What We Miss When We Read the News One Day at a Time
Published on January 3, 2026Once upon a time, I worked as an ombudswoman and intervened in teams during periods of crisis.
One thing I learned is this:
Even when, at first sight, it looks as though one person is the source of all dysfunction, it never is.
People’s behaviours are symptoms.
You may have seen in the news that the United States carried out military action against Venezuela.
But did you know that the U.S. has also, in recent years:
hosted diplomatic talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington, positioning itself as a venue and intermediary in discussions related to the long-standing conflict in the South Caucasus (Reuters; U.S. State Department);
participated in and publicly endorsed multilateral diplomatic processes involving Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the Luanda and Nairobi frameworks. (Reuters; African Union);
engaged in negotiations and policy discussions concerning long-term transit and corridor arrangements in the Caucasus region, where control over routes and connectivity constitutes a significant geopolitical issue (Reuters; regional diplomatic briefings).
Did you know that China has also been involved diplomatically in regional developments, including:
holding trilateral and bilateral diplomatic meetings with Thai and Cambodian officials during periods of border tension (Reuters; Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs);
And did you know that, at the same time, the global humanitarian system is being structurally weakened?
According to public reporting from UNHCR, Reuters and France 24:
UNHCR expects to end 2025 with around USD 1.3 billion less than in 2024, a reduction of roughly 25% of available resources (UNHCR Canada).
This gap reflects funding that was planned but did not materialise.For 2026, UNHCR is planning expenditure cuts of around 20%,
with projected spending falling from USD 10.2 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 8.5 billion (Reuters).Around 5,000 UNHCR jobs have already been cut, directly linked to the funding shortfall,
while the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeds 120 million (France 24; UNHCR).
Have you ever tried to look at the broader picture, rather than reading the news one day at a time?
Not even starting to mention what has been happening in Gaza.
And most importantly, the information above comes from both public and private sources, including:
Public / institutional sources
UNHCR (unhcr.org; unhcr.ca)
France 24 (publicly funded media)
Al Jazeera (state-funded public media)
Private sources
Reuters (independent international news agency)
The Guardian (independent media, trust-based ownership)
UNRefugees.org (non-governmental organisation)
And do you know how it is even possible to evaluate the degree of freedom left to the press — including in public media?
So.
Now what?
About that once upon a time, when I entered a 1,200-student high school, wrongly thinking that mainly one person because of their high level of responsibility and room for manoeuvre was responsible for most of the dysfunction.
It took me a year, as a professional, first to create space for myself to listen to most of the professionals involved, and most of all for them to (re)connect with one another and to listen to each other and to themselves.
It was a process.
Yes, a few new procedures were introduced, along with some adjustments to schedules and changes in how meeting agendas were prepared. But most of all, what changed was human: how each person understood, perceived and experienced their role, themselves, and their place within the system.
That is how a system evolves.
And that is why, I’ll keep writing, and singing about one specific journey: the one that goes from oneself to oneself, because I believe that it is from there, in a quiet place, that we finally listen to each other.
As a human being, I would like to ask you this:
please do not jump to conclusions, do not repeat what you have not verified, and if you really care, do not look for opinions but for questions that could bring us further.