Help in hopeless situations: football in the Gaza Strip and Nigerian courts

The creators of the Nigerian app Gavel use technology and a network of volunteers to enable people to access pro bono legal services and give them a chance in the face of the country’s dysfunctional and corrupt justice system. In Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022, Nigeria ranked 150th out of 180 countries, and in 2023, 69% out of almost 78,000 prisoners in Nigeria were people on remand. That’s why Gavel focuses on poor victims of injustice and uses an online platform to connect prisoners with 200 volunteer lawyers eager to help. According to Gavel’s representatives, the organization has already helped free over 5,000 temporarily arrested prisoners.

Despite the war, football in the Gaza Strip still means life. Previously, during a period of relative peace, the biggest soccer matches in the world caused local streets to become empty. Now, groups of children are still kicking the ball in the squares, and fans, regardless of whether they use radios, battery-powered TVs or phones, try to follow the results of their favourite European teams despite poor Internet connections and communication interruptions. Additionally, at this year’s Asian Cup, the Palestinian national team achieved historic success by reaching the ⅛-finals of the tournament for the first time, bringing pride and joy to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. “Soccer distracts from the bombings that seem never to end and from the realities of this brutal war,” say Palestinians.