Meron Estefanos
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos
@meron.bsky.social
1.5K followers 91 following 220 posts
Dyslectic. HRD, journalist, research fellow at @dairinstitute.bsky.social & founder of @btchubafrica.bsky.social Tweets about #Refugees #HumanRights #Eritrea #Africa #WithTheOpressed Personal account
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
972mag.com
+972 Magazine @972mag.com · 2d
INVESTIGATION: Inside Project Nimbus

To secure the lucrative contract, Google & Amazon agreed to secretly notify Israel if a foreign court demands its data, and disregard their own terms of service.

By Yuval Abraham

www.972mag.com/project-nimb...

@mekomit.bsky.social
Inside Israel’s deal with Google and Amazon
To secure Project Nimbus, the tech giants agreed to disregard their own terms of service and tip Israel off if a foreign court demands its data.
www.972mag.com
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
thecontinent.org
The Continent @thecontinent.org · 7h
All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 218 of The Continent

El Fasher has fallen — the last Darfuri city to resist the Rapid Support Forces. After a 500-day siege, the Sudanese army withdrew, leaving 250,000 civilians at the mercy of genocidal militias.

bit.ly/218_TC
This is the cover of The Continent, dated 1 November 2025, Issue 218. It’s illustrated by Wynona Mutisi. The headline reads: “Genocide resumes in Darfur as Sudan tears apart.” The artwork shows a map of Sudan and parts of surrounding countries. Within the map’s borders, two distinct regions are coloured differently — the western side (Darfur) in warm orange-brown tones, and the eastern side in soft purplish-pink. Both regions are filled with drawn faces of people, suggesting large populations. The faces in the orange-brown area look somber and weary, evoking suffering and displacement. The faces in the pink area appear calmer, though still serious.
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 1d
Images coming out of Sudan are horrifying and heartbreaking, it seems that the Janjaweed are finishing what they started 20 years ago. 💔 #StopEthnicCleansing
#SaveDarfur #SaveSudan #AlFashir
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
thecontinent.org
The Continent @thecontinent.org · 2d
As Virunga National Park turns 100, Congo’s crown jewel faces crisis: rebel occupation, local anger, failed projects, and a controversial Belgian “prince” at its helm. Once a symbol of conservation, it’s now a battleground of power, poverty, and profit — even hosting a Bitcoin mine.
The Belgian prince, the national park, and the bitcoin mine
Emmanuel de Merode’s controversial stewardship of the DRC’s iconic Virunga National Park is giving him even greater powers.
continent.substack.com
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
dairinstitute.bsky.social
The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 9d
🚨NEW🚨 from DAIR:

Today we are releasing "Driven Down", a new report on how workplace technology enables Amazon to steal wages, hide labor,
intensify poor working conditions, and evade responsibility.

Read the full report here: drive.google.com/file/d/1yBxy...
Amazon is Building a Surveillance Empire on the Backs of Delivery Drivers. A new report from the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) exposes the dark underbelly of technology-driven workplace surveillance.” Above the text is an old school television with an antenna featuring a surveillance snapshot from a camera inside of an Amazon delivery van. The Amazon logo is upside down and is a frown. Around the television are disembodied eyes and ears.
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
omershatz.bsky.social
Omer Shatz @omershatz.bsky.social · 13d
6 years of joint work with so many colleagues and students

700 pages deconstructing the EU apparatus of power from Z to A

500 officials individuals identified in office b/w 2014 and 2020

122 allegedly implicated in ICC crimes

Next: the 2021-2025 suspects

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Lawyers ask ICC to investigate 122 European officials for crimes against humanity in Mediterranean
Human rights lawyers accused 122 European officials of committing crimes against migrants in the Mediterranean Sea
www.washingtonpost.com
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 14d
A landmark legal action has been filed before the International Criminal Court.
700-page legal brief to the International Criminal Court, exposing the involvement of 122 EU & Member State officials in crimes against humanity committed against migrants on the Central Mediterranean route (2014–2020).
After 6 years (!) of investigation, a landmark legal action has been filed before the International Criminal Court. ICC Counsels Dr. Omer Shatz (front-LEX) and Dr. Juan Branco have submitted a 700-page legal brief to the International Criminal Court, exposing the involvement of 122 European Union and Member State officials in crimes against humanity committed against migrants on the Central Mediterranean route (2014–2020). Since 2017, the ICC Prosecutor has been reporting to the UN Security Council on ongoing crimes against humanity committed against migrants transiting through this route. In an ICC case filed in 2019, Shatz and Branco demonstrated that these crimes are being perpetrated pursuant to EU policies of mass killings by drowning and mass refoulement by proxy. In 2023, the United Nations corroborated these findings, concluding that EU officials participate in the commission of these crimes. Since 2015, more than 25,000 civilians have been killed by drowning, while over 150,000 survivors have been forcibly transferred to Libya, where they were detained, tortured, raped, and enslaved. To date, no European suspect has been investigated by the ICC Prosecutor. Several cohorts of the International Law in Action clinic, part of the Master’s program in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action at Sciences Po Paris, contributed to the research phase of this project. In parallel to the legal filing, we are also launching an online platform that will publicly expose the agencies and officials allegedly implicated in these crimes. Check it out: ➡️ Learn more at crimesagainsthumanity.eu
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 14d
The Channel Crossings project, a 3-year ESCR funded research that investigated the UK response to (irregularised) migration in the English Channel.

You can read the final report here: ⬇️
channelcrossings.org
meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 15d
Spain bets on undocumented people to counter labour shortage and boost growth – Amidst the global rhetoric against undocumented people, Spain stands out as an exception.
Spain bets on migrants to counter labour shortage and boost growth
While the US government is waging an unprecedented deportation campaign against immigrants, combating irregular migration is one of the European Union’s priorities. Amidst the global rhetoric against ...
www.euronews.com
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 15d
Germany and EU partners explore return centres outside the bloc – Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the initiative is in its early stages and requires EU-level legal coordination.
Germany and EU Partners Explore Migrant Return Centers Outside the Bloc
Germany and EU partners are developing plans for migrant “return centers” outside the bloc. Dobrindt said coordination and legal groundwork are needed as Europe debates stricter asylum measures.
www.newsworm.de
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 15d
Frontex eyes new role in EU drone defence – EU ministers gathered on Saturday in Munich for what officials dubbed a “hardline migration summit”. But Europe’s border agency Frontex unexpectedly took centre stage in a new security debate, this time focusing not on migration, but on defence.
Frontex eyes new role in EU drone defence | Euractiv
Frontex's future role will also be discussed during this month's Home Affairs Council, ahead of next year's review of its mandate
www.euractiv.com
meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 15d
Mixed message on Frontex future role in drone detection – Drones used by the EU’s border agency Frontex will only be for border surveillance, the European Commission has stated – after its migration chief Magnus Brunner suggested otherwise.
Mixed message on Frontex future role in drone detection
Drones used by the EU's border agency Frontex will only be for border surveillance, the European Commission has stated — after its migration chief Magnus Brunner suggested otherwise.
euobserver.com
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
timnitgebru.bsky.social
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 28d
Today is the 12th anniversary of 369 Eritrean refugees who drowned in Lampedusa (Italy) exactly 12 years ago. As @meron.bsky.social wrote, one of them was 22 years old and was giving birth as she was drowning. Her body was later found with an umbilical cord attached to her baby.
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
dairinstitute.bsky.social
The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 28d
In this possible futures entry, @meron.bsky.social imagines a future where the families of the disappeared find closure.
www.dair-institute.org/blog/eritrea...
Closure for Families of the Missing
Behind every name is a family torn apart, a void where a loved one should be.
www.dair-institute.org
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 28d
Remembering the 369 refugees who drowned in Lampedusa exactly 12 years ago today. I can never forget the 22 years old Yohanna who gave birth as she was drowning, her body was later found with an ombilical cord attached to her baby. #NeverForgotten #ForeverInOurHearts #PeopleNotNumbers #Lampedusa
It's a picture of a poem dedicated to the youngest coffin which was marked as number 92. The poem is called RIP angel, what did your mom call you as I can't stand calling you number 92. The poem was written by Selam Kidane
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Reposted by Meron Estefanos
rcoreyb.bsky.social
Robbie Corey-Boulet @rcoreyb.bsky.social · Aug 13
"Inside the mine that feeds the tech world - and funds Congo’s rebels" - a Reuters investigation into the operations of Rubaya, which produces 15% of the world's coltan.

Some US entrepreneurs have set their sights on Rubaya as Trump seeks to broker a peace deal. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Inside the mine that feeds the tech world - and funds Congo’s rebels
M23 insurgents control one of the planet's largest sources of coltan, a mineral prized by high-tech industries. Dislodging them is a focus of peace talks. It won't be easy.
www.reuters.com
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Aug 13
Migrants on deportation list to wear ankle monitors, Greek government says – People in Greece with rejected asylum claims will be required to wear ankle monitors as part of planned measures to speed up deportations, a government official announced Monday.
Migrants on deportation list to wear ankle monitors, Greek government says
Migrants in Greece with rejected asylum claims will soon be required to wear ankle monitors to speed up deportations.
apnews.com
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Aug 13
EU demands Israel amend restrictive new law on NGOs – A group of foreign ministers along with the EU’s foreign policy chief have demanded Israel not crack down on international NGOs working on Palestinian issues.
EU demands Israel amend restrictive new law on NGOs
A group of foreign ministers plus the EU's foreign policy chief demand Israel amend a law that restricts international NGOs working on Palestinian issues.
euobserver.com
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Aug 13
The Sudanese man who took Frontex to court: “Dying at sea is more compassionate than remaining trapped in Libya” – The Court of Justice EU will for the first time summon the European Border Agency for its cooperation with the Libyan coastguard in returning people intercepted at sea to Libya.
El sudanés que ha llevado a Frontex ante la Justicia: “Morir en el mar es más compasivo que seguir atrapado en Libia”
El TSJUE llevará por primera vez a la Agencia europea de fronteras a comparecer por su cooperación con los guardacostas libios en la devolución a Libia de migrantes interceptados en alta mar
www.eldiario.es
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Jul 23
I was able to talk to these refugees and was able to call to hundreds of their family members to give them the good news that their loved ones are alive. Some refused to believe me until I connected them to their loved ones, within days their flight tickets were paid and were deported back home.
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Jul 23
The sad thing is that their families believe that their loved ones went missing or are dead. I once had a chance to speak to hundreds of refugees who were detained in Aswan for over 7 years and had no contact with the outside world for over 7 years.
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Jul 23
Instead they chose to feed these detainees for years, some of them were detained for over 10 years. The craziest thing was that this detainees were never allowed to use a phone, had they been allowed to make one call, their families would have paid for it within a day.
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Jul 23
Those who agree to be deported, can't be deported until they pay for the flight ticket. I have interviewed thousands of detainees in Egypt and I have paid flight tickets for hundreds of detainees who were in prison for years. It was weird for me to understand why Egypt wouldn't pay $300 USD
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Jul 23
For almost 20 years now, Egypt would arrest non registered refugees and put them in hundreds of prisons through out the country until they get deported to their home countries. These prisoners had two options, to go back to your country or be in prison for endifinate years.
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meron.bsky.social
Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · Jul 23
The Egyptian government is funding train rides to Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, which was recently recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Egypt funds free train rides for Sudanese refugees returning home
Sudan has been mired in civil war since April 2023 with the power struggle between the army and the RSF causing an almost nationwide humanitarian crisis.
www.euronews.com
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