Ramona Wadi

Ramona Wadi is an independent researcher, freelance journalist, book reviewer and blogger. She writes about the struggle for memory in Palestine and Chile, historical legitimacy, the ramifications of settler-colonialism, the correlation between humanitarian aid and human rights abuses, the United Nations as an imperialist organisation, indigenous resistance, la nueva cancion Chilena and Latin American revolutionary philosophy with a particular focus on Fidel Castro, Jose Marti and Jose Carlos Mariategui. Her articles, book reviews, interviews and blogs have been published in Middle East Monitor, Upside Down World, Truthout, Irish Left Review, Gramsci Oggi, Cubarte, Rabble.ca, Toward Freedom, History Today, Chileno and other outlets, including academic publications and translations into several languages.

The Artwork of Palestinian Cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh

“Most artists describe the Palestinian as a hero, even if imprisoned or killed by Israelis. I prefer to convey the message that Palestinians are human beings, so I portray suffering. The hero does not need anyone to stand with him — the hero is strong — but human beings need and demand someone to show solidarity with them.”

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Lives Interrupted by Mohammad Sabaaneh (Courtesy of Saqi Books)

RAMALLAH, PALESTINE -- Mohammad Sabaaneh’s incisive artwork has earned him a barrage of antagonism from Israel and Palestinian political factions. In February 2013, he was issued an administrative detention order by Israel and jailed for five months for alleged association with Hamas through his artwork. Some of his cartoons were published in a

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Guatemala’s Israeli Ties Drive Decision to Move Embassy to Jerusalem

In recent years, Israel has been increasingly turning its attention to Latin America. The shift toward right-wing governments in the region, the latest example being Chile, may facilitate such diplomacy.

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
People wearing T-shirts with the Israeli flag demonstrate during a protest against Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom decision of supporting the creation of a Palestinian state, Guatemala City, Oct. 3, 2011. (AP/Rodrigo Abd)

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA -- The unfolding of events since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, against international law and U.N. resolutions, revealed the historical bond between the settler-colonial state and Guatemala -- the latter being the first country after the U.S. to declare

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Despite State Policy, Chile is Well Placed to Further the Palestinian Struggle

Experiences of torture, murder and disappearances, which form part of Chilean collective memory, have contributed to a strong activism that shifts away from government policy to create bonds of solidarity with fellow victims of oppression and colonization like the Palestinians.

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Chileans protest U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, outside the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile, Dec. 11, 2017. (AP/Luis Hidalgo)

SANTIAGO, CHILE -- As protests worldwide rage over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel, along with plans to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, Latin American countries have been largely united in condemning the decision. In Chile, outgoing President Michelle Bachelet issued a statement in

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The Consequences of the Symbolic Recognition of Palestine

Other than the obsolete two-state paradigm, there has been little discussion of what such recognition actually means in practice, or whether it could generate a tangible outcome for Palestinians.

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP/Jason DeCrow)

Seeking recognition of Palestine has been one of the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic strategies which lose significance when juxtaposed against Mahmoud Abbas’s collaboration with the Israeli occupation. Behind statements of recognition lies silence and the tacit acceptance of Israel’s colonization of Palestinian land and forced displacement of

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Abbas’ Cybercrime Law Chills and Silences Palestinian Journalists and Dissenters

“The majority of causes of repression and intimidation, from both the PA and Hamas, has been in regard to speaking out in favor or against one of these two bodies. If an election is to really take place, we see a free and fair press as being an essential part of that process.”

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Palestinian journalists protest in occupied Ramallah in the West Bank. March 13, 2017. (Mohammad Asad/Middle East Monitor/CC)

PALESTINE -- Five months after Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas issued the Cybercrime Law by Presidential Decree, the Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has launched an online campaign against the legislation, in a bid to raise awareness and mobilize against the injustices enshrined in the law. The

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How Profit Deals With Protest: The Disappearance Of Argentinian Activist Santiago Maldonado

The Maldonado case has exposed state repression of Mapuche resistance and activism. Digging deeper, we find linkage of the activist’s disappearance to capitalist exploitation — and to the clothing company, Benetton, which owns the largest share of territory allocated to a foreign company in Latin America.

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Demonstrators hold photos of missing activist Santiago Maldonado, during a protest at Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Human rights groups say Maldonado went missing a month ago today, after Argentine border police captured him during an operation against Mapuche Indians who were blocking a highway in Argentina's Patagonia. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Over 40 days have passed since the forced disappearance of Argentinian activist Santiago Maldonado. President Mauricio Macri’s government appears to be more preoccupied with protecting the impunity of the Argentine Military Police, also known as the gendarmerie, than with listening to the demands for Maldonado’s release -- or at least for

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Samidoun’s Charlotte Kates Discusses The PA’s Complicity In The Death Of Omar Nayef Zayed

The true “embassies” of the Palestinian people are the community centers and grassroots institutions built by Palestinians in exile and diaspora everywhere in the world, that support Palestinian refugees, prisoners and strugglers and defend the Palestinian cause.’

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Mideast Israel Obit Ariel Sharon

  SOFIA, Bulgaria --- The brutal death of a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine at the Palestinian Authority’s embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, serves as a grim reminder of the interminable cycle of the PA’s collaboration with, and dependence upon, Israel. Omar Nayef Zayed, originally from the West Bank city of Jenin, was

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