© Reuters / POOL New
Editorial

What does Rwanda gain from the refugee deal with the UK?

The United Kingdom aims to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, where they will  be subject to the local asylum procedures. Boris Johnson wants the British electorate to forget party gate. But what does Rwanda gain from it?
© Konstantinakos Tsanakas
Column

The myth of reverse racism

Can white people be treated as racist as black people are? Writer Chika Unigwe thinks such reverse racism is ‘a nonsensical idea’. ‘That myth persists because some people ignore the link between racism and power. In a world constructed to maintain white privilege, you have good reason to fear discrimination.’
© Konstantinakos Tsanakas
Column

Let’s fight to change who does the gatekeeping, not who does the translations of our works

A year ago, the young Amanda Gorman recited her The Hill We Climb for the new US President Joe Biden. When that poem was translated into Dutch, there was a heated discussion about who was most suitable for this. Author and MO* columnist Chika Unigwe looks back on the debate.
© Fleur Leysen
Blog Post

The Lost Voices of Dzaleka

The Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi is home to more refugees than the camp can handle, blogger Fleur Leysen noted during her visits there. The temporary camp was built for 8,000 people in need, but quickly turned into a permanent slum housing 52,000 forgotten refugees.
©  Konstantinakos Tsanakas
Column

African literature doesn’t need the Nobel Prize to make it valid

In 2021, the Nobel Prize for literature went to Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah. Writer Chika Unigwe believes that African literature does not need the Nobel Prize to be validated, but it is good to see influential bodies like the Swedish Academy recognizing works from the continent.
© Konstantinos Tsanakas
Column

Colonization was the epitome of arrogance

There is still a need for an honest history of colonization. This is illustrated by a playful action in London by a man who claimed to have “discovered” the River Thames, writes MO*columnist Chika Unigwe. ‘To discover something that already exists and stick another name on it is pure arrogance.’
© Theo Beck
Interview

‘Ecosocialism (including degrowth) is the way forward’

Jonas Van der Slycken, guest lecturer on sustainable development and columnist for mo.be, where he writes articles on the topic, believes in an ecosocialism that says farewell to the growth economy. ‘Ecosocialism does not need to be as counter-hegemonic as the degrowth movement, but as system-changing.’
© Maarten Peeters
Analysis

A three-headed dragon is depopulating Europe

A three-headed dragon is haunting Europe. It is ageing the population, causing women to have fewer children and pushing hundreds of thousands away from their homelands. Bulgaria, for example, has the fastest declining population in the world. The European Commission is putting up its defences against this threat. It appointed a first-ever and ...
© Reuters
News

Coronavirus in Northwest Syria: ‘We have survived ten years of war just to die of a virus’

COVID-19 is leaving a trail of destruction throughout Northwest Syria. The region, which has experienced the evils of war in recent years, is an easy prey for the virus. Refugees in Belgium are losing one loved one after the other. MO* spoke to doctors and family members of victims.
© Sociaal.Net / Lisa Develtere (foto top left), rights reserved (other). Collage: MO*
Report

You need a good assist to score a goal

How does a young, unaccompanied migrant find his way in a new country? Education. Work. Language. The standard answers to the question are not incorrect, but certainly not always sufficient. Why isn’t more attention paid to sports?
CC Gie Goris (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Interview

Sulaiman Addonia: ‘Not what should be is important, but what can be’

With his novel “Silence is my mother tongue”, Sulaiman Addonia breaks open our imagination about life in refugee camps. Gie Goris accompanied the author to the dark room where he developed his characters: the ponds of Ixelles. An interview about speaking with silence and sex as spirituality.
Klaus Dodds
Interview

Conflict, Borders, and Division: The Fallout from the Climate Crisis

From uncontrollable fires in southern Europe to unprecedented flooding in Belgium and Germany, the summer of 2021 witnessed a string of environmental disasters. In his book, "The New Border Wars", Klaus Dodds predicts that floods will continue to ravage our continents, with devastating consequences.

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