Gaza
Though Proximities primarily focuses on under-reported stories, it would be remiss of me, particularly as a former Al Jazeera journalist, not to begin today’s newsletter without paying tribute to the entire Al Jazeera crew deliberately murdered by Israel last night. Their names were Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal. Anas, the most prominent among them, was the target. Israel made unfounded allegations against him to justify the killing without, as is standard, providing evidence. Anas was an exceptional journalist. No, he was a special journalist. He was dogged in his reporting from Gaza over the past almost two years. You could see, especially during the last few months, that he was exhausted and that his emotions, after seeing so many of his people killed, were weighing on him. But he wasn’t afraid to show it. He was true to himself on camera and people loved him for it. They felt bonded to him. They felt that he was their eyes as they watched the horror unfold, and often, he was also their heart. Last month, Anas broke down live on Al Jazeera and began to cry after a day of watching Palestinians being brought to hospital, some wounded, some starving. As he wept, voices from the crowd began to ring out. "Keep going, Anas. Keep going. You are our voice," they shouted. And that is exactly why he was murdered today alongside his entire team.
Because that voice was too powerful.
RIP Anas, Mohammed, Ibrahim, Moamen, and Mohammed.
Kenya
Police have opened fire on protesters at the Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. The demonstrations erupted over a shortage of food and water after the Kenyan authorities reduced humanitarian funding, blaming US President Donald Trump’s drastic cuts on U.S. aid spending. Kakuma is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world, housing about 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers who are largely from Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan. “Workers are not getting paid and it is blamed on Trump. No medication in hospital - it's Trump, now we have to pay for school fees and it's Trump, everything is Trump. We are tired of Trump," Mama Kayembe, a Congolese refugee, told AP.
More from Africa News here.
Colombia
Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe has died two months after being shot in the head at a campaign event. Uribe, a lawmaker for the rightwing opposition, was a fierce critic of leftwing President Gustavo Petro. The attack is considered the worst outbreak of political violence in Colombia since the 80s and 90s when four presidential candidates were murdered by drug cartels. A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the shooting but officials say they are still looking for “the intellectual authors” behind it.
More from Reuters here.
Thank you for the eloquent tribute to Anas and his colleagues.
With each passing day, it feels as though the very concept of justice is being erased from the world.
I don't know how you maintain your sanity as you cover the horrors that mankind inflicts on one other.
Deplorable news. Forgive my late reply.