Resist to Exist

Empires practise imperialism. Empires subordinate masses and nations and exact tribute from them. The reason and means by which tribute is exacted change by changing historical circumstance. Imperialism assumes new forms and there are many ways to define imperialism. Each definition depends on the angle one takes or the level of abstraction one assumes.

Strategies of the Coalition in the Yemen War

Aerial Bombardment and Food War

This report gives an overview not available elsewhere of the impact of the Coalition bombing campaign on food production and distribution in rural Yemen and on fishing along the Red Sea coast.  If one places the damage to the resources of food producers (farmers, herders, and fishers) alongside the targeting of food processing, storage and transport in urban areas and the wider economic war, there is strong evidence that Coalition strategy has aimed to destroy food production and distribution in the areas under the control of Sanʿaʾ. From the autumn of 2016, economic war has compounded physical destruction to create a mass failure in basic livelihoods.

War, Famine, and the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, presentations by Martha Mundy and Dyan Mazurana

"Return of Famine" conference, Tufts University, May 4, 2018.

Human Rights and Toxic Chemicals in the Occupied West Bank (Palestine)

Between 1st – 7th May 2016, representatives from Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) and Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP) undertook a joint documentation mission in the Occupied West Bank to better understand the human rights implications of the illegal production, trade, and dumping of pesticides, the dumping of industrial and domestic waste by Israeli settlers, and the culpability of state as well as corporate actors.

National Conflicts, Food Sovereignty and Development Cooperation

Implications for Peace and Development in Countries in Conflict Situations: Case of Palestine

The colonization, occupation, and closure experienced in Palestine over the past several decades have caused the local food and agricultural system to fall into steep decline. As in most conflicts of this nature, Palestine has also attracted the attention and funding of the international community. This paper addresses the impact that this interest from the international development sector has had on Palestine’s food system, arguing that both the Israeli occupation and the international donor community contribute to the inability of Palestinian farmers to achieve sovereignty over their food system.

Pesticides and Agroecology in the Occupied West Bank

In May 2016, representatives from Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) and PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP) undertook a visit to the Occupied West Bank in Palestine. One of the main purposes of this visit was to assess the human rights and environmental implications of the manufacture and illicit trade in pesticides into the Occupied West Bank from inside the Green Line. Much of the material in this report was obtained from site visits and discussions with government officials, farmers, farm union leaders and academics.

Boycott as a Mechanism for Exercising Market Power

Israeli colonization, occupation, and siege have been devastating for the food and agricultural system in Palestine. 33% of the population of the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) is food insecure, spending 34.5% of their income on food – their biggest share of cash expenditure.

The occupation severely impacts the ability of Palestinian smallholders to access markets needed to purchase agricultural inputs and to sell agricultural goods.