It’s a bit odd to me that with my sense of geographical direction I’m ever regarded as a leader to guide groups in foreign travel. I’m recalling a steaming hot night in Lahore, Pakistan, when Josh Brollier and I, having enjoyed a lengthy dinner with Lahore University...
Don’t Look Away: The Siege of Gaza Must End
In Late June 2011, I'm going to be a passenger on “The Audacity of Hope,” the USA boat in this summer's international flotilla to break the illegal and deadly Israeli siege of Gaza. Organizers, supporters and passengers aim to nonviolently end the brutal collective...
‘One Blue Sky Above Us’
Hunger and Anger in Afghanistan
The Indefensible Drones: A Ground Zero Reflection
Unrest in Pakistan
“The military is the muscle that protects the ruling elite from the wrath of the people,” said Pakistani political analyst Dr. Mubashir Hassan. “Right now, people are out on the street; blocking roads, attacking railway stations, etc. If you read the papers, it seems...
Unarmed and Courageous: Emergency Workers in Afghanistan
For six days in late May 2010, Emergency, an Italian NGO providing surgery and basic health care in Afghanistan since 1999, welcomed us to visit facilities they operate in the capital city of Kabul and in Panjshir, a neighboring province. We lived with their hospital...
How Do Gazans Keep Going?
How Do We?
People have asked me, since I returned from Gaza, how people manage. How do they keep going after being traumatized by bombing and punished by a comprehensive state of siege? I wonder myself. I know that whether the loss of life is on the Gazan or the Israeli side of...
Gaza: Worse Than an Earthquake
GAZA CITY - Traffic on Sea Street, a major thoroughfare alongside Gaza's coastline, includes horses, donkeys pulling carts, cyclists, pedestrians, trucks and cars, mostly older models. Overhead, in stark contrast to the street below, Israel's ultra modern unmanned...
The Strongest Weapon of All
Dr. Atallah, a physician in Gaza, invited us to meet him in his home in Gaza City, just a few blocks away from the Shifaa Hospital. Early this morning, he and his family returned to their home after having fled five days earlier when the bombing attacks on Gaza City...