Hassan Al Kontar: What did Syrian refugee learn while stuck in an airport?

Hassan Al Kontar
A Syrian refugee has finally found a home in Canada after being stranded for seven months in a Malaysian airport.

Hassan Al Kontar had become resigned to living in the domestic transfer lounge of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after being deported from the United Arab Emirates and overstaying his Malaysian tourist visa. Unable to return to Syria, he documented his life inside the terminal in a series of viral tweets, eventually attracting the attention of a Canadian volunteer group who filed a refugee application on his behalf.

Hassan joins us to share his experience and bring attention to the desperate measures Syrians  take to escape the brutality of their country’s war.

“I am a woman”
Women throughout Israel hit the streets on Tuesday demanding the government address femicide and a sharp rise in domestic violence against women. Twenty-four women have been killed in incidents of domestic violence this year, officials say. Tuesday’s rally was sparked by the murders of two teenage girls at the hands of men they knew.

Demonstrators accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not acting to arrest the trend and called for an increase in government funding to stop violence against women. About 200,000 women in Israel are victims of abuse, according to statistics compiled by the Women’s International Zionist Organization.

In this segment, we’ll look at the stories behind the shocking figures and discuss how the protests are bringing together women across both Israeli and Palestinian society.

Wildlife in danger
The US government has approved oil and gas companies to use seismic tests for Atlantic offshore oil drilling. Environmental and animals rights groups say the move, which reverses an Obama-era measure that prohibited offshore drilling within 50 miles of the Atlantic coast, will put many marine species at risk of injury or death.

Seismic air gun testing involves blasting short bursts of loud noises for possibly months at a time – an operation that could be harmful to aquatic animals. Although testing has been approved along the coast between New Jersey and Florida, a coalition of business owners, activists, and politicians oppose the decision.

In this segment, we’ll explore the possible impact of these tests on the environment and ocean life.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:

Hassan Al Kontar @Kontar81
Syrian refugee

Allison K. Sommer @AllisonKSommer
Journalist, Haaretz

Michael Jasny @NRDC
Director, Marine Mammal Protection Project, Natural Resources Defense Council
nrdc.org

Samah Salaime @Samahse
Founder & Director, Na’am – Arab Women in the Center
facebook.com

Read more:

Syrian stranded at Malaysia airport for months arrives in Canada – Al Jazeera
Demonstrators Across Israel Protest Violence Against Women – NPR
Trump administration to allow seismic blasting harmful to marine creatures – The Guardian