The Week with IPS 12/28

	Rebuilding Lives Skilfully Ashfaq Yusufzai Farhat Bibi, 43, was left to fend for her three young sons after her husband was killed in a bomb attack in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) three years ago. A few days later, she landed at a camp for people displaced by violence. “The camp proved to be a blessing in disguise,” ... MORE >>
	When Home Becomes a Firing Zone Pierre Klochendler Jinba is in the crosshair of ‘Firing Zone 918’ - and ‘Firing Zone 918’ is a microcosm of the Israeli occupation. Together with seven other communities, Jinba is slated for demolition to make way for an Israeli training ground. Forced eviction hangs over a thousand Palestinians. Mahmoud Raba’i is ... MORE >>
	Arab Spring Breeds More Trade in Exotic Pets Cam McGrath At a small pet shop in an upscale Cairo neighbourhood, puppies, kittens and sickly-looking parakeets occupy the cages behind the storefront window. But if you want more exciting and exotic animals – such as crocodiles or lion cubs - just ask behind the counter. Trade in wild animals is banned ... MORE >>
	Kashmiri Women Claim Their Rights Athar Parvaiz Mehnaz Bano (not her real name), a 37-year-old woman in a hamlet in Indian Kashmir, is living a “satisfied and peaceful” life ever since she secured her daughter’s property rights before her remarriage – though not without a long and tedious struggle following her first husband’s death. When her ... MORE >>
	Assisting Rather than Deporting Trafficking Victims in Spain Inés Benítez María came to Spain from Paraguay to work as a housekeeper in a hotel. But it was a false job promise, and she ended up in a nightclub, where she was forced to work as a prostitute. One night she told a client the truth. Moved by her story, he started hiring her services day after day until he ... MORE >>
	Some Cartoons Aren't Funny A. D. McKenzie A woman and her husband are seated at a table. As she talks, he seems to be ignoring her, his head hidden behind a newspaper. “At least Obama is listening to me,” she says. This is just one satirical reference to the ongoing international surveillance scandal, in a book published earlier this ... MORE >>
	Russia Plays the Pardon Game Pavol Stracansky An amnesty freeing high-profile detainees and convicts and the pardoning of arguably Russia’s most famous political prisoner have failed to move critics of the country’s appalling human rights record. To mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s constitution, lawmakers this week approved a ... MORE >>