Al Jazeera World

Over decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons. They have settled in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa.

But media coverage tends to focus on refugees fleeing war, poverty and persecution, often at the start of their treacherous journeys. These stories can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete.

In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants long after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth.

In ‘The Politician and The Inventor’ we meet two remarkable success stories from Arab immigrants to Germany and Canada: one is a designer of textiles machinery, the other a member of Canada’s parliament.

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Over decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons. They have settled in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa.

But media coverage tends to focus on refugees fleeing war, poverty and persecution, often at the start of their treacherous journeys. These stories can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete.

In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants long after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth.

In ‘The Politician and The Inventor’ we meet two remarkable success stories from Arab immigrants to Germany and Canada: one is a designer of textiles machinery, the other a member of Canada’s parliament.

Read more: https://aje.io/t4e8h

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera

- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

More and more young people are addicted to online video games.

In a controversial decision last year the World Health Organization classified it as a disease. The WHO defines gaming disorder as "impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences".

Although it's spreading all over the world and only affects a small number of people who play video games, one of the first countries dealing with the disorder has been Japan.

"I wake up in the afternoon and then turn my computer on. Then I'm gaming until around noon the next day and then go to sleep," says Shintaro Sakurai, who has been gaming since kindergarten.

He plays every day, for between three and 20 hours a day, and seldom has time for much else. But he also does not believe he is addicted.

Excessive gaming also has an impact on gamers' friends and family.

"I wake up at around 8-9am. The first thing I do is open my computer," says schoolboy Taito Kobayashi, who lives with his parents outside Tokyo. They are increasingly worried about their son, and fear he may be addicted.

"He only sleeps a little and is up all night," says Taito's mother Remi Kobayashi. "Online games are the most important thing to him," adds his father Hiroyuki Kobayashi. "As parents we need to consider what we can do to help."

Taito admits that he plays too much, but says "I don't want to quit."

Dr Susumu Higuchi, an addiction specialist who works at the first clinic in Japan devoted to treating this disorder, is concerned about the neurological impact excessive gaming has on young people.

"There are at least several papers reporting the brain damage caused by gaming disorder, meaning the neural cells were destroyed or damaged by excessive gaming, and this is probably the most important or significant findings," he says.

For those who are addicted, is there a way to successfully treat this disease? Higuchi says research into success rates is still being done .

"When we see a patient with gaming disorder, we strongly recommend him or her to give up playing games... If they agree to do that, usually their outcome is quite good," he says. "But if they do not want to stop gaming completely ... their outcome is not so good."

He also highlights the difference between sufferers of gaming disorder vs other forms of addiction.

"In the case of gambling, or in the case of alcohol dependence, the majority of patients are adults. They can understand the situation they are put in and they can understand why they have to stop drinking or stop gambling and so forth," Higuchi explains.

"But in the case of schoolboys and girls [addicted to gaming], they cannot understand that. So if we push too much, they will drop out from treatment. And this is a very big issue for us. So we have to think about the balance between how hard we push, and at the same time we have to avoid the patient dropping out."

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More and more young people are addicted to online video games.

In a controversial decision last year the World Health Organization classified it as a disease. The WHO defines gaming disorder as "impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences".

Although it's spreading all over the world and only affects a small number of people who play video games, one of the first countries dealing with the disorder has been Japan.

"I wake up in the afternoon and then turn my computer on. Then I'm gaming until around noon the next day and then go to sleep," says Shintaro Sakurai, who has been gaming since kindergarten.

He plays every day, for between three and 20 hours a day, and seldom has time for much else. But he also does not believe he is addicted.

Excessive gaming also has an impact on gamers' friends and family.

"I wake up at around 8-9am. The first thing I do is open my computer," says schoolboy Taito Kobayashi, who lives with his parents outside Tokyo. They are increasingly worried about their son, and fear he may be addicted.

"He only sleeps a little and is up all night," says Taito's mother Remi Kobayashi. "Online games are the most important thing to him," adds his father Hiroyuki Kobayashi. "As parents we need to consider what we can do to help."

Taito admits that he plays too much, but says "I don't want to quit."

Dr Susumu Higuchi, an addiction specialist who works at the first clinic in Japan devoted to treating this disorder, is concerned about the neurological impact excessive gaming has on young people.

"There are at least several papers reporting the brain damage caused by gaming disorder, meaning the neural cells were destroyed or damaged by excessive gaming, and this is probably the most important or significant findings," he says.

For those who are addicted, is there a way to successfully treat this disease? Higuchi says research into success rates is still being done .

"When we see a patient with gaming disorder, we strongly recommend him or her to give up playing games... If they agree to do that, usually their outcome is quite good," he says. "But if they do not want to stop gaming completely ... their outcome is not so good."

He also highlights the difference between sufferers of gaming disorder vs other forms of addiction.

"In the case of gambling, or in the case of alcohol dependence, the majority of patients are adults. They can understand the situation they are put in and they can understand why they have to stop drinking or stop gambling and so forth," Higuchi explains.

"But in the case of schoolboys and girls [addicted to gaming], they cannot understand that. So if we push too much, they will drop out from treatment. And this is a very big issue for us. So we have to think about the balance between how hard we push, and at the same time we have to avoid the patient dropping out."

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- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

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- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Over the decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons.

They settle in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa. But media coverage usually only shows them at the start of their often treacherous journeys, and the stories that get told can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete.

In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth.

In ‘The Surgeons’ we meet two Arab doctors: Dr Munjed al Muderis, an orthopaedic surgeon who fled Iraq for Australia, and Dr Mohammad Hajjiri, a heart specialist who left Jordan for the US.

Read more: https://aje.io/9ehxk

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera

- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Over the decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons.

They settle in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa. But media coverage usually only shows them at the start of their often treacherous journeys, and the stories that get told can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete.

In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth.

In ‘The Surgeons’ we meet two Arab doctors: Dr Munjed al Muderis, an orthopaedic surgeon who fled Iraq for Australia, and Dr Mohammad Hajjiri, a heart specialist who left Jordan for the US.

Read more: https://aje.io/9ehxk

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera

- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

The question of land is a contentious political issue in South Africa, and one of the most divisive in the country.

Historically, black land ownership was undermined through decades of colonial dispossession and discriminatory apartheid legislation - measures which for many years prevented the majority of the population from owning property based solely on their race.

With the end of white minority rule in 1994, the democratic government made a promise of land restitution and a programme was put in place. It followed a "willing seller, willing buyer" model through which the government bought white-owned farms for redistribution.

However, despite this, progress has been slow and most of the country's farmland is still owned by white farmers.

It is estimated that white South Africans - who make up approximately nine percent of the country's population - own more than 70 percent of the commercial agricultural land.

Property rights are protected by South Africa's constitution, but to propel the stalled land reform process, the government is now considering a constitutional change that would allow it to expropriate land from white farmers without paying for it.

The move is controversial and has found criticism in some quarters. Others argue that a radical approach is needed to redress past racial injustices that still manifest in the high levels of poverty among black communities.

There are also supporters on all sides, who agree that land reform is essential for the future of the country. But many argue that the government needs to do more in order for it to succeed.

"I support land expropriation, but on specific issues or on specific land," Shimi Jonas Makoka, a black farmer, tells Al Jazeera. He emphasises that the issue is "not a blanket cover that every [white] farmer's farm is subject to expropriation".

"That fear must be diminished and clarity must be given to all farmers - commercial and upcoming farmers - that the government is not aiming at taking farms and grabbing the farms," he says.

Makoka is concerned that uncertainty around the government's land expropriation plan is causing a "stir" among white commercial farmers, which could threaten food security in the country - especially if upcoming black farmers are not supported to effectively utilise the land.

"We need thorough, continuous support until a farmer is established," he says. "You cannot take a farmer halfway, or just introduce him into this wilderness and then leave him out. We need support."

Leon Borcherds, a white farmer whose family has been in the industry since 1948, says land reform is "definitely" needed.

"The white farming community is ageing rapidly ... so we need new entrants into this market. We need entrance obviously of black farmers, we have never disputed that, and I think it's very important," he says.

But he adds that a major problem is the government's approach.

"I think the government has not made it such a priority in their plans, and there has also been a lot of corruption. A lot of the money has disappeared that was supposed to get to the farmer on the ground."

"Farms are being expropriated, but the title deed does not get to the black man at the end of the day," Borcherds feels, saying this prevents upcoming black farmers from getting the necessary financing to help their farms succeed.

"People don't know how to farm; train them, help us," he says to South Africa's government. "The white commercial farmer is more than happy to help the government in this, but [government must] create the platforms. There are a lot of plans, but politics is involved every time and we never get anywhere."

Borcherds says what is needed is a model whereby white commercial farmers can transfer knowledge to new upcoming black farmers and the two can work collaboratively.

Makoka agrees.

"We are prepared as Africans to take over the land and work on it. Nevertheless, we are expecting some assistance, like the skills that they [white farmers] have got; the experience in farming," he says.

"This is the time when white commercial farmers must come on board. They shouldn't be like a species that is endangered. They must be part of the whole land reform, and the mindset needs to change. This is our country, we are living here; all of us must pull together and then find the solution to the whole thing."

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The question of land is a contentious political issue in South Africa, and one of the most divisive in the country.

Historically, black land ownership was undermined through decades of colonial dispossession and discriminatory apartheid legislation - measures which for many years prevented the majority of the population from owning property based solely on their race.

With the end of white minority rule in 1994, the democratic government made a promise of land restitution and a programme was put in place. It followed a "willing seller, willing buyer" model through which the government bought white-owned farms for redistribution.

However, despite this, progress has been slow and most of the country's farmland is still owned by white farmers.

It is estimated that white South Africans - who make up approximately nine percent of the country's population - own more than 70 percent of the commercial agricultural land.

Property rights are protected by South Africa's constitution, but to propel the stalled land reform process, the government is now considering a constitutional change that would allow it to expropriate land from white farmers without paying for it.

The move is controversial and has found criticism in some quarters. Others argue that a radical approach is needed to redress past racial injustices that still manifest in the high levels of poverty among black communities.

There are also supporters on all sides, who agree that land reform is essential for the future of the country. But many argue that the government needs to do more in order for it to succeed.

"I support land expropriation, but on specific issues or on specific land," Shimi Jonas Makoka, a black farmer, tells Al Jazeera. He emphasises that the issue is "not a blanket cover that every [white] farmer's farm is subject to expropriation".

"That fear must be diminished and clarity must be given to all farmers - commercial and upcoming farmers - that the government is not aiming at taking farms and grabbing the farms," he says.

Makoka is concerned that uncertainty around the government's land expropriation plan is causing a "stir" among white commercial farmers, which could threaten food security in the country - especially if upcoming black farmers are not supported to effectively utilise the land.

"We need thorough, continuous support until a farmer is established," he says. "You cannot take a farmer halfway, or just introduce him into this wilderness and then leave him out. We need support."

Leon Borcherds, a white farmer whose family has been in the industry since 1948, says land reform is "definitely" needed.

"The white farming community is ageing rapidly ... so we need new entrants into this market. We need entrance obviously of black farmers, we have never disputed that, and I think it's very important," he says.

But he adds that a major problem is the government's approach.

"I think the government has not made it such a priority in their plans, and there has also been a lot of corruption. A lot of the money has disappeared that was supposed to get to the farmer on the ground."

"Farms are being expropriated, but the title deed does not get to the black man at the end of the day," Borcherds feels, saying this prevents upcoming black farmers from getting the necessary financing to help their farms succeed.

"People don't know how to farm; train them, help us," he says to South Africa's government. "The white commercial farmer is more than happy to help the government in this, but [government must] create the platforms. There are a lot of plans, but politics is involved every time and we never get anywhere."

Borcherds says what is needed is a model whereby white commercial farmers can transfer knowledge to new upcoming black farmers and the two can work collaboratively.

Makoka agrees.

"We are prepared as Africans to take over the land and work on it. Nevertheless, we are expecting some assistance, like the skills that they [white farmers] have got; the experience in farming," he says.

"This is the time when white commercial farmers must come on board. They shouldn't be like a species that is endangered. They must be part of the whole land reform, and the mindset needs to change. This is our country, we are living here; all of us must pull together and then find the solution to the whole thing."

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- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

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- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Deep in central Mali, what was supposed to be harvest season for villagers has become a season of starvation, death and destruction.

Mali's health ministry says so far hundreds of people have died from what it describes as a man-made famine, as farmers and herders fight over land.

It is an ancestral conflict that takes place at the height of the dry season between the Dogon, who are traditional farmers and hunters, and the Fulani, the semi-nomadic herders of the Sahel.

The Dogon accuse the Fulani of overstepping on their farmland to feed their animals, while the Fulani accuse the Dogon of killing and stealing their cattle. And now they are killing each other.

In one of the worst attacks, 160 Fulani villagers were killed in Ogossagou in March. Mamadou Togo, the chief representative of Mali's Dogon people, tells Al Jazeera the attack was not perpetrated by Dogon hunters. He says the Dogon have not attacked any Fulani villages, despite there being tensions between the two communities.

However, he admits that "when other people come and attack the Dogon, they retaliate".

"We cannot sit and watch people come and kill us and go back without anything. We said no, this is intolerable," he says. "When you come to kill me and I'm not dead, for instance, if I can I will kill you."

The two sides both accuse the other of being the aggressor.

Mahmoud Dicko, a Fulani and a powerful leader of the High Islamic Council, blames the mutual mistrust on outside interference.

"I am convinced that there are other invisible, obscure forces that are planning to destabilise the entire subregion. And to succeed in this destabilisation, it is necessary to create a war between the different ethnic groups," he says.

The violence is not limited to Mali, either. In neighbouring Sahelian countries, Fulanis have been in conflict with other tribes as well. Fuelling this conflict are armed groups - including al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates - who are stepping in and taking sides. Some have been fighting in the war in Libya.

"This crisis in the centre of Mali started from the occupation of northern Mali by terrorist groups [in 2012]," says Tiebile Drame, the Malian minister of foreign affairs. "The Malian crisis is directly linked to the situation in Libya, to the collapse of Libya in 2011."

Since 2013, the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA has been operating in Mali. There are currently 14,000 UN troops - among them British, Canadian and German soldiers - as well as 4,000 French combat troops and regional G5 Sahel forces in the country.

Despite this, the violence is spreading, and spiralling out of control.

Insurgent and rebel groups also directly target security forces, launching suicide attacks and car bombings. MINUSMA is now the deadliest UN peacekeeping mission, with more UN troops dying in Mali than anywhere else, or at any time before. This also adds to the feeling shared by many Malians that the security forces are not a source of protection but a source of danger.

Nevertheless, the $1bn a year MINUSMA mission has been renewed for another year, while Mali's government is calling for the creation of a coalition force like the ones seen in Iraq and Afghanistan to intervene in Mali.

But the Dogon and Fulani leaders we spoke to are both sceptical about outside actors.

Dogon leader Togo believes France profits from the instability in the country, saying Mali's former colonial master "wants to recolonise again this country because of the wealth underground".

Meanwhile, Fulani leader Dicko says the UN mission and international community are failing Mali, spending billions of dollars "for their own comfort".

"I say to leave us alone, to leave the Sahelians between us," he says. "We are brothers, we have lived together for millennia. We have a mechanism to settle things between us. If we are left alone, we ourselves will find a solution to this problem."

To examine who profits from Mali's state of instability, and how the violence can be brought to an end, Talk to Al Jazeera In The Field meets Dogon and Fulani leaders to try to understand this complex conflict.

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

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Deep in central Mali, what was supposed to be harvest season for villagers has become a season of starvation, death and destruction.

Mali's health ministry says so far hundreds of people have died from what it describes as a man-made famine, as farmers and herders fight over land.

It is an ancestral conflict that takes place at the height of the dry season between the Dogon, who are traditional farmers and hunters, and the Fulani, the semi-nomadic herders of the Sahel.

The Dogon accuse the Fulani of overstepping on their farmland to feed their animals, while the Fulani accuse the Dogon of killing and stealing their cattle. And now they are killing each other.

In one of the worst attacks, 160 Fulani villagers were killed in Ogossagou in March. Mamadou Togo, the chief representative of Mali's Dogon people, tells Al Jazeera the attack was not perpetrated by Dogon hunters. He says the Dogon have not attacked any Fulani villages, despite there being tensions between the two communities.

However, he admits that "when other people come and attack the Dogon, they retaliate".

"We cannot sit and watch people come and kill us and go back without anything. We said no, this is intolerable," he says. "When you come to kill me and I'm not dead, for instance, if I can I will kill you."

The two sides both accuse the other of being the aggressor.

Mahmoud Dicko, a Fulani and a powerful leader of the High Islamic Council, blames the mutual mistrust on outside interference.

"I am convinced that there are other invisible, obscure forces that are planning to destabilise the entire subregion. And to succeed in this destabilisation, it is necessary to create a war between the different ethnic groups," he says.

The violence is not limited to Mali, either. In neighbouring Sahelian countries, Fulanis have been in conflict with other tribes as well. Fuelling this conflict are armed groups - including al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates - who are stepping in and taking sides. Some have been fighting in the war in Libya.

"This crisis in the centre of Mali started from the occupation of northern Mali by terrorist groups [in 2012]," says Tiebile Drame, the Malian minister of foreign affairs. "The Malian crisis is directly linked to the situation in Libya, to the collapse of Libya in 2011."

Since 2013, the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA has been operating in Mali. There are currently 14,000 UN troops - among them British, Canadian and German soldiers - as well as 4,000 French combat troops and regional G5 Sahel forces in the country.

Despite this, the violence is spreading, and spiralling out of control.

Insurgent and rebel groups also directly target security forces, launching suicide attacks and car bombings. MINUSMA is now the deadliest UN peacekeeping mission, with more UN troops dying in Mali than anywhere else, or at any time before. This also adds to the feeling shared by many Malians that the security forces are not a source of protection but a source of danger.

Nevertheless, the $1bn a year MINUSMA mission has been renewed for another year, while Mali's government is calling for the creation of a coalition force like the ones seen in Iraq and Afghanistan to intervene in Mali.

But the Dogon and Fulani leaders we spoke to are both sceptical about outside actors.

Dogon leader Togo believes France profits from the instability in the country, saying Mali's former colonial master "wants to recolonise again this country because of the wealth underground".

Meanwhile, Fulani leader Dicko says the UN mission and international community are failing Mali, spending billions of dollars "for their own comfort".

"I say to leave us alone, to leave the Sahelians between us," he says. "We are brothers, we have lived together for millennia. We have a mechanism to settle things between us. If we are left alone, we ourselves will find a solution to this problem."

To examine who profits from Mali's state of instability, and how the violence can be brought to an end, Talk to Al Jazeera In The Field meets Dogon and Fulani leaders to try to understand this complex conflict.

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

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- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/