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Geopolitics

Nelson Mandela Being Treated For Lung Infection

SOWETAN, THE MAIL & GUARDIAN (South Africa)

Worldcrunch

South Africa's former president and national hero Nelson Mandela is being treated for a lung infection.

After much speculation, South African officials finally revealed Tuesday why Nelson Mandela, aged 94, was initially admitted to hospital in the nation's capital Pretoria on Saturday.

President Jacob Zuma's office released a statement this morning on its official website, which read, "Doctors have concluded the tests, and these have revealed a recurrence of a previous lung infection." He is reportedly receiving appropriate treatment and is responding well.

"President Zuma thanks the public for continuous support to former President Mandela and his family at this time," the statement said.

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Zuma reportedly visited Mandela in hospital on Sunday. Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj said Mandela was "comfortable, and in good care."

On Monday, Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said Mandela was "doing very, very well," according to South African daily the Mail & Guardian.

For many South Africans, Nelson Mandela is regarded as the father of the nation after having led the fight for democracy, and against white-minority rule. He became the first black president in 1994, after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize one year earlier.

Daily Sowetan reported that African National Congress members praised and sang for Mandela's speedy recovery Tuesday, with Chairman Paul Mashatile saying, "May he recover speedily. He remains an inspiration to us and we wish him a long life."

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Ideas

Turkey: The Blind Spot Between Racial And Religious Discrimination

Before the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel war, a social media campaign in Turkey aimed to take on anti-Arab and anti-refugee sentiment. But the campaign ultimately just swapped one type of discrimination for another.

photo of inside Istanbul's Eminonu New Mosque

Muslims and tourists visiting Istanbul's Eminonu New Mosque.

Levent Gültekin

-Analysis-

ISTANBUL — In late September, several pro-government journalists in Turkey promoted a social media campaign centered around a video against those in the country who are considered anti-Arab. The campaign was built around the idea of being “siblings in religion,” and the “union of the ummah,” or global Muslim community.

(In a very different context, such sentiments were repeated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Israel-Hamas war erupted.)

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While the goal is understandable, these themes are highly disconnected from reality.

First, let's look at the goal of the campaign. Our country has a serious problem of irregular migrants and refugees, and the administration isn’t paying adequate attention to this. On the contrary, they encourage the flow of refugees with policies such as selling citizenship.

Worries about irregular migrants and refugees naturally create tension in the society. The anger that targets not the government but the refugees has come to a point which both threatens the social peace and brought the issue to hostility towards the Arabs, even the tourists. The actual goal of this campaign by the pro-government journalists is obvious if you consider how an anti-tourist movement would hurt Turkey’s economy.

However, as mentioned above, while the goal is understandable, the themes of the “union of the ummah” and “siblings in religion” are problematic. The campaign offers the idea of being siblings in religion as an argument against the rising racism towards irregular migrants and refugees; a different form of racism or discrimination.

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