THE STRAND — Volume 1, Issue 2
In an age of polarization and separation, THE STRAND is a newsletter about human connections, brought to you by Search for Common Ground.
CONNECTORS: Hallé
“I want to become a great journalist, know what my country is going through, and provide information to those who do not have it.” — Hallé, 12-year-old reporter from Mali
Read: Instagram
HUMANS OF WADI KHALED
A stateless coffee shop owner. A language teacher. A disabled social activist. A martial arts trainer. A whole community, piecing itself back together.
In Wadi Khaled, one of the most impoverished and marginalized areas of Lebanon, Search for Common Ground supported people from all walks of life in their journey to becoming peacebuilders and social activists.
Together, they are turning Wadi Khaled into an inclusive, peaceful home. Read their stories here.
RECOMMENDED: The Loneliness Epidemic
Despite the availability of technology that permits instantaneous connection with anyone in the world, loneliness is increasing. More than that: it’s becoming a health crisis.
This episode of The Ezra Klein Show deep dives into the “loneliness epidemic” that is engulfing the world’s most connected societies.
Listen: Spotify I Apple Podcasts I Google Podcasts
THE POLICY CORNER
“The United States for decades has made peace look unimaginable or unobtainable. We have normalized war. […] The alternative is not “isolationism” but something closer to the opposite: peaceful, lawful international cooperation.”
— Read more in The Washington Post.
“For years, US humanitarian aid has focused on coping with problems rather than solving them. We shouldn’t just be saving lives, we should be taking steps to end human suffering in a holistic way that takes core reasons into account.”
— from Search’s press statement about this week’s vote on the Global Fragility Act
“This is the first time [peacebuilding] appears in both the Conservative and Labour party manifestos […] However, promoting peace and preventing conflict takes more than words.”
— Prior to last week’s elections, International Alert analyzed how committed the UK’s major parties are to peacebuilding. Read more on International Alert’s website.
THE TWEET
EU Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Simon Mordue, met with Kenyan activists who are building alliances between security forces and citizens in order to reduce violence in their country. Read more about it in Search’s Progress Report.
And just like that, the second issue of THE STRAND is also the last of the decade. Happy holidays, and see you on January 9th, 2020!
