uncertain detention in Syria, denying them normal judicial processes. Defenders of this idea cite ISIS’ extreme brutality—and some argue that vengeance is justified, in part to protect ISIS’ victims. As a former ISIS hostage painfully familiar with that brutality, I must reply that our only viable path is to bring these fighters home to face justice in courts of law.
What can save science from COVID disinformation? Let’s try religion.
Doctors, nurses and scientists worldwide desperately need help against not only COVID, but a pandemic of disinformation that is disconnecting millions of people from facts and reality. Conspiracy fantasies spread fears that the COVID virus is a hoax—invented, say, to cover up deaths caused by cellphone signals, or to let governments inject us with microchip-infused vaccines to track everything we do. As health sciences and even critical thinking struggle to be heard amid the shouting, one of their best allies could be science’s old, perceived foe—religion. At least, that is, religion as exercised by interfaith communities.
The Dilemma for Kenya’s Police Amid the Pandemic
From Nigeria to the United States and beyond, the added pressures of COVID-19 have pushed community-police relations to the breaking point as police have found themselves thrust to the frontlines of the coronavirus response. This issue has been particularly acute in Kenya, where police were tasked with new responsibilities without proper equipment or information. The resulting confusion has been a catalyst for increased tensions between the police and everyday Kenyans — including reports of violent and heavy-handed crackdowns from police.
Contested Citizenship Marginalizes Libya’s Vulnerable
After a decade of conflict, Libya has made welcome progress toward stability. A cease-fire inked in October 2020 paved the way for the establishment of an interim unity government tasked with preparing for national elections at the end of 2021. While these developments are cause for hope, numerous issues remain that could threaten long-team peace — including many people’s undetermined legal status. An estimated several hundred thousand people in Libya — even some born and raised in the country — lack proof of citizenship. Marginalized groups, such as those with disabilities, are among those most impacted by citizenship struggles. In this war-torn country, this is but another issue that exacerbates conflict and tension.
Amid Pandemic, Virtual Peace Trail Demonstrates U.S. Commitment to Peace
The last year was marked by disruption, with schools shuttered, workplaces closed and so many aspects of daily life altered by the pandemic. While COVID drastically reduced the number of tourists to the capital, too, that did not stop USIP from bringing Washington, D.C. to Americans through virtual options for visiting and experiencing the Peace Trail on the National Mall. The Peace Trail brings a “peace lens” to the experience of visiting the National Mall — elevating stories of key figures, institutions and moments in history that demonstrate America’s commitment to peace.
Keeping Peacebuilding Education Alive During A Difficult Year
In April, more than 400 U.S. high school students, representing 85 schools in 26 states, joined a Zoom call for what normally would be an in-person Academic WorldQuest — a quiz competition sponsored in part by USIP that’s dedicated to foreign policy, international issues, global conflict management and peacebuilding. Following the cancellation of the national competition in April 2020, there was uncertainty about what WorldQuest would look like going into 2021. While some deferred participation, others saw it as an exercise in seeing what was possible: In-person competitions were hoped for, but local groups experimented with virtual platforms; teachers figured out how to recruit teams and organize remote study sessions; and students made room for extra learning in shifting schedules.
Expanding our Reach to Talk Peace in the Classroom
As spring break and cherry blossoms draw school groups from across the U.S. to our nation’s capital, it bears remembering that students in many parts of the country don’t have the opportunity to come to Washington and visit its iconic monuments and institutions.
Building a Legacy of Peace with the Dalai Lama
In October 2018, USIP and the Dalai Lama hosted their third annual dialogue with youth peacebuilders from countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Many of these countries face the world’s deadliest wars, as well as campaigns by extremist groups to incite youth to violence. In the face of these challenges, these youth leaders are among their countries’ most effective peacebuilders. The dialogues with the Dalai Lama are aimed at helping these youth leaders to build the practical skills and personal resilience needed to build peace in their own countries.