csmonitor--2020-08-31--Why Germany’s Merkel finds it hard to retire

When it comes to her style of leadership , German Chancellor Angela Merkel has long preferred to rely on values more than power .
“ You can ’ t solve the tasks by charisma , ” she says .
Nor , in the case of postwar Germany , by military force .
Values like rule of law and respect for one ’ s opponents are her trademark .
This approach has made Ms. Merkel the most admired democratic leader in the world .
And as she prepares to leave politics in 2021 , her leadership is in demand more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along its borders , crisis after crisis has tested the world ’ s most powerful woman .
When the coronavirus struck , she saw it as the “ biggest challenge ” in the European Union ’ s history and coordinated an inclusive and firm approach across the Continent .
Then when the United States pulled out of the World Health Organization , Germany filled the void with new funding for the agency .
When Turkey challenged the maritime borders of EU member Greece over oil rights – threatening a war between the two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two neighbors .
When Russia escalated its military role in Libya , she was on the phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to quell the violence .
When the EU needed to borrow money to get Europe out of its pandemic recession , Germany set aside its aversion to debt and , as Ms. Merkel said , decided to put itself “ in the other person ’ s shoes and consider problems from the other ’ s point of view.
” With Mr. Putin , she has demanded transparency and accountability for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Navalny .
As a defender of human rights , Germany airlifted Mr. Navalny to a Berlin hospital , confirmed that indeed he had been poisoned , and offered him asylum .
After a rigged election in Belarus , Germany pushed for transparency in the vote count and prepared to impose economic sanctions if the regime killed any more pro-democracy protesters .
Ms. Merkel has warned Mr. Putin not to use force in Belarus .
She has also stood firm in keeping sanctions on Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ woes with Russia , “ we have to keep talking , ” she told reporters Aug. 28 .
Germany keeps showing respect to Russia even as it disagrees with it .
Ms. Merkel has not ended the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia .
And in a further move toward reconciliation , Germany is funding a center in St. Petersburg for citizens of both countries to record their memories of World War II and talk together about them .
“ The world should thank the Germans – and ask them for more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Royal United Services Institute , a British defense and security thinktank , in April .
True to her style , Ms. Merkel would probably not want such gratitude .
She ’ s too busy doing good in Europe and for its neighbors .

When it comes to her style of leadership, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has long preferred to rely on values more than power. “You can’t solve the tasks by charisma,” she says. Nor, in the case of postwar Germany, by military force. Values like rule of law and respect for one’s opponents are her trademark. This approach has made Ms. Merkel the most admired democratic leader in the world. And as she prepares to leave politics in 2021, her leadership is in demand more than ever.
This year in Europe and along its borders, crisis after crisis has tested the world’s most powerful woman. When the coronavirus struck, she saw it as the “biggest challenge” in the European Union’s history and coordinated an inclusive and firm approach across the Continent. Then when the United States pulled out of the World Health Organization, Germany filled the void with new funding for the agency.
When Turkey challenged the maritime borders of EU member Greece over oil rights – threatening a war between the two NATO members – she forced deliberation between the two neighbors. When Russia escalated its military role in Libya, she was on the phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to quell the violence.
When the EU needed to borrow money to get Europe out of its pandemic recession, Germany set aside its aversion to debt and, as Ms. Merkel said, decided to put itself “in the other person’s shoes and consider problems from the other’s point of view.”
With Mr. Putin, she has demanded transparency and accountability for the suspected poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. As a defender of human rights, Germany airlifted Mr. Navalny to a Berlin hospital, confirmed that indeed he had been poisoned, and offered him asylum.
After a rigged election in Belarus, Germany pushed for transparency in the vote count and prepared to impose economic sanctions if the regime killed any more pro-democracy protesters. Ms. Merkel has warned Mr. Putin not to use force in Belarus. She has also stood firm in keeping sanctions on Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
For all of the West’s woes with Russia, “we have to keep talking,” she told reporters Aug. 28.
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Germany keeps showing respect to Russia even as it disagrees with it. Ms. Merkel has not ended the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia. And in a further move toward reconciliation, Germany is funding a center in St. Petersburg for citizens of both countries to record their memories of World War II and talk together about them.
“The world should thank the Germans – and ask them for more global leadership,” wrote Elisabeth Braw of the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense and security thinktank, in April. True to her style, Ms. Merkel would probably not want such gratitude. She’s too busy doing good in Europe and for its neighbors.


csmonitor--2020-08-31--How will Wisconsin vote in November? Protests could decide.

Alexis Arnold says she ’ s sympathetic toward protesters who have peacefully fought racial injustice this summer .
But as some demonstrations spiral into violence , her anxiety is building .
“ Why are we so broken right now ?
” the art gallery owner wondered .
The uncertainty is drawing her to whatever stability President Donald Trump can offer .
He has spent weeks pushing questions of safety and security to the forefront of the presidential campaign .
And there are signs some Wisconsin voters are listening , after protests have sometimes become violent in Kenosha , Wisconsin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black man , Jacob Blake , seven times , paralyzing him .
“ The public just needs something to make them feel comfortable and safe again , ” said Ms. Arnold , who is white , and has voted for Democrats in the past and is raising a biracial daughter .
“ I almost [ would ] rather see Trump stay and try to resolve it rather than bring somebody in new.
” That sentiment could prove decisive in Wisconsin , a state that put Mr. Trump in the White House in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 percentage point .
The president has already used dark and misleading warnings of destruction in American streets following violence in Portland , Oregon , and is now seizing on unrest in Kenosha , where he ’ ll travel on Tuesday .
His Democratic rival , Joe Biden , has condemned violence and focused more on the victims of police brutality .
But the images of unrest in Kenosha – of protesters clashing with police , shattered windows , and a teenager carrying an AR-15 style gun in the streets – are intensifying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interviews with dozens of voters in Green Bay and its suburbs , Democrats saw racism and fear-mongering in Mr. Trump ’ s messages , part of a ploy to change the subject from the pandemic .
Republicans , even those who admittedly cringed at Mr. Trump ’ s style on other issues , were unwaveringly supportive .
And some of the rare voters unsure of their choice said they felt drawn to Mr. Trump in this moment , a warning sign for Mr. Biden , who has tried to make the election a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leadership , and his handling of the coronavirus .
As part of that strategy , Mr. Biden has all but shunned in-person campaigning and generally kept a lower profile .
That approach has left some voters who haven ’ t ruled out Mr. Trump hazy on where Mr. Biden stands on race and criminal justice , a vacuum quickly filled with misinformation .
“ It was out there that he would get rid of the police , ” said Mike Guerts , referring to an often repeated falsehood about Mr. Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump voter , says a friend has inundated his phone with pro-Trump posts .
The mail worker from Madison , who was in town visiting his father , said he knows not everything his friend sends is true but he doesn ’ t yet know enough to feel comfortable with Mr. Biden .
“ I ’ ve been a lifelong Republican .
I ’ m torn , ” he said , noting police brutality is a pressing problem .
“ But that does not excuse the lawlessness.
” There is far less ambiguity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to identify all protesters and Democrats as “ socialists.
” Some do n't agree there is systemic racism in the United States and argued that Black Americans often provoke police into using force .
Kyle Rittenhouse , the white teenager who is charged with shooting three people , killing two , in Kenosha , was rarely mentioned .
Instead , they saw Democrats and their celebrity allies as stoking the unrest .
“ They haven ’ t done anything to stop it , ” said Rick Demro , a retired commander with Green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t see them back up law enforcement .
They ’ re quick to cast judgment before they facts come out .
I think all that does is promote the rioting instead of trying to quell it .
Part of me says , it ’ s to help them for the campaign purposes.
” Mr. Demro said he ’ s particularly angered by professional athletes and organizations speaking out against police brutality – including his beloved Green Bay Packers .
He hasn ’ t missed a home game since the early 1980s , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get his season tickets .
But this week , he talked to his wife about giving them up in protest .
She refused , he said , because she wants to pass them down to their children .
Mr. Demro was among the Trump supporters who said they did see problem in policing .
When he watched the video of a Minneapolis police officer pinning George Floyd to the ground until he stopped moving , the May incident that triggered a new , broadly supported movement for racial justice , he said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s evidence to suggest that events in the months since have taken a toll on public support for protesters in the state .
A Marquette University Law School survey found support for the protests had fallen 13 percentage points from June to August and is now even with disapproval .
The survey of Wisconsin residents conducted before the shootings in Kenosha found that support fell everywhere except the city of Milwaukee , including the suburbs , exurbs , and large towns , where Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden are vying for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump must run up the score in the conservative-leaning suburbs and exurbs across the state , working-class areas where trade union ’ s allegiance to Democrats has faded and the pull of cultural issues has grown .
While he dominated in Green Bay ’ s Brown County in 2016 – winning by 11 percentage points – the area supported a Democrat-backed Supreme Court justice this spring , in a surprising surge of Democratic turnout .
They were Democrats like Michelle Yurek , a fourth-grade teacher who was preparing to go back to teach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Trump told the Republican National Convention that “ no one will be safe in Biden ’ s America.
” “ I don ’ t think we ’ re safe in Trump ’ s America , ” Ms. Yurek said , from her home in a neat subdivision on the edge of Green Bay where she lives with her husband and three children .
“ I think he ’ s caused a lot of the division.
” Driving his supporters to the polls , while overcoming barriers to voting in the pandemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means winning over voters like Brittaney Leake , a support staff worker at a group home and a mom of three , with another on the way .
Ms. Leake says she didn ’ t vote in 2016 because she ’ s disillusioned with what she see as politicians ’ unfulfilled promises .
Mr. Biden hasn ’ t given her a reason to change course , she said .
“ Just because he ’ s a Democrat doesn ’ t mean he has my vote , ” Ms. Leake said .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s going to do for a change , I ’ m not going to vote for him .
...
There has to be action.
” Ms. Arnold , the gallery owner , voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton four years ago .
But she hasn ’ t been unhappy with Mr. Trump ’ s record .
She thinks he ’ s trying to look out for businesses like hers and she ’ s heard positive things about his criminal justice reform bill .
It seems daunting now to switch leaders at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ stretched so thin.
” She ’ s still mulling over her choice , wishing she could hear more from both candidates for a plan for a reset .
“ I think we ’ re all just kind of worn out .
And we just want to get back to somewhat of a normal life.
” This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Alexis Arnold says she’s sympathetic toward protesters who have peacefully fought racial injustice this summer. But as some demonstrations spiral into violence, her anxiety is building.
“Why are we so broken right now?” the art gallery owner wondered.
The uncertainty is drawing her to whatever stability President Donald Trump can offer. He has spent weeks pushing questions of safety and security to the forefront of the presidential campaign. And there are signs some Wisconsin voters are listening, after protests have sometimes become violent in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, seven times, paralyzing him.
“The public just needs something to make them feel comfortable and safe again,” said Ms. Arnold, who is white, and has voted for Democrats in the past and is raising a biracial daughter. “I almost [would] rather see Trump stay and try to resolve it rather than bring somebody in new.”
That sentiment could prove decisive in Wisconsin, a state that put Mr. Trump in the White House in 2016 after he carried it by less than 1 percentage point. The president has already used dark and misleading warnings of destruction in American streets following violence in Portland, Oregon, and is now seizing on unrest in Kenosha, where he’ll travel on Tuesday.
His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has condemned violence and focused more on the victims of police brutality.
But the images of unrest in Kenosha – of protesters clashing with police, shattered windows, and a teenager carrying an AR-15 style gun in the streets – are intensifying the partisan divide in Wisconsin. In interviews with dozens of voters in Green Bay and its suburbs, Democrats saw racism and fear-mongering in Mr. Trump’s messages, part of a ploy to change the subject from the pandemic.
Republicans, even those who admittedly cringed at Mr. Trump’s style on other issues, were unwaveringly supportive.
And some of the rare voters unsure of their choice said they felt drawn to Mr. Trump in this moment, a warning sign for Mr. Biden, who has tried to make the election a clear referendum on Mr. Trump, his leadership, and his handling of the coronavirus.
As part of that strategy, Mr. Biden has all but shunned in-person campaigning and generally kept a lower profile. That approach has left some voters who haven’t ruled out Mr. Trump hazy on where Mr. Biden stands on race and criminal justice, a vacuum quickly filled with misinformation.
“It was out there that he would get rid of the police,” said Mike Guerts, referring to an often repeated falsehood about Mr. Biden’s position.
Mr. Guerts, a wavering Trump voter, says a friend has inundated his phone with pro-Trump posts. The mail worker from Madison, who was in town visiting his father, said he knows not everything his friend sends is true but he doesn’t yet know enough to feel comfortable with Mr. Biden.
“I’ve been a lifelong Republican. I’m torn,” he said, noting police brutality is a pressing problem. “But that does not excuse the lawlessness.”
There is far less ambiguity among Trump stalwarts. Many were quick to identify all protesters and Democrats as “socialists.”
Some don't agree there is systemic racism in the United States and argued that Black Americans often provoke police into using force. Kyle Rittenhouse, the white teenager who is charged with shooting three people, killing two, in Kenosha, was rarely mentioned.
Instead, they saw Democrats and their celebrity allies as stoking the unrest.
“They haven’t done anything to stop it,” said Rick Demro, a retired commander with Green Bay police department. “You don’t see them back up law enforcement. They’re quick to cast judgment before they facts come out. I think all that does is promote the rioting instead of trying to quell it. Part of me says, it’s to help them for the campaign purposes.”
Mr. Demro said he’s particularly angered by professional athletes and organizations speaking out against police brutality – including his beloved Green Bay Packers. He hasn’t missed a home game since the early 1980s, and he waited for 30 years to get his season tickets. But this week, he talked to his wife about giving them up in protest. She refused, he said, because she wants to pass them down to their children.
Mr. Demro was among the Trump supporters who said they did see problem in policing. When he watched the video of a Minneapolis police officer pinning George Floyd to the ground until he stopped moving, the May incident that triggered a new, broadly supported movement for racial justice, he said he knew it was “wrong.”
But there’s evidence to suggest that events in the months since have taken a toll on public support for protesters in the state.
A Marquette University Law School survey found support for the protests had fallen 13 percentage points from June to August and is now even with disapproval. The survey of Wisconsin residents conducted before the shootings in Kenosha found that support fell everywhere except the city of Milwaukee, including the suburbs, exurbs, and large towns, where Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden are vying for supporters.
To win Wisconsin, Mr. Trump must run up the score in the conservative-leaning suburbs and exurbs across the state, working-class areas where trade union’s allegiance to Democrats has faded and the pull of cultural issues has grown. While he dominated in Green Bay’s Brown County in 2016 – winning by 11 percentage points – the area supported a Democrat-backed Supreme Court justice this spring, in a surprising surge of Democratic turnout.
They were Democrats like Michelle Yurek, a fourth-grade teacher who was preparing to go back to teach in a classroom last week, as Mr. Trump told the Republican National Convention that “no one will be safe in Biden’s America.”
“I don’t think we’re safe in Trump’s America,” Ms. Yurek said, from her home in a neat subdivision on the edge of Green Bay where she lives with her husband and three children. “I think he’s caused a lot of the division.”
Driving his supporters to the polls, while overcoming barriers to voting in the pandemic, is critical for Mr. Biden. That means winning over voters like Brittaney Leake, a support staff worker at a group home and a mom of three, with another on the way.
Ms. Leake says she didn’t vote in 2016 because she’s disillusioned with what she see as politicians’ unfulfilled promises. Mr. Biden hasn’t given her a reason to change course, she said.
“Just because he’s a Democrat doesn’t mean he has my vote,” Ms. Leake said. “If I can’t specifically see what he’s going to do for a change, I’m not going to vote for him. ... There has to be action.”
Ms. Arnold, the gallery owner, voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton four years ago. But she hasn’t been unhappy with Mr. Trump’s record. She thinks he’s trying to look out for businesses like hers and she’s heard positive things about his criminal justice reform bill.
It seems daunting now to switch leaders at a time when she’s everyone is “stretched so thin.” She’s still mulling over her choice, wishing she could hear more from both candidates for a plan for a reset. “I think we’re all just kind of worn out. And we just want to get back to somewhat of a normal life.”
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This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-08-31--Strikers and journalists are Lukashenko's latest targets

Belarus ’ authorities on Monday detained the organizer of a strike at a top industrial plant , part of a methodical effort to stifle weeks of protests demanding the resignation of the country ’ s authoritarian leader of 26 years after an election the opposition denounced as being rigged .
President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed the protesters as Western puppets and rejected the European Union ’ s offers of mediation .
After a ferocious crackdown on demonstrators in the first days after the Aug. 9 vote that caused international outrage , his government has avoided large-scale violence against demonstrators and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the selective jailing of activists .
Anatoly Bokun , who leads the strike committee at Belaruskali , a huge potash factory in Soligorsk , was detained by police Monday and is facing a 15-day jail sentence on charges of organizing an unsanctioned protest .
The factory , which accounts for a fifth of the world ’ s potash fertilizer output , is the nation ’ s top cash earner .
The Belaruskaili strike committee spokesman , Gleb Sandras , said authorities had managed to halt a strike at the factory that began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mines are now working .
He said that agents of Belarus ’ State Security Committee , which still goes by the Soviet-era name KGB , had pressured workers to end the labor action .
“ KGB agents have inundated the factory , tracking down the most active workers and using various means of pressure , ” Mr. Sandras told The Associated Press in a telephone interview .
“ The authorities have powerful economic instruments .
They are blackmailing workers with mass dismissals.
” Strikes at Belaruskali and many other leading industrial plants have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who has kept the bulk of the economy in state hands and relied on blue-collar workers as his main support base .
Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov acknowledged Monday that the strikes posed a problem , but said that all major industrial plants have resumed normal operations .
Mr. Bokun ’ s detention follows the arrests of strike leaders at two other major industrial plants in Minsk last week .
The organizer of a strike at the Grodno Azot , a major producer of nitrogen fertilizers , fled to neighboring Poland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protests , Belarusian prosecutors have opened a criminal probe against the opposition Coordination Council created to negotiate a transition of power , accusing its members of undermining the country ’ s security .
Last week , Belarusian courts handed 10-day jail sentences to two council members and summoned several others for questioning , including Svetlana Alexievich , who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in literature .
The United States and the European Union have criticized the Aug. 9 election that extended Mr. Lukashenko ’ s rule as neither free nor fair and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dialogue with the opposition – calls the Belarusian leader has rejected .
In a bid to win time and to assuage simmering discontent , Mr. Lukashenko touted the prospect of a vaguely-described constitutional reform that could see a new presidential election at an unspecified time .
On Monday , he bluntly dismissed the opposition push for restoring the country ’ s earlier constitution , which envisaged broad parliamentary powers .
Following a fierce clampdown on peaceful demonstrators in the days after the vote that left nearly 7,000 people detained , hundreds injured by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and beatings and at least three protesters dead , police let the demonstrations go unhindered for the next two weeks , but last week again cranked up the pressure on demonstrators and began dispersing rallies .
The Belarusian government also cracked down hard on the news media , deporting some foreign journalists from the country and revoking the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists .
Two Moscow-based Associated Press journalists who were covering the recent protests in Belarus were deported to Russia on Saturday .
In addition , the AP ’ s Belarusian journalists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press credentials had been revoked .
The Belarusian Association of Journalists said over the weekend that accreditation rights were also taken away from 17 Belarusians working for several other media , including Germany ’ s ARD television , the BBC , Reuters , AFP , and U.S.-funded radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said five of its journalists lost their accreditation .
The U.S. and the EU officials have strongly condemned the media crackdown .
The detention of hundreds of demonstrators last week didn ’ t deter the opposition from mounting another massive rally on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flood the streets of the Belarusian capital amid a heavy police presence .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel ’ s spokesman , Steffen Seibert , hailed the protesters ’ courage and urged Mr. Lukashenko on Monday to “ recognize the reality in the country – there needs to be an open dialogue between the leadership , opposition forces , and all of Belarusian society to bring about a peaceful solution to this current crisis.
” EU foreign ministers agreed last week to prepare a sanctions list of up to 20 senior Belarus officials suspected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesters .
Before its publication , the EU ’ s Baltic members – Lithuania , Latvia , and Estonia – slapped their own travel sanctions Monday on 30 top Belarusian officials , including Mr. Lukashenko .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow ; Geir Moulson in Berlin ; and Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius , Lithuania contributed to this report .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ @ @ @

Belarus’ authorities on Monday detained the organizer of a strike at a top industrial plant, part of a methodical effort to stifle weeks of protests demanding the resignation of the country’s authoritarian leader of 26 years after an election the opposition denounced as being rigged.
President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed the protesters as Western puppets and rejected the European Union’s offers of mediation. After a ferocious crackdown on demonstrators in the first days after the Aug. 9 vote that caused international outrage, his government has avoided large-scale violence against demonstrators and sought to end the protests with threats and the selective jailing of activists.
Anatoly Bokun, who leads the strike committee at Belaruskali, a huge potash factory in Soligorsk, was detained by police Monday and is facing a 15-day jail sentence on charges of organizing an unsanctioned protest. The factory, which accounts for a fifth of the world’s potash fertilizer output, is the nation’s top cash earner.
The Belaruskaili strike committee spokesman, Gleb Sandras, said authorities had managed to halt a strike at the factory that began two weeks ago and all its potash mines are now working.
He said that agents of Belarus’ State Security Committee, which still goes by the Soviet-era name KGB, had pressured workers to end the labor action.
“KGB agents have inundated the factory, tracking down the most active workers and using various means of pressure,” Mr. Sandras told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “The authorities have powerful economic instruments. They are blackmailing workers with mass dismissals.”
Strikes at Belaruskali and many other leading industrial plants have cast an unprecedented challenge to Mr. Lukashenko, who has kept the bulk of the economy in state hands and relied on blue-collar workers as his main support base.
Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov acknowledged Monday that the strikes posed a problem, but said that all major industrial plants have resumed normal operations.
Mr. Bokun’s detention follows the arrests of strike leaders at two other major industrial plants in Minsk last week. The organizer of a strike at the Grodno Azot, a major producer of nitrogen fertilizers, fled to neighboring Poland to escape detention.
Seeking to stem the protests, Belarusian prosecutors have opened a criminal probe against the opposition Coordination Council created to negotiate a transition of power, accusing its members of undermining the country’s security. Last week, Belarusian courts handed 10-day jail sentences to two council members and summoned several others for questioning, including Svetlana Alexievich, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in literature.
The United States and the European Union have criticized the Aug. 9 election that extended Mr. Lukashenko’s rule as neither free nor fair and urged Belarusian authorities to engage in a dialogue with the opposition – calls the Belarusian leader has rejected.
In a bid to win time and to assuage simmering discontent, Mr. Lukashenko touted the prospect of a vaguely-described constitutional reform that could see a new presidential election at an unspecified time. On Monday, he bluntly dismissed the opposition push for restoring the country’s earlier constitution, which envisaged broad parliamentary powers.
Following a fierce clampdown on peaceful demonstrators in the days after the vote that left nearly 7,000 people detained, hundreds injured by police rubber bullets, stun grenades, and beatings and at least three protesters dead, police let the demonstrations go unhindered for the next two weeks, but last week again cranked up the pressure on demonstrators and began dispersing rallies.
The Belarusian government also cracked down hard on the news media, deporting some foreign journalists from the country and revoking the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists. Two Moscow-based Associated Press journalists who were covering the recent protests in Belarus were deported to Russia on Saturday. In addition, the AP’s Belarusian journalists were told by the government that their press credentials had been revoked.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists said over the weekend that accreditation rights were also taken away from 17 Belarusians working for several other media, including Germany’s ARD television, the BBC, Reuters, AFP, and U.S.-funded radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said five of its journalists lost their accreditation.
The U.S. and the EU officials have strongly condemned the media crackdown.
The detention of hundreds of demonstrators last week didn’t deter the opposition from mounting another massive rally on Sunday, which saw an estimated 100,000 flood the streets of the Belarusian capital amid a heavy police presence.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, hailed the protesters’ courage and urged Mr. Lukashenko on Monday to “recognize the reality in the country – there needs to be an open dialogue between the leadership, opposition forces, and all of Belarusian society to bring about a peaceful solution to this current crisis.”
EU foreign ministers agreed last week to prepare a sanctions list of up to 20 senior Belarus officials suspected of election fraud and the crackdown on protesters. Before its publication, the EU’s Baltic members – Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia – slapped their own travel sanctions Monday on 30 top Belarusian officials, including Mr. Lukashenko.
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This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow; Geir Moulson in Berlin; and Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-08-31--Lebanon at 100: Upheaval, crises, a new prime minister

It was a century ago on Sept. 1 , 1920 , that a French general , Henri Gouraud , stood on the porch of a Beirut palace surrounded by local politicians and religious leaders and declared the State of Greater Lebanon – the precursor of the modern state of Lebanon .
The current French president , Emmanuel Macron , is visiting Lebanon to mark the occasion , 100 years later , the same day as Mustapha Adib assumes his post as the nation ’ s new prime minister .
But the mood could not be more somber .
Lebanon has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including a financial crash .
On Aug. 4 , a massive explosion at Beirut ’ s port killed at least 190 people and injured thousands – the culmination of decades of accumulated crises , endemic corruption , and mismanagement by an entrenched ruling class .
Facing potential bankruptcy and total collapse , many Lebanese are marking the centennial with a feeling that their experiment as a nation has failed and questioning their willingness to stay in the crisis-riddled country .
“ I am 53 years old and I don ’ t feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country , ” said prominent Lebanese writer Alexandre Najjar .
Like others from his generation , Mr. Najjar lived through the 1975-1990 civil war , when Beirut ’ s name became synonymous with hostages , car bombings , and chaos .
He was a teenager when Israel invaded Beirut in the summer of 1982 , imposing a suffocating siege of the capital for three months , and a young man when Christian militias turned their guns on each other in 1989 .
When former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Najjar was in his late 30s .
The following year , Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a month-long war .
In between , countless other conflicts , bouts of sectarian fighting , and other disasters plagued one generation after another , leading to waves of Lebanese emigration .
But the Aug. 4 explosion , says Mr. Najjar , was the “ peak of a failed state ” – proof that authorities can not even provide basic public safety .
It wasn ’ t supposed to be that way .
Following the fall of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Lebanon fell under the French mandate , starting in 1920 .
France governed for 23 years until the country gained independence as the Lebanese Republic .
Home to 18 different religious sects , it was hailed as a model of pluralism and coexistence .
The nation settled on an unwritten sectarian arrangement , initially seen as the guarantee of stability but which many Lebanese now consider a curse : the president would always be Christian , the prime minister Sunni Muslim , and the parliament speaker Shiite Muslim , with other posts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , under pro-Western President Camille Chamoun , the economy flourished thanks to booming tourism and cash from oil-rich Arab nations .
But his presidency ended with the outbreak of Lebanon ’ s first civil war in 1958 , which lasted for several months and saw U.S. troops land to help Chamoun .
Lebanon saw its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s , when the country became a regional center for the rich and famous who flew from around the world to gamble at the Casino Du Liban , or to attend concerts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by international artists such as the Berlin Philharmonic , Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev , American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald , as well as famous Arab singers like Egypt ’ s Umm Kalthoum and Lebanon ’ s own Fairouz .
Palestinian militants during this time had begun launching attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory , splitting the Lebanese .
Disaster struck again in 1975 , with the start of the 15-year civil war , eventually pitting Lebanon ’ s sects against each other .
That conflict killed nearly 150,000 people .
Syrian troops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – once in 1978 , then again in 1982 , in an assault that forced late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his fighters to leave Lebanon .
U.S. interests were repeatedly attacked , most notably two bombings of the American Embassy and the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. service members , the deadliest attack on the Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 .
On the same day , 58 French paratroopers were killed by a second attacker who struck their installation in Beirut .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prime ministers assassinated , in addition to dozens of other politicians , legislators , journalists , and activists who were killed .
Israel ’ s 1982 invasion and the attacks on the Americans marked the rise of what later became the militant group Hezbollah .
After the civil war ended in 1990 , the Iranian-backed Shiite militia was the only one allowed to keep its weapons because it was fighting Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon .
When Israel withdrew from the south in 2000 , Hezbollah kept its powerful fighting force , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It fought Israeli forces to a draw in 2006 , and tensions remain high along the border .
Today , Hezbollah and its allies , led by President Michel Aoun , dominate Lebanese politics and control a majority in parliament .
But the Lebanese are deeply divided over Hezbollah .
While many in the Shiite community are fiercely loyal to the group , and many non-Shiites sympathize with its anti-Israel stance , others increasingly see it as imposing Iran ’ s will on the country .
Many civil war-era warlords today head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves or their families and controlling powerful local business interests .
The factions pass out positions in government ministries and public institutions to followers or carve out business sectors for them , ensuring their backing .
Corruption has soared over the past two decades , and the sectarian-based patronage system has left Lebanon with crumbling infrastructure , a bloated public sector and one of the world ’ s highest debt ratios , at 170 % of GDP – topped by a ruling class that amassed fortunes .
Last October , nationwide protests erupted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial juggling act that had been the basis of Lebanon ’ s prosperity since 1990 collapsed into the most severe economic crisis of the country ’ s modern history , made worse by the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Lebanon is in its worst period over the past 100 years , ” said legislator Marwan Hamadeh .
“ We are in the worst stage , economically , politically and even when it comes to national unity.
” “ We are currently occupied by Iran and its missiles , ” added Mr. Hamadeh , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2004 that he blames on Hezbollah .
After the massive port explosion and subsequent dissolution of the Cabinet and resignation of Lebanon ’ s former prime minister , Hassan Diab , a new prime minister has been appointed .
Mustapha Adib , Lebanon ’ s ambassador to Germany , spoke to reporters shortly after he was appointed by the president to form a new government , after he secured 90 votes among the legislators in the 128-member parliament .
Mr. Adib called for a new government to be formed “ in record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the investigation into the Beirut explosion and implement reforms after winning the backing of major parties in the crisis-hit country .
Earlier , at the palace , Mr. Adib told reporters he will form a Cabinet of experts and will work with parliament to “ put the country on track to end the dangerous financial , economic , and social drainage.
” The swift consensus around Mr. Adib , a little-known diplomat , signaled a sense of urgency by Lebanon ’ s traditional politicians to try and contain the rapidly worsening economic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Macron ’ s visit .
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri emerged from a meeting with President Aoun on Monday , telling reporters his 18-member bloc had given its backing to Mr. Adib .
He called for the formation of a government of experts “ that implement reforms aimed at restoring the world ’ s confidence in our economy so we can start to emerge from this crisis.
” A look toward the future Historian Johnny Mezher says that to solve its problems , Lebanon could start by adopting a law that boosts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s sect and helps ensure qualifications determine who gets state posts , rather than sectarian connections .
“ Religious figures should be prevented from meddling in politics , ” he said .
Even after seven decades of Lebanese independence , France still wields strong influence on the tiny Mediterranean nation .
Two days after the port blast – with Lebanese leaders totally absent – Mr. Macron visited Beirut and toured one of the most heavily damaged neighborhoods to a hero ’ s welcome , with some chanting “ Vive La France.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place Lebanon under French mandate for 10 years , an idea Mr. Macron firmly dismissed .
“ It ’ s up to you to write your history , ” he told the crowds .
On his return trip , Mr. Macron will plant a tree in Beirut on Tuesday to mark the centenary and meet with Lebanese officials to push them toward forming a government and enacting reforms .
“ There is no doubt we were expecting the 100th anniversary to be different .
We did not expect this year to be catastrophic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Najjar , who is a lawyer , poet and author of about 30 books in French , including one that tells the story of Beirut during the 20th Century .
“ There is still hope , ” he said .
“ We have hit rock bottom and things can not get worse.
” This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Zeina Karam contributed from Beirut .

It was a century ago on Sept. 1, 1920, that a French general, Henri Gouraud, stood on the porch of a Beirut palace surrounded by local politicians and religious leaders and declared the State of Greater Lebanon – the precursor of the modern state of Lebanon.
The current French president, Emmanuel Macron, is visiting Lebanon to mark the occasion, 100 years later, the same day as Mustapha Adib assumes his post as the nation’s new prime minister. But the mood could not be more somber.
Lebanon has been hit by a series of catastrophes, including a financial crash. On Aug. 4, a massive explosion at Beirut’s port killed at least 190 people and injured thousands – the culmination of decades of accumulated crises, endemic corruption, and mismanagement by an entrenched ruling class.
Why We Wrote This Lebanon is in the midst of a financial crash, recovering from a devastating explosion, and sectarian conflicts. A century after its independence from France, the nation is weary from decades of conflict and corruption. Mustapha Adib has been named prime minister.
Facing potential bankruptcy and total collapse, many Lebanese are marking the centennial with a feeling that their experiment as a nation has failed and questioning their willingness to stay in the crisis-riddled country.
“I am 53 years old and I don’t feel I had one stable year in this country,” said prominent Lebanese writer Alexandre Najjar.
Like others from his generation, Mr. Najjar lived through the 1975-1990 civil war, when Beirut’s name became synonymous with hostages, car bombings, and chaos.
He was a teenager when Israel invaded Beirut in the summer of 1982, imposing a suffocating siege of the capital for three months, and a young man when Christian militias turned their guns on each other in 1989. When former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive Beirut truck bombing in 2005, Mr. Najjar was in his late 30s.
The following year, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a month-long war. In between, countless other conflicts, bouts of sectarian fighting, and other disasters plagued one generation after another, leading to waves of Lebanese emigration.
But the Aug. 4 explosion, says Mr. Najjar, was the “peak of a failed state” – proof that authorities cannot even provide basic public safety.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way.
Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Lebanon fell under the French mandate, starting in 1920. France governed for 23 years until the country gained independence as the Lebanese Republic.
Home to 18 different religious sects, it was hailed as a model of pluralism and coexistence. The nation settled on an unwritten sectarian arrangement, initially seen as the guarantee of stability but which many Lebanese now consider a curse: the president would always be Christian, the prime minister Sunni Muslim, and the parliament speaker Shiite Muslim, with other posts similarly divvied up.
In the 1950s, under pro-Western President Camille Chamoun, the economy flourished thanks to booming tourism and cash from oil-rich Arab nations. But his presidency ended with the outbreak of Lebanon’s first civil war in 1958, which lasted for several months and saw U.S. troops land to help Chamoun.
Lebanon saw its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, when the country became a regional center for the rich and famous who flew from around the world to gamble at the Casino Du Liban, or to attend concerts in the ancient northeastern city of Baalbek by international artists such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, as well as famous Arab singers like Egypt’s Umm Kalthoum and Lebanon’s own Fairouz.
Troubled decades
Palestinian militants during this time had begun launching attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory, splitting the Lebanese.
Disaster struck again in 1975, with the start of the 15-year civil war, eventually pitting Lebanon’s sects against each other. That conflict killed nearly 150,000 people. Syrian troops moved in, and Israel invaded twice – once in 1978, then again in 1982, in an assault that forced late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his fighters to leave Lebanon.
U.S. interests were repeatedly attacked, most notably two bombings of the American Embassy and the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. service members, the deadliest attack on the Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. On the same day, 58 French paratroopers were killed by a second attacker who struck their installation in Beirut.
The country also had two presidents and two prime ministers assassinated, in addition to dozens of other politicians, legislators, journalists, and activists who were killed.
Israel’s 1982 invasion and the attacks on the Americans marked the rise of what later became the militant group Hezbollah.
After the civil war ended in 1990, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia was the only one allowed to keep its weapons because it was fighting Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon. When Israel withdrew from the south in 2000, Hezbollah kept its powerful fighting force, depicting itself as Lebanon’s defender. It fought Israeli forces to a draw in 2006, and tensions remain high along the border.
Sectarian politics
Today, Hezbollah and its allies, led by President Michel Aoun, dominate Lebanese politics and control a majority in parliament.
But the Lebanese are deeply divided over Hezbollah. While many in the Shiite community are fiercely loyal to the group, and many non-Shiites sympathize with its anti-Israel stance, others increasingly see it as imposing Iran’s will on the country.
Many civil war-era warlords today head political factions, holding onto posts for themselves or their families and controlling powerful local business interests. The factions pass out positions in government ministries and public institutions to followers or carve out business sectors for them, ensuring their backing.
Corruption has soared over the past two decades, and the sectarian-based patronage system has left Lebanon with crumbling infrastructure, a bloated public sector and one of the world’s highest debt ratios, at 170% of GDP – topped by a ruling class that amassed fortunes.
Last October, nationwide protests erupted over the worsening economy, and the financial juggling act that had been the basis of Lebanon’s prosperity since 1990 collapsed into the most severe economic crisis of the country’s modern history, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Lebanon is in its worst period over the past 100 years,” said legislator Marwan Hamadeh. “We are in the worst stage, economically, politically and even when it comes to national unity.”
“We are currently occupied by Iran and its missiles,” added Mr. Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in 2004 that he blames on Hezbollah.
A new prime minister
After the massive port explosion and subsequent dissolution of the Cabinet and resignation of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Hassan Diab, a new prime minister has been appointed. Mustapha Adib, Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, spoke to reporters shortly after he was appointed by the president to form a new government, after he secured 90 votes among the legislators in the 128-member parliament.
Mr. Adib called for a new government to be formed “in record time,” pledging to speed up the investigation into the Beirut explosion and implement reforms after winning the backing of major parties in the crisis-hit country.
Earlier, at the palace, Mr. Adib told reporters he will form a Cabinet of experts and will work with parliament to “put the country on track to end the dangerous financial, economic, and social drainage.”
The swift consensus around Mr. Adib, a little-known diplomat, signaled a sense of urgency by Lebanon’s traditional politicians to try and contain the rapidly worsening economic and financial crisis and show movement ahead of Mr. Macron’s visit.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri emerged from a meeting with President Aoun on Monday, telling reporters his 18-member bloc had given its backing to Mr. Adib. He called for the formation of a government of experts “that implement reforms aimed at restoring the world’s confidence in our economy so we can start to emerge from this crisis.”
A look toward the future
Historian Johnny Mezher says that to solve its problems, Lebanon could start by adopting a law that boosts national identity rather than loyalty to one’s sect and helps ensure qualifications determine who gets state posts, rather than sectarian connections.
“Religious figures should be prevented from meddling in politics,” he said.
Even after seven decades of Lebanese independence, France still wields strong influence on the tiny Mediterranean nation. Two days after the port blast – with Lebanese leaders totally absent – Mr. Macron visited Beirut and toured one of the most heavily damaged neighborhoods to a hero’s welcome, with some chanting “Vive La France.”
More than 60,000 signed a petition to place Lebanon under French mandate for 10 years, an idea Mr. Macron firmly dismissed. “It’s up to you to write your history,” he told the crowds.
On his return trip, Mr. Macron will plant a tree in Beirut on Tuesday to mark the centenary and meet with Lebanese officials to push them toward forming a government and enacting reforms.
“There is no doubt we were expecting the 100th anniversary to be different. We did not expect this year to be catastrophic to this level,” said Mr. Najjar, who is a lawyer, poet and author of about 30 books in French, including one that tells the story of Beirut during the 20th Century.
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“There is still hope,” he said. “We have hit rock bottom and things cannot get worse.”
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Zeina Karam contributed from Beirut.


csmonitor--2020-09-01--Amid anger and destruction, Kenoshans seek reconciliation

“ I was raised up around oppression , ” says Andre Ross , leaning against the hood of his white Pontiac , drinking McDonald ’ s coffee in front of what used to be Uptown Restaurant , where he met friends every Saturday morning for breakfast before it was burned last week .
“ But I go to church .
You can ’ t deal with violence with violence .
That ’ s what you call a war .
Ain ’ t nobody going to win.
” Residents present a more nuanced view , describing – often through tears – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wake of devastation .
Some characterize this pivotal moment as a wake-up call for those who have failed to see or address persistent racial discrimination , and an opportunity for healing .
While a broad cross section of residents see their city as a microcosm of the tumult across America , many are hopeful that Kenosha will be remembered not for violence but as a model of resilience and reconciliation .
What will Kenosha be remembered for ?
Jacob Blake ’ s shooting by police and the violence that ensued have thrust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with politicians using it to advance narratives about the need for racial justice and law and order .
Andre Ross is leaning against the hood of his white Pontiac , drinking McDonald ’ s coffee in front of what used to be Uptown Restaurant .
He ’ s staring at the boarded up and burned out strip of businesses along 22nd Avenue , which served mainly Black patrons .
“ I used to get my phone there .
... And then those tacos over there I used to get , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now-quiet street .
“ And that lady over there at the end , she used to sell mattresses and sometimes people would be short with the money , and she ’ d just let them have it.
” Mr. Ross lives a couple of miles away by the police station , where all the new fencing around a National Guard outpost – visible from his backyard – makes him feel as if he ’ s living in Afghanistan .
Some 1,000 troops have been sent in over the past week to curtail the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot Jacob Blake in the back on Aug. 23 .
“ I had to come down here and eat my breakfast and see it all , ” he says .
“ I see this happen on TV in different cities .
But my little city of 100,000 people ?
” “ I understand that Black Lives Matter , I understand all of that .
But what I don ’ t understand is this , ” says Mr. Ross , looking at the charred hulks of brick , twisted rods , and melted glass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ If you don ’ t know a way to be heard , you need to find a way .
Because this is not the way.
” Mr. Blake ’ s shooting , the three nights of burning and looting that followed , and a white teenager ’ s fatal shooting of two aggressive protesters have thrust this Midwestern city into the national spotlight .
President Donald Trump surveyed the damage and met with law enforcement officials on a visit today , during which supporters and protesters engaged in shouting matches along @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As pundits and officials across the political spectrum turn Kenosha into a rallying cry for racial justice or law and order – or both – residents offer a more nuanced view .
Many tearfully describe a city striving to come together in the wake of devastation .
Some characterize this moment as a wake-up call for those who have failed to see or address persistent racial discrimination – and as an opportunity for healing .
While a broad cross section of residents see their city as a microcosm of the current tumult across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will ultimately be remembered not for the violence that occurred here but as a model of resilience and reconciliation .
“ I would really like the country to know us for this tightknit community you see , ” says Elisa Rocha , finishing up a mural across the street from the burned remains of the Danish Brotherhood hall , where her extended family used to gather for Thanksgiving , Christmas , and quinceañeras .
Along the blocked-off street , the air is thick with barbecue smoke as volunteers flip hamburgers and pass out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collect cash donations in makeshift boxes .
“ We will get through this and we will come out stronger , ” says Ms. Rocha .
“ They ’ ve destroyed the buildings and the homes , but they ’ re not going to destroy the spirit that this city has.
” An older white couple eating hot dogs piled high with condiments watch as others wait in line for food and some dance to the music coming over the loudspeakers .
They say they want to think of their city as coming together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crowd here is made up of mostly white Kenosha residents , while around the corner at the Family Dollar there ’ s a similar gathering that ’ s all Black families .
“ So have we really come together ?
” asks the wife , Holly , who declined to give her last name .
Even as a small army of residents paint colorful messages of unity , love , and healing on the plywood that covers shop fronts across the city , others express discouragement about the racial divisions that persist here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history .
Although the state never legalized slavery and was an important stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom in Canada , Wisconsin chose to omit Black suffrage in its 1848 state constitution .
A century later , the state ’ s Black population increased almost 600 % from 1940 to 1960 due to a surge in industrial employment , including in Kenosha , where Chrysler and American Motors were a big draw .
But Milwaukee – less than an hour ’ s drive to the north – remained one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A recent Brookings report found that those disparities have persisted : In 2019 , Milwaukee was rated the most racially segregated metro area in the United States .
While some neighborhoods in Kenosha are integrated , segregation still persists in areas where mortgage lenders used redlining to restrict where Black homebuyers could live , says Lawrence Kirby , pastor of Acts Church .
“ Our city is still incredibly divided in a lot of ways , ” says Pastor Kirby , likening residents to relatives that only get together for funerals .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you see people come together , but we ’ ve got to get to the point where we ’ re doing life together in a regular way more and more.
” A few blocks away from the Danish Brotherhood ruins , Ionia Ireland and her 10-year-old daughter Aya are standing on upside-down buckets , painting the plywood on the boarded-up business below their apartment .
Ms. Ireland , a retired Marine , expresses grim bemusement that her Uptown neighborhood lately has seen a steady stream of white people driving by , holding cellphones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destruction .
“ There ’ s a lot of people who are coming here and spray-painting a couple of things , passing out a couple of chips , taking a few pictures to be on Facebook and Instagram like they ’ re this hero – and then they leave , ” she says .
“ I ’ m not saying all are like that , some of them genuinely do care.
” “ I think it ’ s safer from where we used to live in Milwaukee , ” her daughter Aya adds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burned down !
” Her mom notes that Uptown was already on the verge of being a food desert , and ticks off the last few places they had left to shop for food , all of which have been destroyed .
Aya chimes in : “ And Family Dollar !
Just went poof !
” In Family Dollar ’ s parking lot , dozens of people are rifling through donated T-shirts , diapers , canned goods , and bottled water .
Milwaukee-based rapper WebsterX , who co-organized the relief effort , expresses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the fires but aren ’ t here to report on the recovery .
“ What I want people to pay attention to in Kenosha is the positivity that ’ s also happening , ” he says , with music reverberating in the background .
But he also says that there has been “ racist stuff happening here for forever , and in these communities and cities it ’ s just extremely unbalanced – economically , socially.
” “ I want people to come to Kenosha and understand why Kenosha , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they are angry , because Black people are being killed and it ’ s as simple as that.
” Kenosha police officers have come under fire after a video went viral showing Officer Rusten Sheskey shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back as he tried to enter an SUV where his three sons were sitting in the backseat .
According to a statement from the Kenosha Professional Police Association , officers were responding to a complaint that Mr. Blake , who had an open warrant for felony sexual assault ( third @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the caller ’ s keys and car .
The caller referred to Mr. Blake as her boyfriend , and his attorney said the pending charges for sexual assault and domestic abuse involved the same address where his client was shot , according to the local CBS affiliate .
The police union statement asserts that the officers gave Mr. Blake , whom they say was carrying a knife , multiple opportunities to comply with verbal and physical cues – including a taser – before they fired their first shot .
Another bystander video appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ground with officers before any shots were fired .
Dispatch audio reveals that less than three minutes elapsed from when the first officer arrived to when Mr. Blake was shot .
Mr. Blake ’ s attorney said in a statement his client “ did nothing to provoke police ” and that “ witnesses confirm that he was not in possession of a knife.
” Mr. Blake , whose family has said he is paralyzed from the waist down , was initially shackled to his hospital bed until his warrant was vacated several days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is investigating the shooting and is expected to present its findings in a month .
Within hours of the shooting , protests began .
A car dealership was torched that night , along with a state parole and corrections building , with widespread arson continuing on Monday and Tuesday nights .
On Tuesday , Aug. 25 , 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois fatally shot two protesters and injured a third , Gaige Paul Grosskreutz , who was holding a handgun .
One of the protesters who was killed , Joseph Rosenbaum , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentenced by Arizona in 2002 for sexual conduct with a minor and had racked up a long list of violations during his imprisonment from 2003 to 2013 , including assaulting staff .
The other , Anthony Huber , had been in and out of Wisconsin prisons over the past four years , including for repeated domestic abuse and a 2012 felony charge of strangulation and suffocation , to which he pleaded guilty .
Witnesses say Mr. Huber beat Mr. Rittenhouse with his skateboard prior to being shot , and at least one bystander @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rittenhouse ’ s gun before the teenager shot him .
Critics fault police and National Guard troops for failing to arrest Mr. Rittenhouse , whom they passed with his hands raised after the shooting .
The teenager , whose Facebook posts supported Blue Lives Matter and who said in a video early Tuesday night that he had come to protect businesses and help administer first aid to those who needed it , had been charged with speeding and driving without a valid license the previous week .
He turned himself in the morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night at home .
The State of Wisconsin has charged him with five felonies , including first-degree intentional homicide .
On Saturday , hundreds of protesters marched down a main boulevard to Civic Center Park , chanting “ No justice , no peace , ” and carrying signs that read “ We bleed the same blood , ” “ Guns are for Cowards , ” and “ Jacob Blake is a Human.
” Legal observers in fluorescent vests patrolled on bikes while National Guard troops watched from behind fences near the courthouse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the crowd who was born and raised in Kenosha , says she ’ s not surprised by the events of the past week .
“ I won ’ t say I ’ m happy that this is happening .
But I am happy that people here in this town are finally seeing the things that we always see , ” says Ms. Witt , a first-year college student in Milwaukee .
“ Until now , it ’ s always just been pushed under the rug.
” Jacob Blake Sr. is among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Witt and the rest of the crowd look on .
“ There is one justice system for the white boy who walked down the street shooting , and there is another one for mine , ” says Mr. Blake .
But he adds that destruction is not the appropriate response .
“ Good people of this city understand .
If we tear it up , we have nothing.
” Mike Johnson , a barber in the Uptown neighborhood that saw some of the greatest devastation , says that if he hadn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends and relatives during the nights of rioting , his place would have been burned down too .
“ I said , ‘ Back off , these are Black-owned businesses , ’ and they took off , ” he recounts , admitting that he and others flashed guns at the rioters .
“ But yeah , they definitely tried.
” He thinks the news media is creating an overly simplistic narrative to explain the events in Kenosha .
“ The media is pushing it into a Black and white thing , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a right and wrong thing.
” For example , he says he ’ s seen reports about armed white residents protecting their neighborhoods , “ but Black people do that too !
There ’ s nothing wrong with that .
They got ta do what they got ta do .
They ’ ve got kids.
” As Mr. Johnson works on a young man ’ s fade with gold clippers , “ Big Mike , ” as he ’ s known , describes his hopes that Uptown will come back better .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ‘ Oh this is destruction , this is disaster , ’ but we look at it like opportunity , ” he says .
“ We need to get together as a community and start to rebuild.
” At one of the many spontaneous mural painting sites around the city this weekend , Brenda Sorenson puts the finishing touches on a Scandinavian-inspired floral design , with handprints for flowers .
She and her friend Kimberly Loepp offered to paint the boarded-up storefront of Paul Rizzo ’ s Scandinavian Designs furniture store , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope such efforts will not only help business owners like Mr. Rizzo – whom they had never met until this weekend – feel supported , but also show America a different side of Kenosha than the nighttime images that are circulating on TV .
“ I want them to see the community coming together , ” says Ms. Sorenson .
“ Hopefully people who didn ’ t know each other before can get to know each other .
Who knows , maybe that could bring down some barriers.
” “ I wish every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jacob Blake ’ s name echoed across America and Kenosha was set ablaze , Pastor Kirby of Acts Church and a couple of white church leaders had set a date to relaunch together as an intentionally multiethnic church , called One Voice .
It happened to fall exactly one week after Mr. Blake ’ s shooting , when so many in the city were feeling weighed down by pain , anger , fear , and division .
After their first service in a new building , Mr. Kirby , together with Matt Myers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an opportunity to help their city bridge those deeper divides .
“ My worry is that we ’ re going to be so focused on rebuilding burnt buildings that we ’ re going to miss the divide that needs to be healed , ” says Mr. Johnson , expressing appreciation for the murals around town but also emphasizing the need to make good on all those expressions of peace and love .
John Lalgee of One Church Ministries , an umbrella organization that will include the new church , suggests a divine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including in the coming together of more than a dozen church leaders and about 500 participants at an outdoor prayer meeting last Thursday .
“ We will not be famous in the years to come for a tragic incident , ” the biracial leader told worshippers at one of his congregations , Living Light Christian Church in Kenosha , on Sunday morning .
“ We will be famous in the years to come for the outpouring of the spirit of God and the unique coming together of the people of God.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attracted attention and praise from outsiders .
Three protesters from Baltimore , who drove virtually nonstop to Kenosha , said it was extraordinary to them how quickly the city was coming together .
“ It breaks my heart for my city , because we didn ’ t do that , ” says Rachel Gorzo , referring to the aftermath of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody .
“ But I ’ m hoping other cities can learn from Kenosha.
” “ I wish every city could be like this , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an African American documenting the mural painting and other scenes on his cellphone .
“ This positive energy – we want to bring it to Baltimore , ” says Liri Fusha , their intrepid driver , who knows firsthand the impact of defunding the police and government , which she experienced in her native Albania .
She hopes her adopted country won ’ t go down that route , but will take more seriously complaints of official corruption and misconduct .
“ This country is the best country on Earth .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. , ” says Ms. Fusha , who still bears the scars of being thrown down on shattered glass during the lawlessness that swept Albania in the 1990s .
“ But I ’ m hoping the U.S. is going to come together.
” Back in Uptown , leaning against his car with rap music blaring , Mr. Ross says empathy is key to addressing racial oppression in the city he loves .
“ Martin Luther King marched so that I could be here talking to you right now in the street .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the same water fountain now , but there ’ s still this underlying stuff , ” says Mr. Ross , who was born in jail to a father who had killed someone and a mother who was implicated in the crime , and who fell into bad ways himself until his own son ’ s death caused him to change course .
“ I was raised up around oppression , ” says Mr. Ross .
“ But I go to church .
You can ’ t deal with violence with violence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ war .
Ain ’ t nobody going to win .
”

The world’s picture of Kenosha, Wisconsin, is of the city set ablaze by riots after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Today, its streets show the nuance of America’s racial narrative and the humanity that is never extinguished.
“I was raised up around oppression,” says Andre Ross, leaning against the hood of his white Pontiac, drinking McDonald’s coffee in front of what used to be Uptown Restaurant, where he met friends every Saturday morning for breakfast before it was burned last week. “But I go to church. You can’t deal with violence with violence. That’s what you call a war. Ain’t nobody going to win.”
Residents present a more nuanced view, describing – often through tears – a city striving to express unity in the wake of devastation. Some characterize this pivotal moment as a wake-up call for those who have failed to see or address persistent racial discrimination, and an opportunity for healing. While a broad cross section of residents see their city as a microcosm of the tumult across America, many are hopeful that Kenosha will be remembered not for violence but as a model of resilience and reconciliation.
What will Kenosha be remembered for? Jacob Blake’s shooting by police and the violence that ensued have thrust this Wisconsin city into the national spotlight, with politicians using it to advance narratives about the need for racial justice and law and order.
Andre Ross is leaning against the hood of his white Pontiac, drinking McDonald’s coffee in front of what used to be Uptown Restaurant. He’s staring at the boarded up and burned out strip of businesses along 22nd Avenue, which served mainly Black patrons.
“I used to get my phone there. ... And then those tacos over there I used to get,” he says, gesturing up and down the now-quiet street. “And that lady over there at the end, she used to sell mattresses and sometimes people would be short with the money, and she’d just let them have it.”
Mr. Ross lives a couple of miles away by the police station, where all the new fencing around a National Guard outpost – visible from his backyard – makes him feel as if he’s living in Afghanistan. Some 1,000 troops have been sent in over the past week to curtail the violence that ensued after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in the back on Aug. 23.
Why We Wrote This The world’s picture of Kenosha, Wisconsin, is of the city set ablaze by riots after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Today, its streets show the nuance of America’s racial narrative and the humanity that is never extinguished.
“I had to come down here and eat my breakfast and see it all,” he says. “I see this happen on TV in different cities. But my little city of 100,000 people?”
“I understand that Black Lives Matter, I understand all of that. But what I don’t understand is this,” says Mr. Ross, looking at the charred hulks of brick, twisted rods, and melted glass left in the wake of the violence. “If you don’t know a way to be heard, you need to find a way. Because this is not the way.”
Mr. Blake’s shooting, the three nights of burning and looting that followed, and a white teenager’s fatal shooting of two aggressive protesters have thrust this Midwestern city into the national spotlight. President Donald Trump surveyed the damage and met with law enforcement officials on a visit today, during which supporters and protesters engaged in shouting matches along the presidential motorcade’s route. As pundits and officials across the political spectrum turn Kenosha into a rallying cry for racial justice or law and order – or both – residents offer a more nuanced view.
Many tearfully describe a city striving to come together in the wake of devastation. Some characterize this moment as a wake-up call for those who have failed to see or address persistent racial discrimination – and as an opportunity for healing. While a broad cross section of residents see their city as a microcosm of the current tumult across America, many are hopeful that Kenosha will ultimately be remembered not for the violence that occurred here but as a model of resilience and reconciliation.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Jacklyn Vazquez (l.) and Elisa Rocha work on a mural in Kenosha's Uptown neighborhood on Aug.30, 2020. “We will get through this and we will come out stronger,” says Ms. Rocha.
“I would really like the country to know us for this tightknit community you see,” says Elisa Rocha, finishing up a mural across the street from the burned remains of the Danish Brotherhood hall, where her extended family used to gather for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and quinceañeras. Along the blocked-off street, the air is thick with barbecue smoke as volunteers flip hamburgers and pass out corn on the cob, while others collect cash donations in makeshift boxes.
“We will get through this and we will come out stronger,” says Ms. Rocha. “They’ve destroyed the buildings and the homes, but they’re not going to destroy the spirit that this city has.”
A legacy of racial divisions
An older white couple eating hot dogs piled high with condiments watch as others wait in line for food and some dance to the music coming over the loudspeakers. They say they want to think of their city as coming together. But they point out that the crowd here is made up of mostly white Kenosha residents, while around the corner at the Family Dollar there’s a similar gathering that’s all Black families.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Volunteers hand out donated supplies to the community outside the Family Dollar on Aug. 30, 2020 in Kenosha.
“So have we really come together?” asks the wife, Holly, who declined to give her last name.
Even as a small army of residents paint colorful messages of unity, love, and healing on the plywood that covers shop fronts across the city, others express discouragement about the racial divisions that persist here – a legacy of Wisconsin’s history.
Although the state never legalized slavery and was an important stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom in Canada, Wisconsin chose to omit Black suffrage in its 1848 state constitution. A century later, the state’s Black population increased almost 600% from 1940 to 1960 due to a surge in industrial employment, including in Kenosha, where Chrysler and American Motors were a big draw. But Milwaukee – less than an hour’s drive to the north – remained one of the most segregated cities in the country.
A recent Brookings report found that those disparities have persisted: In 2019, Milwaukee was rated the most racially segregated metro area in the United States. While some neighborhoods in Kenosha are integrated, segregation still persists in areas where mortgage lenders used redlining to restrict where Black homebuyers could live, says Lawrence Kirby, pastor of Acts Church.
“Our city is still incredibly divided in a lot of ways,” says Pastor Kirby, likening residents to relatives that only get together for funerals. “In the protests and outrage, you see people come together, but we’ve got to get to the point where we’re doing life together in a regular way more and more.”
A few blocks away from the Danish Brotherhood ruins, Ionia Ireland and her 10-year-old daughter Aya are standing on upside-down buckets, painting the plywood on the boarded-up business below their apartment. Ms. Ireland, a retired Marine, expresses grim bemusement that her Uptown neighborhood lately has seen a steady stream of white people driving by, holding cellphones out the window as they film the destruction.
“There’s a lot of people who are coming here and spray-painting a couple of things, passing out a couple of chips, taking a few pictures to be on Facebook and Instagram like they’re this hero – and then they leave,” she says. “I’m not saying all are like that, some of them genuinely do care.”
“I think it’s safer from where we used to live in Milwaukee,” her daughter Aya adds. “But my candy shop almost burned down!” Her mom notes that Uptown was already on the verge of being a food desert, and ticks off the last few places they had left to shop for food, all of which have been destroyed. Aya chimes in: “And Family Dollar! Just went poof!”
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Ionia Ireland paints a mural on the boarded-up business below her apartment on Aug. 30, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Ms. Ireland's home is in one of the neighborhoods most affected by the destruction that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23.
In Family Dollar’s parking lot, dozens of people are rifling through donated T-shirts, diapers, canned goods, and bottled water. Milwaukee-based rapper WebsterX, who co-organized the relief effort, expresses frustration that outlets like Fox News focused on the fires but aren’t here to report on the recovery.
“What I want people to pay attention to in Kenosha is the positivity that’s also happening,” he says, with music reverberating in the background. But he also says that there has been “racist stuff happening here for forever, and in these communities and cities it’s just extremely unbalanced – economically, socially.”
“I want people to come to Kenosha and understand why Kenosha,” he says. “People are in unrest, they are angry, because Black people are being killed and it’s as simple as that.”
Piecing together what happened
Kenosha police officers have come under fire after a video went viral showing Officer Rusten Sheskey shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back as he tried to enter an SUV where his three sons were sitting in the backseat. According to a statement from the Kenosha Professional Police Association, officers were responding to a complaint that Mr. Blake, who had an open warrant for felony sexual assault (third degree), was attempting to steal the caller’s keys and car. The caller referred to Mr. Blake as her boyfriend, and his attorney said the pending charges for sexual assault and domestic abuse involved the same address where his client was shot, according to the local CBS affiliate.
The police union statement asserts that the officers gave Mr. Blake, whom they say was carrying a knife, multiple opportunities to comply with verbal and physical cues – including a taser – before they fired their first shot. Another bystander video appears to show Mr. Blake scuffling on the ground with officers before any shots were fired. Dispatch audio reveals that less than three minutes elapsed from when the first officer arrived to when Mr. Blake was shot. Mr. Blake’s attorney said in a statement his client “did nothing to provoke police” and that “witnesses confirm that he was not in possession of a knife.”
Mr. Blake, whose family has said he is paralyzed from the waist down, was initially shackled to his hospital bed until his warrant was vacated several days later. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating the shooting and is expected to present its findings in a month. Within hours of the shooting, protests began. A car dealership was torched that night, along with a state parole and corrections building, with widespread arson continuing on Monday and Tuesday nights. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois fatally shot two protesters and injured a third, Gaige Paul Grosskreutz, who was holding a handgun.
One of the protesters who was killed, Joseph Rosenbaum, was a registered sex offender who had been sentenced by Arizona in 2002 for sexual conduct with a minor and had racked up a long list of violations during his imprisonment from 2003 to 2013, including assaulting staff. The other, Anthony Huber, had been in and out of Wisconsin prisons over the past four years, including for repeated domestic abuse and a 2012 felony charge of strangulation and suffocation, to which he pleaded guilty. Witnesses say Mr. Huber beat Mr. Rittenhouse with his skateboard prior to being shot, and at least one bystander said Mr. Rosenbaum tried to grab Mr. Rittenhouse’s gun before the teenager shot him.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption A car dealership was burned during the unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Critics fault police and National Guard troops for failing to arrest Mr. Rittenhouse, whom they passed with his hands raised after the shooting. The teenager, whose Facebook posts supported Blue Lives Matter and who said in a video early Tuesday night that he had come to protect businesses and help administer first aid to those who needed it, had been charged with speeding and driving without a valid license the previous week. He turned himself in the morning following the fatal shooting after spending the night at home. The State of Wisconsin has charged him with five felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide.
On Saturday, hundreds of protesters marched down a main boulevard to Civic Center Park, chanting “No justice, no peace,” and carrying signs that read “We bleed the same blood,” “Guns are for Cowards,” and “Jacob Blake is a Human.” Legal observers in fluorescent vests patrolled on bikes while National Guard troops watched from behind fences near the courthouse.
Veyah Witt, a young Black woman in the crowd who was born and raised in Kenosha, says she’s not surprised by the events of the past week.
“I won’t say I’m happy that this is happening. But I am happy that people here in this town are finally seeing the things that we always see,” says Ms. Witt, a first-year college student in Milwaukee. “Until now, it’s always just been pushed under the rug.”
Jacob Blake Sr. is among the speakers who took the stage as Ms. Witt and the rest of the crowd look on. “There is one justice system for the white boy who walked down the street shooting, and there is another one for mine,” says Mr. Blake. But he adds that destruction is not the appropriate response. “Good people of this city understand. If we tear it up, we have nothing.”
A barber’s nighttime vigil
Mike Johnson, a barber in the Uptown neighborhood that saw some of the greatest devastation, says that if he hadn’t been standing guard outside his business with friends and relatives during the nights of rioting, his place would have been burned down too.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Mike Johnson cuts a client's hair at his barber shop on Aug. 30, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mr. Johnson stood guard outside his business with family and friends during nights of rioting, which he says prevented his shop from being burned.
“I said, ‘Back off, these are Black-owned businesses,’ and they took off,” he recounts, admitting that he and others flashed guns at the rioters. “But yeah, they definitely tried.”
He thinks the news media is creating an overly simplistic narrative to explain the events in Kenosha. “The media is pushing it into a Black and white thing, but it’s not. It’s a right and wrong thing.”
For example, he says he’s seen reports about armed white residents protecting their neighborhoods, “but Black people do that too! There’s nothing wrong with that. They gotta do what they gotta do. They’ve got kids.”
As Mr. Johnson works on a young man’s fade with gold clippers, “Big Mike,” as he’s known, describes his hopes that Uptown will come back better.
“Most people look at it and say, ‘Oh this is destruction, this is disaster,’ but we look at it like opportunity,” he says. “We need to get together as a community and start to rebuild.”
At one of the many spontaneous mural painting sites around the city this weekend, Brenda Sorenson puts the finishing touches on a Scandinavian-inspired floral design, with handprints for flowers. She and her friend Kimberly Loepp offered to paint the boarded-up storefront of Paul Rizzo’s Scandinavian Designs furniture store, which has been here since 1974. They hope such efforts will not only help business owners like Mr. Rizzo – whom they had never met until this weekend – feel supported, but also show America a different side of Kenosha than the nighttime images that are circulating on TV.
“I want them to see the community coming together,” says Ms. Sorenson. “Hopefully people who didn’t know each other before can get to know each other. Who knows, maybe that could bring down some barriers.”
“I wish every city could be like this”
Before Jacob Blake’s name echoed across America and Kenosha was set ablaze, Pastor Kirby of Acts Church and a couple of white church leaders had set a date to relaunch together as an intentionally multiethnic church, called One Voice. It happened to fall exactly one week after Mr. Blake’s shooting, when so many in the city were feeling weighed down by pain, anger, fear, and division.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Pastor Lawrence Kirby, center, leads a new multiethnic community of worshippers on Aug. 30, 2020 in Kenosha.
After their first service in a new building, Mr. Kirby, together with Matt Myers and David Johnson, describe this moment as an opportunity to help their city bridge those deeper divides.
“My worry is that we’re going to be so focused on rebuilding burnt buildings that we’re going to miss the divide that needs to be healed,” says Mr. Johnson, expressing appreciation for the murals around town but also emphasizing the need to make good on all those expressions of peace and love.
John Lalgee of One Church Ministries, an umbrella organization that will include the new church, suggests a divine purpose at work amid seemingly dark times, including in the coming together of more than a dozen church leaders and about 500 participants at an outdoor prayer meeting last Thursday.
“We will not be famous in the years to come for a tragic incident,” the biracial leader told worshippers at one of his congregations, Living Light Christian Church in Kenosha, on Sunday morning. “We will be famous in the years to come for the outpouring of the spirit of God and the unique coming together of the people of God.”
Already, Kenosha residents’ efforts have attracted attention and praise from outsiders. Three protesters from Baltimore, who drove virtually nonstop to Kenosha, said it was extraordinary to them how quickly the city was coming together.
“It breaks my heart for my city, because we didn’t do that,” says Rachel Gorzo, referring to the aftermath of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody. “But I’m hoping other cities can learn from Kenosha.”
“I wish every city could be like this,” agrees her boyfriend, Darnell Williams, an African American documenting the mural painting and other scenes on his cellphone.
“This positive energy – we want to bring it to Baltimore,” says Liri Fusha, their intrepid driver, who knows firsthand the impact of defunding the police and government, which she experienced in her native Albania. She hopes her adopted country won’t go down that route, but will take more seriously complaints of official corruption and misconduct.
“This country is the best country on Earth. I am so lucky to be in the U.S.,” says Ms. Fusha, who still bears the scars of being thrown down on shattered glass during the lawlessness that swept Albania in the 1990s. “But I’m hoping the U.S. is going to come together.”
Back in Uptown, leaning against his car with rap music blaring, Mr. Ross says empathy is key to addressing racial oppression in the city he loves.
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“Martin Luther King marched so that I could be here talking to you right now in the street. And yeah, sure, we can drink from the same water fountain now, but there’s still this underlying stuff,” says Mr. Ross, who was born in jail to a father who had killed someone and a mother who was implicated in the crime, and who fell into bad ways himself until his own son’s death caused him to change course.
“I was raised up around oppression,” says Mr. Ross. “But I go to church. You can’t deal with violence with violence. That’s what you call a war. Ain’t nobody going to win.”