Engaged anthropology

Mourning for Amina, Mourning for Yemen

- by standplaatswereld

By Marina de Regt. “Marina, if I die, will you then forgive me for all the trouble that I caused you?” my Yemeni friend Amina wrote me ten days ago. I have known Amina since my very first days in Yemen in 1991 and was in regular touch with her via Whatsapp. “I am very ill, I have Corona, please help me, Marina, I am going to die, the treatment of Corona is very expensive, please help me”. A few weeks earlier Amina had written me that Corona was spreading in Rada’, the small town in Northeast Yemen where I …

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A different perspective on “child marriages” among Syrian refugees in Jordan

- by standplaatswereld

By Marina de Regt For years, humanitarian organisations in Jordan and Lebanon have been concerned about the increasing number of “child marriages” among Syrian refugees. While early marriages of girls (between 14-18 year) have also been prevalent in certain regions in Syria, and still occur, these marriages are increasing in the context of refuge. In the period between 2011 and 2015 the percentage rose from 18,4 per cent to 34,6 percent, according to the Higher Population Council in Jordan. Studies of international organisations such as Save the Children (2014) and UNICEF (2019) give insight in the causes and consequences of …

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Podcast #4 is online! Guest: Jochem Kootstra

- by standplaatswereld

Jochem Kootstra is onderzoeker, copywriter en programma-maker (om maar een greep uit zijn bezigheden te geven) en bekijkt technologie door een antropologische bril. Door deze bril ziet hij hoe menselijke eigenschappen terug komen in technologie, maar ook hoe technologie de mensheid veranderd. We hebben het in deze aflevering over:– zijn onderzoek bij een groep engineers uit Boston die een menselijke robot voor NASA aan het bouwen waren– design technieken in apps en sociale media– het stellen van de juiste, antropologische vragen. En extra leuk: Jochem is ook onderdeel van Standplaats Wereld! This episode is recorded in Dutch. An English summary …

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Opposing Views for a Shared Mission

- by standplaatswereld

by Sarah leBarron As I walk into Old School Amsterdam, I feel instantly at home. Coffee vapors float around me, pulling me towards the barista cart. I’m handed a steaming cup of vegan cappuccino, the almond milk infusing a slight strangeness to the flavor as I swallow, a strangeness I have come to appreciate. For some attendees of 02025’s energy breakfasts, the vegan beverages connect the theme of renewable energy back to the earth. But for others, the link to nature is minor compared to the technology itself. Though subtle, this diversity of thought in Amsterdam’s renewable energy community can …

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Lesvos, drawn in the field

- by standplaatswereld

From a distance we watch as desperation grows and in awe we witness how people attempt to build new shelters on harsh concrete, prepare food on windy sidewalks and fold pieces of cardboard around their sleeping children. With every cycle of brutal destruction and temporal rebuilding their worlds seem to erode further, and inevitably ours and the things we say we stand for, with it. This piece was drawn and written after witnessing the growing unrest on the island of Lesvos, Greece, in February this year. Following recent events the already fragile and tense dynamics on the island as sketched …

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‘Humanizing’ Indonesia’s COVID-19 Pandemic Response

- by standplaatswereld

BY RATU AYU ASIH KUSUMA PUTRI AND PAMUNGKAS A. DEWANTO While the rich industrial countries are simply readjusting their national budgets amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the fiscal options for the middle-to-low income countries seem to be strictly limited. The Indonesian government, for instance, has undergone about USD 51 billion deficit after allocating about USD 25 billion for the health sector and other incentives for the COVID-19 relief. Unfortunately, in coping with this unprecedented crisis, the government not only experiences financial deficit but also ‘implementation deficit’ in channelling the pandemic relief. Jokowi administration relies heavily on the centralized database and numeric …

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© Indrid_Cold (https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredisonfire/49655326671/), via Creative Commons.

Corona choices

- by standplaatswereld

BY FREEK COLOMBIJN Rumours, new societal practices, new state policies and self-imposed restrictions by organizations spread as fast as the Corona virus itself. It is almost certain that by the time this blog is published, or even by the time I stop writing, the situation has changed. What is clear: it is the rapid pace of the infection that is the biggest challenge for society, more than the lethality of the virus itself. Health systems run the risk of not being able to give large numbers of patients the necessary intensive care, hospitals are short of respirators, and health care …

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Vrouw in Jemen

- by standplaatswereld

Door Marina de Regt           In het Volkskrant magazine van afgelopen zaterdag 26 januari j.l. doet journaliste Ana van Es verslag van haar bezoek aan Jemen. De Midden-Oosten correspondente valt hier van de ene verbazing in de andere: alle stereotypen over man-vrouwverhoudingen in de Arabische wereld worden volgens haar in Jemen bevestigd. Vrouwen moeten zich zwaar sluieren, ze moeten zich onzichtbaar maken, ze worden continu lastig gevallen door mannen, ze worden gedwongen jong te trouwen, ze kunnen niet buitenshuis werken, als ze werken wordt hun geld afgepakt door hun mannen en ze hebben geen enkele politieke invloed. Op ironische wijze doet …

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Hodeidah is being attacked, but the Western media are silent

- by standplaatswereld

By Marina de Regt. “Hodeidah is empty, Marina, there is no one there anymore”, says Noura to me this morning, in a short telephone conversation that is repeatedly interrupted because of the bad connection. Noura moved to Sana’a a week ago, fleeing the horrendous violence that has exploded in the city of Hodeidah since Thursday 14 June, the day before the start of Eid Al-Fitr. On that day the Saudi Led Coalition, mainly consisting of mercenaries and ground troops of the United Arab Emirates army, soldiers of the Yemeni National Army and Hiraak al-Tihama started the long planned attack on …

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