Imogen Mathers

Freelance writer/editor/audio producer | @SOAS grad | working on social justice, human rights, public health, migration, anticolonialism… | Viva 🇵🇸

[Imogen Mathers @ImogenMathers]

A beautiful and moving essay by @AlaaQAlQaisi – on friendship and solidarity, grief and connection https://t.co/8ot6c4UgPB

[Sameh Ahmed 𓂆 🇵🇸 @PalPress24]

How are we expected to forget?

How can we forget our children, our homes, and the memories buried beneath the rubble?
How can we forget the periods of famine we endured under bombardment, when fear accompanied us every moment and terror kept us awake before we could even close our eyes?

We did not know what sleep felt like, nor did we experience a sense of safety.
We were displaced again and again, living in tents that offered no protection from the heat or the cold and provided none of the basic conditions for a dignified life.

What we lived through was not a passing event, but a deep wound that left its mark on every home and every heart.
Time may pass, but memory cannot erase pain that we experienced moment by moment.

We document… because the truth never dies.

[Mahmoud Massri | مَحْمُود 🇵🇸 @MahmoudMassri15]

A group of people sitting on the beach in Khan Younis was targeted a short while ago, and three people were killed.

What was their crime? What did they do to deserve death?

They were simply trying to enjoy a moment of peace, to feel what life is like for just one day, to escape the fear and suffering that follow us every day. They sat by the sea looking for a little comfort, but even that simple moment was denied to them.

In Gaza, even sitting on the beach has become a risk, and searching for a moment of peace can end in yet another tragedy.

Sometimes it feels as though we are expected to suffer endlessly, as if we are not allowed the right to live, to feel joy, or even to experience a single moment of calm. 💔

[Tamer Nahed @Tamer_Alnoaizy]

A real catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes in Gaza City, yet it feels as though no one cares. The world seems unaware of what is happening here, or perhaps it has simply stopped paying attention.

Today, I walked a long distance to the only drinking water station serving our area. When I arrived, I was shocked to find that it had completely stopped operating. The reason was not a technical failure, but the lack of fuel and engine oil needed to keep the desalination plant running.

Imagine a facility that provided clean water to more than 20,000 people living in displacement camps suddenly shutting down. This is happening as summer begins and the heat grows more intense with each passing day. Thousands of families are now left without access to safe drinking water.

And the tragedy does not end there. Dozens of bakeries have also stopped operating or drastically reduced production because they can no longer obtain the fuel and lubricants needed to run their equipment. Every day I stand in long lines under the scorching sun for two or three hours, and many times I return to my tent empty-handed, unable to find a single loaf of bread for my family.

The situation here is becoming more desperate with every passing day. No aid, no water, no bread, no homes, and increasingly it feels as though our lives have no value in the eyes of the world. What we are experiencing is no longer just a humanitarian crisisit is a disaster that is worsening by the hour.

Sometimes I feel as though I am writing these words into a void, as if our voices can no longer reach anyone. But the reality is that the situation here has spiraled completely out of control, and people are being left alone to face hunger, thirst, and unbearable heat.

Is anyone listening to us? Does anyone truly understand the scale of this catastrophe before it is too late?

[K.Diallo ☭ @nyeusi_waasi]

Despite spending time in Belgium and later France under quarantine and medical screening measures to ensure they had not contracted Ebola, not a single DR Congo supporter traveling from Kinshasa was granted a U.S. visa for the World Cup. Among them was Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, better known as “Lumumba,” an iconic Leopards supporter who became one of the most recognizable faces of AFCON 2025.

Since the start of this tournament, we have been witnessing clear bias against African countries embedded in visa and immigration systems.

[Save the Children UK @savechildrenuk]

The UK Government must take urgent action to protect Palestinian children:

🔴 Suspend all arms transfers to Israel, including parts for F-35 fighter jets
🔴Ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank
🔴 Suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement
🔴 Hold all perpetrators accountable for violations of international law

https://t.co/kPOe8CbmIE

[Nadia Whittome MP @NadiaWhittomeMP]

Ten years ago today, Jo Cox MP was murdered by a far-right white supremacist who called her a ���traitor” for believing in an open and inclusive vision of our country.

Her message - that we have more in common than that which divides us - is exactly what the far-right is still trying to destroy today.

At a time when populist far-right politicians and their billionaire backers are setting communities against each other and normalising hatred, her words feel more urgent than ever.

[Maha Hussaini @MahaGaza]

Israeli Supreme Court rejected, once again, an appeal against Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s detention

According to his lawyer, the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya will remain imprisoned under the “Unlawful Combatant” law, rejecting an appeal against his detention despite no charges being brought against him.

The decision allows the continued detention of Dr. Abu Safiya without charge, in a manner that contradicts international law and the Geneva Conventions, which afford special protection to medical personnel during armed conflicts.

Dr. Abu Safiya remains held in solitary confinement at Nafha Prison under harsh conditions, while being denied necessary medical care and other basic rights.

#FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya

[Imogen Mathers @ImogenMathers]

"What young people, and all of us, need is safety by design. Experts have spent years calling for algorithmic accountability and default protections to be built into these platforms, alongside stronger regulation."

[Nadia Whittome MP @NadiaWhittomeMP]

I have been contacted by many constituents about the harm caused to children by social media - from viewing inappropriate content and the risk of grooming, to bullying and the impact on mental health.

I share these concerns, but I worry that a blanket social media ban for under-16s isn’t the answer.

Firstly, it’s unlikely to work. Young people will either find ways to access these sites, or they will be pushed to even less regulated and darker corners of the internet.

But fundamentally, a ban like this lets Big Tech off the hook for creating and profiting from these harms. What young people, and all of us, need is safety by design. Experts have spent years calling for algorithmic accountability and default protections to be built into these platforms, alongside stronger regulation.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🇸🇩 UN: Drone strikes kill over 1,000 civilians in Sudan in first five months of 2026

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in drone strikes in Sudan between January and May 2026, a senior UN human rights official said, warning of a sharp escalation in the war’s brutality.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said there has been a “sharp increase” in drone attacks alongside widespread reports of rape and sexual violence, as the war enters its fourth year. At least 2,670 people, including civilians and combatants, were killed in 2025, marking a 600% increase in drone-related deaths, according to ACLED data.

This statement follows a recent strike by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that killed at least 15 people in el-Obeid, after drones hit a cemetery and a gas station, health officials said. Sudan Tribune reported yesterday marked the 5th consecutive day of RSF attacks on the key city.

[Mosab Abu Toha @MosabAbuToha]

This is the photo of the child I posted about yesterday. He was four years old.
Save his photo. It should be on the front page of every newspaper in the world. Shame on the complicit media which has failed to report on this.
Remember again, Israel killed Rayyan Abu al-Ajin by a bullet to the eye.
Look at his face. Look at his eyes.

[Mosab Abu Toha @MosabAbuToha]

THIS SHOULD BE A HEADLINE EVERYWHERE:

The child was killed by a BULLET to the EYE.

[Imogen Mathers @ImogenMathers]

'Straight out of Trumpland':
'Reform councils across England ... have imposed bans on flying the pride flag and holding pride events in public spaces, as well as, in some cases, defunding pride events previously sponsored by local authorities.'
https://t.co/Q9ulMMIDRt

[Imogen Mathers @ImogenMathers]

School library book bans, influenced by US censorship & Project 2025, now growing in the UK:

“the books being challenged are ‘written by Black and LGBTQ+ writers; ones that feature LGBTQ characters or identities; books about social and political change’.
- @CILIPSLG

[Prem Sikka @premnsikka]

Trumpian censorship in the UK

Teacher, librarians under pressure to remove books on race, identity, social justice from libraries.

200 titles pulled from one Greater Manchester school library, including books by Black authors.

What are we becoming?
https://t.co/0cC47wV7Lj

[Prem Sikka @premnsikka]

Trumpian censorship in the UK

Teacher, librarians under pressure to remove books on race, identity, social justice from libraries.

200 titles pulled from one Greater Manchester school library, including books by Black authors.

What are we becoming?
https://t.co/0cC47wV7Lj

[Tes magazine @tes]

Entries for A-level music have plummeted to a record low, data has shown, with the government warned that it could ‘disappear from schools altogether’ if the trend continues
https://t.co/6ivYHsHEsM

[World Health Organization (WHO) @WHO]

WHO Rapid Risk Assessment on #Ebola caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda:

The risk assessment has been revised:
🔴 Very high at the national level in #DRC
🟠 High for #Uganda
🟠 High for countries sharing land borders with DRC and Uganda
🔵 Low for the rest of the Africa region and at the global level

The risk in DRC remains very high, because:
⚠️ The outbreak has continued to expand rapidly in terms of numbers of cases and geographical spread with more areas affected
⚠️ Epidemiological links and the full chain of transmission are not yet clearly established, and the source of the outbreak remains under investigation
⚠️ Ongoing conflict restricts movement of frontline responders and surveillance teams
⚠️ Community fear and misinformation hinder case detection, contact tracing, and isolation, and potentially facilitate disease spread
⚠️ Limited healthcare infrastructure and delays in laboratory confirmation, although these are being scaled up by DRC, with support of partners

WHO continues to support DRC to put an end to this outbreak https://t.co/hb3BcB531k

[Maha Hussaini @MahaGaza]

Your daily reminder to speak about Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, to call on your governments to pressure Israel to release him immediately

#FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya

[The Herald @heraldscotland]

Val McDermid turns 71 today.

In February, the Scottish crime writer warned that writers are facing a 'massive threat' from artificial intelligence.

She said: "AI can produce a certain kind of book and it is learning all the time. The only reason it can produce any books at all is because it's stolen out of all of our texts. All of our texts have been scraped.

“They have taken 150 pieces of my work, for which I've had no recompense, they’ve not asked my permission and I have no say in what they do.

“There are court cases on the way now, but it's tip of the iceberg stuff.

“There was never any point when they sought a partnership with creatives. They just stole our work and ripped us off."

The author said she was confident that writers would always have a way of writing in a way “that cannot be replicated by a machine.”

She added: “A machine can pretend to have feelings, but it doesn't have feelings and it doesn’t understand emotions at the deep level that we do that.

“Sometimes when you are reading a book and an event happens you expect the characters to behave in a particular way, but they don't.

“They respond in a different way because they are human because they have a range of possibilities.

“I think the human writer will always have a head-start on the machines for that.” 👇

[THE NERVE @thenerve_news]

Gisèle Pelicot, whose courage at trial transformed the debate around abuse, talks to @LuciaOC_ about survival, reclaiming confidence – and shutting down the tools of sexual exploitation

[Winnie Byanyima @Winnie_Byanyima]

The old rules-based order delivered progress: scientific breakthroughs, human rights, international cooperation.

But it also entrenched inequality.

It promised “universal rules” — yet rules on trade, debt, tax, and intellectual property were never neutral.

Too often they narrowed the choices of poorer countries while expanding the freedoms of capital.

@SOAS_DLD @SOAS