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Blog Posts by Kristen Cordell

"Everyone Is Listening to the Boys With the Guns"
March 15, 2012 Kristen Cordell Libya, Middle East, Protection & Security, Women & Children

Stability in Libya depends on the ability of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and its international partners to effectively demobilize thousands of young men and women who participated in the armed revolution.

Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) processes are one of the earliest and most important steps in any successful transition towards peace. But such processes have to be inclusive, bringing together not only men but also female fighters and women who helped combatants in the field.

Syria: "Only God Knows How We Are Surviving"
February 28, 2012 Kristen Cordell Lebanon, Syria, Humanitarian Response, Middle East, Protection & Security

"Only God knows how we are surviving," said 16-year-old Ahmed, as he looked up at me from his creaky hospital bed.

We met Ahmed on the outskirts of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, in a hospital set up to treat wounded Syrian refugees. He is one of the many hundreds of Syrians who fled to Tripoli to escape the ongoing violence across the border.

"I Don't Want My Young Daughter to Face the Same Situation"
February 13, 2012 Kristen Cordell Kuwait, Middle East, Statelessness, Women & Children
Things are bad for the bidoun of Kuwait. They cannot work, cannot protest, cannot marry, and cannot travel. Almost all of the rights they used to enjoy have been taken away. Yet things are even worse for bidoun women, for whom these restrictions carry heavy cultural stigmas and even heavier social consequences.
“More Than Opportunistic”: Rape as a Tool of War in Burma
February 01, 2012 Kristen Cordell Burma, Asia, Women & Children

News reports coming out of Burma and the border areas of Thailand detail increases in the number and severity of sexual assaults. We were in the country in late November, and the report we issued called attention to ongoing sexual and gender-based violence – and the complete lack of meaningful action by the Burmese government on this issue.
Why Education Could Keep Burma's Reforms on Track
December 22, 2011 Kristen Cordell Burma, Asia

“….and that building, that was Yangon University,” our host said, pointing to a massive, empty, and abandoned building. He went on to tell us that following the country’s 1988 coup, Burma’s military rulers began to see universities and their students as the major source of political unrest. As a result, they introduced a “distance learning” system to keep students from congregating, protesting…and in the end, learning. This approach has been devastating for the country’s growth and development.