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The Telegraph: African jobseekers changing their names to overcome ‘racist’ recruiters
African jobseekers changing their names to overcome ‘racist’ recruiters, author claims in new book Yasin Kakande reveals that applicants are also swapping traditional African names with anglicised versions to improve recruitment chances ByTelegraph Reporters 27 April 2020 African jobseekers are “whitening” their CVs by Photoshopping their skin and changing their names to overcome “racist” recruiters,… Continue reading
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Allow the Migrants to Speak Up Against Hate
By Yasin Kakande Last Friday night, my younger brother Wahab insisted we should lock the doors to our single bedroom apartment we share in Acton, Massachusetts. For almost two years we have stayed in the same apartment; we always closed the doors but only locked them once in a while. But, after the mosque terrorist… Continue reading
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Mourning Uganda’s Rising Road Fatalities
By Yasin Kakande On January 15, a deadly accident in Kampala received no coverage in the local media. An ambulance from Gombe Hospital was transporting Mwalimu Mustafa Kanonya, a religious leader in Gombe, to Kibuli Hospital, and was accompanied by six family members. However, the trip was cut short tragically by an accident with a… Continue reading
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Speaking at Q Berlin
16 November, 2018 I will be speaking at Q Berlin QUESTIQNS 2018. As part of the opening session, I will discuss how to strengthen a society within current power structures. Learn more about the conference on the Q Berlin website. Continue reading
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US Funding of Ugandan Military Aids in Citizens’ Repression
This article was first published in the global magazine Truthout, 9-September 2018 On August 13, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was attacked by an angry mob of Ugandan citizens who back the political opposition. Protesters surrounded President Museveni’s motorcade, pelting the vehicles with stones. One of the vehicles had its rear window broken. Numerous political… Continue reading
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Only African Resources, Not Migrants, Are Welcomed Into Western Countries
This article on the hypocrisy of countries blocking migrants was first published in the global magazine Truthout, 28-August 2018 Amidst waves of anti-immigrant populism that have crashed into European politics, the focus of what drives migration demands more attention. In Africa, specifically, the unchecked exploitation of the continent’s natural resources by corporations from outside countries has… Continue reading
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TED Talk by Yasin Kakande: What’s missing in the global debate over refugees
My TED Talk is now online, easily accessible to any viewer in the world, which further signifies the importance of the topic of this humble talk. If you would like to share this with others, send this link: go.ted.com/yasinkakande Continue reading
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Download the book that caused my deportation from the UAE
Download for free here my first book “The Ambitious Struggle,” on the plight of migrant workers in the rich Gulf Arab states. My reporting and unwillingness to be censored led to my deportation from Dubai. Download the book here: The Ambitious Struggle by Yasin Kakande Continue reading
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The Ted Talk Questionnaire: Yasin Kakande on Using TED to Expose the Abuse of Migrant Workers
How did you first find out you were selected? I learned from an email that I had been selected. It popped up on my phone and from the headline it needed my reaction accepting the offer. I was going to a library but I could not wait to get there and use a computer to… Continue reading
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USA-SAUDI ARABIA RELATIONSHIP A BETRAYAL OF CONSCIENCE
Saudi Arabia Is Buying Off and Silencing Its Critics Monday, July 31, 2017By Yasin Kakande, Truthout | Op-Ed font size Print Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia disembarks upon his arrival at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, on September 3, 2016, in Hangzhou, China. (Photo: Etienne… Continue reading
About Me
A native of Uganda, Yasin Kakande holds a university degree in mass communications and is currently pursuing an MFA (Creative Writing) from Emerson College in Boston. He worked in the United Arab Emirates reporting for local newspapers for fifteen years. Named a Global TED Fellow, Kakande is the author of many international news articles and two previous books, The Ambitious Struggle: An African Journalist’s Journey to Hope and Identity in a Land of Migrants and Slave States: The practice of Kafala in the Gulf Arab Countries. He has lectured widely on the topic of African migration and the politics of nationality at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Lake Forest College in Illinois, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. His op ed pieces appear regularly in major media outlets such as The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and The London Economic.
Recent Posts
- Can the World Cup help save Qatar migrant workers from being starved for relationships of love, romance and intimacy?
- The deaths that haunt me a decade on
- Political Assassinations and Torture; A Legacy of Museveni’s 35 Year’s Rule
- Africa’s Most Reliable Imperialist Agent, The West, Will Not Let Go
- When are we going to have an honest conversation on African migration?
Yasin Kakande 