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To many more recognitions of the Circassian Genocide

•2 min read

It finally happened: Ukraine recognised the Circassian Genocide. Some of you may not know this about me, but I am a diaspora Circassian, born and raised in Jordan. I grew up in a Circassian community, and I went to a Circassian school, but had this recognition taken place, say, 20 years ago, I likely would not have batted an eye, and neither would many others, whether my age or older. There was a time where we Circassians — at least in Jordan — were not aware of what had happened to our ancest

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Georgian Dream’s ‘alternative facts’ machine

by Nate Ostiller

•3 min read

As public backlash — and condemnation from Georgia’s traditional allies — over the government’s EU U-turn continues, the Georgian Dream government and its media affiliates have increasingly tried to bend reality to suit their purposes. This is not a new tactic for the government and its media supporters like TV Imedi and PosTV, but it has reached jarring levels of cognitive dissonance amid the ongoing protest movement. From my perspective as a journalist, whose primary goal is to cover, as bes

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Nine years of pressure

by Aytan Farhadova

•3 min read

‘Shirin and the girls were detained’ was a phrase first whispered in 2015 while Meydan TV staff were being trained in Ukraine. I was working with them at the time. The news shocked everyone, and as I remember one of my colleagues arguing with everyone after hearing this news while we were in the office of the Ukraine media outlet Nashi Qroshi. This month, a similar refrain was uttered when Meydan TV journalist Aysel Umudova sent a voice message on Telegram saying ‘Aytaj, Khayala, Aynur, Natig

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Cutting the aid of those in need

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•2 min read

Last week brought bad news for Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. For a little over a year, the 100,000 refugees who lost their homes have been relying on government aid to cover rent and utilities in Armenia. Rental prices, which skyrocketed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have left Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians with little choice but to pay increased rents, especially in and around Yerevan, where they prefer to stay for work, education, and other opportunities. The aid is modest — just ֏50,00

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How police violated my rights as a journalist

by Mariam Nikuradze

•2 min read

On Tuesday, police dispersed an opposition-organised protest outside Tbilisi State University. It was the second night protesters were blocking Ilia Chavchavadze, Melikishvili, and Varaziskhevi streets, a major crossroads. Police didn’t issue a warning about the dispersal in advance; they only gave a verbal warning to protest organisers on the site 15 minutes in advance. The dispersal started at around 7:00 in the morning. Thousands of police officers started moving to clear the intersection

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Climate change conference or authoritarian circus?

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

Last week, as COP29 descended on Baku, I came across a video posted by economist Toghrul Mashalli on his Facebook account. In the video, he was talking about how he saw a foreigner walking on the streets of Baku in the evening. He overheard the foreigner filming a video of the street for his friend. ‘I love Baku. Look at this beautiful street. A wonderful city: no crowds, few cars, quiet’, the foreigner was telling his friend. Mashalli said that he wanted to go up to the man and tell him tha

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From Georgia to Georgia, authoritarianism spreads

by Nate Ostiller

•4 min read

As the two Americans on the OC Media staff, Nate and Xandie have been closely watching the US election with an eye for what it will mean at home and in the South Caucasus. Yesterday, we unfortunately watched the US elect Donald Trump in a win for authoritarianism and populism. Just as the US state of Georgia embraced conservatism and a leader with seemingly little interest in democratic values, so did the country of Georgia just a couple of weeks ago, with the ruling Georgian Dream party clai