For 80 years the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw community of the Louisiana bayou have seen their homeland disappearing under rising waters caused by soil erosion, climate change and canal dredging for oil excavation. Nearly 5,000 square kilometres have been swallowed up, at a rate equivalent to the size of a football field every 45 minutes. Now the US federal government has recognized their plight and is funding relocation to higher ground. ‘I’m very, very pumped,’ Chief Albert Naquin told Indian Country Today of the bittersweet victory. ‘I’ve been working on this for 13 years.’
In a rubble-strewn Syrian suburb of Damascus, where food, water and safety is limited, a dedicated group of anti-government rebels are risking their lives to run a public library for remaining community members. High-demand titles such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Art of Dealing With People and The Alchemist can be found in the basement of a bomb-damaged building, thanks to its unnamed rebels-cum-librarians. ‘During these dark times, the best friend is the book,’ says one.
