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On this episode, Roqayah speaks with Arnessa Buljusmic-Kustura, a 27-year-old Muslim, Bosnian-American analyst, community organizer, and single mother, who went viral in 2015 after sharing her family’s experience with the US immigration process for refugees on Twitter. Kustura, who authored Letters From The Diaspora, a powerful collection of stories documenting the way in which Bosnians continue to deal with the aftermath of war, sheds light on the power of one’s identity and how it shapes the way your life, and the lives of those around you, manifests.
This interview is part of Roqayah’s Islam In America series at Shadowproof, which amplifies the stories of Muslim-Americans and what they struggle with in their day-to-day lives, beyond just Islamophobia.
Kustura, former executive director of the Bosniak American Association of Iowa, tells us about her struggles as a single, Muslim mother resisting patriarchal sentiment regarding divorce and single-motherhood, and how she is impacted by what she describes as performative expressions of sympathy as she goes through a battle with cancer.
Follow Arnessa on Twitter @Rrrrnessa. You can also purchase her book, Letters From The Diaspora, here.
This is only part of our interview with Cato and Doug from The South Lawn. If you want get the whole interview, support the show, and receive access to tons of other bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!
On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars are joined once more by our friends Douglas Williams and @Cato_of_Utica, two labor organizers who are the forces behind The South Lawn blog. We have them on to discuss the recent firebombing of the Orange County GOP office in North Carolina and the recent article they published about the event and its aftermath. Cato lives in North Carolina and has a lot of experience going up against the North Carolina GOP, experience he shares with us. We discuss the ridiculous fundraiser by supposed liberals on behalf of the North Carolina GOP to rebuild their offices, and how it will actually erode democratic norms in the state while pretending to preserve those norms. We discuss how the North Carolina GOP will use this money to hurt underrepresented groups that Liberals pretend to care about, and that this gesture only serves the smug self-righteousness of the participants. We also discuss the role and limitations of political violence, and how any resistance needs to be organized, disciplined, and goal-oriented, unlike what we saw in North Carolina.
Follow @Cato_of_Utica on twitter. Also follow Doug and Cato's blog at @TheSouthLawn.
Also, check out this article about the Rural Organizing Project that Cato mentions during the interview, as well as This Non-Violence Stuff'll Get You Killed.
If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!
On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars speak with Afrah Nasser, an independent Yemeni journalist and blogger. In 2011, she was forced to seek asylum in Sweden due to her vocal participation in the revolution against the government of Yemen’s long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Afrah helps us understand the current conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi-led, US-backed intervention in the Yemeni civil war has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, and created a massive humanitarian crisis for millions more.
We learn a bit of Yemen's political history, including how former President Saleh was able to maintain his grip on power for decades, and what finally led to his removal from power in the 2011 revolution. We hear about the weak government that followed, led by former Vice President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and the failures of that government to reach a negotiated peace in the country. Afrah tells us about the Houthi rebellion, beginning in 2004, which succeeded in deposing the Hadi government in 2015, plunging the country into a civil war. We discuss the strange alliance between the Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former President Saleh, who were once bitter enemies. We also discuss the Saudi Arabia-led, US-backed coalition that intervened on behalf of the Hadi government, in an attempt to stifle democracy in Yemen so it cannot threaten Saudi power in the region. Afrah tells us about war crimes committed against Yemeni civilians by both sides of the conflict, and the role that Western governments like the US government plays in perpetuating the violence. We focus on the recent "double-tap" strike by Saudi jets, using American bombs, that killed over 140 and injured over 500, where a funeral was bombed and then jets circled back around to bomb the same area to target first-responders. We also discuss the often-overlooked humanitarian crises affecting millions of Yemenis, including a cholera outbreak, famine, and extreme water shortages, and the role that actors on both sides of the war play in exacerbating these devastating circumstances. Finally, we ask Afrah what she sees as the path to a lasting peace for the country.
Follow Afrah on twitter at @Afrahnasser. Also be sure to check out her blog as well as the freelance work she does for several different outlets.
If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!
On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars cover the shocking rejection of a peace deal negotiated between the Colombian government and communist FARC rebels. To learn more about what's happening inside Colombia, we interview Sergio Andrés Rueda, a philosophy student, activist, and communist theorist at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in Colombia. Sergio gives us background on the 52-year insurgency gripping Colombia that has left over 220,000 dead, mostly civilians, and close to 6 million displaced. He explains the origins of the FARC guerilla movement and why they have resisted successive Colombian governments. We discuss the role of the Colombian military and closely associated paramilitary groups in atrocities meant to drive peasant farmers from their land to open it up to elite buyers and private corporations. We discuss Plan Colombia and the role of the US in perpetuating and intensifying the violence. Sergio goes over the major components of the deal, who was for it and who was against it, and why the popular referendum on the deal ultimately failed. We also ask Sergio about the motivations behind and impact of the decision of Human Rights Watch to oppose the deal. Finally, we discuss the situation today, following the rejection of the peace deal, and what comes next for the people of Colombia.
Follow Sergio on twitter at @RuedaSerg. You can also find some of his academic writings here.