Train Ride the Sahara: Mauritania’s Hidden Adventure

One of the world’s least-visited countries, Mauritania is home to a travel experience like none other, inviting daring travelers to embark on an unpredictable journey through the desert.

Mauritania Iron Ore Train on Sand

The desert nation of Mauritania attracts only around 30,000 visitors a year, making it one of the least visited countries in Africa and around the world. The country is not seen as a highly desirable travel destination due to the fact that it is only about 0.5% arable land and one of the least densely populated nations in the world. Mauritania is also one of the poorest countries worldwide, unable to provide the infrastructure required to accommodate more traditional forms of tourism.

However, Mauritania boasts a unique attraction that is rising in popularity among thrill-seeking travelers — a famous iron ore train. Its contents — the iron ore — account for half the country’s exports and are critical to its GDP. The train is known as “the Backbone of the Sahara,” due to its national and day-to-day significance in the lives of locals who rely on the train for personal transportation and its goods. The train is one of the longest in the world; the length of the car itself spans around 1.5 miles and the track stretches over 400 miles across the Sahara. Beginning in the mining town of Zouerat, the train stops again in Choum, where most travelers board. Then, across the next 17 hours, laden with iron ore, the train makes its way to the port city of Nouadhibou, where it empties and sets back to Zouerat. 

The train runs daily, but not on any sort of fixed schedule, requiring no bookings or tickets. It’s hardly a passenger vehicle, as only one of the three daily trains has a paid passenger car attached. Many climb aboard one of the cargo wagons and ride alongside the ore for free. 

The journey has been popularized in recent years by travel blogs and social media. The author of One Step 4Ward, Irish travel blogger Johnny Ward, has even begun to manage trips to Mauritania, leading groups on the train. Ward claims that he has completed the journey seven times, more than any foreigner on the planet. On his blog, he describes the expedition as difficult and cold but also as “one of the best travel experiences of your life.”

Another blogger, the author of Plug Me In Project, described the conditions of riding the train. They emphasize the importance of bringing goggles, gloves, a sleeping bag, a blanket and a face covering — necessary protections against the iron ore dust and frigid nightly temperatures. He wrote about the friendliness of the locals who showed him around the capital city upon arrival and guided him to the station. 

The blog Sophie’s World highlights the thrilling yet unpredictable nature of visiting Mauritania as a tourist.  She notes that it’s important not to make the journey alone, particularly as a female traveler. She also emphasizes the level of respect required for the locals in order to have an enjoyable experience. 

Mauritania is home to one of the most unique travel experiences that the world has to offer, for those who dare to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

Zoe Lodge is a student at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is studying English and Politics, Philosophy, & Law. She combines her passion for writing with her love for travel, interest in combatting climate change, and concern for social justice issues.

Tunisia: Discover Ancient Rome in North Africa

Thousands of years later, Tunisia’s rich history as part of the Roman empire is still on display.

An aerial view of the coastline. A large palace stands on a piece of land jutting out onto bright teal ocean, with the city in sight further in the distance.

A view of Carthage Palace in Tunisia. Farah Jack Mustaklem. CC BY-SA 4.0

For many, the word “Rome” evokes images of the city in Italy. Its days as the center of one of the largest empires in history ended millennia ago, and today, popular culture has largely moved on, TikTok memes aside. But the Roman Empire was far bigger than many now imagine, stretching well into the modern-day Middle East and across North Africa. Today, the empire’s ruins remain visible in the furthest reaches of its territories.

Tunisia, for instance, is home to a wealth of ancient Roman history. Sitting on the edge of the Sahara Desert, the African nation has found fame with tourists who admire its gorgeous beaches. However, beyond the nation’s natural beauty and high-quality resort towns, Tunisia's territory was once at the very heart of the Roman empire in Africa. Ranging from the remains of villages to the shell of the great city of Carthage, ancient ruins dot the country’s landscape. Almost every major city features ancient Roman artwork, architecture and history. While Tunisia is gorgeous in its own right, the country possesses a richer history than almost anywhere else in the world.

The best-preserved example of Imperial Rome’s presence in Tunisia is El Jem. Estimated to have held up to 35,000 people at once, El Jem is not only the largest amphitheater in Africa but one of the largest in the world. Incredibly, the entire building is supported by stone arches, the edifice resting on a flat plain with no hills or rises for balance. The structure’s underground passages also remain largely intact, and tours are led daily through the entire grounds of the colosseum.

An aerial panorama of a massive Roman ampitheater. The walls are still standing in good shape, with some erosion of the tops.

A panoramic view of El Jem. Diego Delso. CC BY-SA 4.0

Another incredible part of history hidden away just outside the Sahara is the ancient city of Sbeitla, home to some of the  best-preserved temples from the Byzantine Empire. Outside Sbeitla, visitors can also tour the ruins of Byzantine public baths, a Roman Forum that houses ancient temples to Minerva, Jupiter and Juno, and a series of Catholic basilicas.

Looking at the front of Roman forum ruins. The area is well-preserved and empty

The Roman Forum in Sbeitla. Dennis Jarvis. CC BY 2.0

In addition to its ancient history, Tunisia provides visitors with the unique opportunity to visit the Sahara Desert. Numerous tour companies offer frequent excursions into the desert on camelback. These tours range from day trips to two or more days of camping and bivouacking in traditional Bedouin style. These tours are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the lifestyle of the nomadic tribes local to Tunisia.

A line of tourists ride camelback through the desert, with dust obscuring the silhouette of mountains in the distance

A camelback tour of the Sahara Desert. Vaida Tamošauskaitė. CC0

Despite all of the wonderful experiences that Tunisia presents, there are notable risks to visiting the country as a tourist. As of May 2024, the US Department of State issued a Level 2 travel advisory. This marker warns tourists to avoid certain areas due to increased terrorist activity in countries around Tunisia and the newly declared military zone south of the city of Remada. However, the majority of the country is still considered mostly safe to visit, with only select  locations listed at Level 4 or “do not travel.” Tourists should mind the precautions listed in the advisory.

Visitors to Tunisia may be advised to stay in the country’s capital Tunis, a central location which allows easy access to the majority of the destinations listed above. The city offers a variety of hotel options, with prices ranging from $100-300 a night. More affordable options include the Dar Ya hostel in Tunis (priced at around $40 per night) and rentable apartments (from around $35 a night) located just outside the main city.

Ryan Livingston

Ryan is a senior at The College of New Jersey, majoring in English and minoring in marketing. Since a young age, Ryan has been passionate about human rights and environmental action and uses his writing to educate wherever he can. He hopes to pursue a career in professional writing and spread his message even further.

Hunger War: Sudan is Starving

Constant violence is keeping humanitarian aid from entering Sudan.

Refugees seated on the sandy ground outside of a makeshift tent

Refugees from South Sudan. Jill Craig. CC 0

The civil war in Sudan has only sped up after entering its second year. After fighting broke out between the two warring factions in Khartoum in April of 2023, the conflict has spread to all corners of the country as the official Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) vie for control of the nation.

The rest of the country has been forced to either flee their homeland or suffer through increasingly dire conditions. Chad, South Sudan, and Ethiopia have taken in roughly 1.8 million refugees, but tens of millions of people are still trapped within Sudan, enduring acute food insecurity and outright starvation amid intensely destructive violence.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has stated that almost nine in ten people living in Sudan are trapped in “relentless violence,” which is fueling unprecedented levels of food insecurity. This crisis has been declared the largest hunger crisis in history, as most of the citizens facing starvation are stuck in completely inaccessible areas as a result of the ongoing conflict.

Several nations have attempted to send humanitarian aid to Sudan and to the countries to which refugees have fled. However, the fighting that is keeping citizens trapped in the country is also effectively barring supplies from entering Sudan.

This often takes the form of direct military assaults on citizens and local responders, suggesting that the RSF and SAF are both using starvation as a weapon against each other. In addition, many attempted aid drops have been looted and destroyed by the warring armies.

As of July 2024, over 26 million people in Sudan are facing food insecurity, with an additional 9 million having been driven out of the country by the war. These refugees have triggered smaller but no less serious hunger crises in neighboring Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Currently, over $2.2 billion has been allocated to humanitarian aid and recovery, with roughly $1 billion coming from the United States. However, as the crisis stretches on into 2024, donations have begun to dry up. Estimates suggest that around $200 million is still needed to counteract the rampant starvation, and even that does not account for the total value of all looted and destroyed supplies.

How You Can Help

Humanitarian aid organizations across the country are constantly accepting donations to send to the Sudanese citizens. Groups such as World Food Programme USA and Save the Children aim to provide food, health supplies, and other necessary resources to those trapped in the middle of the war. On an international scale, Doctors Without Borders and the UN Refugee Agency are providing humanitarian aid to Sudanese displaced people and refugees in the surrounding nations

Ryan Livingston

Ryan is a senior at The College of New Jersey, majoring in English and minoring in marketing. Since a young age, Ryan has been passionate about human rights and environmental action and uses his writing to educate wherever he can. He hopes to pursue a career in professional writing and spread his message even further.

Gambia's Controversial Bid to Reverse FGM Ban

In 2015, female genital mutilation was made a criminal offense in Gambia, but in March of 2024, a bill was introduced to overturn the ban.

A close up of Jaha Dukureh as she speaks seated on a panel

Jaha Dukureh, Gambian Anti-FGM Activist, Speaks at UNHQ. Ryan Brown. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Female genital mutilation, or FGM, refers to the practice of partially or completely removing the external female genitalia for non-medical and often religious reasons. In addition to psychological trauma, the procedure can cause a variety of medical issues for the victim, including bleeding, problems with urination, cysts, infections, complications in childbirth, and shock or death. According to the World Health Organization, as of 2024 more than 230 million women have undergone FGM. It is most often practiced on girls between infancy and age 15. Data collected by UNICEF in 2024 reveals a 15% increase in the number of survivors compared to data released eight years ago.

Gambia has one of the highest rates of FGM worldwide. Around 46% of girls age 14 and younger and 73% of girls and women between ages 15 and 49 have undergone FGM in the country, according to UNICEF. In 2015, Gambia passed the Women’s (Amendment) Act, which criminalized FGM. The law did little to end the practice, however. Only two case of FGM have been prosecuted since the law was passed, and the first conviction for performing FGM was not made until August of 2023. 

Calls to overturn the ban on FGM began in earnest after the 2023 conviction, in which three women were indited. Many supporters of the practice were outraged by the womens’ fate. One of Gambia’s most vocal religious leaders, Islamic cleric Imam Abdoulie Fatty, who believes that FGM is prescribed by Islam, raised funds to pay the womens’ fines. From that point on the movement began to gain traction. 

A bill proposing to overturn the ban was officially introduced to Gambia’s parliament in March of 2024. Of the 58 members of Gambia’s parliament, 4 legislators voted to preserve the ban, 42 legislators voted to legalize FGM and one abstained. Although it passed by a majority, the bill still needs to be approved by a final committee before it becomes law. Notably, only five of Gambia's parliamentary seats are currently held by women. 

Activists fear that the bill represents a threat to more than just the ban on FGM; it is representative of a broader struggle for gender equality in Gambia. The widespread support that the bill has received suggests that many Gambians still hold deeply patriarchal values, a revelation that could embolden religious conservatives to take advantage of the moment to set back other steps that have been taken towards gender equality. It could also inspire other countries in Africa, especially Muslim-majority West African countries like Kenya or Guinea, to repeal their bans on FGM, says Satang Nabaneh, a human rights law professor at the University of Dayton. “There has been an uptick in [attempts to reverse] anti-FGM laws within the continent,” she told TIME, “and what happens in the Gambia will be a signal to other West African countries or conservative actors to roll back women’s sexual and reproductive rights, as well as to allow for gender-based violence.”

Gambian President Adama Barrow said in June that his government would abide by the ban, though he faces increasing pressure from traditionalists as a parliamentary commission considers the new bill. "While awaiting its outcome, government remains committed to enforcing the prohibition of FGM in The Gambia," Barrow said in a statement, although he has yet to suggest a plan for preventing the ban from being overturned if the bill is passed.

GET INVOLVED 

The Five Foundation: The Five Foundation was established to combat FGM. They have launched multiple projects aimed at supporting women all across Africa who have been affected by FGM. 

Safe Hands for Girls: This organization is dedicated to ending FGM and child marriage in Africa. Their website offers a link for donations and information on their various initiatives.

Rebecca Pitcairn

Rebecca studies Italian Language and Literature, Classical Civilizations, and English Writing at the University of Pittsburgh. She hopes to one day attain a PhD in Classical Archeology. She is passionate about feminism and climate justice. She enjoys reading, playing the lyre, and longboarding in her free time. 

Madagascar’s Cyclone Gamane—The Devastating Storm Nobody’s Talking About

Thousands of homes were destroyed and families displaced, with almost no American news coverage.

Cyclone Gamane over Madagascar. NASA, CC0

A few weeks ago, Cyclone Gamane made landfall on Madagascar. It devastated the island in no time flat, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless and without food or electricity. It arrived on March 27th; the government declared a state of emergency on April 3rd. And despite all of this, there was almost no American news coverage about the disaster.

Gamane began as a tropical cyclone over the South Indian Ocean. By the time it reached Madagascar, its wind speed was clocked at an average of 93 mph, with gusts up to 130 mph recorded. Thirty-three communes were flooded in the three days it pummeled the northern coast, and more than 780 houses were destroyed. Eighteen people were killed and more than 22,000 were displaced from their homes. Estimates suggest that there are roughly 220,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance on the island.

Even before the cyclone, Madagascar was numbered among the worst off in the Global Hunger Index in 2023. Before the flooding in February and with Gamane, much of the island was unable to produce enough food to support the population. Roughly 1.6 million citizens are food insecure, relying instead on humanitarian aid. Additionally, the cyclone came at the beginning of Madagascar’s notoriously dry lean season, which lasts from late March until May. If conditions don’t improve quickly, there are concerns that large chunks of the country will experience crisis-level food insecurity.

Emergency supplies on the island are already low—Gamane is only the third crisis to hit Madagascar in 2024, after the Alvaro storm in January and heavy flooding in February. Local humanitarian associations have made efforts to help the populace recover, but without resources, the government has had to call for aid from other countries.

The UN has set up a funding program under the CERF, the Central Emergency Response Fund, to accumulate funds to send to Madagascar. As of April 21st, the program is 20% funded, and is seeking to raise 90 million dollars. Smaller humanitarian organizations, such as the Redemptorist Solidarity Office (headquartered in Cork, Ireland), have taken action in the meantime to provide what help they can. According to their website, the RSO has provided 15,000 pounds for financial support and is shipping several tons of food items and medical kits. They hope to raise enough money to help provide shelter-building supplies for the displaced as well.

Madagascar is uniquely situated as one of the most susceptible places on Earth to natural disasters. Over the last 35 years, more than 50 hazards, including locust swarms, droughts, and heavy flooding, have struck the country and affected nearly half of the entire population. This has, to some degree, resulted in less coverage being dedicated to each event; even now, almost a month since the storm first made landfall, it has received very little publicity in the United States. But despite this lack of interest, humanitarian action is still being taken. It will be an uphill battle, between the fallout from the storm and the height of the lean season approaching, but with the help of the UN and other independent aid groups, Madagascar can and will recover.

Get Involved

At the moment, due to the lack of publicity that the crisis has received in the US, there are not many volunteer opportunities within the country. Those looking to help can donate to SEED Madagascar (which seeks to combat food insecurity), UNICEF Madagascar (which is working to minimize the effects of climate change on the island), or the World Food Programme’s Madagascar mission (which aims to supply over 1.6 million people with humanitarian assistance).

Ryan Livingston

Ryan is a senior at The College of New Jersey, majoring in English and minoring in marketing. Since a young age, Ryan has been passionate about human rights and environmental action and uses his writing to educate wherever he can. He hopes to pursue a career in professional writing and spread his message even further.

Egypt’s Time Capsule: The Fayoum Oasis

A desert adventure that revealed millions of years of history and culture in just one day.

Keriann Slayton

Before the pyramids there were whales, and beyond Cairo there are waterfalls. Once a bounty of prehistoric life, the Fayoum Oasis in Wadi El-Rayan remains rich in resources, culture and history. Cascading water appears as if from nowhere, and dunes and ancient rock rise up to frame the entrance to Wadi El-Hitan, “Whale Valley,” where fossils litter the paths revealing the evolutionary development of massive marine creatures. Describing the region feels like creating an imaginary world for a fantasy novel, yet during my trip there in January 2023, I discovered it to be supremely real and of unique significance in the environmental and cultural memory of Egypt.

The heart-shaped basin spans over 500 square miles and holds stories dating back millions of years. The oasis began forming following the mass drying up of the Mediterranean Sea during the late Miocene period. When the crisis ended and the sea refilled the Nile River ultimately flooded and water flowed into the basin via the Bahr Youssef, transforming the desert expanse into a region of lush vegetation. 

During my visit with my family, I immediately understood why Fayoum was home to the first Egyptians to practice agriculture and exists as one of the world’s longest continuously occupied towns. We met our guide for the day at a restaurant in the village center, which could only be characterized as storybook-esque. The open air dining area overlooked a large garden that supplied fresh herbs and produce for the kitchen, and one of the basin’s many lakes loomed in the distance. The view served as a prime introduction to the rich botanical and marine legacy of Fayoum.

Fayoum entered into a golden era during the years 1817–1860 BCE under King Senusret III. The basin began to yield high volumes of rich produce, attracting growing populations and increasing trade with other regions in Egypt and civilizations abroad. Today, the people of the Fayoum live similarly to their ancient ancestors, farming the land and maintaining its reputation as an agricultural cornucopia and cultural time capsule. I saw donkeys pulling carts carrying fruits, vegetables and people from place to place along dusty dirt roads. Wooden fishing canoes dotted the shores of expansive man-made lakes, which were connected by Egypt’s largest waterfall. The entire basin seemed to have been protected from the clattering machinery and dense fog of industrialization. 

A fishing canoe in Fayoum. Masondan. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

After finishing up at the restaurant, my mother, father, sister and I loaded into a rugged white Jeep that transported us even further back in time. The green farmland and quaint villages soon disappeared in the rearview mirror as we sped deeper into the vast nothingness of the desert, with no visible landmarks to guide our way. Our driver seemed one with the sand, confidently navigating the dunes and never once even hinting at the possibility of getting lost. The Jeep rattled along for quite a while and, for a moment, I thought we may actually reach the edge of the Earth. Eventually, clusters of irregular shapes appeared on the horizon, and we approached the unique rock formations that marked the entrance to Wadi El-Hitan. 

Keriann Slayton

Discovered by a team of geologists in 1902, the 37-million-year-old fossils of “Whale Valley” make Senusret III’s reign seem like yesterday. After hopping out of the Jeep for photos in front of a landscape that looked like it was copied and pasted from another planet, we arrived at the visitor’s center, a structure organized as a collection of concrete domes with a relatively bare interior that revealed evolutionary secrets long buried beneath the sand. As we ventured deeper into the UNESCO World Heritage site, we encountered whale skeletons stretching as long as 50 feet, and alongside skulls and spines rested the bones that made up the legs and knees of the prehistoric creatures. The fossils confirmed scientists’ long-held suspicions that whales evolved from terrestrial mammals, transitioning to full-time life in the ocean over the course of millions of years. 

The most intriguing were the snake-like remains of the Basilosaurus, the enormous ancient whale whose bite marks were visible in the skulls of some smaller Dorudon skeletons. The fossils expose a history of Egypt that long predates the Pharaohs and their Pyramids, a history that predates the Nile itself. As we trekked up and down the dunes, following the fossil-flanked paths, the spirit of the ancient sea made itself undeniable even in the face of the endless desert—it began to rain. 

The drizzle, so rare in the Wadi, connected me and my family across time and species to the legacy of the massive marine beings so instrumental in evolutionary history. We explored for a few hours, and when we finally emerged from Whale Valley, we piled back into the Jeep and dune-busted our way to a remote lake, arriving just in time for sunset. Our driver built a fire and made traditional Berber tea, which we drank on the shores until darkness threatened our route out of the desert and we had to depart.

I fell asleep quickly on the nearly three hour drive back to Cairo, dreaming of colorfully painted wooden boats, sledding down sand dunes, and whales with legs.

Keriann Slayton

Keriann is studying International Literary and Visual Studies and History at Tufts University, where she is a student athlete on the softball team and writes for the campus newspaper. Journalism allows her to meet fascinating people, engage with her community, and nurture her long-held passion for storytelling.  She loves to fuel her interest in history and culture through travel, and she has visited Spain, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Italy. She hopes to share compelling narratives from around the world in order to better connect humanity across time and cultures

8 Reasons to Visit Oman

Oman is truly a feast of the senses—a remarkable getaway for anyone seeking a fulfilling adventure.

The Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman. Madison Paulus

After returning from study abroad in Oman, I have a newfound admiration for the country’s history, culture, views and activities. The vitality of Omani culture despite outside influence is admirable and I could see it reflected everywhere I went. From the very first day, I felt welcomed and immersed within the Omani lifestyle. This trip was an incredible experience, inspiring me to share eight reasons why you should experience Oman.

1. Rich History 

View of a mosque from the Nizwa Fort. Madison Paulus

Oman is the oldest independent nation in the region, brimming with about 1,000 well preserved historical sites. While civilization in Oman began around 100,000 years ago, many popular historical sites came about during Portuguese occupation between 1507 and 1650. 

In Muscat, the capital of Oman, explorers can find several forts. The Muttrah Fort, which the Portuguese built in 1507 can be found at the heart of Muscat's coast. Here, travelers can gaze upon 500-year-old lookouts. 

The Mutrah Fort serves as a vantage point for travelers as it is nearby several other must-see spots, including the Mutrah Market, Al Alam Palace and the National Museum of Oman. Many other castles and forts can be found strewn across Oman, including the Nizwa Fort and Jibreen Castle.

2. Fruitful Culture 

A man making pottery at the Jibreen Castle. Madison Paulus

Oman boasts an impressive blend of cultures. The Omani empire once ruled an area spanning from the east coast of Africa up to present-day Oman. Because of the vast territory and major role in trade, African, Arabian and Asian influences can be found embedded within Omani culture.

Home to more than 130 various types of traditional dances and music, Oman’s performance arts delight travelers and locals alike. Omanis are also expressive through their dress. Women can often be seen in vibrant clothing featuring intricate designs that are unique to each region. Men wearing dishdashas dot the streets, sometimes sporting traditional Khanjars (daggers) on special occasions.

Omani hospitality is another key feature of Omani culture. Omanis are known to be warm and welcoming to travelers, sure to offer friendly interactions and generous gifts for guests including coffee, dates and frankincense. For those searching for opportunities to immerse in Omani culture, there are many festivals open to travelers, including the Muscat Festival and the Salalah Festival.

3. Culinary Diversity 

A variety of spices at the Nizwa Market. Madison Paulus

As with the culture, Omani food features Arabian, Asian and African influences. Some renowned Omani dishes include Shuwa, Rukhal bread and Halwa. Shuwa is a unique dish saved for special occasions. Meticulously prepared, Shuwa consists of meat cooked in a clay oven underground for up to two days, giving way to a tender, spice-filled delicacy.

Rukhal bread is a delightful addition that can be found accompanying any meal. Traditionally cooked over flaming palm leaves, Rukhal bread is round and thin, often served with honey or date syrup in the morning or sprinkled across meat and rice dishes throughout the rest of the day. 

Halwa is a labor of love, often symbolic of Omani hospitality. A sticky, gelatinous treat, Halwa is usually made by combining water, ghee, corn flour, sugar and additional flavorings such as rose water or saffron in a large copper pot. Beyond the restaurants and markets, an ideal place where explorers can indulge in Omani cuisine is the Muscat Eat Food Festival.

4. Unique Commodities 

A display of Amouage perfume at the Mall of Oman. Madison Paulus

With an abundance of frankincense and other natural resources, Oman is home to many exceptional goods. Fragrances in particular are an Omani specialty, and Amouage is an exhibition of this expertise. A popular Omani luxury fragrance brand, Amouage draws from Oman’s natural wonders to create enchanting scents, incorporating locally sourced rock roses, ambergris and frankincense. 

While the products aren't budget friendly for many people, travelers can tour the only Amouage factory in the world for free in Muscat, getting a behind-the-scenes look and while sampling their extravagant fragrances along the way. 

If perfumes aren’t your thing, the smell of burning frankincense and oud can be experienced all over the country. For those who wish to bring the essence of Oman home with them, these products, along with traditional burners, can be found easily at shops and markets.

5. Vibrant Art

Hand-woven baskets on display at the Nizwa Market. Madison Paulus

Many art forms have been intertwined with Omani culture for thousands of years. Pottery is a 5,000-year-old tradition in Oman that is still present across the country. Holding great historical value, pottery has been integral in the lives of Omanis for thousands of years. 

While pottery today is often decorative, its historical and cultural value has been maintained here. In the ancient Omani state of Bahla, explorers can buy pottery from local sculptures or even learn how to make their own at the Al Adawi factory. 

Other intriguing Omani handicrafts include basket weaving and silversmithing. Hand-woven baskets made of date palm or other natural fibers can be found in markets across the country, and travelers can witness the process in action at the Nizwa Fort. Silver goods like khanjar (daggers) and jewelry can also be found throughout Oman’s markets, symbolic of Omani heritage and good fortune.

6. Comfortable Climate 

A view of the landscape from atop the Nizwa Fort. Madison Paulus

Oman’s weather and climate vary significantly by region, easily accommodating travelers’ preferences. With the interior's dry deserts surrounded by southwest summer monsoons and hot, humid coastlines, Oman offers a warm getaway whether you like sun or rain.

Because of this variation, Oman is a year-round destination, with northern Oman attracting many during the months of October through April, and the South drawing explorers most during July, August, and September, according to a presentation by Zahara Tours.

7. Natural Wonders 

Camels sit in the sand outside the Arabian Oryx Camp. Madison Paulus

Oman’s ecosystems feature a huge diversity of plants and animals, from rock roses and apricots to turtles and camels. With 20 official nature reserves, travelers are offered a wide array of destinations to appreciate Oman’s natural beauty from the mountains to the sea.

Some iconic destinations for explorers to witness nature at its finest include the Al Jinz Turtle Reserve and Daymaniyat Island, where you can swim with whale sharks as they migrate south every summer.

With several caves beneath the earth and many wonders like waterfalls and valleys above, Oman’s astonishing ecology is situated in equally breathtaking natural landscapes. 

8. Adventurous Activities 

A Dhow boat sailing in the Gulf of Oman. Madison Paulus

Travelers itching for activity have countless options in Oman. Hikers will feel right at home, with many trails at varying levels of difficulty found throughout the Hajar and Musandam mountains. 

Travelers can also explore the desert on camel-back or by riding on ATVs. The Arabian Oryx Camp is a perfect spot for either, in addition to offering Bedouin-style accommodations and authentic Arab cuisine.

For those who prefer to spend time in the water, Oman’s nearly 1,300 miles of coastline offers beaches where travelers can swim and snorkel through blue waters.

Madison Paulus

Madison is a student at George Washington University studying international affairs, journalism, mass communication, and Arabic. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Madison grew up in a creative, open-minded environment. With passions for human rights and social justice, Madison uses her writing skills to educate and advocate. In the future, Madison hopes to pursue a career in science communication or travel journalism.

Generation Z Quits Vaping for the Congo

Rampant child labor in the Congo has ignited an ethical social movement among Generation Z.

Child Mining in Kailo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Julien Harneis. CC BY 2.0

Many young people have recently decided to quit vaping, not because of health risks like their parents with smoking but to instead protest child labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since gaining its independence in 1960, the DRC has experienced persistent hostilities in its Eastern provinces. In the last six weeks alone, violence in the North Kivu province has displaced more than 450,000 people. The intensification of violence has additionally resulted in devastating impacts on the lives of children, who have been forced into child labor.

Based on statistics from the Bureau of International Labor Affairs in 2022, 17.4% of children aged 5 to 14 in the DRC are working full-time. This includes over 40,000 child laborers toiling in cobalt mines in one province alone, according to UN agencies. The work that the children do is divided into multiple activities, including but not limited to agriculture, industry and services. The categorical worst form of child labor is forced mining. As a country that holds more than 50% of the world’s cobalt reserves, the DRC is a global leader in its production in artisanal mines. However, as a result of the nation’s poverty rates, child labor is common in this sector and deemed a necessity. Impoverished parents who can not afford to send their children to school have them contribute to the household by working. Even with the DRC Child Protection Code of 2009 that provides “free and compulsory primary education,” there is not enough government support and funding to take this financial responsibility off of parents. In 2022, the DRC made minimal advancements in efforts to eliminate child labor in its worst forms, causing Gen Z to take matters into its own hands.

Gen Z, characteristically hooked on vaping, has decided to quit the habit to stand in solidarity with those working in the DRC. The movement initially began on TikTok and has since spread, condemning vapes not for the cost or risks, but for their materials. Vapes have lithium-ion batteries that are made of raw minerals, including cobalt. As demand for vapes and other lithium containing products grows, there will be a greater need for lithium production, exacerbating existing problems for the mining industry and its workers. Already, the conditions for workers in the mines are harsh. Of the 255,000 Congolese citizens mining cobalt, 40,000 are children in the country’s southeast who dig all day in mines with small shovels or their bare hands for searing-hot stones. Children excavate materials in ditches or rivers where they have to haul the metal that they find. This work in a mine can last up to 12 hours each day to earn only between one and two dollars. For an industry that was estimated at USD 15.97 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow 6.2% from 2023 to 2030, child laborers are earning significantly less than those industries that they produce cobalt for. Glencore, the largest cobalt-producing company, achieved a total production of 25,320 metric tons in 2021 and is estimated to be worth nearly $68 billion. In 2022, Glencore’s annual revenue amounted to just under $256 billion, the highest of any mining company in the world.

Gen Z has seemed unmoved by the health risks associated with vaping, but have taken up the call for social justice very seriously. A number of users have taken to TikTok to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Congo and how the West’s demand for cobalt has resulted in a massive increase in child labor. Whether it has been Gen Zers announcing their own decision to quit vaping or spreading information about the emergency in the hopes of influencing others, the movement has certainly gained traction. Amid concerns about the environment and material waste in landfills, users have reshaped the conversation to show how scrapped product only perpetuates demand. An estimated 150 million vapes are being disposed of in the United States each year, with two-thirds of 15–24 year old users placing them straight into the trash, despite the devices’ reusable batteries. This has contributed to the billions of dollars in funding for unnecessary mining, causing those online to call for collective action to stop and consider the ethical implications of their purchase. Much of the conversation has shifted into the interconnectedness of consumerism and its impact on vulnerable workers.


The government of the DRC has established policies related to child labor, but a lack of regional scope has hindered their effects. The National Sectoral Strategy to Combat Child Labor in Artisanal Mines and Artisanal Mining Sites was developed to eradicate child labor in mines by 2025. Its strategy aims to strengthen laws, promote responsible sourcing and improve child protection measures. Additionally, the Child Labor Monitoring System was launched to identify and remove children from mines. These efforts seek to raise awareness of child labor at its worst form and empower communities to stop these practices. However, the government of the DRC does not currently have policies to address the issue of child labor at a regional level, making it unlikely that the mining sector will be much changed. However, because the internet has emerged as a powerful tool for social change, Gen Z hopes to take advantage of it to boycott human rights abuses. By leveraging social media to create changes in their own behavior, the youth aim to limit the ability of companies to compromise human rights for a profit.

Mira White

Mira is a student at Brown University studying international and public affairs. Passionate about travel and language learning, she is eager to visit each continent to better understand the world and the people across it. In her free time she perfects her French, hoping to someday live in France working as a freelance journalist or in international affairs.

Flooding in Libya: A Harbinger of Climate Change’s Deadly Effects

Sustainable infrastructure is the world’s best defense against increase in precipitation due to climate change.

Aid workers struggle to reach city in Libya where catastrophic flooding killed thousands. PBS.

Catastrophic flooding in Libya in September has taken as many as 5,300 human lives, according to the Interior Ministry of Libya’s eastern government. Amid such massive human casualties, many around the world are left wondering how such losses may be prevented as climate related natural disasters become increasingly common.

Extreme flooding events like the one in Libya are on the rise as Earth’s average temperature increases, causing more evaporation and thus greater precipitation. According to the EPA, global precipitation has increased by an average of 0.04 inches per decade since 1901. In more than half of recorded locations, flooding is now at least 5 times more common than it was in the 1950s. This month alone, the effects of extreme precipitation and flooding have been felt in Hong Kong, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Libya and the United States. 

In Libya and around the world, urban planning must adapt quickly to the rising threat of flooding. However, this poses a challenge for many developing nations where resources are often either limited or diverted elsewhere. For example, in Derna, the city in northeast Libya that was the most affected by the flooding, neglected infrastructure was in part to blame for the catastrophic loss of human life. Heavy rains caused two dams to burst, dams that experts have been warning are prone to collapse for years. Unfortunately, resources in Libya are generally diverted towards the ongoing civil war. More busy with conflict than governing, public officials failed to provide the necessary repairs on the dams.

Moreover, climate change not only increases precipitation but also hinders the environment’s ability to withstand heavy rainfall. In Derna, the inundation of the area has washed away much of the soil, which would have helped absorb some of the precipitation. The ground in and around Derna has been left hard, cracked, and stripped of vegetation. Due to these conditions, very little water was retained in the ground, worsening the flooding. Globally, similar conditions must be prevented if flooding events like the one in Libya are to be curbed. 

Libya is far from the only place where the infrastructure is inadequate in the face of increasingly heavy rains. Most urban areas around the world, even those in rich countries with the resources to adapt like the United States, have not created infrastructure nor correctly supported the local environment to prevent extreme flooding. Globally, urban planning must now be rapidly modified to account for increasing precipitation.

Making the ground more permeable is the most impactful way urban planning can help reduce extreme flooding. One way this can be achieved is through the incorporation of permeable pavement. Using this type technique allows water to pass through porous paved surfaces into groundwater stores instead of overwhelming the local drainage systems. Further, creating more green spaces, including green roofs, trees, parks, and rain gardens, all increase the permeability of the ground. When the ground can absorb more water, flooding events like the one in Libya may be prevented.

Get Involved:

To help Libyan flood victims you can donate to UNICEF, International Rescue Community, or Doctors Without Borders.

Sophia Larson

Sophia Larson is a recent graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University. She previously worked as the Assistant Editor on the 2021 book Young People of the Pandemic. She has also participated as a writer and editor at several student news publications, including “The UMass Daily Collegian” and “Bwog, Columbia Student News.”

Chad is the Country Most Vulnerable to Climate Change

In Chad, climate change creates new challenges for an already disadvantaged population.

Humanitarian aid in Chad. EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Due to its geography, Chad has experienced a temperature increase of 1.5 times higher than other places in the world. With additional disadvantages of poverty and political conflict, Chad has been ranked as the country most vulnerable to climate change. Here are some of the ways Chad is currently being affected by climate change, as well as current action against this crisis and ways you can help.

Lake Chad

Satellite images of Lake Chad’s shrinking waters between 1984 and 2018. Fae. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

With a surface area of 2.3 million square kilometers, Lake Chad is the country’s reservoir. Climate degradation has taken a toll on this freshwater inland sea over the decades, resulting in its shrinkage of 90 percent within the past 60 years. Not only does this affect the country of Chad itself, but also surrounding nations that rely on Lake Chad, such as Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon. The increasing lack of this water source reduces the availability of drinking water for both humans and animals, and also impacts irrigation and fishing. Access to clean water is an existing issue in Chad, with only 43 percent of the population able to obtain clean drinking water, forcing many to consume unsafe water that exposes them to diseases like cholera.

Flooding

Chari River. Afcone. CC BY-ND 2.0.

In sharp contrast to the drought affecting Lake Chad, the rest of this Sahelian Republic has suffered flood damage over the past year, caused by its heaviest rain season in 30 years. In October of 2022, both the Chari and Logone rivers overflowed, causing 18 out of 23 Chadian provinces to flood. This flooding has affected more than 340,000 people, destroying thousands of homes and farmland. Though climate change has caused much drought in Chad, it is also a contributing factor to this flooding. As climate change causes temperatures to rise, it allows for more evaporation from the ground and water sources, leading to extended periods of drought and punctuated by bursts of extreme rainfall.

Illness

Medicine in Faya-Largeau, Chad. Gerhard Holub. CC BY-SA 4.0. 

Another way climate change endangers Chadians is by increasing the probability of illness transmission. As mosquitoes are attracted to water, increased flooding could create a greater risk of malaria contraction. In 2022, there were 1.8 million cases of malaria in Chad, with over 2,500 fatalities. Though malaria cases have decreased over the last 20 years due to an increase in treatment and preventative measures, they have been rising within the last decade, with 190 cases per 1,000 at risk in 2014 versus 206 cases per 1,000 in 2021. An uptick in temperatures can also cause a greater risk of meningitis, an illness that is common in Southern Chad, which is part of a region known as the “Meningitis Belt.” Heatstroke is also a danger to Chadian people, as well as malnutrition, as crops are destroyed by drought and flooding. With only 1 in 17 children having access to soap and water to wash their hands with, there is already a public health crisis in Chad, and rising temperatures only exacerbate the problem. 

Resolutions

World Food Programme. Anjeli Mendoza. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Chad National Adaptation Plan Advancement Project (NAP)

Launched in 2018, the NAP was created as part of Chad’s national contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement. With this plan, eight areas are prioritized, including environmental subjects such as agriculture, forests, sanitation, water resources, and more. National planning and budgeting are being developed on these fronts, all aiming to improve conditions for the Chadian population.

United Nations (UN)

In April, the United Nations appealed for $674 million for a humanitarian response plan, in order to address climate, health, and food crises in Chad. The Sustainable Development Group of the UN also aims to aid the country in its struggles by helping the government enact national security, humanitarian and economic policies.

World Food Programme (WFP)

The WFP provides nutritional support to infants, young children, and pregnant women in order to combat malnutrition in Chad, helping 458,000 children and 235,400 nursing and pregnant women in 2021. WFP has also provided meals to schoolchildren and helped restore degraded land.

To Get Involved

Click here to donate to the World Food Programme.

Click here to donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Click here to donate to UNICEF.

Alexandra Copeland

Alexandra Copeland is a student at The College of New Jersey studying psychology and journalism. She is a lover of coffee, dancing, and visiting new places. Being raised with her Greek culture has inspired her interest in cultural customs around the world. She is a passionate writer and hopes that her work will make an impact in the future.

An Ethiopian’s Path to From Refugee Camp to College Campus

How a refugee survived genocide and rebuilt a life in the United States.

Omot retelling his journey coming to the U.S. during our interview. Image courtesy of Ojullu Omit.

This semester, I had the privilege of connecting with Ojullu Omot, whose life was forever altered by tragedy. On December 13, 2003, when he was just 14 years old, Omot experienced a massacre at his hometown in south-west Ethiopia. As part of a Wake Forest University project to raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees, a team made up of me and my classmates produced a 10-minute advocacy film that aims to shed light on the often-overlooked struggles refugees encounter while adapting to life in the United States. Omot’s story is a testament to the blend of heartbreak and perseverance that characterizes the ongoing global refugee crisis, capturing the resilience and fortitude of those seeking haven away from home.

Omot’s story began with displacement, as he fled the 2003 massacre in the remote Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia. From December 13-15, in a reprisal against a small ambush against Ethiopian federal government officials, ethnically Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan soldiers and rioters murdered hundreds of minority Anuak civilians. Human Rights Watch’s report suggests that these atrocities should be considered crimes against humanity. . The Ethiopian government claimed that only 57 were killed and that the violence resulted from ethnic tensions between rival Anuak and Nuer groups, in contrast to the claims of international human rights groups and the Anuak themselves.  Human rights NGOs have called for a thorough investigation into the incident, with concerns that others like it could occur. Despite facing deadly tragedy along with the immense challenges of settling into a new society as a refugee, Omot has found a new home in the United States, where he serves as a living witness to the egregious human rights abuses of his homeland. He remains committed to starting a new chapter in life.

By now Omot has gotten used to retelling the story of how he left his home in Ethiopia in the midst of genocidal violence, and his journey  from there to become an international politics student in the United States. The three-day-long massacre in Gambella town of southwestern Ethiopia was an outburst of ethnic conflict between the indigenous Anuak group and members of the Ethiopian military. As the situation in Ethiopia deteriorated, Omot moved to Sudan when he was a teenager, with the hope that things would get better in a year or two.

But they didn’t. The military confrontation neither started, nor ended with the massacre.  More than 10,000 Anuak people were forced to leave Ethiopia in 2004, the year after the massacre took place.

Omot left Sudan for Kenya after two years of waiting. The unrest had separated him from his family, and he lacked many colorful memories about his childhood in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. What he remembered is playing football with his friends in refugee camps everyday; many of those eventually being sent to Canada, Australia and other developed nations. Omot remembers planes from the United Nation hovered above their heads in refugee camps, dropping food and supplies and people hurrying to grab them. “We were dependent on the refugee program,” Omot said, “Resettlement in the United States was not a typical solution for refugees living in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) camp.”

Omot never dreamed about coming to the United States then. He was invested in the idea that everything will go back to normal in Ethiopia, and that he could then return home. Yet Omot’s life took a major turn in the year 2016. He was called for an interview, which he later found out was part of the application process by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees concerning whether he is eligible for resettlement in the United States as a refugee. The approval rate for a refugee status in the United States is 27%, according to World Data.  

Omot waited for roughly six months until he was called for a series of security checks, examinations and orientation. In February 2016, International Organization for Migration contacted Omot, telling him that his case is ready. He then boarded a plane to the United States on April 4th, 2016, his first ever flight. When he landed in Miami, Florida, it was like landing on a new planet- the shock of the novel language and lifestyle almost dazzled the then 28 year old. 

“There was something change, [such as] the day became longer, I was not even comfortable, and I cannot see where I come from, ” Omot recalled his initial exposure to the United States, “The first question I asked myself [was], is this the U.S. [as] I expected it?”

And the first few months continued to affirm to him that starting anew wasn’t easy. Omot often found himself alone in his house assigned by the government, since his roommates busied themselves working in the daytime, and went straight to sleep not long after walking in the door at night. Comparing the situation to the community life in Ethiopia, where everyone would sit down and share stories after a day’s work, filled Omot with homesickness at night. 

Language is also a major challenge to Omot. Going to a university was at the top of his wish list when he came to the United States, but he couldn’t even understand people’s accents when he asked for directions on his way to school. He had no idea how to open emails during his first semester at a community college. When one of his classmates finally taught him how to view the inbox, he found emails from professors flooded in there. In winter, the temperature dropped so low that Omot, who used to live near the equator, had to drop his English as Second language (ESL) classes to avoid traveling in freezing weather.

But Omot is determined to realize his dream. Instead of “wasting time” in ESL classes, he decided to push himself, taking the General Educational Development (GED) tests directly.  He works as a hospital janitor in the daytime for living; in the evening and before dawn, he dives into his study. Whenever he had free time, Omot would peruse his textbooks, went up to the library of the community college he attended everyday, asking every librarian what GED looks like, and tips and tricks to score higher. 

The global refugee population has reached crisis proportions, with more than 30 million refugees displaced in 2022, signaling a significant surge from the previous year's level. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported a staggering total of 103 million people forcibly displaced as of mid-2022. In response, President Joe Biden has committed to revamping America’s current “inhumane” immigration policy. However, the administration's effort to admit refugees has fallen significantly short of its goal, with only 25,465 individuals granted admission by the end of the previous fiscal year on September 30, 2022, a mere 20% of the objective. The number of refugees received by the United States still remains one of the lowest among all nations, and the number continues to decrease.

Refugees face a plethora of challenges when they resettle in a foreign country, with attaining secure housing among the most pressing. Asylum seekers in particular struggle to obtain temporary housing due to a lack of government support and unfamiliarity with the US housing system. Non-profit organizations and shelters provide vital assistance to these individuals. Despite this aid, refugee and asylum seekers are disproportionately at risk for health problems, both physical and mental. They are more susceptible to severe mental health conditions like PTSD and depression, while chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease exacerbate their already challenging circumstances.

In 2017, Omot took the GED for the first time. And hard work pays off — he passed the test.

“It [passing the test] gives me hope that I could continue to do all of them,” said Omot, breaking into a smile. And he did. After he finished with GED, Omot is currently pursuing a bachelor degree in international politics at University of North Carolina Greensboro. When asked why he could recall his story in astonishingly clear detail, Omot answered, “I think my story is important because if other people, other refugees heard about it, they would think, oh, this guy did that and starting his new life. Maybe I could do the same.”

To Get Involved:

While Omot is navigating through his new life in the United States, it is not without support from various refugee organizations, such as Every Campus a Refugee (ECAR), an organization aiming to mobilize colleges and universities to host refugees on campus grounds and support them in their resettlement. ECAR provided nearly 4 years free housing and accessories to Omot, and provides several other services to refugees in the North Carolina region. Learn more about ECAR here.

Hope Zhu

Hope is a Chinese international student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina studying sociology, statistics, and journalism. She dreams of traveling around the globe as a freelance reporter while touching on a wide range of social issues from education inequality to cultural diversity. Passionate about environmental issues and learning about other cultures, she is eager to explore the globe. In her free time, she enjoys cooking Asian cuisine, reading, and theater.