Genocide

114: Dr. Mo on Working in Gaza Hospitals

Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, or Dr. Mo as he’s affectionately known, is an English-Australian emergency physician trainee, humanitarian, and former international athlete of Palestinian heritage. Dr. Mo, also known by his social media handle “Beast from the Middle East”, is the first Palestinian to represent the United Kingdom in international rugby, having also won European titles in jiu-jitsu. 

Born into a Palestinian refugee family, Dr Mo pursued medical training across Britain and Australia, driven by a profound commitment to human rights and the belief that healthcare is a fundamental right. His upbringing, shaped by resilience and displacement, has fuelled his career at the intersection of frontline healthcare and global humanitarian advocacy.

In 2024 and 2025, Dr Mo served in Gaza’s Nasser and European hospitals, with RAHMA Worldwide providing critical emergency care amid escalating violence. His commitment to frontline care drew him back to Gaza once again, in March of this year with the Palestinian, Australian, and New Zealand Medical Association team, arriving just as a fragile ceasefire collapsed. His raw, live reporting from inside emergency departments brought the devastation of Israel’s unrelenting genocide against the Palestinian people to millions worldwide. In addition to his work as a practicing physician, his current humanitarian efforts are  focused on bringing a new, fully equipped children’s hospital to Gaza.

For more information about Dr. Mo’s work and public advocacy check his Instagram: @beastfromthe_middleeast

 
 

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113: An Audio Diary from Gaza

We have been wanting to bring you voices from inside Gaza since the very start of the current atrocities, but for what are obvious reasons this has proven to be extremely difficult, especially after Israel cut all communication lines and mobile phone networks in Gaza, in the prelude to their ground invasion. However, a student from our Palestine Podcast Academy, Shahd Safi, has managed to send me a series of daily audio diary entries detailing her experiences and her feelings in recent days. Shahd is from al Nuseirat Refugee camp in Central Gaza, a camp that has been subjected to repeated bombardments by Israel over the past few weeks. A Palestinian friend of mine, who invited me to his home in Nuseirat camp during my stay in Gaza, has lost nine family members to the airstrikes on the refugee camp in recent weeks. Shahd joins us from Rafah, in the South of Gaza, where she moved two years ago. However, the situation in Rafah is far from safe.

Shahd has been writing prolifically since the assault on Gaza began last month. You can find several links to her articles below, as well as links to charitable organizations working on the ground, and additional educational resources.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Episode 45 (2 of 2): Armenia, Armenians, and Armenian-ness

In this second half of our two-part conversation with Nareg Seferian we speak about the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of Armenia, the Armenian diaspora, and Armenian identity.  

Nareg Seferian received his education in India, Armenia, the United States, and Austria. Nareg served on the faculty at the American University of Armenia for three years, and he is currently pursuing his PhD at Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs in the Washington, DC area. His research and writing has focused on diverse aspects of Armenian politics and society, at the national and regional level, as well as across the global Armenian Diaspora.

The first photo is of guest, Nareg Seferian. The second image is of one of the last structures remaining from the Armenian village of Bardizag, in Turkey, the home of Eric’s great grandmother Mary Abelian prior to its ethnic cleansing in 1915. It was an American Christian school and its lower level has since been desecrated and converted into a stable. Photo credit -Eric Maddox

 
 
 

Episode 44 (1 of 2): Armenia, Armenians & Armenian-ness

In this first half of our two-part conversation with Nareg Seferian we speak about the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of Armenia, the Armenian diaspora, and Armenian identity.  

Nareg Seferian received his education in India, Armenia, the United States, and Austria. He served on the faculty at the American University of Armenia for three years, and he is currently pursuing his PhD at Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs in the Washington, DC area. His research and writing has focused on diverse aspects of Armenian politics and society, at the national and regional level, as well as across the global Armenian Diaspora.

 
 
 

Episode 42: Stateless - Myanmar's Rohingya People

In 1982 the Myanmar (Burmese) military government passed a citizenship law that effectively stripped the Rohingya community of their nationality overnight. They’ve been stateless ever since, and subject to institutionalized discrimination and coordinated persecution that has greatly restricted their movement and their access to jobs and to education.

Although there have been reports of attacks and massacres in the past, in August of 2017 Myanmar’s military began a campaign to drive many Rohingya out of their homes in Rakhine state, with the result that roughly 900,000 refugees have fled the country, with reports of widespread and coordinated attacks utilizing arson, rape, and mass killing that bear signs of genocide. Refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh have long since been filled past overflowing, and many have been reduced to living in squalid and unsafe conditions in and around the camps.

JN Joniad fled his home in Rakhine state 6 years ago, and is currently registered in with UNHCR in Indonesia as a refugee, while he awaits resettlement elsewhere. His story not only illuminates the condition of fellow Rohingya, but also uncovers what appears to be a global trend amongst wealthy nations (the US, EU, and Australia) to outsource their border enforcement policy to developing nations through a strategy of deterrence and obscured accountability.

 
 
J N Joniad’s Blog

J N Joniad’s Blog