The Stream

When will the US government reunite separated families?

In this episode, we also take a look at upcoming elections in Zimbabwe and the #DemandPressFreedom campaign.

Upcoming elections in Zimbabwe

On July 30 Zimbabweans will head to the polls for an election in which youth and social media could be determining factors. Half of the population is now under 25, and they will have unprecedented power in the first election since a coup toppled long-time leader Robert Mugabe. Of 23 candidates, current President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s main rival is Nelson Chamisa, 40, from the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance. We’ll explore the power of youth, worries about vote rigging, and the potential for change in a post-Mugabe era.

Reunited families?
One week after US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order stopping the separation of families due to his administration’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy we’ll revisit stories from the detention centres as efforts to reunite more than 2,000 children with their parents are underway. It’s been a week of chaos as the various agencies coordinating immigrant enforcement and detention try to get families back together. This week Trump called for immediate deportation without due process, and there has been confusion about choices parents have in seeking asylum or getting deported. We’ll look at the challenges of reuniting these families.

#DemandPressFreedom
Al Jazeera Media Network is marking one year since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt demanded that it be shut down. Al Jazeera is continuing to call for solidarity in the pursuit of freedom of the press with a new campaign: #DemandPressFreedom. The network is also renewing calls for the release of Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein who has spent more than 500 days in an Egyptian jail after returning to his home country for a holiday. In this segment, we’ll take a look at press freedom in 2018.

 

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:

 

Tau Tawengwa, @zimrays

Political analyst

 

Linda T. Masarira, @lilomatic

Human rights activist

 

Erika Pinheiro,  @AlOtroLado_Org

Policy and litigation Director, Al Otro Lado

 

Holly Cooper,  @abogadatejana

Co-director of the Immigration Law Clinic

 

Baher Mohamed, @Bahrooz

Producer, Al Jazeera

 

Barbara Trionfi, @barbara_trionfi​

Executive Director, International Press Institute

Read more: 
Zimbabwe after the June 23 bomb attack – Al Jazeera English
US unveils plan to reunite separated migrant families – Al Jazeera English

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