In 2018, SMEX launched a petition in collaboration with the Lebanese band Al-Rahel Al-Kabir to make their songs – which had been censored from iTunes Middle East – available on the platform.
Tag Archives: human-rights
Violence against women: Three stories
Three real-life incidents, which I was a direct witness to, have contributed to shaping my perception of violence against women. One At the age of twelve, I woke up one morning to the news of the killing of my 14-year-old…
The post Violence against women: Three stories appeared first on sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan..
My Afghan Diary
Arzu Qaderi is an Afghan-born German filmmaker and presenter. In 2017, she travelled to Afghanistan for the first time to film for My Afghan Diary, a documentary film of interviews with inspiring, successful Afghan women with the determination to achieve…
The post My Afghan Diary appeared first on sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan..
Óscar Escaped Death Threats in Honduras— Only to Face Detention in the U.S.
Think about it folks – if we were all anti-immigration or if migration wasn’t necessary for evolution of humans, We’d all still be living in what is now Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia and perhaps some other hominid would be living and migrating in the rest of the world!
Fleeing death threats in Honduras, Óscar Armando Valle Rios crossed the U.S. border not to the safety of his family but straight into detention.
Despite their own immigration struggles, his relatives are trying to raise the $10,000 bond to free him. Here, Edwin Espinoza, Óscar’s cousin, talks with Lezak Shallat about Óscar; he also created this GoFundMe campaign for contributions: https://www.gofundme.com/free-oscar-armando-valle-rios Please consider a donation!
My cousin Óscar is what you’d call a family man. He’s young, in his early 20s, and his life has always revolved around his young daughter, his wife and his mother. He’s a baker, and would leave his house in Tegucigalpa early every morning. Each night when he got home, first thing, he’d find his little girl and hug and kiss her, and then his wife. Then he’d go and greet his mother. That was his routine.
Oscar with his daughter
At least, that was his routine until escalating threats from the pandilla 18th Street gang forced Óscar to move his wife and daughter into hiding. Pandilleros had been following him for months, trying to recruit him. One day, they followed him for five blocks before overcoming him. They forced him to kneel and put a gun to his head, saying: “Join us or we’ll kill you.”
Óscar begged for his life and prayed aloud, asking God for one last chance to make it home safely. That’s when he decided to join his brother in Miami. Because if he stayed — or if he returns — they’d kill him. We have friends who were killed for refusing to join the gangs. If you refuse to get involved, they’ll punish you.
Óscar wants safety, to work hard and create a better life for his family.
But he hasn’t had the chance, because he was picked up by the border patrol right after crossing into the U.S. near Mexicali. That was about six weeks ago. He did that interview they call “la creíble,” where you explain why you had to leave and why you can’t return. And he was sent straight into detention in Adelanto. That’s somewhere in California.
The court set a $10,000 bond, so we’re trying to raise the money to free him.
Óscar doesn’t have a lawyer. I’m told that you don’t get a lawyer if you turn yourself in. You have to find your own lawyer. I’ve made dozens of calls to lawyers but they never call back.
Óscar’s brother is in Miami and I’m in New York. We can’t visit him. But we’re doing what we can to help him. And it’s hard, because we have our own immigration problems. I’m also from Tegucigalpa, and I was also threatened by gangs. I’ve been here about six months and I just presented my papers to court, without a lawyer. I came here with my wife and daughter. It’s been very, very tough. But we can’t give up.

My cousin loves his daughter so much. She is his daily inspiration to continue fighting.
Editor’s note: Edwin proclaims his faith in this music video he stars in and helped produce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqLL6yzQkNs
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Óscar Escaped Death Threats in Honduras— Only to Face Detention in the U.S. was originally published in IMM Print on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Women and Girls Are Fighting for Their Rights — and Their Lives
Home is a battleground for a shocking number of women and girls worldwide: 50,000 were killed last year by partners or family members.
Women tortured, teachers arrested and brutal ‘tests’ for LGBTQI+
Saudi Arabia tortures women activists, Tunisian LGBTQI+ endure ‘anal tests’, Morocco sentences Hirak activists, and Iran cracks down on journalists, teachers and labour activists.
In the name of religion
Allahu Akbar, they chant in overwhelming frenzy, In vain our men are slain in the name of religion, Take off your rose tinted spectacles, Dare to ponder and look around yourself. You – my dear, average Pakistani – are not…
The post In the name of religion appeared first on sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan..
Home Office tried to deport 300 skilled migrants under terrorism law
UK expert at screwing people bureaucratically!
Teachers, doctors and lawyers among those wrongly forced to leave UK under security rules
The Home Office has wrongly tried to force at least 300 highly skilled migrants to leave Britain under an immigration rule designed primarily to tackle terrorists and those judged to be a threat to national security, government figures show.
The figures, revealed in a governmental review of its use of the controversial 322(5) provision, also suggest that up to 87 highly skilled migrants – including teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers and IT professionals – have actually been wrongly forced to leave the UK under the terrorism-related legislation. A further 400 people may have been affected.
By sand or by sea

What do migrant journeys from Africa to Europe and from Central America to the United States have in common? To begin with, the basic inhumanity of the response.
Indigenous Organizers Face Political Attack by Flagstaff Police for Anti-Columbus Day Demonstration

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Indigen.ous Organizers Face Political Attack by Flagstaff Police for Anti-Columbus Day Demonstration
By Indigenous Action
Censored News
OCCUPIED FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Flagstaff police stalked and cited an Indigenous organizer in so-called Flagstaff, Arizona last night for their alleged role in a demonstration that took to the streets the previous month on what is now recognized as “
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