
Bye 2022!
Worldcrunch asked its staff to choose the articles published this year that made a particular impression on them. They largely cover the major events that marked the news in 2022, from the war in Ukraine to the protests in Iran and the overturning of Roe v Wade in the U.S.
Here are the 10 stories that we selected:
Sofiia’s Story: An Escape From Kyiv, A Springtime Dream
WORLDCRUNCH
This is how Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has looked to one 16-year-old high school senior from Kyiv, the daughter of Worldcrunch contributor Anna Akage.
Bucha Happened: Testimony Of A Siege, Witnesses To A Massacre
LA STAMPA
Adding evidence of war crimes against civilians emerging in Bucha, an Italian reporter gathers new details and chilling first-hand testimony of the past three weeks of Russian occupation and murder of innocent civilians.
Wroclaw Postcard: What We Learn About Ourselves In A Wartime Train Station
GAZETA WYBORCZA
The war in Ukraine has prompted a huge outpouring of compassion across the border in Poland. It is a positive reflection of the human condition, but also a reminder that we should care for others and outsiders even when there's no nearby conflict.
Gotland, The Swedish Island Standing Between Russia And NATO Vulnerability
DIE WELT
The Swedish island of Gotland is the last bastion between Russia and the entire Baltic region. Sweden has been busy fortifying the island, with the stakes even higher as Stockholm is set to join NATO, and life for locals makes it clear that something has changed.
How To Stop Thinking About Russia — A Message From Eastern Europe To The West
LIVY BEREG
David Stulik, senior research analyst at the Prague-based European Values Research Center, explains the risks of continuing to calculate all our choices according to hypothetical fears of and future compromises with Russia.
Adieu Roe, Watching From Paris As My Rights Are Stolen Away
WORLDCRUNCH
A young American takes in the most personal and political moments of her life far from home. What will it feel like when she lands back in Idaho?
Beyond The Hijab: Iran's Protests Now Seek Nothing Less Than Revolution
KAYHAN-LONDON
Iran's protests have quickly expanded to be "national and revolutionary" in scope, having surpassed the various class, region and gender-based barriers that might have reduced their significance. The Islamic regime has never faced a bigger challenge.
In Shanghai, A Brewing Expat Exodus As COVID Crackdown Shows "Real" China
THE INITIUM
Not only strict rules of freedom of movement as part of Zero-COVID policy but also an increase in censorship has raised many questions for the expat population in the megacity of 26 million that had long enjoyed a kind of special status in China as a place of freedom and openness. A recent survey of foreigners in the Chinese megacity found that 48% of respondents said they would leave Shanghai within the next year.
García Márquez And Truth: How Journalism Fed The Novelist's Fantasy
EL ESPECTADOR
In his early journalistic writings, the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez showed he had an eye for factual details, in which he found the absurdity and 'magic' that would in time be the stuff and style of his fiction.
In The Amazon, Retracing The Last Steps Of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
AGÊNCIA PÚBLICA
The murder of Brazil indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips is shocking. Still, once looking more closely, it is not necessarily a surprise considering both the violence in Brazil and the situation in the rain forest under President Jair Bolsonaro.