Stories written by Zack Baddorf

Male Survivors of Sexual Violence Suffer in Silence Due to Stigma

In the Central African Republic, 45-year-old “Theodore” was captured by an armed group in February 2017 during an attack on his village of Mingala in the country’s southeast. He was taken with 21 other men to a nearby ad hoc rebel military base and locked up in a house-turned-prison guarded by six armed men.

Ukraine Confronts Another Split

In Donetsk’s Lenin Square, Yuroslav Korotenko keeps a constant vigil inside a tent erected just a few feet away from a massive statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin.

Amidst the Guns, Free Choice for Crimeans

Crimean officials have reported that roughly 97 percent of Crimeans voted for independence from Ukraine on Sunday, with a turnout of about 80 percent. Yet the security situation in Crimea has led many to question how free the vote really was.

People Begin to Flee Damascus

As the United States prepares to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles on military targets inside Syria, Syrians are preparing for a new phase of the conflict that has already left more than 100,000 people dead.

PDAs like this one are speeding up data collection and processing to improve delivery of food aid. Credit:  Zack Baddorf/IPS

Handheld Computers Speed Up Burundi Food Aid

Aid organisations say a small handheld computer will allow them to more rapidly assess where food aid is needed most urgently. As a result, fewer Burundians will suffer hunger this year.

Children in Unity State: communities already struggling to find enough food need help if former child soldiers are to be reintegrated successfully. Credit:  Zack Baddorf/IPS

SOUTH SUDAN: Children Too Hungry to Return to Civilian Life

When Timothy was forced into the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) at age 11, the first thing they did was beat him. Then they took him to a military base where his tasks were to carry other soldiers’ bags, wash their clothes, collect firewood for them, and cook their food.

The ballot for the Aug. 9 presidential election. Four candidates are running for the country

POLITICS-RWANDA: “Climate of Repression” as Voting Concludes

As voting concluded in Rwanda’s presidential elections, with incumbent President Paul Kagame expected to win by a landslide, fears remain that not all citizens will accept the results amidst claims the elections were neither free nor fair.

Polling station, Bujumbura: the opposition is unhappy with measures against electoral fraud. Credit:  Olivier Boulot/IPS

Boycott Cedes Power To Burundi’s Ruling Party

The coalition of 11 major opposition parties which boycotted July 23 national assembly elections will also boycott elections to the senate on July 28. The Alliance of Democrats for Change, as the coalition is known, claims that two previous polls - to elect Burundi's district administrators and the president - were characterised by "massive fraud".

Disgraced Soldier. Credit: Martin Webster

IRAQ: ‘Disgraced Soldier’ Fights Trauma With Documentary

A new documentary ‘Diary of a Disgraced Soldier’ follows the dismissal from the British army of an Iraq war veteran and his battle with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to his videographing the brutalising of Iraqi youth by fellow servicemen.

A Palestinian boy shows his anger. Credit: Zack Baddorf

MIDEAST: Villagers Fight for Promised Land

Some 1,700 Palestinians in the West Bank village of Bi'lin have been promised land, but so far it has not been delivered.


Refugees at prayer in a Damascus mosque. Credit: Zack Baddorf

IRAQ: Refugees Look to Europe

"I'll go to any country," says Zirgon Tomas al-Aya, a 60-year-old Iraqi standing outside the UN Refugee Agency headquarters in Damascus.

May Day demonstration in Sarajevo. Credit: Zack Baddorf

BOSNIA: Workers Make a Start for Rights

"Parliamentarians, shame on you!" read a sign in Bosnian carried by four union workers in downtown Sarajevo.

A Palestinian makes a point. Credit: Zack Baddorf

MIDEAST: Israel Could Make Orphans Homeless Again

Nibaal Shriteh may soon be homeless. The 17-year-old Palestinian lives in a Hebron orphanage but, if the Israeli military has its way, she and 240 fellow orphans like her will be out on the streets.

African asylum seekers on a Tel Aviv street. Credit: Zack Baddorf

MIDEAST: Africans Lost in &#39The Promised Land&#39

The young man who agreed to be called Hamed has come a long way to do nothing. The Ivoirian would prefer to work but, after sneaking into Israel from Egypt about a month ago, he's got nothing better to do than sit in a park everyday in central Tel Aviv, wait, and hope for a government decision on his refugee application.



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