On August 15th, the president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, fled the nation and a militant group, the Taliban, took control over the country. According to the UN Refugee Agency, an estimated 600,000 Afghans have been newly displaced in the country this year. Due to the recent power shift within Afghanistan, there has been an influx in Afghan refugees. The UNHRA also states that many Afghan refugees flee to neighboring countries like Iran and Pakistan, which together have more than 2.2 million Afghan refugees. 

Among other nations, the United States has also had a history of accepting Afghan refugees, having taken in more than 20,000 in the past 20 years, according to the American University in Washington D.C. Based on studies by the Council on Foreign Relations, the refugee process to get accepted into the United States generally takes from 18 months to 2 years. HIAS Pennsylvania, a refugee resettlement program working with Afghan refugees in Philadelphia, writes on the process for Afghan refugees after being admitted into the United States: “the persons landing will not necessarily remain in Philadelphia. All evacuees, unless they are American citizens or long-term permanent residents (green card holders), will be tested for COVID-19 and then sent to a military base to receive health screenings, immunizations, and, as necessary, background checks and further processing. Once these are complete, the evacuee will be sent to their final destination for resettlement. The processing is expected to take between fifteen and thirty days.” Bethany Christian Services, another refugee resettlement program in Philadelphia, states on their website that they are projected to resettle 450 Afghan refugees during this refugee crisis. 

I briefly interviewed the Pre-arrival Associate at Exodus Refugee Immigration, a refugee resettlement non-profit in Indianapolis that is also working with Afghan Refugees coming to the United States. My interviewee, when asked about projected numbers of Afghan refugees working with Exodus, called it a “deceptively difficult question to answer,” Exodus Refugee Immigration explained. Agencies like Exodus are given funding based on the number of refugees they are expected to resettle, but in a crisis like this, they are not given much time to prepare. 

“[Exodus is] in constant communication with our global and National partners who are doing [the] processing and allocating of these new refugees, and we are currently preparing to receive up to 250 Afghan refugees in addition to our predetermined number,” the Exodus Refugee Immigration employee shared. My final question to my interviewee was “Is there anything else you would like to add on the process that Afghan refugees go through to be resettled, or on what kind of work Exodus does for Afghan refugees?” This was their response: “I think it’s extremely important to make clear how difficult and traumatizing this move can be for our new Afghan clients to the US. Many of them have spent years serving with U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan, and would be in serious danger if they had stayed. Most arrived in the U.S. unprepared for their lives to change so dramatically, and I think it’s essential that those of us who have the opportunities and resources to help do all we can to make them feel safe and welcome. There are organizations like Exodus all across the country, and I’d encourage anyone who wants to help to contact one of them. Even if you aren’t sure how best to assist us in our work, we rely on a whole lot of charitable donations and volunteers, and we can always find a way for you to help us welcome folks to the U.S,” Exodus Refugee Immigration stated. 

Sources: American University, Bethany Christian Services, Council on Foreign Relations,

Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc., HIAS Pennsylvania, UN Refugee Agency

On Dec. 14, 2000, Barcelona FC, one of the most well-known football clubs in the world, scrambled to sign a child prodigy. It was the father of the 13 year-old player who signed the contract that was, in the moment, written on a napkin. This 13 year-old boy was none other than Lionel Messi. Messi has broken and set many records at FC Barcelona, including most appearances for the club (778), most goals for the club as well as most goals ever scored under one club (672). However, over the summer of 2021, the unexpected happened. At the mark of midnight on July 1, Lionel Messi’s 4-year nearly $600 million contract expired. This meant that one of the best soccer players in history was now a free agent. While there were talks of FC Barcelona attempting to re-sign the giant they had attained many years ago, the Spanish club simply couldn’t afford him anymore.

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On Sunday, August 8, Messi held an official farewell press conference where he sorrowfully said goodbye to his club of 21 years. Then, after numerous rumors, Messi was signed by another club: Paris Saint-Germain FC (PSG), the wealthiest club in the French football league. Despite turning 34 over the summer, Lionel Messi is still considered to be one of best players in the world and recently won the Copa América (an international tournament for all South American nations) captaining the national team of his home nation, Argentina. Because he was a free agent, PSG didn’t have to pay anything to FC Barcelona; they only had to worry about Messi’s wage. Lionel Messi signed a contract with PSG for two years, a yearly salary of about $41 million and an option for a third year. After having officially signed with PSG, Messi’s old FC Barcelona teammate who left to join PSG in 2017, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Neymar), offered to give up the number 10 for Messi to claim.

Instead, Lionel Messi declined the offer and has taken up the number 30 on his jersey, which was the first number he wore for the senior FC Barcelona team. Having attained four extraordinary players over the summer—Messi, Ramos, Donnarumma and Wijnaldum—it is speculated that PSG is making an immense effort to win the Champions League for the first time ever in 2022. Yet it can not be overstated how big of an impact Messi will have on the team off the Parisian pitch as well. Rumors on how many Messi jerseys have been sold in the first 24 hours of the signing span from 250,000 to 830,000. No matter the actual amount, it is sufficient to say that Lionel Messi will be drawing in massive amounts of revenue for his new club. Lionel Messi made his debut for PSG on August 29, featuring in a 2-0 win against Reims in League 1. All League 1 games can be streamed on beIN SPORTS.

Sources: ESPN, FC Barcelona

Over the summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to attend three performances on Broadway: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “Hadestown.” I have performed in a multitude of shows, my most recent one being “A Doll’s House,” and have designed the lighting for shows including “Kiss Me, Kate.” While I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Broadway shows as a fan of theatre, they also spoke to me as a student of literature and philosophy. However, my experience on Broadway also gave me a perspective on our culture as a nation. The values found in these performances like empathy, kindness, and resilience, mixed with the experience of sharing in these stories with strangers from all over the world moved me towards a newfound appreciation and hope for the world we live in.

That, in a sense, is a simplistic overview of the power of live theatre like Broadway. Even though theatre is not everyone’s cup of tea, people know about Broadway; people understand that Broadway is a cultural monument in the United States, if only as a tourist hotspot. But not even a year after my time in New York City, tragedy struck the world in the form of a pandemic. On March 12 2020, all Broadway performances were shut down due to the growing dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic. After 18 months of Broadway, as well as most live performances around the nation being closed, I have often found myself reflecting on the values of hope and resilience I witnessed in the performance of “Hadestown” I experienced. While the show acknowledges itself as a tragedy, it emphasizes the importance of retelling itself with an ever-present hope that “spring will come again.”  Now, as of September 2021, Broadway performances are starting up once more.

While only a few shows opened early September, most performances are expected to be performing again by the end of the year. One of which includes “Pass Over,” which Playbill describes as: “Inspired by both “Waiting for Godot” and the “Exodus” saga, “Pass Over” follows Moses and Kitch, two young black men who dream of an existence beyond their street corner. Between stagings, [the playwright] Nwandu modified the play to center on the joy rather than trauma.” Another play, “Waitress,” follows Jenna, a waitress that stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. Her customers, co-workers, and the town’s handsome new doctor all offer her conflicting recipes for happiness but Jenna must ultimately decide for herself.” The 74th Tony Awards ceremony that was postponed from 2020 will be taking place on Sunday, September 26th, and is a reminder that Broadway is back. 

Sources: Playbill

The fundamental actions in sports can be strange. For example, throwing a leather ball, kicking a rubber ball, hitting something with a stick and hitting something with a stick but on ice. The oddities of sports are often overlooked due to their competitive nature, the immense skill they demand and the cultural significance they possess. Yet while all sports can be seen as strange, there are some that could be considered unique, bizarre or even befuddling.

The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Roll is one such sport. Netflix’s We Are the Champions pilots their limited series on uncommon competitions around the world with the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Roll in Brockworth, England. On the last Monday of every May, contestants start on the top of a steep 200-yard hill as a wheel of cheese is sent rolling down. The contestants then race at full speed, falling and rolling down the hill, to chase the cheese and reach the bottom of Cooper’s Hill first. The winner of the race is awarded the 8-pound wheel of cheese and goes down in legend with the former winners. Brockworth’s Cheese Roll is a very old tradition that dates back to at least the 1820s. No one knows quite why this sport originated (some local lore consists of barrel racing and pagan rituals) but it could be traced back to the large cheese industry in Gloucester, wherein the village of Brockworth is located.

As expected, this event leads to many injuries spanning from small bruises to broken or dislocated bones. While no one in recorded history has died during the cheese roll, the English government has canceled the event in past years due to overcrowding and general health. Despite the injuries, weird looks and government intervention, the people of Brockworth continue to hold the annual cheese roll. A question arises from such an activity: why? Why do regular people annually throw themselves down a hill to win a wheel of cheese?

Well, it isn’t really about the cheese. All sports have cultural value and significance, but cheese rolling and other wacky sport traditions reach back to the roots of the area. At their best, sports can bring people together and push people to live more boldly. The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Roll is only one example of a sport reflecting the unique personality of its people. However, the publicity of the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Roll has grown exponentially since being featured on Netflix. The annual cheese roll now has contestants and spectators from all over the world. There are three men’s races a year on Cooper’s Hill but only one women’s race a year. Chris Anderson holds the record for most wins in the men’s races with 22, and Flo Early holds the record for most wins in the women’s races with four.

Source: Netflix, We Are the Champions

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