Umar Farooq is an Ancil Payne Fellow with ProPublica. Previously, Farooq worked as a foreign correspondent, reporting from the Middle East and South and Central Asia. His work includes breaking news and feature writing, and he has been a recipient of grants from the National Geographic Society and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Farooq has covered Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey and Syria as a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, and as a staff correspondent for Reuters and Al Jazeera English. His work has also appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, National Geographic, the Guardian, the Atlantic, the Nation, the New Humanitarian, the Boston Review, the Daily Beast, the Globe and Mail and other outlets.
Umar Farooq
Ancil Payne Fellow
In Arizona Water Ruling, the Hopi Tribe Sees Limits on Its Future
Arizona's unique method for awarding water to tribes was supposed to open up economic possibilities beyond farming for the Hopi Tribe. Instead, the tribe says it has dashed their dreams of building a thriving homeland.
The Colorado River Flooded Chemehuevi Land. Decades Later, the Tribe Still Struggles to Take Its Share of Water.
The Chemehuevi’s reservation fronts about 30 miles of the Colorado River, yet 97% of the tribe’s water stays in the river, much of it used by Southern California cities. The tribe isn’t paid for it.
Supreme Court Keeps Navajo Nation Waiting for Water
Decades of negotiations between the tribe and Arizona over water rights have proven fruitless. The court case was the Navajo Nation’s bid to accelerate the process and secure water for its reservation.
How Arizona Stands Between Tribes and Their Water
As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation.
U.S. Lawmakers Demand Federal Scrutiny of Turkey’s Drones
Members of Congress are calling for an investigation into how U.S. technology ended up in Turkey’s TB2 drone, which has fast become a favorite of embattled nations. “We need a full accounting,” said one lawmaker.
“The Drone Problem”: How the U.S. Has Struggled to Curb Turkey, a Key Exporter of Armed Drones
Turkey is changing the face of modern warfare with its TB2 drone. As the weapon spreads across the globe, some U.S. lawmakers seek to crack down on the country, saying it’s exploiting its NATO status to obtain key parts from Western manufacturers.
