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A30 world news
Diaranson 23 Februari 2022

Mexico City legislature may ban bullfighting

Sunday at the city’s Plaza nized that animals have said. “Look how many fami-
Mexico arena, and it was rights, but the issue they are lies rely on this.”
marked — as has become worried about is the income
routine — by protesters. from bullfighting,” said Lu- Since 2013, four states in
vianos, who estimated the Mexico have already banned
Last year, the assembly’s Ani- fights create about 3,000 jobs. bull fights, and polls indicate
mal Welfare Commission substantial support for a ban.
gave preliminary approval to The bullfighting associations A ban in Mexico City — cur-
a law banning public events claim the real number is ten rently the largest venue for
“at which animals are subject times that amount. the events — would be an in-
to mistreatment and cruelty ternational setback for bull-
that result in their death.” Evangelina Estudillo is one fighting.
But the bill never made it to a of them. She has worked as
vote before the full assembly. street vendor outside the area “I respect those who are
for 20 years, and the income against it, but I don’t agree,
Animal rights activist Alberto helped her raise nine chil- said Paco Dominguez, who
Luvianos says legislators may dren. The prospect of a ban sells bullfighting merchan-
(AP) — This season’s bull- revive a bill banning the have been cowed by the po- makes her uneasy. dise and posters. ”I see it as
fights in Mexico City may activity. tential lost income. an art, a part of culture, and I
be the last, as legislators in “The president would have make a living off of it.”
the city assembly seek to This year’s season closed “They (legislators) recog- to do something,” Estudillo

Poverty, fear drive exodus from Syria’s one-time IS capital

(AP) — In a square that a forces. once vibrant city to drive out authorities, but he said noth-
few years ago was a grim IS, liberating it in 2017. IS ing was done. A month after Mohammed is waiting for
stage for the Islamic State On the surface, the city’s lost its last territorial foothold the ordeal, bruises are still a chance to bring his family
group’s brutal rule in the slow recovery from IS rule is in Syria in 2019. visible on his face and legs. from Raqqa to Europe, he
Syrian city of Raqqa, Mah- evident. Cafes and restaurant said in a phone interview. For
moud Dander sat deep in are full of patrons. Kurdish- Daher emerged from the Al-Hasan, too, is selling now, he is without work.
thought. led forces stand guard at ev- dark chapter ready to invest, his home and belongings.
ery major intersection. but said he faced many ob- “There is nothing left for me Back in Raqqa, Reem al-Ani,
He wants to leave Syria, but stacles, including a lack of re- here,” he said. 70, prepares tea for two. Her
has a problem: The 75-year- But poverty is rampant in the sources and export markets. son is the only one of four
old has no money. He re- majority Arab city adminis- “If you sell to locals, it won’t Two of Al-Hasan’s relatives children who has remained
called the old days before tered by U.S.-backed Kurd- generate profit,” he said. who left in September and in Syria. The others are
protests and wars led to his ish-led forces. People line recently arrived in Europe spread across the world.
country’s collapse and na- up for basics such as bread. For his first project, Daher said that apart from eco-
tional currency crash: Syria Unemployed young men sit bought seeds to cultivate veg- nomic uncertainty it was the The stairs leading to their
wasn’t thriving back then, around. Water and electricity etables. When it was time to threat of more violence that apartment are riddled with
but he had work, his children are limited. Many live among harvest, traders weren’t in- pushed them to leave. bullet holes, remnants of bat-
had university degrees and bombed-out ruins. Local of- terested in paying the asking tles to dislodge IS. The ceil-
decent futures, and food was ficials say at least 30% of the price. Like many others, their jour- ings are charred from smoke.
always on the table. city remains destroyed. ney from northeastern Syria
He purchased trucks to lift to Europe began via tunnels She has grown accustomed to
Raqqa, the former de facto Poverty and unemployment rubble amid reconstruction along the town of Ras al-Ain, a silent house. “I miss them,”
capital of the self-proclaimed drive young men into the efforts. But the quality of the which straddles the border she said of her children.
IS caliphate and home to arms of IS. Kurdish inves- vehicles quickly degraded as a with Turkey.
about 300,000 people, is now tigators say new IS recruits result of poor fuel in the mar- Nearby, in Naim Square, the
free, but many of its residents captured last month had been ket and lack of materials for The smuggler had charged elderly Dander says he barely
try to leave. Those with prop- lured by money. At the same upkeep. A potato chip factory $2,000 per person. From makes ends meet, surviving
erty are trying to sell it to save time, the Kurdish-led city ad- and internet service company there, the path to Europe was on his rapidly diminishing
up for the journey to Turkey. ministration received appli- also floundered. riddled with risk. pension from his previous
Those without money strug- cations from 27,000 job seek- government job.
gle to get by. ers last year, but had no jobs. Finally, Daher bought live- Ibrahim arrived in Germany
stock, but a devastating last week after an arduous His three children have uni-
At least 3,000 people left Milhem Daher, a 35-year-old drought led to shortages in journey that began in Belar- versity degrees in engineer-
Raqqa for Turkey in 2021, engineer, is in the process of animal feed. His cattle died. us. Mohammed walked for ing and literature, and one
according to the city’s civil selling his home, businesses treacherous miles before set- was a teacher, he said. But
council co-chair Mohammed and properties to pay a smug- Now he is selling off what ting off for Greece by boat. none have been able to find
Nour. gler to take him and his fam- remains of these failed busi- He ended up in The Nether- work. He wishes he had the
ily of eight to Turkey, a key nesses to start a new life. He lands in October. money to help them leave.
Their reasons span the spec- route for Syrian migrants try- needs $10,000.
trum of post-war life in Syria, ing to win asylum in Europe.
one of the world’s most com- In Raqqa, having money can
plex conflict zones. They in- He plans to leave as soon as also be a problem as kidnap-
clude economic collapse and he has enough money. pings-for-ransom are on the
widespread unemployment rise.
following one of the worst Daher had survived Raqqa’s
years of drought, as well as recent violent history, in- Real estate developer Imam
fears of an IS comeback and cluding the outbreak of Syr- al-Hasan, 37, was taken from
a proliferation of criminal ia’s civil war in 2011, and the his home and held for days by
gangs. And there is the loom- 2014 takeover by IS militants attackers in military fatigues.
ing specter of conflict be- who turned the city into the To secure his release, he paid
tween rival powers that con- capital of their caliphate span- $400,000, money belonging
trol various parts of northern ning parts of Syria and Iraq. to him and traders who trust-
Syria, including Turkey, Rus- A U.S.-led coalition dropped ed him with their life savings.
sia and Syrian government thousands of bombs on the He complained to the local