Lacuna Magazine

31/07/2025

NEW: Meet 20-year-old Anas al-Amarin, one of many Palestinians in Gaza turning to social media fundraising to survive.

Anas al-Amarin, a young Palestinian from Gaza, uses social media to raise funds for his survival and medical care after losing his arm in an Israeli airstrike.

31/07/2025

“After six weeks in South Africa, I am convinced that the programme benefited neither the local pupils nor the teachers, but myself most.”

Returning from volunteering in the Global South, a young writer questions how their time at a township school impacted local students and asks how volunteering could be reframed as reciprocity instead of one-way acts of assistance.

https://lacuna.org.uk/equality/volunteering-in-africa-white-saviourism/

🎨 Art by Jiraporn Puengprayotekij

23/07/2025

NEW: Looking back on the 2024 UK riots, this story conveys the fear and frustration of many people who no longer felt safe in the country that is their home. Reflecting on her identity as a first-generation British-Sri Lankan, a first-year undergraduate student wrote this piece - the winning response to the annual Lacuna Writing Competition.

Looking back on the 2024 UK riots, this story conveys the fear and frustration felt by many who no longer felt safe in their home country. Reflecting on her identity as a first-generation British-Sri Lankan, undergraduate Law student Nasha Salahudeen wrote this piece as the winning response to the a...

08/07/2025

“Par Meh had never known Myanmar. She was only one year old when her parents fled after their village was attacked. She has only known the camp, no country – neither Myanmar nor Thailand.”

Many of the young people living in the camps have blamed their circumstances on a lack of educational opportunities, harsh and brutal living conditions, and a refusal to exist in constant fear under an authoritative regime.

https://lacuna.org.uk/war-and-peace/karenni-refugees/

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04/07/2025

NEW: Despite being met with widespread disbelief and dismissal, could Donald Trump’s AI-generated vision of ‘Trump Gaza’ be following the earlier example set by Bali? Reflecting on the tourism boom after Indonesia’s deadly coup in 1965, our writer says this would not be the first time the US has been complicit in atrocities on foreign soil before using tourism to cover it up.

https://lacuna.org.uk/economy/turning-gaza-into-holiday-resort-precedent-bali/

Despite being met with widespread disbelief, could Donald Trump’s AI-generated vision of ‘Trump Gaza’ be following the earlier example set by Bali? Reflecting on the tourism boom after Indonesia’s deadly coup in 1965, Adam Robertson Charlton says this would not be the first time the US has b...

26/06/2025

More than two million refugees are currently living in camps on the Myanmar-Thailand border. In one camp, our writer, Ipsita Paul, speaks with Karenni refugees to understand what forced them to flee their homes in Myanmar, what life is like in the refugee camp, and what the future holds for them.

https://lacuna.org.uk/war-and-peace/karenni-refugees/

More than two million refugees are living in camps on the Myanmar-Thailand border. In one camp, Ipsita Paul speaks with Karenni refugees to understand what forced them to flee Myanmar, what life is like in the refugee camp, and what the future holds.

25/06/2025

⏱️ Here are 3 things you should know from our latest article on disability and climate justice in Delhi.

https://lacuna.org.uk/environment/delhis-climate-crisis/

18/06/2025

“Today, I advocate for disability rights through an initiative called ‘Green Disability’. But this story isn’t about a campaign – it’s about what happens when a city, and a climate crisis, ignores bodies like ours.”

Our latest feature calls for accessible infrastructure and greater visibility for disabled communities facing the climate crisis in India.

https://lacuna.org.uk/environment/delhis-climate-crisis/

📷 Photograph by Jnzl’s Photos via Flickr

13/06/2025

NEW: Growing up in a slum in Delhi while navigating his own disabilities and his mother’s chronic illness, Puneet Singhal developed an understanding of climate change as structural exclusion. Here, he reflects on a series of interviews he has conducted with disabled people in Delhi as part of a campaign for climate justice and disability justice.

Growing up in a slum in Delhi while navigating his own disabilities and his mother’s chronic illness, Puneet Singhal reflects on a series of interviews with disabled people in Delhi as part of his Green Disability campaign for climate justice and disability justice.

10/06/2025

"Volunteerism – or “voluntourism” – in the Global South is increasingly couched in the language of diversity, inclusion and sustainability. But despite good intentions, it seems that impact is still located at only one end of the equation." https://lacuna.org.uk/equality/volunteering-in-africa-white-saviourism/

29/05/2025

NEW: Volunteering in Africa, Asia or Latin America is a bucket list experience for many young people. After spending six weeks at a school in South Africa, our writer reflects on their experience and asks how volunteering sometimes entrenches power relations instead of altering them.

Volunteering in Africa, Asia or Latin America is a bucket list experience for many young people. But after spending a summer ‘helping’ at a school in South Africa, our writer reflects on their experience

26/05/2025

Namibian vet Leandra Van Zyl collects blood, f***l, and tissue samples from jackals, hyenas, zebras, hippos, and lions in the African bush. She is one of a wave of vets on the frontline of disease surveillance across Africa.

https://lacuna.org.uk/food-and-health/one-health-pandemic-prevention/

📸 by Stefano Schirato