AJWS Blog

The AJWS community has a lot to say about what's happening in the world. Read our insights about the struggle for justice and human rights around the globe — and meet the activists on the frontlines of the fight to build a better world.

The Power of Indigenous Women in Peru

Most things are forgotten over time, but for Mujeres de Anta—a collective group of Quechua Indigenous women and AJWS’s partner in Cusco, Peru—no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things they can never assign to oblivion; memories they cannot rub away.

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Colombian Farmers Face New Challenges From Flood

The Sinú River in northern Colombia has supported a diverse community of indigenous people for generations. The Zenu and Embera people who live by its banks depend on the river for fish, irrigation and drinking water. But in 2000, the Urrá Dam, built by a consortium of Colombian, Swedish and Russian companies, submerged over 7,400 …

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Surviving Conflict and Violence in Colombia

My visit to Familaires Colombia, an AJWS partner working to support relatives of forcibly disappeared people from the long lasting armed conflict, was profound. I came to understand some of the causes and the real impact of the conflict in the daily lives of people from small towns. It really surprised me, on the one …

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A Fight for Lake Turkana, A Fight for Life

I am writing from a tiny plane in the sky on our way back from Turkana (northwestern Kenya) to Nairobi. It is hard at times to get your head around the fact that both places are in the same country. When traveling to Nairobi or elsewhere in Kenya, Turkana people will often say “I’m going …

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Is Food Aid Really a “Gift from the American People”?

Originally published on the Pursue blog. U.S. foreign food aid dates back to U.S. reconstruction efforts in Europe following World War II.  Over the last 60 years, it has morphed into a $2.2 billion business with vested interests ranging from international development organizations to farmers, processors and shipping companies. Our foreign food aid has become highly politicized …

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