Idit Ohel: From a Hamas video I saw that my son was kidnapped and his friends were killed.
Idit Ohel, the mother of 23-year-old Alon, who was kidnapped from a music festival on October 7th by Hamas, tells in Labyrinth about the agony she has been living in for half a year since her son was held hostage. She says that she knows absolutely nothing about her son for half a year. Alon is a promising pianist and has dual Israeli and Serbian citizenship, and his mother says she contacted the Serbian government to help somehow. Idit tells about the terrible October 7th, about her son and the efforts of families to get their loved ones back.
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Analyses of conflict zones and experiences from war hotspots
A series of interviews about crisis areas and personal experiences of journalists and humanitarians - Sееma Jilani, Michael Bociurkiw, Adelin Pertisor and Giorgi Dolidze in this Labyrinth.
This week, Labyrinth in Tbilisi at one of the biggest journalism events - the ZEG Festival. We had the opportunity to talk to journalists from all over the world about the current situation in their countries. We present you a series of interviews about the countries that are currently in the global focus.
We spoke with one of the keynote speakers at the event, a doctor who has dedicated her life to treating children in the most vulnerable places in the world, Seema Jilani. We talked about the great humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, the Gaza Strip, and how we can help people cut off from all help. Seema also shared her personal experience of what it feels like to treat her own child injured in an explosion in Beirut.
The war in Ukraine is still raging, and since the coming to power of US President Donald Trump, Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital seem to have increased. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Israel and Iran are fiercely attacking each other. We talk about the situation in Ukraine and the current hot spots in the Middle East with Atlantic Council analyst Michael Bociurkiw, who regularly analyzes for CNN and other global media.
At the event, we also had the opportunity to talk with our colleague Adelin Pertisor from the Romanian public service, who is one of the most experienced war reporters. He reported on wars in the Middle East, Africa, as well as the Balkan conflicts and had the opportunity to interview a large number of leaders, but also some notorious militants such as Željko Ražnjatović - Arkan. Of course, we also talked about the situation in Romania after the annulled elections when the Constitutional Court recognized Russian influence in the electoral process.
Since Georgia got a new pro-Russian President who imposed a series of undemocratic laws, Georgians have been protesting every day. Media freedom and civil society are under attack, and journalists and citizens are facing prison sentences. We talk to Georgian colleague Giorgi Dolidze about what is happening in his country.
Watch the full episode.
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The Student Edict Brings All of Serbia to Niš
Report from the Great March 1st Rally – Part Two
The city of Niš has never been louder. Literally all the streets were filled with people who came from all over Serbia to support the students who are demanding justice for the terrible accident that took 15 lives. After a five-day walk, the students had the strength to stand on the streets of Niš for 18 hours. Citizens joined them because, as they say, the students' demands are the demands of the people. The atmosphere was very emotional, and hugs were a common sight in the streets. The students had a cultural program, sports and social activities, and in the main part they read the student edict, followed by a musical program. The city was full until midnight and then cleaned up by the students and citizens who voluntarily stayed to help them.
Watch the full report.
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Dolidze: Georgians are not giving up on the fight for a European future – There will be protests even during the holidays
Georgians will welcome the New Year with protests and will not give up on their European future – says the Leader of the For the People party, Anna Dolidze. Dolidze is an expert in international law, until 2018 she was the legal advisor to the President, and then a member of the Judicial Council.
In Labyrinth we talked about the stolen elections and the Russian hybrid influence that managed to divert the country from the European integration path. The protests escalated, and the use of water cannons and violence by the police did not change the Georgians’ minds to continue fighting for their rights. About 500 protesters, including some injured, will spend the holidays in detention. We also discussed with Dolidze the international support and the sanctions imposed by the US and the UK on some of the Georgian authorities, but not by the European Union.
