Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Tatiana Svorou
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Has Europe learned anything from Moria? New migration pact begins in the ashes of a child
As the EU prepares to fully implement its Pact on Migration and Asylum on June 12, the memory of Moria remains a point of reference in debates over migration policy. The new framework aims to make asylum procedures more efficient, but it also raises questions about what Europe has learned…
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IDF raids Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters — Where is the line between enforcement and unlawful seizure?
Israel’s interception of the Freedom Flotilla has intensified debate over the limits of state power at sea, raising questions about jurisdiction in international waters and the legality of the Gaza blockade. Between 29th and 30th April 2026, Israeli naval forces intercepted 22 boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla in…
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Kuwait: Detaining Ahmed Shihab-Eldin — How far can the law stretch before it snaps?
Could sharing publicly available footage of a military incident land you in prison in Kuwait? Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin’s early March 2026 arrest for resharing already-circulated videos of alleged Kuwaiti friendly fire amid Iran tension brings this question into sharp focus. Understood to be facing charges of spreading false information and…
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“Where are we supposed to go?” The road out of Dahiyeh and Lebanon’s forced evacuations
Israel’s blanket evacuation orders for Dahiyeh and southern Lebanon breach the core safeguards of Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 49) which require safe routes and swift returns. It has driven more than 500, 000 people into forced displacement and urban collapse under the cover of “civilian protection” rhetoric. “We’re still here,…
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Greece: Shipwreck raises questions over Europe’s border enforcement model
The fatal encounter off the coast of Chios on February 3 2026 in which at least fifteen people died and dozens more -including pregnant women and children- were injured when a small vessel carrying people on the move collided with a Greek coast guard patrol boat has been rapidly reframed…
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Europe’s border policy on trial: The ERCI case ends in acquittal after seven years
On 15 January 2026, the Misdemeanours Court of Mytilene, Lesvos, delivered a verdict of acquittal in the case of Seán Binder, alongside 23 other rescue volunteers, concluding a legal process that had been in progress for more than seven years. This case had become a symbol of the manner in…
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How legal apartheid took hold in international law
On 3 January 2026, the United States carried out strikes in and around Caracas while President Trump announced that US forces had Nicolás Maduro transported out of the country, pointing to domestic criminal charges and a broader political project of “running” Venezuela during a “transition.” Here, once again, we encounter…
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Inside Europe’s largest crackdown on humanitarian aid: The ERCI trial
“Borders have a scent”, Seán Binder told me once, recalling the salt and burned plastic that drifted across Katia’s shores on Lesvos during the peak years of the crossings. That line has stayed with me because what is carried on that smell is the residue of governance as an index…
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Kazim’s stone: Echoes of refuge on the edge of Europe
Across from the Asia Minor shores, on the southeastern coast of Lesvos, opposite the small islets of Myrsinia, somewhere between the calm coves of Tarti and Ligonari, a wild limestone mass rises – older in geological time than anything else on the island, and more tormented by nature, inside and…
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Streaming genocides: Gaza, El Fasher, and the spectator’s sin
I keep thinking about how, at this time, nothing can truly be hidden. Drones, satellites, and mobile phones record destruction as it unfolds; the devastation in Gaza and the siege of El Fasher reach us in real time. And yet, paradoxically, the more we see, the less the world seems…
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Cartographies of Sumud: Reading Palestine beyond occupation
My thoughts return repeatedly to Palestine. Its contours are mapped through reports, testimonies, and the bureaucratic language of “security coordination.” Each road, wall, and zoning decree is a decision about who may exist with stability and who must live in uncertainty as part of the same design. If we have…
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After Assad: Syria’s real battle has just begun
To those worried about Syria’s future now that Bashar al-Assad has fled after fifty-four years of authoritarian rule, it is important to take a closer look at the roots of these concerns. What exactly is the fear? Is it the potential for chaos in a country already torn apart by…
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Who is allowed to see Gaza? Necropolitics of the truce
On 9 October 2025, Israel and Hamas entered the first stage of a US-Qatar-Egypt–brokered ceasefire, officially described as a “humanitarian de-escalation.” Within 72 hours, on 12 October, journalist and documentarian Saleh Aljafarawi was reportedly killed while filming in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood. His death occurring under a nominal truce, exemplifies…
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Could silence be mistaken for peace? The Grammar of accountability in Gaza
The announcement of the Gaza ceasefire on 9 October 2025 followed months of US-brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas, culminating in a “first-phase” agreement mediated by Qatar and Egypt and endorsed by the United Nations. Under the terms publicly outlined, Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from central and southern…
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You can’t outsource a homeland: Gaza and the limits of Trump’s vision
When the full text of President Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan was announced September 2025, it promised an end to the bloodshed and the release of hostages at once, and a rapid rebuilding under international management. While the plan was embraced by senior Israeli officials, Hamas has responded cautiously accepting humanitarian…