Progressive, pro-refugees and openly gay, the former MEP and current mayor of Słupsk – a remote town near the Baltic coast – Robert Biedroń is an outlier in the Polish political scene. Here is the story of a man who…
On the path of most resistance with the gay mayor changing Poland
Tibetans Divided Over Cult of Martyrs
DHARAMSALA, India – Nestled in the Kangra Valley in the shadow of the Dhauladhar Mountains in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamsala is beautiful to behold. But the scenic landscape belies a dark reality: the cult of martyrs…
Earthquakes Don’t Kill, Buildings Do – Or Is It Inequity?
KATHMANDU – 70-year-old Chiute Tamang was working in his field when the earth shook on Apr 25. He grabbed a tree. His wife and daughter were inside the house at the time, but managed to run out. In the blink…
Bangladesh Ailing After Aila
It has been four years since Cyclone Aila struck Bangladesh, triggering floods and widespread destruction. But the villagers of Koira subdistrict, among the worst affected of the 11 districts hit by the cyclone, are yet to recover from its impact.
Bangladesh Workers Short of Compensation
DHAKA – Six months after the worst man-made disaster in Bangladesh’s history, safety conditions in garment factories have a chance to improve. But not the lives of survivors or the victims’ next of kin. On Apr. 24, the collapse of…
Being patriotic by collaborating with the enemy?
Tashi Tsering, 1929-2014 OBITUARY “Old” Tibet was devoid of self-made men. Your fate was sealed at birth and, as a result of deeds from your previous lives, supposed to be accepted with humility, whether you were peasant, nomad or aristocrat.…
RED TIBET’s Chapter One: The Liberated
Robert Stefanicki Red Tibet Chapter One: The Liberated That summer, there was an increasing incidence of deformed animals being born. Then one bright and sunny day, when water began to drip from the golden dragon-shaped gargoyle on the roof…
Iraq, Three Months After the War
Three months after the end of the war, Iraqis express a growing sense of disappointment in the new, American order—or, to be more precise, the lack of order. There is no dictatorship, but there is also no electricity, work, safety,…
Waiting to Go Home
“When the iron bird flies over us, and horses have wheels instead of hooves, we Tibetans will be scattered all over the world.” -Milarepa, 9th century saint and poet