• In the capital of Rakhine state in western Myanmar, grass is growing in lots where homes occupied by Rohingya Muslims once stood. Families were burned out of this neighborhood in 2012, when thousands of Rohingya fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh. Five years later, three-quarters of a million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in what the United Nations called a “genocide” inflicted by Myanmar’s Army. The Rohingya now live under horrific living conditions in the largest refugee camp in the world.
(“Like an Open Prison: A Million Refugees Stir in Bangladesh Camps, Five years After Crisis,” Guardian, Aug. 23, 2022; “Slow Death,” Economist, Aug. 28, 2022)
• For decades, the non-partisan League of Women Voters played an important role in U.S. elections by sponsoring debates and candidate forums. The group has long focused on voter registration drives and nonpartisan voter education on critical issues. But, ProPublica reports a new generation of the league’s leadership has taken on a more activist role in politics, and drawn criticism from Republicans.
(“Republican Turn Against the League of Women Voters,” ProPublica, Aug. 18, 2022)
• In the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, the epicenter of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, local interns are working to reclaim and preserve wetlands around the levee system and promote environmental education in the poor African American community.
(“In a New Orleans’ Ward Ravaged by Climate Change, Leaders Nature the Next Generation,” Washington Post, Aug. 8, 2022)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
