Melissa on the road

Journalist at RFI (ex-DW, BBC, CBC, F24...), writer (on art, music, street art...), I work in radio, podcasting, online, on films. As a writer, I'm a contributor to the New Arab, Art UK, Byline Times, the i paper... Born in Paris, I was also based in Prague, Miami, London, Nairobi (covering East Africa), Bangui, and in Bristol, UK. I also reported from Italy, Germany, Haiti, Tunisia, Liberia, Senegal, India, Mexico, Iraq, South Africa... This blog is to share my work and cultural discoveries.

16/10/2024

Gaza: The US must move beyond warnings to Israel and "act decisively to end its complicity in these atrocities”

DAWN Statement on Letter from US
Secretaries of Defence and State to Israel

Washington, DC – October 15, 2024

On October 13, 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel warning that “failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining [humanitarian measures] may have implications for U.S. policy under NSM-20 and relevant U.S. law.”

The letter demands “urgent and sustained actions by your government this month” to reverse the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.

It calls for several specific steps, including “rescinding evacuation orders when there is no operational need” and facilitating a minimum of 350 trucks per day of aid into Gaza through all major crossings. DAWN issues the following statement in response to the letter:

“However long overdue, this official warning that Israel must stop blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza or face a suspension of U.S. military aid is an important and unprecedented signal that Israel has crossed even the Biden administration’s permissive red lines,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s executive director.

“We now need the Biden administration to show action, not just words, in enforcing U.S. laws, which prohibit aid to Israel given not only its relentless obstruction of humanitarian relief but deliberate starvation and incessant bombardment of Gaza’s civilians.”

“The language in this letter acknowledges the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from northern Gaza but stops short of naming it,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director.

“In the letter, the Secretaries write that evacuation orders have ‘forced 1.7 million people into a narrow coastal zone,’ resulting in extreme overcrowding and high risks of lethal contagion.

While the letter demands Israel rescind evacuation orders, it is time for the U.S. to enforce these demands immediately rather than issuing vague deadlines. The U.S. must move beyond warnings and act decisively to end its complicity in these atrocities.”

DAWN is a non-profit organisation based in Washington, D.C.

Art from Brazil to Africa

My latest:

Culture

Artistic exchange between Brazil and Angola aims to reclaim colonial ties

For the first time in its 73-year history, the Sao Paulo Biennial is taking artworks to the African continent with a travelling showcase in Angola. The event's curators told RFI they hope the project will highlight long-standing correspondences between Angola and Brazil, united by a shared colonial past.

Issued on: 12/10/2024

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241012-sao-paulo-biennial-artistic-exchange-between-brazil-and-angola-aims-to-reclaim-colonial-ties

15/10/2024

I need more sad music...

Tamino - 'Babylon' (Live)

On the road again...

England, Oct. 2024

One shot from 1:54 London, Oct. 2024

More soon...

06/10/2024

Institut des Cultures d'Islam - Paris

Réouverture de l'espace Rue Léon avec l'exposition 'L'Esprit du Geste' - Oct. 2024

05/10/2024

Parisians for Palestinians and Lebanese

Paris, Saturday 5 October 2024

04/10/2024

New post on my newsletter: Gaza, a year later...

Gaza, a year later...

NEWSLETTER October 2023 plunged the territory and the world into chaos, as respect for human rights fell to a new low, and the United Nations is powerless... Now what? Melissa Chemam Oct 04, 2024