In Cleveland’s detention center, Texas, volunteers teach entrepreneurship to prisoners in order to facilitate their future reintegration in society. The Prison Entrepreneurship Program has been offering a sustainable and economical solution for ten years to tackle the issues of recidivism and maintenance costs of prisons. In the United States, former inmates are exposed to social pressure, which combined with a lack of framework when exiting prison, makes reintegration complicated. They fight...

North of the territory of Morocco, a few kilometers from the town of Fnideq stands the first wire fences of Europe. Ceuta is, along with Melila, one of two Spanish enclaves in Africa. Every year, thousands of men and women strive to cross this border with the intention of changing their lives. For them, Ceuta is just a step before the journey to the “Great Spain”, where their European dreams can finally begin. Hidden behind the trees stands the CETI, the Centre for Temporary Residence of...

In Russia, homophobic groups are multiplying violent actions against homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals. Many actors in the international community are denouncing them, however the expanding anti-homophobic actions are scarcely part of a plan. Let us see what is going on with these activist homophobic movements. Humiliations, harassment, chasing in the streets, severe beatings, and murders, are some of the violent actions done to homosexual people today in Russia. A crime until 1993 and a...

Everittee Barbee is a 23 year old American calligrapher. Since 2007, he has lived in Scotland, Austria and Syria. He has now chosen Lebanon as his new home. Mashallah News had the opportunity to ask him some questions about his work. What pushed you to become a calligrapher, at the time when this art becomes rarer and rarer? Simply put, it’s very relaxing and a lot of fun. I’ve always admired Islamic calligraphy but it wasn’t until I lived in Damascus that I began formal training, under master...

On February 13th, 2015, Özgecan Aslan, a 20-year-old university student in Turkey, was raped, had both her hands cut off and her body burnt. She was finally thrown into a river near Çalaman, in the Mersin Province of southern Turkey. This extremely violent murder is a sign of the deterioration of women’s status in Turkey. This ultra-conservative nation has experienced general outrage towards its government which is accused of legitimizing and encouraging many acts of violence towards women. Ms...

Since its independence in 1960, the Central African Republic has suffered from chronic instability. However, since 2013, this instability has acquired a new dimension: in a country populated by 80% Christians and 10% Muslims, the internal conflict mixes political, ethnical and religious oppositions. Two years later, the overview of the situation shows that difficulties remain in this Republic. At the very start of the year 2013, everything turned upside down when the forces of the Séléka...

After the dismissal of the Knesset in December 2014, the Israeli parliamentary chamber will be rebuilt after elections on 17 March. Twenty-six lists are competing, reflecting the diversity of political values present in Israel. Likud, the right-wing party of acting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was given majority according to the most recent polls. In the current context of the country, it is the questions of security that stand out in political campaigns, whereas citizens, most notably...

From Thursday 28th and through Sunday 31th of May 2015, Paris will receive the fourth edition of the biggest simulation of international negotiations in France : Paris International Model United Nations (PIMUN). Over 800 young people from all over the world will discuss worldwide impactful issues. PIMUN was created in 2012. It managed to impose itself in no time as one of the most important simulation of the United Nations’ debates in France and in the world. 2015’s edition brings a...

During the last two days of May, the Paris Model United Nations took place in La Sorbonne in Paris, gathering more than 800 students from all over the world. Among the many committees, the European Council was one to have a real and fruitful debate, with realistic proposals and some innovations.The European delegates chose to deal with the second topic which was proposed to them : « The participation and the distribution of commitment in FRONTEX’s operation Triton »The fact that the delegates...

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, discrimination toward migrant workers is perhaps one of the unresolved issues that have been one of the causes of conflict between two countries. There are still many migrant workers who live in hardships and below the proper living conditions. How much are the governments of the migrant workers’ country of origin and the host countries involved in solving the issues and moreover, giving protection toward the migrant workers? The main reason for...