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Sabrina Toppa

Journalist in Texas.

RECENT ARTICLES

The Guardian •

As extremist threat rises, Latino Texans say gun ownership is ‘matter of survival’

On a crisp Sunday afternoon in Royse City, Texas, 32-year-old Cesar Hurtado unzipped a hardshell case to reveal a custom-built AR-15-style rifle in his living room. Emblazoned on the side of the gun is the tagline “no war, no gods, no masters”.

Hurtado’s interest in firearms started with hunting, but after the 2019 Walmart shooting in El Paso that targeted Latinos, Hurtado felt he had to embrace firearms for his own protection. “For white gun owners, they feel they have a right to a gun,” Hurta
Mozilla Foundation •

Calm VS Headspace: Which Is Best For Your Privacy & Security?

Like many meditation apps, Calm collects personally identifiable information like geolocation data, sensitive biometric data and health data. Headspace also obtains personal data like a user’s name, email address, app usage, and their Facebook account ID.

Both Headspace and Calm do not track precise locations. The apps say they rely on IP addresses to determine an approximate location, with Headspace saying that it relies on a user’s geolocation instead of their exact longitude or latitude. Hea
Time •

Afghans Refugees Fear Pakistan Will Make It Harder to Flee the Taliban

When the Taliban first waved the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan over Kabul in 1996, Syed Nasir’s parents — worried about imminent violence — hastily fled to neighboring Pakistan, where they settled in the port city of Karachi. Like many Afghans, they expected to return home once the instability ebbed.

But, the Taliban’s brutal rule, followed by the instability of the U.S. invasion and ongoing insurgency meant that Nasir’s family — and many others — stayed in Pakistan. Now, 25 years
TFA One Day Studio •

Students Work to Help Their Communities—and Their Own Mental Health

“It's important to recognize that we are in a period of trauma—and that trauma stays with us,” said Sheldon Berman, the lead superintendent for social-emotional learning at the School Superintendents Association.

Although many students are preparing to return to in-person instruction this fall, the pandemic also precipitated new mental health challenges, including increased rates of stress, anxiety, and depression. Simultaneously, the pandemic increased physical barriers to accessing mental hea
TFA One Day Studio •

Students Labeled 'Asian' Are Not a Monolith. Why Are Schools Treating Them That Way?

“Folks didn’t really know what a Tongan was, what a Polynesian was. They didn’t know what to make of us,” Hafoka, now 39, recalled.

Hafoka grew up in a community that was home to many families from Southeast Asia, and being grouped together with first-generation Asians seemed logical, she said. The two groups seemed to share similar challenges caused by language barriers, such as children translating English for their parents, Hafoka said.

But “when I grew up, I started to understand how messe
news.trust.org •

Pakistani metro brings uncertainty for displaced residents

Lahore’s new Chinese-financed metro aims to cut traffic congestion and pollution, but it has driven some residents from their homes and affected heritage sites

LAHORE, Pakistan, Dec 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When bulldozers began roaring in front of Shakeel Ahmed's home in Lahore's historic Anarkali district, he and his neighbours huddled together at a nearby shrine - despairing about the loss of their property and land.

Like other families in the area, Ahmed, 40, said he was forced to
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace •

Qatar’s Struggle to Reform Labor Laws

On March 22, the International Labor Organization (ILO) moved to give Qatar until November to reform its laws governing migrant labor. This builds on an ongoing investigation following a complaint lodged with the ILO in 2016 that workers are drawn into “forced labor.” The ILO will determine if Qatar’s labor laws contravene the forced labor convention, which Qatar ratified in 1998, possibly subjecting the Gulf state to scrutiny by a commission of inquiry. With the international renown of the 2022
Mother Jones •

"I want Americans to know that Guantánamo happened not to monsters, but to men"

Lakhdar Boumediene and Mustafa Ait Idir were part of the “Algerian Six,” a group of men rounded up in Bosnia on the unproven claim they had plotted to bomb the American Embassy in Sarajevo. The two were beaten, shackled, blindfolded, and transferred in January 2002 to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base—where they languished for seven years without charges under torturous conditions. Boumediene went on a 28-month hunger strike and was force-fed through a broken nose. The strike, he told me, “was the o
NBC News •

Adjusting to new lives, Chicago's Rohingya look to aid those still in Myanmar

When Nasir Bin Zakaria arrived in Chicago in 2013, there were just around 300 Rohingya families in the city from his native Myanmar, also known as Burma. He said the word Rohingya drew blank stares from Americans he encountered.

“If you asked anyone in the United States: ‘Do you know who the Rohingya are?’ No one did,” Zakaria told NBC News. “People would ask ‘No, what does it mean?’”

There are now approximately 1,500 Rohingya living in Chicago’s north side, according to the Rohingya Culture C
The Guardian •

Lahore’s metro line opened to fanfare – but what is the real cost of China's 'gift'?

In a global pandemic, people across the world have avoided public transport systems where they can. But last week the Pakistani city of Lahore unveiled its “gift from China” – a $1.6bn (£1.23bn) light-rail transit system. The Orange Line metro is designed to carry nearly a quarter of a million people a day in Pakistan’s second-largest city.

Approximately 50,000 masked commuters packed into gleaming, air-conditioned trains festooned with Chinese and Pakistani flags to celebrate the first day of

STORIES


I've had the privilege to write about a diverse range of topics throughout my career. Recently, I wrote about the Latino Rifle Association in Texas; the privacy of meditation apps like Calm vs. Headspace,  Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban;  and eyebrow threading salons in South Asian American immigrant communities. In the education space, I've written about students helping communities to improve their own mental health; climate education
in Berkeley, California; the treatment of Asians as a monolith in U.S. schools; the export of Indian hair
to the United States;  and the challenges of women's rights marches in Pakistan.
 
You can see a more exhaustive list of work I've published below:

 'This Will Make Us Poorer’: Pakistani Metro Brings Uncertainty for Displaced Residents Thomson Reuters Foundation

Lahore’s Metro Line Opened to Fanfare – but What Is the Real Cost of China’s 'Gift’? The Guardian

They Accused a Pakistani Megastar of Sexual Harassment. Then They Were Sued for Defamation TIME Magazine

Pakistan Government Swipes Left on Tinder The Juggernaut

Pakistan’s Sheedis Try to Stake Out Their Place The Juggernaut

Pakistan: Risk of Polio Resurgence As Vaccination Workers Fired The National

How Coronavirus May Help the World’s Final Battle Against Polio The Juggernaut

Fast fashion: Pakistan garment workers fight for rights amid Covid-19 crisis The Guardian

The Last of Pakistan’s Cinema Artists VICE Magazine

Pakistan’s Secret Weapon Against Polio Foreign Policy

Sikhs Mark Guru Nanak’s 550th Birth Anniversary in Pakistan Al Jazeera English

This Is the Border Where Polio Still Thrives VICE Magazine

Organisers push through backlash to hold Pakistan’s International Women’s Day march The National

Kashmiris Say 'It’s Us Who Suffer’ As India Revokes Special Status The National

The Female Activists Challenging Pakistan’s Child Marriage Crisis The Juggernaut

Anti-Vaxxers Stand In Way of Pakistan’s Final Fight Against Polio Al Jazeera English

Despite Border Tensions, Indian Sikhs Celebrate Festival in Pakistan TRT World

How Pakistani Women are Using Women’s Day to Push for Peace with India VICE

Women Take to the Streets of Pakistan to Rewrite Their Place in Society The Guardian

Condemned Unheard: On Death Row Abroad Dawn

Why Young Pakistanis Are Learning Chinese The Atlantic

Pakistan Paralyzed by Protests Over Blasphemy Acquittal TIME Magazine

Where Are Pakistan’s Female Voters? Devex

As Imran Khan’s Star Rises, Clouds Hang Over Pakistan’s Election TIME Magazine

Pakistan’s Transgender Candidates Step Onto the Political Stage TIME Magazine

Pakistani Hazaras Face A Constant Threat of Targeted Violence PRI

Pakistan’s Gig Economy Helps Smash Obstacles To Women Working HuffPost

Pakistani Migrants: A Tightrope Between Opportunity and Disappointment Migrant-Rights (Arabic)

In Pakistan, Can A Bill Keep Journalists Safe? Columbia Journalism Review

‘Believe In Yourself, the Rest Will Follow’: Krishna Kumari Kohli The Guardian

What Does the Future Hold for North Korea’s Restaurant Chain? Atlas Obscura

Pakistan’s Transgender Community Takes Another Step Forward Al Jazeera English

The Long-Term Cost of Lahore’s Toxic Air Undark

This Coastal Megacity Is Running Out of Water Earther

Qatar’s Migrant Mothers Toil for a Pittance, Continents From Their Children Middle East Eye (French)

As Pakistan Cracks Down on NGOs, Civil Society Questions Next Steps Devex

We Must Protect Our Girls.’ Will Pakistan Finally Vote to End Child Marriage? TIME Magazine

Foreign-Born Soldiers Are Seeing Their Careers Stall Pacific Standard

Sikh pilgrimage transcends Pakistan-India tensions Al Jazeera English

Meet the Pakistani youth fighting hunger with restaurant leftovers A Beautiful Perspective

Adjusting to New Lives, Chicago’s Rohingya Look to Aid Those Still in Myanmar NBC News

Abuse in Pakistan: 'I’m more scared of harassment online than offline’ The Guardian

The Embargo of Qatar is Hurting Foreign Workers More Than Qatari Citizens The Washington Post

Let’s Start By Talking About a Typical Day Working with Ballistic-Armed Drones Mother Jones

In the Middle East, Being HIV Positive Is Enough to Deport You BRIGHT Magazine

“I Want Americans to Know That Guantánamo Happened Not to Monsters, but to Men" Mother Jones

Qatar’s Struggle to Reform Labor Laws Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Arabic)

Breathing in poison – Lahore’s growing air pollution problem The Guardian

For Refugees, Soccer Helps Pass an Eternity in Limbo How We Get to Next

Dry dams, leaky pipes and tanker mafias – Karachi’s water crisis The Guardian

The 'Avon ladies’ of Pakistan selling contraception door to door The Guardian

Lahore, the Policed City: Barbed Wire, CCTV Cameras, Electric Fences, and Dolphin Squads How We Get to Next

Lahore: State of Insecurity Raconteur

Inside Burma’s First Kentucky Fried Chicken VICE Munchies

Eyewitnesses Recount Deadly Lahore Bombing on Easter Sunday TIME Magazine

Reducing Myanmar’s Child Workforce, One Lesson at a Time GOOD Magazine

'It Will Be Better’: Burmese Refugees Struggle on Road to America NBC News

The Oldest Living People in the World are All Women VICE Broadly

LGBT South Asian Americans Remain 'Hidden’ Post-Supreme Court Ruling NBC News

Pakistan Could End Up Charging CIA Officials With Murder Over Drone Strikes TIME Magazine

One of the World’s Most Prominent Nepali Communities Mobilizes After the Quake TIME Magazine

Rohingya Refugees Say Quake-Ravaged Nepal Is Better Than Life at Home or Death at Sea TIME Magazine

The World’s First Hello Kitty Chinese Restaurant Has Opened in Hong Kong TIME Magazine

In Photos: Bangladesh’s Trans Pride Parade Was Massive and Fabulous VICE News

How Young, Independent Women are Making a Space for Themselves in Pakistan’s Music Industry Global Voices

About Me

Sabrina Toppa is an award-winning journalist in Texas, who has written for The Guardian, The Atlantic, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, and other publications.


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Twitter: @SabrinaToppa