Kurds
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Al-Hol camp in Syria
Bring extremists' children out — but leave mothers?
As Syrian camps housing families of Islamic State fighters get more dangerous, there are calls to bring children out, even if the mothers don't want to go. The idea of separating families is a controversial one. By Cathrin Schaer
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Migrating to Germany
Turks up sticks as prospects worsen at home
Inflation, poverty, and no freedom of expression: as the political and economic situation in Turkey worsens under Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic government, more and more Turks are fleeing to Germany. Elmas Topcu reports
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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 Erbil
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The Kolbars of Iran’s Kurdistan
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The Kolbars of Iran's Kurdistan
Hundreds of porters, locally known as ‘kolbars’, cross the mountainous border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan all year round. With Iran’s economic crisis deepening, ever more Kurds are choosing this poorly paid and extremely dangerous job as the only way to make a living and provide for their families. Images and text by Konstantin Novakovic
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The war in Syria
Overshadowed, yet still a major issue
The Syrian conflict remains insoluble for the time being. Yet Europe could start managing it better. By reorganising humanitarian aid supplies, becoming more involved in the northeast and coordinating initiatives in the northwest, it could alleviate hardship, counter extremism and bring hope, writes Kristin Helberg
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Political crisis in Iraq
Fighting for Shia hearts and minds
The clashes in Baghdad between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and pro-Iranian militias show that an intra-Shia power struggle is in full swing. An analysis from Cairo by Karim El-Gawhary
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Documentary "The Other Side of the River
Women's liberation in a war zone
The documentary "The Other Side of the River" shows how women in the Kurdish regions of northern Syria fight for their rights under the most difficult conditions. By Aviva Freudmann
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Cem Kaya on Turkish pop culture
As multi-faceted as Asia Minor
Known for his documentary films about Turkish pop culture, German-born director Cem Kaya's latest work "Liebe, D-Mark und Tod" (Love, Deutschmarks and Death) focuses on the musical culture of Turkish migrants in Germany. He talks to Schayan Riaz about his creative processes, German-Turkish relations and of course, about the music
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Russia, Ankara and Damascus
Who decides Turkey's foreign policy?
Following months spent considering a military incursion into northern Syria, Turkey now appears to want talks with Syria to ensure security and the return of refugees. From Istanbul Ayse Karabat analyses what caused the about-turn for Qantara.de
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Istanbul in 24 hours
What's it like to live in a fractured city?
Turkey is so much more than its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Christiane Schloetzer has selected twenty-four of Istanbul's sixteen million inhabitants, creating a portrait of the Bosphorus metropolis based on their life stories. By Rainer Hermann
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Challenging Turkish history from the ground up
"The stories of our families"
More and more voices are being raised in Turkey that challenge previous versions of the country's history. These alternative accounts, still largely ignored by official quarters, are breaching longstanding taboos and deconstructing the political narrative. By Ceyda Nurtsch