As part of our network spotlight, we are pleased to highlight a recent interview on Abramundi (in French) featuring Simon Suleymani — a Kurdish human rights activist, journalist, and filmmaker, and the learder of a member organization in the WeAreMENA network. In this conversation, Simon shares his personal journey from political persecution and imprisonment, and share about his work advocating for Kurdish rights and cultural preservation through journalism and cinema. The discussion explores themes of exile, resistance, and the future of peace in the MENA region, including the role of regional cooperation and what Simon describes as an “Abrahamic” framework for coexistence.
For the first time in history, youth leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa gathered this week in Paris for three days of dialogue. Against the backdrop of improving relations between Israel and Syria, they discussed building a regional alliance against terrorism and the possibility of pushing their governments toward political agreement. “It’s always easiest to talk about war — and almost always hardest to talk about peace.”