Exploring one of the historical places, The grave of Hakim Nasir-e- Khusraw in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan

We Will Not Be Broken We step into 2024 facing and feeling the intensifying and brutal pressure of Empire’s genocidal, extractive and exploitive violence in the US, Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Haiti, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and beyond.    We step into 2024 remembering and protecting the life-giving wisdom of our teachers and ancestors, who remind us of that which Empire cannot take away from us: our collective power when we act lovingly from the deep knowing of and commitment to our interconnection.    The future is relational. And the future is now.    We are being called to step into our collective power to protect one another and our humanity. We are being called to take risks in service of solidarity and collective freedom. We are being called (again) to recalibrate to a new reality in which our grief and rage weigh heavy alongside the beauty of our joy and hope.   May this year bring us all deep insight, meaningful connection, and renewed inspiration for how best to channel our gifts into powerful, liberating service for the benefit of all.

"🇦🇫 Afghanistan: Rising Resilience 🌄✨ Witness the unwavering spirit of a nation in our latest video, where ancient traditions meet modern innovation. From bustling markets to remote landscapes, Afghanistan's resilience shines through. 🎬 Subscribe now to be part of the journey and discover the untold stories of determination and hope. #AfghanistanResilience #InnovationAfghanistan #RisingResilience"

Al-Ayn's 2023 Activities Report is here! Read our annual summary to see how your support has touched lives across Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ghana. Check out the full report by visiting https://lnkd.in/egXE4-ER to see the impact we've made together.

"🇦🇫 Afghanistan: Rising Resilience 🌄✨ Witness the unwavering spirit of a nation in our latest video, where ancient traditions meet modern innovation. From bustling markets to remote landscapes, Afghanistan's resilience shines through. 🎬 Subscribe now to be part of the journey and discover the untold stories of determination and hope. #AfghanistanResilience #InnovationAfghanistan #RisingResilience"

Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular American war. It was a classic Cole War clash between the US and the Dino-Soviets, which claimed the lives of over 4 million Vietnamese 🇻🇳. Much of this is well-known by now. Less known is the spillover to neighboring countries. Did you know that Laos 🇱🇦 was a collateral victim of the Vietnam War and intensely bombed by the US in order to disturb the logistics on the Ho Chi Minh trail? As a result Laos is now the most heavily bombed country in the world (relative to its population). Laos was bombed 270 million times and it is estimated that approximately 80 million of these bombs are still unexploded and causing civilian casualties. Neighbor Cambodia does not fare much better. Cambodia is one of the countries with highest number of unexploded landmines in the world. Bombs cover almost the whole surface of Laos. See the map below.

https://lnkd.in/d-c_mth6 Africa in the New Cold War Hudson Institute 17 Oct 2024 With a civil war tearing apart Sudan, terrorist threats escalating across Africa, tensions growing between Ethiopia, Somalia, and Egypt, and Russia deepening its involvement in the Sahel, Africa remains a hotbed of geopolitical turmoil. The United States military’s recent withdrawal from Niger and the Russia-China-Iran axis’s rising influence further exemplify the pressing foreign policy obstacles the US faces on the continent. How is great power competition reshaping Africa? What major terrorist organizations threaten African security, and why do these groups matter for America’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Middle Eastern allies? And most importantly, what conclusions should policymakers draw from the Biden administration’s Africa policy?

Peace Please! Although it is maybe too late and surely should have been done much earlier, if Hamas would just unilaterally release all remaining 100 Israeli hostages as the ICJ and the UN requested, it would gain more credibility as a party who wants peace. This would force Israel in the position of a need to reassess its strategy because most of its arguments against Hamas would no longer be valid. This could be a starting point for a permanent truce. There is absolutely no future for any party based on the narrative of its radicals..... everyone who wants to claim territory exclusively for themselves will only find eternal war, violence and destruction, whereas the moderates hold the key to peace by non-violent interaction and dialog as equals. This is the only path to replace fear and hatred by trust and solidarity and to solve the conflict forever. Since Gaza has been carpet bombed, it is and will stay uninhabitable for at least a decade. Chances on a two-state solution have therefore become minimal. The only way out of the conflict is thus to learn to live together as equals and to share the country as one union. Practically, it means in my opinion to go back to the times of Canaan and establish (democratic) autonomous local communities and flexibly spread them over the entire territory of Canaan. These autonomous communities can coexist and come together in two confederations of communities (nations), an Israeli and a Palestinian one, both sharing the country as a union, this is a hybrid outcome with elements of both a two- and a one-state solution. There is space for all cultural identities this way without any minority versus majority issues. Currently, such scenario seems very far fetched, but, the Israelis and Palestinians belong to Canaan and nobody outside is waiting for an(other) exodus of any of the two. www.canaan.community & www.pax.ngo & www.convergence.ngo

Israel should immediately publish a message to anyone holding a hostage that they will receive safe passage abroad (there are countries that will take them in) and a serious sum of money in exchange for the release of hostages. They should publish a phone number that those holding hostages can call to release hostages. It is impossible to predict and know what the fate of the hostages will be now, therefore Israel must act quickly and also inform Egypt and Qatar that they are ready to reach a deal to return all the hostages and end the war. Israel should express a willingness to accept another administration, not that of Hamas in Gaza, which will manage the Strip in the coming years. There may be a situation and an opportunity to reach a deal but it is very essential to act now. (Gershon Baskin, 10-17-2024)