Metro Boomin at the Giza Pyramids: From Missouri to the Middle East, Redefining the Narrative of Rap

Maha ElNabawi
Wed, May 15, 2024 


Metro Boomin stands poised in quiet confidence, silhouetted against the backdrop of the Great Pyramids of Giza. With an aura of timeless grandeur, the three pyramids echo the iconic rhythm of his “Young Metro 3x” producer tag. Framed meticulously by his photographer, Gunner Stahl, the moment is frozen in time, capturing not just an artist, but a convergence of history, culture and creativity. As the desert sun bathes the scene in a golden light, Metro Boomin’s presence among the pyramids becomes more than a photograph – it’s a testament to the enduring legacy of artistry and innovation.

In this juxtaposition of ancient wonder and contemporary music, Metro’s presence before the pyramids speaks volumes. It demonstrates hip-hop’s enduring influence and its ability to transcend time and space, from Missouri to the Middle East. Metro Boomin’s April 30 concert at the Kundalini Grand Pyramids venue sold out in record time, whereby Live Nation, the organizer, announced a second night in his routing through the Middle East (including a show in Abu Dhabi’s BRED Festival). The majority of the audience knew the words to at least one if not several of his songs and collaborations played during his nearly two-hour set, suggesting that Metro Boomin’s music has found a home in hearts of youth culture worldwide.

Per Billboard Explains, Metro Boomin’s Billboard Hot 100 breakthrough as a producer came with Future’s “Honest,” which hit No. 55 in 2013. Over the next three years, he produced 23 more Hot 100 hits. He earned his first No. 1 on the Hot 100 for his work on Migos and Lil Uzi Vert’s collab “Bad and Boujee,” which topped the chart for three weeks in 2017. The episode explains that Metro boasts a remarkable tally of 16 top 10 hits on the Hot 100, including noteworthy productions like The Weeknd’s “Heartless” in 2019 and his collaborative effort with Future and Kendrick Lamar, “Like That,” which clinched the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for three weeks this year.

His collaborations with prominent rap artists on groundbreaking albums have been stellar, with seven top 10 entries on the Billboard 200. According to Billboard Explains, notable highlights include Double or Nothing with Big Sean, which peaked at No. 6 in 2017, Savage Mode II, which ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2020, and his solo project Heroes and Villains, which claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 in 2022, maintaining a record-breaking 18-week reign atop the Top Rap Albums chart. So far in 2024, Metro’s collaborative album with Future, We Don’t Trust You, and the follow up album, We Still Don’t Trust You, both debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200.

Despite the accolades, Metro maintains a subtle balance of confidence and humility, driven by what feels like a clear sense of purpose in how he approaches making music and chart-topping hits. Throughout his two shows at the Kundalini Grand Pyramids venue, Metro praises his audience and carries with him a sense of wonderment at performing against the backdrop of some of the oldest structures in the world. “I’ve always wanted to see this [the pyramids] with my own eyes, but I could never even fathom doing a show and performing in front of something as crazy and legendary and history as this,” says Metro. “I’m grateful for everyone, for the whole country.”

Metro displays this love in his Cairo shows, wrapping himself in an Egyptian flag as the epic intro of “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)” with Future and Chris Brown plays out in one of his closing tracks in the set. He seems completely unfazed that he is performing solo. He emcees his set, engaging frequently with the audience while delivering a mixtape of his massive body of work, masterfully scripted together in a way that tells a story of what it means for a kid from St. Louis, Miss., to end up making music that captivates the entire world.

When asked about his first hip-hop memory, and what song or album compelled him to pursue the genre artistically and professionally, Metro points back to the year 2000, with the release of Nelly’s Country Grammar. There was no going back for Metro, and with the support of his mother, Leslie Joanne Wayne, he went on to become the most sought-after hip-hop producer of his generation, and a catalyst for reviving the genre’s placement on the Billboard charts.

As reported by Billboard, with We Still Don’t Trust You arriving atop the Billboard 200 only three weeks after We Don’t Trust You debuted at No. 1, that marks the shortest gap between new No. 1s by an artist since Future replaced himself at No. 1 in 2017 in successive weeks with his self-titled album (March 11, 2017, chart) and HNDRXX (March 18, 2017), both of which debuted at No. 1.

According to Metro Boomin, this success came as a result of what he calls “really caring,” coupled with the urgent need to continue competing with oneself, in order to do better than whatever he did last. But there was a deeper force at play beyond just his individual work ethic, which propelled his consecutive albums with Future to unprecedented heights.

In June 2023, Billboard reported that “rap had yet to produce a Billboard 200-topping album or Billboard Hot 100-topping single” that year, while industry executives grew concerned over the genre’s growth and potential stagnation. So for Metro, things got personal.

“I really took it personally, in the past couple years, seeing different outlets and people sh-tting on hip-hop, saying ‘hip-hop is dying, hip-hop is this, it’s been this long since there was a hip hop No 1…’ says Metro Boomin. “Just trying to spin that whole hip-hop is dying narrative, at the same time trying to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop. I felt they were trying to wash our genre and culture away, I’m still in the game, and I take it personal. Those kind of things disturbed me, at the same time, it was the kind of fuel I needed.”

Reflecting on his roots and the impact of his work on hip-hop, Metro’s passion for the genre is radiant. This undeniable drive propels him to continuously elevate his presence on the Billboard charts and within the genre at large. With each chart-topping hit and sold-out show, Metro Boomin not only cements his own legacy but also pays homage to hip-hop while ensuring its continued relevance for generations to come. Because for Metro, hip-hop is not dead, it’s very much alive and thriving.


Metro Boomin for Billboard Arabia


Metro Boomin for Billboard Arabia


Metro Boomin for Billboard Arabia

Dozens of Egyptian pyramids, some in Giza, sat along a branch of the Nile, study says

Evan Bush
Thu, May 16, 2024

The pyramids in and around Giza have presented a fascinating puzzle for millennia.

How did ancient Egyptians move limestone blocks, some weighing more than a ton, without using wheels? Why were these burial structures seemingly built in the remote and inhospitable desert?

New research — published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment — offers a possible answer, providing new evidence that an extinct branch of the Nile River once weaved through the landscape in a much wetter climate. Dozens of Egyptian pyramids across a 40-mile-long range rimmed the waterway, the study says, including the best-known complex in Giza.


The waterway allowed workers to transport stone and other materials to build the monuments, according to the study. Raised causeways stretched out horizontally, connecting the pyramids to river ports along the Nile’s bank.

Drought, in combination with seismic activity that tilted the landscape, most likely caused the river to dry up over time and ultimately fill with silt, removing most traces of it.

The research team based its conclusions on data from satellites that send radar waves to penetrate the Earth’s surface and detect hidden features. It also relied on sediment cores and maps from 1911 to uncover and trace the imprint of the ancient waterway. Such tools are helping environmental scientists map the ancient Nile, which is now covered by desert sand and agricultural fields.

Experts have suspected for decades that boats transported workers and tools to build the pyramids. Some past research has put forward hypotheses similar to the new study; the new findings solidify the theory and map a much broader area.

“The mapping of the Nile’s ancient channel system has been fragmented and isolated,” an author of the new study, Eman Ghoneim, a professor of earth and ocean sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, wrote in an email. “Ancient Egyptians were using waterways for transportation more often than we thought.”

The Red Pyramid. (Eman Ghoneim )

The study looks at 31 pyramids between Lisht, a village south of Cairo, and Giza. They were constructed over roughly 1,000 years, beginning about 4,700 years ago. The pyramid complexes contained tombs for Egyptian royals. High officials were often buried nearby.

Some of the granite blocks used to construct them were sourced from locations hundreds of miles south of their sites. In some cases, the blocks could be “mammoth,” weighing several tons, said Peter Der Manuelian, a professor of Egyptology at Harvard University and the director of the Harvard Museum’s Museum of the Ancient East.

Manuelian, who was not involved in the new study, said wheels were not used to move the large blocks, which is one reason researchers have long suspected the Egyptians moved materials by water.

“It’s all sledges,” he said. “Water helps an awful lot.”

In the past, researchers have posited that the Egyptians might have carved canals to the pyramid sites.

“Canals and waterway systems have been in the consciousness for decades now,” Manuelian said. But newer theories suggest that the Nile was closer to the pyramids than researchers once thought, he added, and new tools can provide some proof.

“Archaeology has gotten more scientific, and you have ground-penetrating radar and satellite imagery,” he said.

He added that the new study helps improve maps of ancient Egypt.


A map of the water course of the ancient Ahramat Branch. (Eman Ghoneim )

The findings suggest that millennia ago, the Egyptian climate was wetter overall and the Nile carried a higher volume of water. It separated into multiple branches, one of which — the researchers call it the Ahramat Branch — was about 40 miles long.

The locations of the pyramid complexes included in the study correspond in time with estimates of the river branch’s location, according to the authors, as water levels ebbed and flowed over centuries.

In addition, several pyramid temples and causeways appear to line up horizontally with the ancient riverbed, which suggests that they were directly connected to the river and most likely used to transport building materials.

The study builds on research from 2022, which used ancient evidence of pollen grains from marsh species to suggest that a waterway once cut through the present-day desert.

Hader Sheisha, an author of that study who is now an associate professor in the natural history department at the University Museum of Bergen, said the new findings add much-needed evidence to bolster and expand the theory.

“The new study, in concordance to our study, shows that when the pyramids were built, the landscape was different from that we see today and shows how the ancient Egyptians could interact with their physical world and harness their environment to achieve their immense projects,” Sheisha said in an email.

The Step Pyramid. (Eman Ghoneim )

Ghoneim and her team explain in the study that the Ahramat Branch shifted eastward over time, a process that might have been propelled by drought about 4,050 years ago. Then it gradually dissolved, only to be covered in silt.

She said they plan to expand their map and work to detect additional buried branches of the Nile floodplain. Determining the outline and shape of the ancient river branch could help researchers locate the remains of settlements or undiscovered sites before the areas get built over.

Manuelian said that today, “housing almost goes right up to the edge of the Giza plateau. Egypt is a vast outdoor museum, and there’s more to be discovered.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com


Scientists may have solved mystery behind Egypt's pyramids

Malu Cursino - BBC News
Fri, May 17, 2024 

[Getty Images]


Scientists believe they may have solved the mystery of how 31 pyramids, including the world-famous Giza complex, were built in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago.

A research team from the University of North Carolina Wilmington has discovered that the pyramids are likely to have been built along a long-lost, ancient branch of the River Nile - which is now hidden under desert and farmland.

For many years, archaeologists have thought that ancient Egyptians must have used a nearby waterway to transport materials such as the stone blocks needed to build the pyramids on the river.

But up until now, "nobody was certain of the location, the shape, the size or proximity of this mega waterway to the actual pyramids site", according to one of the study's authors, Prof Eman Ghoneim.

Prof Ghoneim led the research team who made the discovery [Eman Ghoneim/UNCW]

In a cross-continental effort, the group of researchers used radar satellite imagery, historical maps, geophysical surveys, and sediment coring (a technique used by archaeologists to recover evidence from samples) to map the river branch - which they believe was buried by a major drought and sandstorms thousands of years ago.

The team were able to "penetrate the sand surface and produce images of hidden features" by using the radar technology, the study, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, said.

Among those features were "buried rivers and ancient structures" running at the foothills of where the "vast majority of the Ancient Egyptian pyramids lie," Prof Ghoneim said.

Researches from the US, Egypt and Australia were all involved in mapping the Ahramat branch of the River Nile [Suzanne Onstine]

Speaking to the BBC, one of the study's co-authors, Dr Suzanne Onstine, said "locating the actual [river] branch and having the data that shows there was a waterway that could be used for the transportation of heavier blocks, equipment, people, everything, really helps us explain pyramid construction".

The team found that the river branch - named the Ahramat branch, with "ahramat" meaning pyramids in Arabic - was roughly 64km (39 miles) long and between 200-700m (656-2,296 ft) wide.

And it bordered 31 pyramids, which were built between 4,700 and 3,700 years ago.

The discovery of this extinct river branch helps explain the high pyramid density between Giza and Lisht (the site of Middle Kingdom burials), in what is now an inhospitable area of the Saharan desert.

The river branch's proximity to the pyramid complexes suggests that it was "active and operational during the construction phase of these pyramids", the paper said.

Dr Onstine explained that ancient Egyptians could "use the river's energy to carry these heavy blocks, rather than human labour," adding, "it's just a lot less effort".

The River Nile was the lifeline of Ancient Egypt - and remains so to this day.

Newly mapped lost branch of the Nile could help solve long-standing pyramid mystery

Katie Hunt, CNN
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Egypt’s Great Pyramid and other ancient monuments at Giza exist on an isolated strip of land at the edge of the Sahara Desert.

The inhospitable location has long puzzled archaeologists, some of whom had found evidence that the Nile River once flowed near these pyramids in some capacity, facilitating the landmarks’ construction starting 4,700 years ago.

Using satellite imaging and analysis of cores of sediment, a new study published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment has mapped a 64-kilometer (40-mile) long, dried-up, branch of the Nile, long buried beneath farmland and desert.

“Even though many efforts to reconstruct the early Nile waterways have been conducted, they have largely been confined to soil sample collections from small sites, which has led to the mapping of only fragmented sections of the ancient Nile channel systems,” said lead study author Eman Ghoneim, a professor and director of the Space and Drone Remote Sensing Lab at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s department of Earth and ocean sciences.

“This is the first study to provide the first map of the long-lost ancient branch of the Nile River.”

Ghoneim and her colleagues refer to this extinct branch of the Nile river as Ahramat, which is Arabic for pyramids.

Ancient Egyptians likely used the now-extinct Ahramat Branch to build many pyramids. - Eman Ghoneim et al

The ancient waterway would have been about 0.5 kilometers wide (about one-third of a mile) with a depth of at least 25 meters (82 feet) — similar to the contemporary Nile, Ghoneim said.

“The large size and extended length of the Ahramat Branch and its proximity to the 31 pyramids in the study area strongly suggests a functional waterway of great importance,” Ghoneim said.

She said the river would have played a key role in ancient Egyptians’ transportation of the enormous amount of building materials and laborers needed for the pyramids’ construction.

“Also, our research shows that many of the pyramids in the study area have (a) causeway, a ceremonial raised walkway, that runs perpendicular to the course of the Ahramat Branch and terminates directly on its riverbank.”

The Red Pyramid at the Dahshur necropolis is located near the now-defunct arm of the Nile. - Eman Ghoneim

Hidden traces of a lost waterway

Traces of the river aren’t visible in aerial photos or in imagery from optical satellites, Ghoneim said. In fact, she only spotted something unexpected while studying radar satellite data of the wider area for ancient rivers and lakes that might reveal a new source of groundwater.

“I am a geomorphologist, a paleohydrologist looking into landforms. I have this kind of trained eye,” she said.

“While working with this data, I noticed this really obvious branch or a kind of riverbank, and it didn’t make any sense because it is really far from the Nile,” she added.

Born and raised in Egypt, Ghoneim was familiar with the cluster of pyramids in this area and had always wondered why they were built there. She applied to the National Science Foundation to investigate further, and geophysical data taken at ground level with the use of ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic tomography confirmed it was an ancient arm of the Nile. Two long cores of earth the team extracted using drilling equipment revealed sandy sediment consistent with a river channel at a depth of about 25 meters (82 feet).

It’s possible that “countless” temples might still be buried beneath the agricultural fields and desert sands along the riverbank of the Ahramat Branch, according to the study.

The researchers collected soil samples to confirm their findings. - Eman Ghoneim

Why this branch of the river dried up or disappeared is still unclear. Most likely, a period of drought and desertification swept sand into the region, silting up the river, Ghoneim said.

The study demonstrated that when the pyramids were built, the geography and riverscapes of the Nile differed significantly from those of today, said Nick Marriner, a geographer at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris. He was not involved in the study but has conducted research on the fluvial history of Giza.

“The study completes an important part of the past landscape puzzle,” Marriner said. “By putting together these pieces we can gain a clearer picture of what the Nile floodplain looked like at the time of the pyramid builders and how the ancient Egyptians harnessed their environments to transport building materials for their monumental construction endeavors.”

The research team stands in front of the Unas’s Valley Temple, which would have acted as a river harbor in ancient Egypt. - Eman Ghoneim


Long-lost branch of the Nile was 'indispensable for building the pyramids,' research shows

Owen Jarus
Thu, May 16, 2024

A large pyramid made of stone with five distinct levels.


A branch of the Nile that no longer exists helped the ancient Egyptians construct 31 of their famous pyramids, including the pyramids at Giza, a new study finds.

Researchers found that this branch, called the "Ahramat" (Arabic for "pyramid"), was about 40 miles (64 kilometers) long and went close to the sites of many pyramids, making it easier to transport materials.

"Many of the pyramids, dating to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, have causeways that lead to the branch and terminate with valley temples which may have acted as river harbors," study first author Eman Ghoneim, a professor and director of the Space and Drone Remote Sensing Lab at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, told Live Science in an email.

The team used radar satellite imagery, deep soil coring and geophysical tests to find and map the remains of the Ahramat branch.

"The enormity of this branch and its proximity to the pyramid complexes, in addition to the fact that the pyramids' causeways terminate at its riverbank, all imply that this branch was active and operational during the construction phase of these pyramids," Ghoneim and colleagues wrote in the study, published Thursday (May 16) in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Related: How old are the Egyptian pyramids?


A map of northern Egypt that shows landmarks from the Giza Pyramids at the top to the Lisht Pyramids at the bottom. Vertically through the middle of the map, the modern Nile River cuts through, and to its left, a thinner line depicts projected and detected waterways. The Western Desert lies to the left.

The team found that the Ahramat branch shifted eastward as time went on. The Ahramat Branch was positioned further west during the Old Kingdom (circa 2649 to 2150 B.C.) and then shifted east during the Middle Kingdom (circa 2030 to 1640 B.C.), the team wrote in their paper.

Eventually, the branch dried up. "There is no exact date on when the branch come[s] to an end," Ghoneim said. But as drought condition intensified in the region, the water level of the Ahramat Branch fell, causing it to dry out, Ghonmein said.

Nowadays, the lost branch is hidden beneath farmland and desert, the researchers wrote.

Image 1 of 5

A large pyramid made of stone in the foreground with a smaller one in the background to the right. A few stones are on top of the sand to the left and a small person is in front of the pyramid.

Image 2 of 5


A pyramid made of stone in the desert. The shape is more rounded and the top is at a lower angle than the bottom, giving it a

Image 3 of 5


Five people stand around a table that has bags of soil samples on top of it. One man and woman both point to a piece of paper on top of some of the samples with photographs printed on it

Image 4 of 5

A team of seven people stands in front of a stone base with a pillar on top of it. A few palm trees are also in the background and a pyramid

Image 5 of 5

A woman stands in the foreground wearing jeans and a blue shirt with white polka dots. She holds a piece of rock and is looking at it. A pyramid, some stone structures and the Great Sphynx of Giza are all in the background

Hader Sheisha, an associate professor of natural history at the University of Bergen in Norway who wasn't involved with the study, told Live Science in an email that "these findings show clearly that the Nile hydrological [network] was indispensable for building the pyramids."

The findings did not surprise Sheisha. She was the lead author of a 2022 study that found that a branch of the Nile went close to the Great Pyramid at Giza, making it easier to transport goods and materials. Sheisha also noted that earlier studies proposed that goods were brought to pyramid sites through river branches that have since dried up.

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"The new study could be considered as a contribution to these previous hypotheses," Sheisha said.

Zahi Hawass, a former Egyptian antiquities minister, also told Live Science that the finds are not surprising. An ancient papyrus that contains the logbook of a man named Merer notes that while the Great Pyramid was being constructed, workers brought materials to it by way of a nearby harbor. Additionally, excavations conducted at Giza have revealed evidence of a harbor.

Nick Marriner, a research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) who wasn't involved in the study, spoke positively of the research, as it "demonstrates that, when the pyramids were built, the geography and the riverscapes of the Nile floodplain differed significantly to those of today," Marriner told Live Science in an email. "Reconstructing how, when and where these former Nile channels evolved can help us to understand how the ancient Egyptians harnessed the natural environment, and the Nile's flood cycles, to transport building materials to the site for the construction of the pyramids."


Long-lost Nile branch may explain landlocked pyramids

Andrew Paul
Thu, May 16, 2024 

The Red Pyramid at the Dahshur necropolis, constructed during the Fourth Dynasty.


A long lost portion of the Nile may answer a mystery behind some of ancient Egypt’s most famous pyramids. According to researchers, 31 structures—including the pyramids of Giza—at one time stood near the banks of a now dry river branch, buried under sand and silt for thousands of years. If so, this could explain how builders managed to transport the monuments’ materials, as well as potentially guide researchers towards undiscovered sites in the future.

Although the roughly 40 mile stretch of Western Desert Plateau foothills is largely inhospitable terrain today, river sediment located deep underground indicates that wasn’t always the case. Eman Ghoneim and his colleagues at the University of North Carolina Wilmington believe this area was at one time a much more arable and vibrant region, particularly around 4,700 years ago when the Nile branched far more than now. This is also the era in which construction began on the area’s first pyramids.

“Monumental structures, such as pyramids and temples, would logically be built near major waterways to facilitate the transportation of their construction materials and workers,” Ghoneim and his colleagues wrote in their new paper published today in Communications Earth & Environment. “Yet, no waterway has been found near the largest pyramid field in Egypt, with the Nile River lying several kilometers away.”


The water course of the ancient Ahramat Branch borders a large number of pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period, spanning between the Third Dynasty and the Thirteenth Dynasty. Credit: Eman Ghoneim et. al.

But after a detailed review of satellite imagery, remote sensing, geological data, and sediment analysis, Ghoneim’s team thinks they have located one of the Nile’s former waterways. The branch, which they suggest naming “Ahramat” (Arabic for “pyramids”), would explain why so many monumental buildings are concentrated near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. The new study also bolsters similar theories proposed in recent years by other archeologists.

Also bolstering their claim are a number of causeways that begin at the pyramids and end at the theorized Ahramat riverbanks. These would lend credence to the idea that ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile to transport construction materials for pyramid projects.

Around 4,200 years ago, however, Ahramat’s luck was running dry. In reviewing the data, researchers noticed a sizable build-up of windblown sand corresponding to a major drought known to occur near that same time. Such a shift in climate could likely have been behind the branch’s receding and eventual disappearance—but those 31 pyramids weren’t going anywhere by then, of course.

Ghoneim’s team believes their potential rediscovery of the Ahramat branch not only could lead to a better understanding of Pharaonic Egypt, but also identify and protect regions for further study.

[Related: Archeologists uncover ingredients for mummy balm.]

“Revealing this extinct Nile branch can provide a more refined idea of where ancient settlements were possibly located in relation to it and prevent them from being lost to rapid urbanization. This could improve the protection measures of Egyptian cultural heritage,” the researchers write in their paper’s conclusion.

Following their methodology, the team thinks archeologists can become better equipped to prioritize locations for future excavations and investigation, as well as highlight new sites for conservation against modern urban planning projects. There’s also the possibility of discovering even more long-gone Nile river branches that could expand knowledge of society in ancient Egypt.

Rights group urges Thailand to stop forcing dissidents to return to countries they fled for safety

GRANT PECK
Updated Thu, May 16, 2024 




Thailand Transnational Repression
FILE - An activist holds a photo of Thai dissident Wanchalearm Satsaksit during a rally in front of Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, June 8, 2020. Wanchalearm, has been abducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a human rights group said Friday, June 12, 2020 raising concern that a mysterious campaign targeting exiles for disappearance or death may have been revived. A leading international human rights organization on Thursday, May 16, 2024, criticized the Thai government for helping its authoritarian neighbors by expelling political dissidents who fled to Thailand for safety and forcing them to return to their home countries. 

(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit), File)

BANGKOK (AP) — Human Rights Watch urged the Thai government to stop forcing political dissidents who fled to Thailand for safety to return to their home countries, where they may face torture, persecution or death.

The international rights group analyzed 25 cases that took place in Thailand between 2014 and 2023. It said in the report Thursday that Thai authorities violated international law by expelling the dissidents, many of whom were registered with the United Nations as refugees and were awaiting resettlement in third countries.

Many of the cases involved the forcible repatriation of Cambodians, with the suspected involvement of Cambodian security personnel. But the group also listed cases where dissidents from Vietnam, Laos and China were tracked down and abducted, or forcibly disappeared or killed.

The report said Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, in return, cooperated with Thailand to spy on Thai dissidents who had fled their own homeland to escape political repression.

Human Rights Watch called this a quid-pro-quo form of transnational repression “in which foreign dissidents are effectively traded for critics of the Thai government living abroad."

Asked about the group's findings, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Thailand is committed to respecting and upholding humanitarian principles, including not forcing asylum-seekers and refugees to return to countries where they might face persecution or where their lives or freedom might be endangered.

Separately, the Foreign Ministry has now ratified the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which will come into effect on June 13.

The ministry said that ratification means that Thailand will now be party to eight of the nine core international human rights treaties.

Human Rights Watch called the ratification a positive step but said that Thailand must take action to match its words.

“The best way Thailand can show its commitment is by opening fresh investigations into cases of enforced disappearances,” she said. “Their families deserve justice.”

Thailand's military ousted an elected government with a coup in 2014, and military and military-backed rule remained until an elected civilian government led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin took office last year.

“The Srettha administration should launch an investigation into these allegations of harassment, surveillance and forced returns of asylum seekers and refugees in Thailand. It should investigate the disappearance of Thai anti-junta activists in other Southeast Asian countries," Elaine Pearson, director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, told The Associated Press.

"I think there is an opportunity to end this practice and for the Srettha administration to show it is different from the previous military-led government," she added.

She noted that the Thai government is currently seeking a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council “and that comes with responsibilities to protect human rights.”

The report cited nine cases of Thai activists in Laos and Cambodia who disappeared or were killed in mysterious circumstances. It said most of the reported cases have not been resolved or seen anyone prosecuted.

The mutilated bodies of two missing activists were found in late 2018 floating in the Mekong River. In 2020, a young Thai activist, Wanchalearm Satsaksit, was snatched off the street in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and never heard from again.

Thai authorities have repeatedly denied any connection with such events.

Freedom House, a U.S.-based democracy promotion organization founded in 1941 that tracks transnational repression, warns that the practice “is becoming a ‘normal’ phenomenon as more governments around the world use it to silence dissent.″

“Some attacks are unilateral, but most involve cooperation with or exploitation of host country institutions,” it says on its website about the subject. “

The most common forms of physical transnational repression—detentions and unlawful deportations at the origin state’s request—entail co-optation of the host country’s institutions. Most renditions also involve close collaboration with host country authorities to illegally transfer people to the origin country.”

Dr. Francesca Lessa, an associate professor in International Relations at University College London, said there were some parallels with the way autocratic leaders in Latin America made agreements to work together to eliminate political opponents on each other's soil in the late 1970s to 1980s.

“Whether they follow right or left ideologies, these autocratic governments consider opposition and dissent as constituting a threat to their survival in power and, thus, to be eliminated, whatever the means required,” Lessa told the AP.

Arab League calls for UN peacekeepers in Palestinian territories

Ali Choukeir
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (-)

The Arab League on Thursday called for a UN peacekeeping force in the Palestinian territories and an international peace conference at a summit dominated by the war between Israel and Hamas.

In a concluding statement following a meeting in Manama, the 22-member grouping called for "international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories" until a two-state solution is implemented.

It also adopted calls by host Bahrain's King Hamad and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to "convene an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations, to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution".


The meeting of Arab heads of state and government convened in Bahrain more than seven months into the conflict in Gaza that has convulsed the wider region.

The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The militants also seized about 250 hostages, 128 of whom Israel estimates remain in Gaza, including 36 the military says are dead.

Israel's military retaliation has killed at least 35,272 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, and an Israeli siege has brought dire food shortages and the threat of famine.

- 'Open wound' -

The league also separately, called for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza and an end to forced displacement in the Palestinian territory.

Abbas told the summit his rival Hamas gave Israel "pretexts and justifications" to wage war on Gaza with its October 7 attack.

Hamas voiced its "regret over the remarks" asserting the attack had "placed our Palestinian cause at the forefront of priorities, achieving strategic gains".

It also welcomed the league's final statement and urged "brotherly Arab states to take the necessary measures to compel the (Israeli) occupation to stop its aggression".

Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the Gaza war as "an open wound that threatens to infect the entire region", calling for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages".

Guterres said "the only permanent way to end the cycle of violence and instability is through a two-state solution".

In response to the calls for peacekeepers, a UN spokesman said any creation of a mission would be dependent on "a mandate from the Security Council" and "acceptance by the parties of the UN presence".

This, the secretary-general's deputy spokesman said, "is something that would need to be established and those are not things we take for granted”.

The so-called "Manama Declaration" issued by the Arab nations also urged "all Palestinian factions to join under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization", which is dominated by Abbas's ruling Fatah movement.

It added that it considered the PLO "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people".

- Red Sea attacks -

It is the first time the bloc has come together since an extraordinary summit in Riyadh, capital of neighbouring Saudi Arabia, in November that also involved leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

While in November leaders declined the approval of punitive steps against Israel, Kuwaiti analyst Zafer al-Ajmi told AFP the meeting in Manama differed from recent summits.

Western public opinion has become "more inclined to support the Palestinians and lift the injustice inflicted on them" since Israel's creation more than 70 years ago, Ajmi said.

Meanwhile, Israel had failed to achieve its war objectives including destroying Hamas and was now mired in fighting, he said.

In a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war, Yemen's Iran-backed Huthis have launched a flurry of attacks on vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.

The summit in Bahrain "strongly condemned the attacks on commercial ships", saying they "threaten freedom of navigation, international trade, and the interests of countries and peoples of the world".

The declaration added the Arab nations' commitment to "ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea" and surrounding areas.

An Arab-Israeli war in 1967 saw Israel seize the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Israel later annexed east Jerusalem, and successive Israeli governments have encouraged Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories.

Under international law, the Palestinian territories, including Gaza, remain occupied, and Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank are considered illegal.

Arab League calls for 'immediate' cease-fire in Gaza, establishment of Palestinian state

Ehren Wynder
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa makes a speech as he leads the 33rd Arab League Summit in Manama in Bahrain on Thursday. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

May 16 (UPI) -- Leaders at the 33rd Arab League summit on Thursday condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza and called for the "immediate" withdrawal of forces from the region.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa presided over this year's summit, which took place in Bahrain's capital of Manama. The meeting covered numerous ongoing conflicts in Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, in addition to the war in Gaza.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who headed last year's summit, gave an opening speech in which he reiterated his country's support for the establishment of a Palestinian state and called on international leaders to halt the "Israeli aggression against Gaza."

The crown prince also noted Houthi rebel attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and said it is essential to protect the area from actions that affect maritime commerce.

Hamad stressed the need to adopt a unified Arab and international position to end the conflict in the Middle East and for "the full recognition of the State of Palestine and accepting its membership in the United Nations."

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, center, poses with Arab leaders ahead of the 33rd Arab League Summit in Manama in Bahrain. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

This year's Arab League summit comes against the backdrop of the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the terror group's Oct. 7 attack, which killed more than 1,170 people in southern Israel.

Gaza's Health Ministry reported Israeli military operations have killed at least 35,272 people and created serious food shortages.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, right, receives Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Manama in Bahrain on Thursday ahead of the 33rd Arab League. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

Also in attendance on Thursday were Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and United Arab Emirates Vice President and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Al-Sisi accused Israel of avoiding efforts to reach a cease-fire with Hamas and continuing its assault on Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman makes a speech opening the 33rd Arab League Summit in Bahrain. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

He also accused Israel of using the Rafah border crossing "to tighten the siege on the Strip."

"[Egypt] renews its rejection of the displacement or forced displacement of Palestinians," he said.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, right, receives Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in Manama in Bahrain ahead of the 33rd Arab League. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejoined the summit for a second time this year. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 over the government's brutal treatment of Arab Spring protesters.

Also present was U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who called for an "immediate humanitarian cease-fire and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza" and an "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

Bahrainian officials receive Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) ahead of the 33rd Arab League. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

"In its speed and scale, it is the deadliest conflict in my time as Secretary-General - for civilians, aid workers, journalists and our own U.N. colleagues," he said of the Gaza war.

Thursday's summit was the second Arab League gathering since the launch of the Israeli campaign into Gaza.

The 33rd Arab League Summit meets in Manama, Bahrain, on Thursday. It was the second league meeting since the outbreak of the Israeli incursion into Gaza. Photo by Bahrain News Agency/UPI

Just a month after the outbreak of the war, Riyadh hosted an emergency summit where leaders rejected Israel's claims that it was acting in self defense and called on the U.N. Security Council to adopt "a decisive and binding resolution" to halt the operation.

The agenda for Thursday's summit also covered joint Arab action in the political, economic, social, cultural, media and security fields.

Participants also adopted the "Bahrain Declaration," a proposal drafted on Tuesday calling for a U.N.-backed international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be held in Manama.

Attendees also discussed reactivating the Arab Peace Initiative, which Saudi Arabia proposed and was adopted at the 2002 league summit.

The initiative proposes full diplomatic relations with Israel and Arab states in exchange for Israel withdrawing from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.


Palestinian president calls on Arab countries for financial support

Reuters
Thu, May 16, 2024 

 Palestinian President Abbas, in Ramallah

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Palestinian government has not received the financial support it had expected from international and regional partners, President Mahmoud Abbas said at an Arab League summit on Thursday.

"It has now become critical to activate the Arab safety net, to boost the resilience of our people and to enable the government to carry out its duties," Abbas said.

Funding of the Palestinian Authority, the body which exercises limited governance of the occupied West Bank, has been severely restricted by a dispute over transferring tax revenue Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

Funding from international donors has also been squeezed, falling from 30% of the $6 billion annual budget to around 1%, former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has said.

(This story has been corrected to say that Mohammad Shtayyeh is a former Palestinian prime minister, in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Michael Georgy and Bernadette Baum)

UNC System is likely to ban DEI, but what exactly is it? One scholar’s view

RIGHT WING REVANCHISM

Kyle Ingram
Thu, May 16, 2024 

In recent years, diversity, equity and inclusion programs at colleges and universities have come under fire from conservatives, who allege that they promote divisive ideologies, drain campus resources and stoke tension on campus.

DEI programs across the country have become the target of state legislatures and university governing boards alike, who have defunded or banned them — sometimes eliminating employees in the process.

In North Carolina, the UNC System is poised to severely restrict DEI programs next week at a meeting of the Board of Governors. In anticipation of the vote, the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted this month to divert the $2.3 million it spends on DEI to campus police instead.

To examine the origin of DEI programs and what they do, The News & Observer spoke with Shaun Harper, a professor of education, business and public policy at the University of Southern California.

Harper, who studies DEI programs and has testified before Congress about them, published a report in March alongside 11 other scholars titled “Truths about DEI on College Campuses.”

In our interview, Harper rebutted claims that DEI could represent “divisiveness, exclusion and indoctrination,” as UNC Trustee Marty Kotis said this month. Rather, Harper said his research has found the programs ultimately benefit students and account for small portions of university budgets.

Furthermore, he said the loss of DEI offices could significantly hinder the ability of universities to deal with incidents of discrimination and harassment on campus — a responsibility they are required to uphold by federal law.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How long have DEI programs been around?

A: They (universities) started investing in them in the 1970s. Many predominantly white and historically white institutions of higher education didn’t start to diversify — or start to admit Black students, specifically — until the late ‘60s, early ‘70s. What happened is that many Black students started showing up on these campuses without any support, and because they had not been there historically, the staff and administration didn’t know how to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for those students.

So, they started creating these offices of Minority Affairs — that’s what they were called in the beginning. Then over time, they shifted to ethnic culture centers and to offices of Multicultural Affairs. The Multicultural Affairs shift was intended to signify that it’s not just (for) Black students and students of color, but it’s also students with disabilities, veteran students, LGBTQ students and so on. Then eventually, Multicultural Affairs evolved into what we now call diversity, equity and inclusion.

Many people misunderstand DEI initiatives to be sort of a post-George Floyd murder phenomenon — like something that just was created within the past four years. That’s just not true. These kinds of initiatives have been around for 50 years.

Q: What about the backlash to DEI. Is that a post-2020 phenomenon?

A: Yeah, it is. Even though George Floyd’s murder was not the catalyst for the DEI initiatives themselves, because they have really been longstanding in higher education, George Floyd’s murder was in fact, the catalyst for a reckoning with structural and systemic racism in the United States, including in these higher education institutions. It forced a long overdue conversation that many Americans weren’t ready to have.

Then, fast forward to September 2020, when then-President Donald Trump signed an executive order, banning diversity, equity and inclusion programming and initiatives in our government and our nation’s military. That had a chilling effect on DEI on college campuses, because it was confusing to public institutions, because they were like, ‘Well, we’re not a federal agency, but we do receive tons of federal funds for financial aid and for research.’

Joe Biden reversed that executive order on his first day in office in 2021, but by that time the seed had already been planted. Christopher Rufo (a conservative activist) did an interview with Politico in which he tells the truth about how he and others began a movement deliberately in 2021 to tear down DEI everywhere it exists. That was a politicized, well-orchestrated, well-funded movement.

Q: As they currently stand, what sorts of services do DEI programs offer to students on college campuses?

A: They offer programming, counseling and advising for veteran students, for students with disabilities, for low-income students, students who are first in their families to attend college, for women and for students of color and LGBTQ students.

I deliberately went in that order because people who very deliberately attempt to dupe Americans about what DEI is and what it does, they kind of start and stop with ‘Oh, it’s about race and transgender students and gay and lesbian students,’ without understanding that it’s about all of those other student populations as well.

Let me add two more to the list that I think are really important: international students. Many institutions rely on them as full-paying students who don’t qualify for federal financial aid and who come and they write really big checks to be on our campuses. They, too, are among the students who are served by DEI programs.

But then there’s one more: students who are in the religious minority on their campuses. Jewish students, Muslim students and other students from religious backgrounds that are underrepresented.

Antisemitism is a problem on college campuses, full-stop. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it — so too is Islamophobia. But in recent months, there has been an attempt to weaponize antisemitism on college campuses as a part of the movement to defund DEI. In other words, unfounded claims have been made that all DEI programs are antisemitic — they are the absolute opposite of that. In fact, it’s DEI officers and programs that actually help to make campuses inclusive for Jewish students, Muslim students and students whose religious identities and faiths are underrepresented. So what a shame that antisemitism has been misused as a political football.

Q: In the cases you’ve studied in your report, where universities or states have banned DEI programs, what has been the fallout?

A: What was lost was the support and protections for all those student groups and groups of employees. Jobs were lost as the people who do that important work to make campuses safe, equitable and inclusive were let go and their roles were eliminated. Infrastructure was lost. Experts worked for, in some instances, decades to build infrastructure that was so immediately torn down.

In that report, please take a look at Mitchell Chang’s (a UCLA professor and DEI administrator) essay. One of the things that I appreciated most about his essay is that he lays out the process of what happens if someone files a complaint of antisemitism, sexism, racism or some other form of discrimination and harassment — he lays out the actual process that colleges and universities are mandated to do by federal law when a complaint is filed.

Well, the elimination of DEI programs makes institutions incredibly susceptible to being out of compliance when these things occur on their campuses — because who’s gonna do that work? The people who were banning DEI were not thinking about the full scope of what’s all included, including these investigations and due processes that the federal government requires when there is a complaint or allegation of antisemitism, racism, sexism and so on.

What’s going to happen (if) a predominantly white fraternity at UNC-Chapel Hill decides to host a blackface party or a south of the border deportation party and the campus is in uproar because students of color are feeling parodied and attacked? What’s going to happen when white nationalists show back up on campuses spreading propaganda that is antisemitic, racist and homophobic? Who is going to do the work of helping the campus heal from that devastation?

In 2016, a fan wore a Barack Obama mask on his face and a noose around his neck to a University of Wisconsin home football game. In September 2020, a man was arrested for painting racist messages on multiple campus buildings. In May 2023, a white student posted a video to social media in which she threatened to ‘haunt every (expletive) little (racial slur)’ and ‘make them pick (expletive) cotton in the fields all day until they (expletive) die of thirst.’

DEI professionals are often involved in investigations of incidents like these. They usually lead campus recovery efforts to turn these crises into teachable moments and to help create policies to reduce the risk of recurrence. What will UW, UNC-Chapel Hill and other institutions do without these people?

Q: Some critics of DEI argue that it accounts for too much of universities’ budgets. What did you find in your research about that?

A: It’s almost laughable. When you talk to people who work in any office that is connected to what we call DEI, they will tell you without blinking that their work is chronically underfunded. So this whole notion that millions upon millions of dollars are being wasted and that there’s this so-called “DEI bloat” on college campuses is an absolutely ridiculous exaggeration.

In 2023, the Wisconsin state legislature proposed cutting 188 (DEI) jobs. That sounds like a lot of jobs, right? But that’s across 13 campuses for a total of $32 million. Now, again, anybody who sees $32 million is like ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’ but $32 million in the context of the University of Wisconsin system’s budget is less than one half of 1%. Furthermore, those DEI employees account for less than 1% of all of the employees across the system.

Q: The UNC System’s proposed policy would defund DEI programs while allowing them to be “redirected to initiatives related to student success and well-being.” How does that policy compare to other university systems that have banned DEI?

A: It’s pretty much in line with what everyone else is doing, both in terms of approach and semantics. Here’s one thing we know for sure about so-called ‘student success’ efforts: a rising tide does not raise all boats.

We know that already from prior programs and efforts on campuses that were intended to support all students but left behind international students, Muslim students, Latino students and so on. These various student populations have population-specific needs, issues, and expectations of their institutions. Therefore, doing the same thing for all of them in a race-less way or in a way that doesn’t account for their veteran status and all that comes with that, is guaranteed to fail — is guaranteed to under-serve them.

Q: The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees recently voted to divert all DEI funds into campus police and public safety programs. What are your thoughts on that?

A: It almost renders me speechless. It’s not unimaginable, but nonetheless wild is all I can say about it.

Here’s yet another example of how DEI is being used as a political football. I suspect the reason why these funds are being diverted to campus policing is clearly in response to the recent wave of student protests on campuses.

Would they have done that three months ago? Probably not. They probably still would have gone ahead with defunding DEI, for sure, and they probably would have done so under the guise of reallocating those monies to student success efforts. But the policing part? No. As recently as three months ago, that wouldn’t have even been on the table.

(Editor’s note: UNC BOT Chair David Boliek told The N&O that the policy was in consideration before pro-Palestinian student demonstrations began on campus.)

Q: University leaders in NC seeking to ban DEI have referred to it as ‘divisive’ or ‘indoctrination,’ what is your response to that criticism?

A: It’s so paradoxical for a higher education institution to have people making policy about a thing that they themselves have not experienced. It’s almost like writing a scathing critique of a book that one hasn’t read or a movie that one hasn’t watched.

It makes me wonder how many of these DEI programs have trustees and governors actually sat in on and participated in themselves? Were they all terrible and divisive? And did they all qualify as indoctrination? If so, who were the presenters, how were those presenters identified? What did the surveys say amongst other people who participated? Did everybody experience them as divisive and indoctrination?

In the Spotlight designates ongoing topics of high interest that are driven by The News & Observer’s focus on accountability reporting.

Hawaii study shows almost 75% of Maui wildfire survey participants have respiratory issues

AUDREY McAVOY
Updated Wed, May 15, 2024 


A general view shows the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year's deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health, and almost half showed signs of compromised lung function. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)


HONOLULU (AP) — A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year's deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health, and almost half showed signs of compromised lung function.

The data, gathered from 679 people in January and February, comes from what researchers hope will be a long-term study of wildfire survivors lasting at least a decade. Researchers released early results from that research on Wednesday. They eventually hope to enroll 2,000 people in their study to generate what they call a snapshot of the estimated 10,000 people affected by the fires.

Dr. Alika Maunakea, one of the researchers and a professor at the university's John A. Burns School of Medicine, said those who reported higher exposure to the wildfire tended to have more symptoms.


Many study participants hadn't seen a doctor, he said. Some study participants said they weren’t able to because clinics had burned down or because they prioritized getting housing, jobs and food after the disaster. Maunakea urged people exposed to the wildfires to get checked.

“There might be some problems that might manifest in the future," he said. "Please see your doctor. Just pay more attention to your health because of this.”

Two-thirds of study participants lived in Lahaina at the time of the fires. About half of the participants reported daily or weekly exposure to smoke, ash or debris.

The Aug. 8 blaze killed at least 101 people, making it the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. It burned thousands of buildings, displaced 12,000 residents and destroyed the historic town on Maui.

The report shows Maui doesn't have enough pulmonary health specialists to care for those who will need this expertise, said Ruben Juarez, a professor of health economics at the university and one of the study's leaders. Researchers are talking with Hawaii's congressional delegation to figure out how to bring these resources to Maui, he said.

Maunakea said researchers want to avoid the higher cancer and death rates experienced 20 years later by people affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“We'll hopefully be able to prevent this tragedy from compounding to higher mortality rates in the future, like we saw with other events like 9/11,” Maunakea said.

Dr. Gopal Allada, an associate professor of medicine specializing in pulmonary and critical care at the Oregon Science & Health University who wasn't involved in the research, said it would have been great if the study participants had undergone similar lung function tests before the fire. But he acknowledged that wasn't possible, as is often the case in similar studies.

He hopes the researchers will get funding to continue their research over time.

Allada noted most scientific studies on the health effects of wildfires have focused on what happens to people in the days and the week of exposure and less is known about the long-term effects.

He commended the researchers for showing there's a problem and for collecting data that can influence policymakers.

“This is important work that hopefully influences policymakers and people who control budgets and where trainees train and that sort of thing,” he said.

Maui fires left victims food insecure and with health issues, survey finds

Li Cohen
Thu, May 16, 2024 

It's been nine months since deadly wildfires scorched across the Hawaiian island of Maui, killing dozens of people and leaving the historic town of Lahaina in ashes. And according to a new study, people are still feeling the effects of those fires — with many food insecure and at risk for serious health issues.

The public health report, conducted by researchers at the University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization and the John A. Burns School of Medicine, looks at the lingering impacts of the August 2023 fires that killed 101 people. Researchers will monitor and analyze these impacts for at least a decade, but already found significant issues in its first sampling of fire victims, which was conducted in February.

Researchers surveyed 679 people, two-thirds of whom lived in Lahaina during the fires. Nearly half of those surveyed reported seeing a decline in their health compared with a year ago, which researchers said "could deteriorate further if difficulties in accessing care and lack of health insurance are not addressed." Among those issues are complications with residents' cardiovascular health.

"Exposure to smoke, ash, and debris is strongly associated with worse physical health outcomes and reported symptoms," the report says. "Approximately 74% of participants face a heightened risk of cardiovascular diseases due to elevated or prehypertension levels. Kidney function may be compromised in 8-20% of participants, and up to 60% may suffer poor respiratory health."

More older adults seem to be affected physically, with 85% of those ages 65 and older reporting physical symptoms have limited their daily activities, including moderate and vigorous exercise, carrying groceries, climbing one flight of stairs, bending, walking or bathing.

MauiWES results from February 2024 show that older adults are seeing physical symptoms since the Maui wildfires in 2023 that are taking a toll on their ability to conduct daily activities. / Credit: MauiWES

Researchers also found a "notable increase in depression," among other mental health issues. Roughly 30% of participants reported feeling moderate or severe anxiety and a slightly larger percentage reported feelings of low self-esteem. Less than 4.5% said they suffered suicidal thoughts following the fires. These numbers were "significantly higher than state and local averages," researchers said, noting that the mental health impact seemed to extend beyond those who were physically exposed to smoke, ash and debris.

Having enough to eat is also a major concern, with nearly half of households in February's survey experiencing food insecurity, a rate researchers said is higher than those previously observed both locally and across the state. This impact is at least somewhat tied to employment issues also experienced since the fires. Nearly half of surveyed victims lost their jobs because of the fires, 20% of whom are still unemployed. Three-quarters of those surveyed make less money than they did before the fires.

"By studying impacts now, we're in a position to prevent short- and long-term conditions such as lung disease and cancer, which our population is already more susceptible to," researcher Alika Maunakea said.

Maunakea said many of those who reported being more exposed to the fires seem to have more symptoms, and that many of those who participated in the study haven't seen a doctor. Many say they haven't received care because their clinics were destroyed in the fires or because other essentials – like food and housing – took priority.

"There might be some problems that might manifest in the future," he said, according to the Associated Press. "Please see your doctor. Just pay more attention to your health because of this.'

As the study continues, researchers say they hope to enroll 2,000 people to participate.

Nikima Glatt, who lived in Lahaina when the fires swept through, told CBS affiliate Hawaii News Now that she worked in the burn zone during the re-entry period.

"I was a runner. I was a skater. I used to exercise a lot," she said. "And now it's difficult for me to do normal things that I used to."