Alex Howlett
alexhowl.bsky.social
Alex Howlett
@alexhowl.bsky.social
Journalist - Al Jazeera, FT, TLS etc
Author - https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/wander-women/
Investigations & Press - Environmental Justice Foundation
More - https://alexhowlett.my.canva.site
Pinned
New report from @ejfoundation.org covered by @apnews.com

“I get so angry when (foreign nations) complain about immigration because they are the real pirates and what they did is worse than clandestine immigration. It’s theft, plundering our resources ... while we suffer"

apnews.com/article/migr...
Foreign overfishing in Senegal fuels migration to Spain, a report finds
A report from a London-based environmental group says illegal overfishing and destructive practices by foreign vessels are responsible for increased irregular migration to Spain from Senegal in West A...
apnews.com
Reposted by Alex Howlett
"In a sea of silence, abandonment and violence, they offer the rarest thing: someone is still looking for you. […]
That your life matters."

Journalist @alexhowl.bsky.social was onboard the #OceanViking during 2 rescues and the shootings by Libyan Coast Guard. 👇

www.service95.com/the-reality-...
The Reality Of Europe’s Border Crisis: This Is Life Onboard Migrant Rescue Ships
It was late afternoon, the heat thick and unmoving, when the call came through. I was the only journalist aboard the Ocean Viking, a search-and-rescue ship patrolling the Central Mediterranean, wh
www.service95.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:50 PM
My story for @service95stories.bsky.social on @sosmediterranee.org's Ocean Viking. The Libyan 'coast guard' opened fire, risking the lives of survivors and crew.

It was a privilege to see them in action - truly incredible people

#searchandrescue
#Mediterranean

www.service95.com/the-reality-...
The Reality Of Europe’s Border Crisis: This Is Life Onboard Migrant Rescue Ships
It was late afternoon, the heat thick and unmoving, when the call came through. I was the only journalist aboard the Ocean Viking, a search-and-rescue ship patrolling the Central Mediterranean, wh
www.service95.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:33 AM
On Sunday I was on board the Ocean Viking when the Libyan coast guard opened fire, circling the vessel several times and shooting while crew and survivors were on the bridge and deck. This direct attack on the lives of at-sea rescuers is unprecedented and demands swift & decisive action from the EU
August 26, 2025 at 8:59 AM
My review of Barbie Latza Nadeau's book 'Every Body Counts: Money, lies and the hidden trade in human lives' in the TLS: the-tls.com/regular-feat...

As human trafficking becomes the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, Nadeau's book is nothing less than essential reading
Forced to watch
In 2015, more than 900 migrants on board a fishing vessel crossing from Libya to Italy drowned when the overcrowded vessel sank. Headlines at the time
the-tls.com
August 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
THE HIDDEN PRICE OF LUXURY: uncovering leather handbags in the EU and UK exposed to illegal deforestation and land grabs in Brazil’s Amazon.

Our findings raise questions about the supply chains of luxury fashion.

📖 Read the full report: www.earthsight.org.uk/news/hidden-...
The hidden price of luxury: What Europe’s designer handbags are costing the Amazon rainforest
Leather suppliers to luxury fashion brands are linked to illegal cattle ranching in the Amazon rainforest, where COP30 will take place this year
www.earthsight.org.uk
June 24, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
After 3 days sailing from Malta’s SAR region, we reached the distant port of #Savona to disembark 73 survivors.

It was our first time here. Despite the distance, we were met with warmth.

One survivor said quietly: “لا مزيد من الناس السيئين” - “no more bad people.”
June 23, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
📣 #RefugeeWeek event!

Join us for a lively panel discussion with authors of Wander Women, @alexhowl.bsky.social‬ and Alexandra Blanchard, and Dr. Ayla Emminck of @sosmediterranee.org‬.

📍 Pimlico Library, London
⏰ Weds 18 June, 6:15 - 7:15PM
🎟️ Free tickets:
Wander Women talks with SOS Méditerranée and Women for Refugee Women
Join us at Pimlico Library during Refugee Week to celebrate the contributions and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum with a special panel talk, led by Alexandra Blanchard and Alex…
refugeeweek.org.uk
June 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
More issues with SMS 2fa. Only use SMS 2FA if there is no other option.

Use a code generator instead.

(or, if possible, use a hardware token like Yubikey or a passkey).
We teamed up with @bloomberg.com to investigate how the world’s largest tech companies send their “secret” passwords. We found a marketplace that feeds an opaque and sprawling network of untrusted middlemen – including a notorious surveillance enabler
How a Tiny Middleman Could Access Two-Factor Login Codes From Tech Giants
An investigation into the complexity of the global telecom system shows weaknesses in the transmission of secret codes sent via SMS.
www.bloomberg.com
June 16, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
If you’re around on 18th June please come to Pimlico Library for a #refugeeweek panel with @sosmediterranee.org and @4refugeewomen.bsky.social where women will be talking about search and rescue & experiences of the U.K.‘s asylum system refugeeweek.org.uk/event/wander...
Wander Women talks with SOS Méditerranée and Women for Refugee Women
Join us at Pimlico Library during Refugee Week to celebrate the contributions and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum with a special panel talk, led by Alexandra Blanchard and Alex Howlet...
refugeeweek.org.uk
June 4, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
Our latest community journalism pilot, Bradford StoryHub, has just recently launched!

In partnership with Bradford Community Broadcasting, we’ll be supporting locals in Bradford to develop the skills and confidence to tell their own stories and hold power to account
Bradford StoryHub launches to champion community storytelling
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
June 9, 2025 at 9:55 AM
If you’re around on 18th June please come to Pimlico Library for a #refugeeweek panel with @sosmediterranee.org and @4refugeewomen.bsky.social where women will be talking about search and rescue & experiences of the U.K.‘s asylum system refugeeweek.org.uk/event/wander...
Wander Women talks with SOS Méditerranée and Women for Refugee Women
Join us at Pimlico Library during Refugee Week to celebrate the contributions and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum with a special panel talk, led by Alexandra Blanchard and Alex Howlet...
refugeeweek.org.uk
June 4, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
The government has FROZEN ALL DECISIONS for Syrians applying for asylum or settlement for nearly 6 months😱😱😱

Roughly 7,000 people left in limbo & denied the right to work - this is completely INSANE.
May 29, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
Reform UK exemplifies a new model of politics shaped by the logic of the attention economy, where virality and outrage matter more than governance, delivery, or outcomes.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reform UK fulfils pledge to scrap LTNs in its council areas as none exist
All 10 council areas controlled by rightwing party tell the Guardian they have no low-traffic neighbourhoods
www.theguardian.com
May 21, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
Italian authorities have assigned @sosmediterranee.org
a distant PoS in #Ancona 1497km away, approx. 4d of travel. Onboard are 276 survivors, including 6 children and 3 babies. This decision keeps us away for many days from the area at sea where most vital lifesaving operations take place
May 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
„So trieben wir, Leute wurden krank. Einige starben … Einige hatten denselben Traum, dasselbe Ziel, aber sie kamen nie an.”

Abdou hat es vom #Senegal nach #Tenerife geschafft u. konnte s. Geschichte @ejfoundation.org erzählen.

Tausende werden sie nie erzählen können.

@oceanographicmag.bsky.social
May 15, 2025 at 9:38 AM
“So, we stayed there and people started getting sick. Some died. May their souls go to paradise. Some of them had the same dream and purpose, but they never arrived.”

@oceanographicmag.bsky.social new long read from @ejfoundation.org latest report

oceanographicmagazine.com/features/the...
The deadly route to Europe: Senegal's illegal fishing crisis
The Environmental Justice Foundation investigates how illegal fishing in Senegal is forcing young fishers to take desperate choices.
oceanographicmagazine.com
May 15, 2025 at 8:35 AM
New report from @ejfoundation.org covered by @apnews.com

“I get so angry when (foreign nations) complain about immigration because they are the real pirates and what they did is worse than clandestine immigration. It’s theft, plundering our resources ... while we suffer"

apnews.com/article/migr...
Foreign overfishing in Senegal fuels migration to Spain, a report finds
A report from a London-based environmental group says illegal overfishing and destructive practices by foreign vessels are responsible for increased irregular migration to Spain from Senegal in West A...
apnews.com
May 13, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
The consequences of industrial fishing are contributing to the troubling increase in migrant deaths at sea. Senegal’s fisheries must be returned to the Senegalese people.

Senegal's government, the European Union, and industrial fishing entities must ensure stronger governance and transparency now.
Adrift: Senegal’s coastal crisis and the deadly route to Europe
YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation
www.youtube.com
May 13, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
The route from Senegal to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest. Tragically, there were over 3,000 deaths in 2023 alone.

Our film follows one young Senegalese fisher, Abdou, who is forced to make this journey. He says, “some people had the same dream and purpose as me, but they never arrived.”
May 13, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
📣 New report and film

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and overfishing in Senegal are devastating fish populations and coastal communities, leading to increased forced migration to Europe across the world’s most deadly migration route.

Hear their stories 🎬
May 13, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
Breaking news: The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China www.ft.com/content/20d0...
April 14, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
"I became like a slave, without any capacity to think or act or do.”

43 women in Argentina have accused Opus Dei – a secretive Catholic group – of coercing them as children and adolescents into a life of domestic servitude.

This is their story.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘I became like a slave’: why 43 women are suing the secretive Opus Dei Catholic group in Argentina
Lured by promises of an education but allegedly trapped in servitude and self-mortification, the former members are suing the ultra-conservative organisation over their ‘exploitation and abuse’
www.theguardian.com
April 15, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Shocking & important story on treatment of migrant fishing crew from @heldavidson.bsky.social featuring @ejfoundation.org.

After one Indonesian crew member died at sea, his family were given £9.60 as compensation.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
An unexplained death, ‘abuse and slavery’: Indonesian fishers reveal life on long haul vessels
The death of a fisher on a Chinese-owned trawler in the Indian Ocean illustrates the lack of accountability in the seafood industry, say advocates
www.theguardian.com
April 7, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Alex Howlett
Fishing is often these communities’ only source of income. Their livelihoods are severely impacted by plastic pollution, as fish that could be caught and sold are instead entangled in these nets.

To address this issue, Net Free Seas connects communities with recyclers, who pay them directly.
Net Free Seas: ridding Thailand's waters of ghost nets and reducing plastic pollution
YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation
www.youtube.com
March 18, 2025 at 11:32 AM
“Their families don’t have any idea whether they are still alive or not"

@nytimes.com coverage of @ejfoundation.org new report revealing that Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean labour in breach of UN sanctions. The NK crew spent up to 10 years at sea

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/w...
North Koreans on Chinese Tuna Boats Boost Revenue for Kim Jong-un (Gift Article)
Thousands of miles from home, North Koreans work on Chinese tuna longliners in the Indian Ocean for pay that goes to their leader, a new study says.
www.nytimes.com
February 24, 2025 at 9:47 AM