Roqayah Chamseddine

Roqayah Chamseddine is a Lebanese-American writer, published poet, and journalist, whose work can be found at Roqchams.com.

Wrapped In The Flag, Trump Attacks Protests Emblematic Of American Freedom

Thanks to his “base’s” reflexive flag worship, Donald Trump was able to inflame an already fraught situation — bringing, as is his want, angry division and chaos in his wake, a chaos he apparently needs to thrive both personally and politically.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
President Donald Trump walks off the stage after he speaks at campaign rally in support of Sen. Luther Strange, Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, in Huntsville, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick exploded across national headlines in 2016 for his evolving, bended-knee protest against systemic racism and police brutality. Kneeling during the national anthem became a rallying point for athletes not just in professional football but in other sports and at other levels, including among high school

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Nearly 2,000 Dead In Myanmar Amid Military-Led Ethnic Cleansing Of Rohingya

Aung Su Kyi, the leader of Myanmar, has been accused of “legitimizing genocide” against the country’s Rohingya Muslims, despite being a Nobel Prize laureate. Her country’s military has massacred thousands of Rohingya, leading some to call for Kyi’s Nobel Prize to be revoked.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
A Rohingya Muslim woman, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, lies unconscious on the shore of the Bay of Bangal after the boat she was traveling in capsized at Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Nearly three weeks into a mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands were still flooding across the border Thursday in search of help and safety in teeming refugee settlements in Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

The horrific ethnic cleansing and genocide being perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar by military and paramilitary forces left at least 400 dead following the most recent attacks. The total number killed has been estimated to be nearly 2,000, with some Rohingya activists claiming an even higher death toll. Aung Su Kyi, a Nobel Prize

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Fate Of Seized Activist May Point To New Era Of State Violence In Argentina

It has been a month since Argentinian indigenous activist Santiago Maldonado was bundled into a government van. Amidst government denials, demonstrators–cognizant of the nation’s bleak history of state violence–want answers: evidence of Maldonado’s safety and whereabouts.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
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, after Argentine border police captured him during an operation against Mapuche Indians who were blocking a highway in Argentina's Patagonia. (AP/Natacha Pisarenko)

The streets of Argentina are boiling over with demonstrations, as thousands of locals demand that the government produce an indigenous activist last seen one month ago when border police forced a group of the indigenous Mapuche off of indigenous land in Patagonia -- land unjustly owned by the Italian clothing company Benetton. According to

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Where Was Obama’s ‘Decency’ When He Was Deporting Dreamers?

If what you’re suddenly worried about most is “decency,” then where the hell have you been?

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
Upset with President Barack Obama's immigration policy, about 250 people march to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office with a goal of stopping future deportations on Monday Oct. 14, 2013, in Phoenix. The protesters chanted "no more deportations" and "shut down ICE." (AP/Ross D. Franklin)

After an official announcement from President Donald Trump’s administration regarding plans to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, in place since 2012, former President Barack Obama released a statement that stands firmly in the middle, an art the Democratic Party has mastered. It had the same flatlined bipartisan

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Death And Displacement Come To Qatif, As Saudi Forces Lay Siege To Awamiya

Saudi government propaganda calls it “development,” but the demolition going on in parts of Qatif province bespeaks a very different on-the-ground reality. It is part of a Saudi siege and bombardment, motivated by worship and oil, which has left death and displacement in its wake.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
The town Awamiya, in the eastern Qatif province of Saudi Arabia resembles a war zone following destruction by Saudi government forces. (Photo: Twitter)

Situated in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the small village of Awamiya has fallen prey to one of the most well-equipped military giants in the Gulf. This 400-year-old Muslim Shi’a district, with a population of only 30,000, has been under siege by Saudi forces since May and the government has turned the historic village into a war

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The Neoliberal Record Of Kamala Harris, The Democrat’s Rising Star

Democrats are already touting the possibility of a 2020 presidential run for Kamala Harris, and any inkling of criticism faces a backlash from influential people in the political and media arena.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
The Neoliberal Record Of Kamala Harris, The Democrat's Rising Star

Kamala Harris, a career prosecutor who served as California’s attorney general and is now a United States senator, is seen by liberals as the Democratic Party new “rising star”. Democrats are already touting the possibility of a 2020 presidential run, and any inkling of criticism, regardless of how genuine, faces a backlash from influential people

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Abbas, Israel Pull The Power Plug On War-Torn Gaza Strip

The nearly two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, under the dual thumbs of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, have faced waves of military destruction, along with enforced shortages of basic goods and services. Israel, at the Authority’s request, has cut off most of Gaza’s electricity as well.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
Abbas, Israel Pull the Power Plug on War-Torn Gaza Strip

GAZA -- The Gaza Strip -- one of the most densely populated areas in the world and often referred to as an open-air prison -- rarely makes headlines nowadays, despite a situation there that is becoming increasingly dire for local Palestinians. The Strip, which is about the size of Detroit, is home to nearly 2 million people, a majority of whom are

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