Members of the media in Martyrs' Square, during a vigil to condemn the killing of journalists, a day after journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut, Lebanon April 23, 2026. (Credit: Marko Djurica/Reuters)
Razan El Helou is a PhD researcher on peace education, storytelling, and politics.“... there are ‘lives’ that are not quite — or, indeed, are never — recognized as lives...”Judith Butler, "Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?" (2016, p. 18)Not all deaths are mourned equally. Some are front-page news, met with vigils, hashtags and public statements from world leaders. Others disappear quietly and become mere numbers in headlines.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Yet in practice, the world assigns ‘value’ to lives, even if implicitly — thus either recognizing them or overlooking them. Simply put, the place and family you are born into largely determine the value of your life to the rest of the world — where systemic factors...
Razan El Helou is a PhD researcher on peace education, storytelling, and politics.“... there are ‘lives’ that are not quite — or, indeed, are never — recognized as lives...”Judith Butler, "Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?" (2016, p. 18)Not all deaths are mourned equally. Some are front-page news, met with vigils, hashtags and public statements from world leaders. Others disappear quietly and become mere numbers in headlines.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Yet in practice, the world assigns ‘value’ to lives, even if implicitly — thus either recognizing them or overlooking them. Simply put, the place and family you are born into largely determine the value of your life to the rest of the world —...
Iran negotiator vows 'decisive' response to US-Israeli attack