Alice Fordham
Alice Fordham is an NPR International Correspondent based in Beirut, Lebanon.
In this role, she reports on Lebanon, Syria and many of the countries throughout the Middle East.
Before joining NPR in 2014, Fordham covered the Middle East for five years, reporting for The Washington Post, the Economist, The Times and other publications. She has worked in wars and political turmoil but also amid beauty, resilience and fun.
In 2011, Fordham was a Stern Fellow at the Washington Post. That same year she won the Next Century Foundation's Breakaway award, in part for an investigation into Iraqi prisons.
Fordham graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics.
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Many Iraqis — Christian and Muslim — say they are excited about the first papal visit to the country, raising hopes of religious tolerance in the face of extremist violence. -
Pope Francis plans to travel the original home of the patriarch Abraham in the Iraqi desert. His tour will also take him to places where there are almost no Christians — most everyone is Muslim.
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"Iraq's economic situation can probably best be described as being dire," says an International Energy Agency expert. Government revenues have plummeted and its currency has been devalued. -
In Iraq, a huge share of the country relies on government salaries. But the government relies on oil revenues which have been falling. The purchasing power of average Iraqis has dropped.
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Suicide bombings have been rare in the Iraqi capital since the country's military largely defeated the Islamic State group in 2017. But ISIS has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks. -
Syria's President Bashar Assad, seems to be keeping his promise to retake every inch of the country with brutal force. But people in the areas he controls are suffering economically, too.
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In Lebanon, a woman in a Palestinian refugee camp tested positive for the coronavirus. It's a worrying case for a country whose response to the virus is threatened by economic problems.
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The pandemic has "had a particularly heartbreaking impact on refugees — in the sense that it's cut off their ability to travel, and trapped them in precarious situations," says an immigration lawyer. -
Although people fleeing war or humanitarian crises know about the dangers of COVID-19, many are also worried about being persecuted if the disease spreads in their communities. -
St. Charbel is revered for his healing miracles. "He gives us faith and strength, especially in this time of sickness," says a pilgrim visiting his tomb. "He is the only cure, in my opinion."
