Author

Jasmine Lee

MIR Meets EP 5: Jasmine Lee

Jasmine Lee Mar 22, 2018

In this episode of MIR Meets, we sit down with Jasmine Lee. Jasmine has been a writer with MIR for the past three years and most recently completed a semester-long blog on exchange at Istanbul's Boğaziçi University, entitled "Protesting the…
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“I miss home; who doesn’t miss home?”: Interviewing My Friend, a Syrian Refugee

Jasmine Lee Feb 10, 2018

September 2017 It was a warm and sunny September day in Istanbul when I met a young Syrian man working at the hostel where I stayed for the first few days while I searched for a more permanent place to stay during the four months I…
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Erdoğan Calls Monument of Turkish-Armenian Relations a “Monstrosity”

Jasmine Lee Jan 18, 2018

Turkish sculptor Mehmet Aksoy is no stranger to provoking conflict over his works of art. He has had politicians in his country disapprove of his work, such as the mayor of Ankara who took down Aksoy’s sculpture “At the Country of Fairies”,…
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Intimate Connection with CANAN’s Exhibition “Behind Mount Qaf”

Jasmine Lee Nov 30, 2017

CANAN is the persona of Turkish-Kurdish artist, feminist, and activist who was born with the name Canan Şahin. Born in Istanbul in 1970, CANAN went to Marmara University for the first part of her post-secondary studies, graduating in 1998.…
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Imprisoning the Artist But Not the Art: The Persecution of Zehra Doğan

Jasmine Lee Nov 20, 2017

In July 2016, Kurdish artist and journalist Zehra Doğan was imprisoned for her problematic art and social media posts that were harshly critical of the Turkish government and the abuse it has inflicted against the Kurdish population. The…
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Screening of The Box Depicts Refugee Life as a Child

Jasmine Lee Nov 13, 2017

This Tuesday, Boğaziçi University held a screening of the short animation The Box: A Syrian Story, which was directed, written, and produced by Boğaziçi alumna Merve Çirişoğlu. The film tells the story of a young Syrian boy, his…
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Mustang: A Fictional Telling of Female Struggle in Turkey

Jasmine Lee Nov 7, 2017

One Turkish film that has received prominent international exposure is Mustang (2015), which tells a powerful story of five orphaned sisters living with their grandmother in an Anatolian village. When their neighbours see the girls playing…
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Nil Yalter’s Art and the Refugee Crisis in Turkey

Jasmine Lee Nov 1, 2017

Nil Yalter is hardly a new name in the world of contemporary art; from issues of feminism to immigration, she has been expressing both political and non-political perspectives through her art for over fifty years. Born in Cairo,…
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Turkey’s Cartoonists Under Fire, Freedom of Speech Under Threat

Jasmine Lee Oct 22, 2017

In the beginning of January 2015, an attack that took place in the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo shook the entire nation of France. The shooting, conducted by three gunmen affiliated with al-Qaeda, murdered ten…
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The Biennial at Istanbul Modern: Lacking In Locality

Jasmine Lee Oct 16, 2017

This weekend, I had the chance to go to one of Istanbul’s most prestigious art shows, the Istanbul Biennial, which is held at the Istanbul Modern. This year’s theme, “İyi bir komşu” (“A good neighbour”), gave artists a wide berth to…
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Protesting the Powerful: Art & Resistance in Turkey

Jasmine Lee Oct 2, 2017

Turkey’s history is no stranger to public clashes between the government and its people over socio-political issues. In 2013 mass demonstrations took place after police took violent measures to end peaceful protests against the…
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Canada 150 in Hong Kong: A Report from Consul General Jeff Nankivell

Jasmine Lee Jul 1, 2017

Originally published in Harbour Times as "Canada 150 in Hong Kong: Photos and Report from Consul General Jeff Nankivell" on June 30, 2017. This republished version has been lightly edited for clarity. Jeff Nankivell has a lot of…
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British Representation In Film Has Failed Its Society

Jasmine Lee Mar 20, 2017

At the beginning of March, critically acclaimed actor and musician Riz Ahmed (from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Night Of) presented a speech at the British House of Commons for Channel 4's annual diversity lecture. His talk focused…
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Rogue One: Reframing Our Understanding of Rebellion

Jasmine Lee Feb 23, 2017

Author’s note: This article contains spoilers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. One of the central themes of the Star Wars franchise revolves around revolution, as embodied by the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Also referred to as…
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Kurdish Female Fighters: Leaders of a Revolution

Jasmine Lee Jan 23, 2017

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is known as the Kurdish separatist group who have had rigid tensions and conflicts with the Turkish government since its first armed struggle in 1984. One of the largest minority groups in Turkey, Kurds…
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America is Ill, But We’re Ignoring the Sickness

Jasmine Lee Dec 10, 2016

"BUILD THAT WALL" Those three haunting words made famous by Trump’s campaign has found its way from Republican rallies to schools across the United States of America, one notable incident including white teens from Texas high school…
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Beyond Whitewashing: Marvel’s Erasure of Tibet in Doctor Strange Supports Cultural Genocide

Jasmine Lee Nov 11, 2016

Tilda Swinton’s casting of The Ancient One for Marvel’s most recent release Doctor Strange is mostly presented as another example of Hollywood’s habit of whitewashing Asian characters in films. This time the issue extends far beyond that,…
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Making a Sinner Look Like a Saint: Condemning the Mainstream Media’s Portrayal of Trump

Jasmine Lee Oct 15, 2016

The media is abuzz with the most notorious name of 2016: Donald Trump. He is impossible to escape, appearing on every cover page of every news outlet as we come even closer to the finishing line of the Presidential Election Campaign.…
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The Unknown Uprisings: Five Years Later, Bahrain’s Protests Still Virtually Ignored In the…

Jasmine Lee Jun 29, 2016

“The feeling of marginalization is the engine. The feeling of being discriminated is the engine behind . But what has made us come out in huge numbers is the revolution in Tunisia, and the success of that revolution followed by the Egyptian…
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A Girl In the River: Oscar-Winning Film to Create Change in Pakistan

Jasmine Lee Mar 14, 2016

On the night of the 88th Academy Awards, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy took home an Oscar for her film, A Girl In the River: The Price of Forgiveness in the best documentary short category. Portraying acid attacks on Pakistani women in…
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Dreamy Trudeau: Hypocrisy In the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Jasmine Lee Feb 18, 2016

Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was featured in a video in which he explained that he was proud to be a male feminist, and that he is not only living as a feminist but also imparting his beliefs to his children. Having someone as…
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Trudeau Promises a “Total Renewal” of Relationship with First Nations Peoples

Jasmine Lee Jan 20, 2016

In September, I published an article looking at the abominable treatment of Canada’s Aboriginal community by its government, particularly addressing its indifference toward the missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. For decades…
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