Author: Birgit Svensson

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Life-size red letters and a heart spell out "I love Sinjar" on a street in the city of Sinjar, Iraq (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Yazidis in Sinjar, Iraq

The deep scars left by IS terror

For centuries, the Yazidis lived in the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar. In 2014, the region was overrun by the so-called "Islamic State", which committed genocide against the Yazididi population. This brutal chapter in Yazidi history has left deep and lasting scars. To this day, the community in Sinjar is still picking up the pieces. By Birgit SvenssonMore

Slaves of Islamic State: The fight to find the missing YazidisThe abduction of women by IS: Traded like cattleThe culture and faith of the Yazidis: Demonised and eternally misunderstood
Scene from Baghdad (image: Hella Mewis)

20 years after the U.S. invasion

Iraq's wounds are slow to heal

20 years after the U.S. invasion, the country between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is only just beginning to recover from the aftermath. But the road is paved with obstacles. Birgit Svensson reports from IraqMore

Kurdistan's decline: Iraq's beacon shines no moreThe Iraq War fifteen years on: "America destroyed my country"Iraqi author Sinan Antoon: The West and its cliched view of Iraq10 years after 9/11: Terror in the name of virtue
Udo Steinbach at an event in Cafe Shabander on Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad (image: private)

Udo Steinbach on Europe and the Gulf

Let's have none of the old arrogance

Middle East expert Udo Steinbach has been advocating closer relations with the Gulf states for years. Genuine interest in regional development, however, needs to look beyond the stereotypes. Birgit Svensson spoke to him in BaghdadMore

FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 Qatar critics and their blind spotsQatar 2022 and the Arab world: 'It’s our World Cup'Germany and the Gulf: Balancing ethics and economics
Baghdad Reading Festival on the Tigris (image: Birgit Svensson)

Iraq's art and literature scene

Culture boom in Baghdad

Frustrated with their politicians, young Iraqis are turning their backs on politics and throwing themselves into cultural life. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Protests in Iraq: The streets speak for themselves!Reform in Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political eliteFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living
A women counts bank notes in Lebanon (photo: Java)

Lebanon's economic collapse

Staring into the abyss

Lebanon was long viewed as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Until relatively recently, billions were deposited in its banks. Gulf states were among the foremost investors in Beirut. But this all came to an end in 2019. Now the troubled nation is gripped by the worst economic crisis in its history. Birgit Svensson reports from Beirut and TripoliMore

Lebanese thinker Martin Accad: "Lebanon's tragedy is political sectarianism"Lebanese protesters call for systemic change: What now for Beirut, once the Paris of the Middle East?Beirut on the brink: Regardless of corona, Lebanon is at economic breaking point
Moroccan fans celebrate World Cup victory in Rabat with flags of Arab states (photo: Christoph Reichwein/dpa/picture-alliance)

Arab world on tenterhooks

World Cup semi-final – "We are all Moroccans"

Morocco has taken the 2022 World Cup by storm, with the northwest Africans reaching the semi-finals for the first time in their soccer history. As the knockout match approaches, Birgit Svensson's public viewing report from Baghdad throws a different light on Morocco's recent victories in QatarMore

Qatar 2022 and the Arab world: "It’s our World Cup"Qatar, Israel and the Palestinians: Middle East conflict impacts World CupFIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Qatar critics and their blind spots
Turkish fighter jets have been flying attacks against Kurdish positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria for days (photo: Eren Bozkurt/AA/picture alliance)

Turkey, Iran – and Iraq's Kurds

Days of reckoning

The Kurds are under attack from two sides: from Turkey, and from Iran. The situation in their territories in northern Iraq is becoming increasingly desperate. Birgit Svensson reports from ErbilMore

Kurdistan's decline: Iraq's beacon shines no moreThe Kurdish YPG and the future of northeastern Syria: Assad smiles from the sidelinesThe future of a people: Good Kurd, bad Kurd"We came from fire": A tribute to the Kurds
Tahrir Square in Baghdad (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Protests in Iraq

The streets speak for themselves!

Once again, political deadlock is driving thousands of Iraqis to Tahrir Square. They want new elections, but the parliament refuses to dissolve. Elected representatives are now being protected from the people. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Political crisis in Iraq: Fighting for Shia hearts and mindsReform in Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political eliteFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living
First session after the election: meeting of the Iraqi parliament, January 2022. (photo: Iraqi Parliament Press Office/Handout/AA/picture alliance)

Iraq bans contact with Israel

Anti-Semitism as state doctrine?

A law has been passed by the Iraqi parliament that criminalises any contact with Israel. In the midst of heated debates on the subject, one crucial aspect has been forgotten: the restitution of Jewish property. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Iraqi Jews: Iraqi Judaism lives on in literary form"Baghdad, yesterday - The making of an Arab Jew"Iraq post-Islamic State: The surprising survival of Mosulʹs Jewish quarterJewish Diplomatic Corps visits UAE: "Our preconceptions are at odds with reality"
An Egyptian boy with a handful of wheat grains (photo: AFP/Getty/ImaMohamed El Shahedges)

Egypt's food crisis

Wheat from the desert?

The lack of grain supplies from Ukraine is forcing Egypt to act. Now even the Toshka project is being revived to grow grain in the desert. Birgit Svensson travelled to see itMore

"Toshka" irrigation project: How Egypt plans to make the desert bloomMiddle East: Water resources – another conflict trigger?Egypt's deepening economic crisis: Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s vanity projects
Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Ukraine and Iraq

Compassion yes, sympathy no

Iraq is in a quandary over Russia and Ukraine. Its attitude toward Kiev is ambivalent, yet it still hopes to emerge as one of the winners in this war. If Russia fails as an oil supplier, Iraq could step in. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Kurdistan's decline: Iraq's beacon shines no moreClimate heroes in Iraq: A life for the treesParliamentary elections in Iraq: Low turnout, high drama
Erbil beneath the citadel (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Kurdistan's decline

Iraq's beacon shines no more

The Kurds are fleeing Kurdistan. The wave of refugees on the Belarusian-Polish border and the drowned Kurds in the English Channel are only the tip of the iceberg. Birgit Svensson visited Erbil and Dohuk to find that the exodus from Kurdistan has already been going on for several yearsMore

Young people in Iraqi Kurdistan: Turning towards religion or away from it?The uncertain future of Kurdish autonomy: What next for Iraqʹs Kurds?Kurdish referendum for political relevance: Papering over the cracks
Climate campaigner Muwafaq Mubareka (right) with his cousin Ali in the tree nursery in the south of Baghdad. Where there used to be orange groves, trees are now growing for the reforestation of Iraq (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Climate heroes in Iraq

A life for the trees

It is getting hotter and hotter in Iraq. Fifty degrees or more is no longer a rarity. The state between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is now one of the hottest countries on earth. Muwafaq Mubareka from Baghdad is determined to fight global warming. Birgit Svensson paid the climate hero a visitMore

COP26 climate conference: Saudi Arabia's climate strategy – greenwashing or genuine transformation?Political scientist Tobias Zumbraegel: How are Middle East countries coping with climate change?Environmental expert Tarik M. Quadir: "If we don’t pull together to save the earth, we will ‘sink’ together"Climate change in Bangladesh: The end of the line for climate migrants in Dhaka
Iraq's interim Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi at the polling station (photo: Khalid Mohammed/AA/picture-alliance)

Parliamentary elections in Iraq

Change or political stagnation in Baghdad?

Will Iraq's parliamentary elections bring change? The new electoral law, which allowed independent candidates to stand for the first time, provided a golden opportunity. But not many people took advantage of it. And voter turnout was shamefully low. Birgit Svensson reports from Baghdad and MosulMore

Iraq's electricity crisis: Iraqis left in the dark by their corrupt politiciansFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth livingIraq's new government: Mr Kadhimi begins a clean-up operationMiddle East: Factbox: Who's competing in Iraq's elections?
Iraq Mosul | Visit of Pope Francis (photo: Andrew Medichini/AP/picture-alliance)

The papal visit to Iraq

The blessing of Pope Francis – "Salaam, salaam, salaam"

The Pope’s journey to the "land between the rivers": places of terror and a dialogue to promote hope and optimism. His meeting with Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was a milestone in the history of Christian-Islamic dialogue. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

The politics of the Pope in Iraq: Pope Francis and Ayatollah al-Sistani, meeting in faithThe Pope in Iraq – "We are all brothers": Can Pope Francis save Iraq's Christians from extinction?Qantara photo essay: Pope Francis' visit to Iraq's biblical sitesChristians in Iraq: Between the frontsChristians in the Middle East: Between coexistence and suppression
Coronavirus graffiti in Gaza (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Ajjour)

COVID-19 in the Middle East

It's high summer and coronavirus has never been stronger

Heat will kill coronavirus – that was the official line at the start of the pandemic. But this is not the case. Infection rates are currently on the rise, even in the world’s hottest regions. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

COVID-19 on the Nile: Egyptians create their own silver lining to coronavirusPolitics, inequality and a lack of transparency: Coronavirus and the Middle East's ongoing state of emergencyCOVID-19 epidemic in Iran: Faith and the coronavirus

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