Dear newsletter subscriber,
In Myanmar, 4.3 million people were in urgent need of humanitarian aid even before the devastating earthquake in March. Now, according to the UN, there are two million more. The country has been politically and economically ravaged by more than four years of civil war.
The earthquake is the biggest natural disaster since the Trump administration dismantled USAID, the principal US agency for humanitarian aid. The slashed funding has had significant impacts on aid to Myanmar and other countries. In 2024, the US was the most important donor country to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The cuts could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing starvation, the WFP warned. Meanwhile, the US administration has apparently restored some WFP funds.
The situation is far too serious for such toing and froing: The lives of more than 300 million people worldwide depend on reliable humanitarian aid – and this is by no means solely the responsibility of the USA. Swift and effective emergency relief is one thing. Long-term commitment is another. Both are important in times of crisis, as Marvin Fürderer, an emergency relief expert from German civil society organisation Welthungerhilfe, explains in his article on Myanmar.
We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. Please feel free to share your opinions, criticisms and suggestions by emailing us at euz.editor@dandc.eu
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Kind regards,
Jörg Döbereiner
Managing editor of D+C |
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| © picture alliance / Associated Press |
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Humanitarian aid should not be driven by politics |
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Countries around the world are cutting funding for international cooperation and humanitarian aid. The consequences are disastrous. In Sudan, for example, funds are lacking in the fight against malnutrition, child labour and sexual exploitation, writes Fabian Böckler. |
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© picture-alliance/NurPhoto/Ambir Tolang |
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Lessons to be learnt from Nepal’s recent excessive rains |
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| For our upcoming focus section on labour rights, we interviewed people in different countries who work in the informal sector and talked to them about their lives and work. Lucy is a street vendor and sells snacks. She spoke to our editor Katharina Otieno in Kenya, who ate one of Lucy's famous potato samosas right after their conversation. |
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| The cover picture of our current digital monthly is by Mana Neyestani, one of Iran's most famous political cartoonists. He lives in exile in France. One of his cartoons sparked uprisings in Iran in 2006 and he was taken to the notorious Evin prison. After three months in custody, he escaped and travelled to France via Malaysia, where he was granted asylum. He continues to draw cartoons about life in Iran, but also about exile and migration. In an interview, he told editor-in-chief Eva-Maria Verfürth: “Humour helps overcome the fear imposed by dictatorship”. |
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The number of climate lawsuits has increased significantly in recent years. According to a Columbia Law School report cases rose from 884 in 2017 to 2540 by 2023. Indigenous communities, in particular, are increasingly utilising legal action to enforce environmental rights. This trend indicates that courts are playing an increasingly important role in climate protection. Two examples of success from the past year: in October, India’s Supreme Court declared a clean environment a fundamental right. In April, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Switzerland for insufficient climate protection measures and reaffirmed that climate change is a human rights issue.
More on the topic:
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law examines some key rulings that have recently shaped the discourse.
Similarly, the United Nations Development Programme illustrates how "Nature goes to Court".
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| What has also caught our interest |
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This month, it is all about political satire at D+C. If you have not yet had a chance to read our focus section on this topic, we would like to recommend it to you again. And to go with it: “Oromay” is not just a satirical espionage adventure, but also a “historical document”, writes “The Baobab”. The story has now finally been translated into English, 42 years after its publication. It is set during the Ethiopian civil war and follows a journalist who suddenly finds himself in the middle of a propaganda campaign. ‘Oromay’ is also an example of how dangerous satire can be: Baalu Girma, the book's author, disappeared a few months after publication. He has never been heard from since, but it is thought likely that he was murdered by the regime of the time. |
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When did you last think about the situation in Haiti? Or Afghanistan? We don’t blame you for losing track of all the numerous conflict zones around the world, given everything that floods the zone straight from the White House all day. Here’s a quick reminder from the “Guardian” that the world had more than enough problems even without Donald Trump. |
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Muhsin Hendricks, known as the world’s first openly gay Imam, was shot dead on 15 February 2025. Many assume that this was a targeted attack. The death of the South African was met with great sympathy worldwide – but at the same time, there was a flood of hateful comments on the internet justifying the act. Hendricks’ death has intensified the global debate about the role of queer Muslims within Islam. Amanullah De Sondy, a friend of Hendricks’ and expert on Muslim sexuality and masculinity, pays tribute to his work in a worthwhile article in ‘The Conversation’ and assesses the debate.
More than ten years ago, Muhsin Hendricks gave an interview to D+C that has lost none of its relevance today. |
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Laughing at power: How social movements can succeed |
Can a joke make a dictatorship crumble? One thing’s for sure: Any social movement needs to make “normal people” care. One way to do so is by being “cool”. And one way of being cool is using humour. Srdja Popovic knows how: As a young activist, he did precisely that to help overthrow Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević. In one episode of the podcast “Your undivided attention”, he vividly explains how activists can become pranksters in order to defeat dictators or more generally achieve change. |
Srdja Popovic also contributed together with Sophia McClennen to our latest D+C Monthly on the power of humour. You can find it here. |
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The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin awards up to two fellowships for research projects on histories of knowledge and collective life in Africa. The call is particularly aimed at researchers of all career stages who are employed at African universities and research institutions. Depending on the career stage, the fellowship includes up to € 3600 per month.
Application deadline: 1 May
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The Interpeace Advisory Team (IPAT) is offering a course on “Effective Advising in Complex Contexts: Enabling Sustainable Peace” from October 12 to 17. The course equips professionals with the skills to provide effective advice in challenging situations and support sustainable peace processes.
Participation is open to professionals from various sectors, including non-governmental organisations, government and research institutions, international, national, and local organisations and the military.
Application deadline: 4 May |
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For readers based in Germany: The Model African Union Conference in Bayreuth (BAYMAU25) will take place from April 23-27 at the University of Bayreuth. Participants can apply to be delegates representing an African Union member state, giving them the opportunity to take part in high-level debates and draft resolutions on critical issues of policymaking in Africa. This experience will also help them develop skills in diplomacy, rhetoric and international relations. Among other things, the role of Africa in the context of a changing world order, as well as the associated opportunities and challenges, will be discussed. |
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Imprint
Publisher information: ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL gGmbH Service für Entwicklungsinitiativen
Publisher: Fazit Communication GmbH, Pariser Strasse 1, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Telephone: +49 (0)69 7591-3110 | Email: euz.editor@dandc.eu
Website: www.fazit.de | Managing Directors: Jonas Grashey, Hannes Ludwig |
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