A selection of stories from across Europe, North Africa, and Central America. Some of my favorites include this multi-year investigation into a triple murder on the Greece-Turkey border, this piece about a Saharan desert town being wiped off the map, the last places in Europe where it’s illegal to have an abortion, and the stigma against unmarried mothers in Tunisia.
PEOPLE
SboNdaba — The expressive dance company housed in an old church in Cape Town // WePresent
A Matter of Honor // The Atavist
The story of Sanaa Gateja, the ‘Bead King’ of Uganda // WePresent
Aicha Filali: Embroideries exploring Tunisian marital traditions // WePresent
Jawher Ouni: Capturing the essence of Tunisia // WePresent
Learn how to manage your time with Zack (video) // Unicef (Episode 5 of the Learn With Me initiative)
The unapologetically gay, erotic drawings of Soufiane Ababri // Hyperallergic
As anxiety and depression soar, Greek mental health professionals come to the rescue // Incubator for Media Education and Development (English, Greek)
The last person hand painting movie posters in Greece // Vice Magazine
For victims of domestic abuse, lockdown is not safe // Incubator for Media Education and Development (English, Greek)
Dora Dalila Cheffi: How it feels being a young mixed woman in Tunisia // WePresent
The marble sculptors of Tinos // WePresent
Henna artist Azra Khamissa on her unconventional approach to the art form // Allure
Killing spree: when migrant women disappeared on the island of Cyprus, no one went looking for them // Airmail
Activist’s murder in Tunisia attests to racism’s grip // Al Monitor
Greek roads prove deadly to migrants on busy land route to Europe // The New Humanitarian
Greece’s man in the migrant morgue // The New Humanitarian
Lena Platonos and the secret sound of Greek electronica // Resident Advisor
Meet the last practitioners of Greece’s whistling language // The Outline
Greece’s old gods are ready for your sacrifice // The Outline
I became a citizen of Bitnation, a blockchain-powered virtual nation. Now what? // Vice Motherboard
‘They’re not seen as human beings’: life for unmarried mothers in Tunisia // The Guardian
Can Stambeli, the spiritual music of Tunisia, be saved? // Vice Noisey
Long-silent victims of Tunisia’s dictatorship speak out // Al Jazeera
Rosh Hashanah in Tunisia: a rabbi reflects on the power of Muslim-Jewish solidarity // Quartz
PLACES
World’s next great food cities: Marseille, France // Food & Wine
Retreating into the remote stone villages of northwest Greece // Conde Nast Traveler
Off the beaten path in Bulgaria // Travel + Leisure
Sailing around Greece in the fall offers a second chance at summer // Travel + Leisure
A tasting tour of the Greek island’s best natural wineries // Travel + Leisure
6 Greek destinations where the locals love to go // Travel + Leisure
Greece’s new tactic of migrant expulsion from deep inside its land borders // The New Humanitarian
Our children’s lives are on the line: the ongoing battle for Guam // The Guardian
The best European wine regions you’ve never heard of // Travel + Leisure
Greek island refugee camps face coronavirus ‘disaster’, aid groups warn // The New Humanitarian
For migrants and refugees, Greece has become a hostile place // World Politics Review
Tunisie : station balnéaire, saison mortuaire // ARTE Reportage avec Olivia Dehez (French)
The last places in Europe where it’s illegal to get an abortion // Vice Magazine
An all-natural Greek skincare line // Travel + Leisure
Tunis from the inside // Four Seasons Magazine
The EU-Turkey deal: Evros, the new deadly route to Europe (video) // CEAR (Spanish) GCR (English)
The Netherlands’ burgeoning free speech problem // The New Republic
Kosovo is an all-night party and shows no signs of slowing down // Conde Nast Traveler
A visit to the biggest little mosque in Honduras // Atlas Obscura
The plan to build a gold mine on a seismic fault in Greece // Vice Motherboard
Lessons from ancient Greek coinage // The Economist
22 things to know before you go to Athens // Roads & Kingdoms
Behind the gender politics of Berlin’s female fight club // Vice Magazine
Sand is wiping this Tunisian town off the map // Vice Motherboard
How the world’s largest tropical theme park ended up on a former Nazi airfield // Quartz
19 things to know before you go to Tunis // Roads & Kingdoms
The doobie underground: cannabis social clubs in Italy // Roads & Kingdoms
‘There is nothing like this festival’: Gnawa in Morocco // Roads & Kingdoms
POLITICS
9 ways 9/11 changed U.S. politics forever // Teen Vogue
Guam’s militarization by the U.S. is also a story of indigenous resistance // Teen Vogue
Greek refugee camps face coronavirus ‘disaster’, aids groups warn // The New Humanitarian
How the U.S. military used armed force to take over the world // Teen Vogue
Break It Up Traces the history of secession movements in the United States // Teen Vogue
Does America need a truth and reconciliation commission? // POLITCO
George W. Bush doesn’t deserve praise for being better than Trump (op-ed) // Teen Vogue
Gays in Tunisia still suffer under archaic laws // Al-Monitor
Why is Greece such a hot spot of left wing terrorism? // The New Republic
Unprepared & overwhelmed: Greece’s resurgent river border with Turkey // The New Humanitarian
Arab spring memories fresh as Tunisians protest MBS // Al-Monitor
Only 34% of Macedonians voted in the referendum on “Macedonia” // Quartz
Turkey’s band of pro-Erdoğan hackers keep trolling Europe // Vice News
Tunisia protests highlight worrying decline in press freedoms // Al-Monitor
What does the Gulf crisis have to do with Tunisian women? // Al-Monitor
Two Americans detained in tense Tunisia border town // Al-Monitor
Tunisia’s tourism: the Russians are coming // The Economist
Illegal trees: the Tunisian smuggling racket you’ve never heard of // Vice Motherboard
Deal Signed: Merkel in Tunisia // Vice News
Border Control: Tunisia attempts to stop terrorism with a wall // Vice Magazine
Why foreign fighters abandon ISIL // Al Jazeera
Sarah Souli 