My name is Jihad and I'm not a terrorist
He must be around four years old now. Jihad Yaghi was born in November 2011 in Germany to a name that made headlines and sparked controversy.
While seemingly trying to show no link between his name and what kind of person he will morph into, the Daily Mail reported the birth of the boy in an article that read: “There is of course no suggestion that innocent Jihad will grow up to become the kind of terror extremist that his name suggests.”
The meticulously chosen words of this statement may reprieve baby Jihad but they certainly sentence his name to the rope.
Source: Your Middle East
'I am strong - I am not a victim,' says this Turkish 'co-mayor'
In the mostly Kurdish areas under its purview, the minority Peace and Democracy party has appointed 46 women to act as co-mayors with their elected male counterparts. One of them is 34-year-old Berivan Elif Kilic, chosen as comayor of Kocakoy, a sleepy village of 17,000 people located on the climb up to the mountains in southeastern Turkey.
More than half her life ago, Kilic’s family entered her into an illegal marriage with a relative. At age 28, she escaped the abusive relationship with two kids in tow.
When she took office as co-mayor last year, the media focused mostly on her dramatic backstory. But visiting her a year into her term, it’s clear Kilic is not interested in talking about the past. “I am strong … I am not a victim,” she declares in between phone calls in her office.
Source: Global Voices
In the occupied West Bank, even hiking is political
Two young Palestinian guys pass by, not looking all too interested in our hiking group, though their facial expressions betray a distinguishable touch of bewilderment. Our routes cross on a small, dusty trail in the Wadi Qelt in the Jordan Valley. As quickly as they appeared, the two men disappear in the other direction.
Hikers are a rather extraordinary appearance in the West Bank. “Walking around in nature for fun is not something a lot of Palestinians do,” our guide, Suhail Hijazi, explains. Hikers asking local Palestinians for directions might be surprised when the response arrives as a politely suggest to take a cab.
Source: +972 Mag
