Kalimat Magazine, Issue 01, Spring 2011 by Kalimat Magazine

Volume I • Issue 01 • Spring 2011

No. 1 Our first issue is here...a preview of what’s to come. Please, read on.

Current Affairs Sébastien Durán analyses and explains the Bahraini Crisis. Page 28.

Culture Take a [visual] and non-conventional tour through Palestine. Page 62.

New Media What happens when you ask all your ontributors to submit a song? Page 124.

Kifak Inta? witter: @kalimatkalimat acebook.com/kalimatmagazine flickr.com/kalimat

Art + Design Amman correspondant Rawan Risheq nterviews artist Laila Masri. Page 116.

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DOSSIER

K A L I M AT

EDITOR’S LETTER

Before 2009, I hadn’t stepped foot in the Arab world in over 10 years. But it wasn’t my trip to Amman that made realise how much I needed to do something. In December of 2009, I boarded another plane, this time to Cairo. Cairo has that ability to suck you in, and no matter how chaotic it is, she’s the lover you fall head over heels for. And that’s what happened - I fell for Cairo’s energy, her life, her people, her culture. I now understood what my parents were talking about all those years, when they would talk about their vacations to Egypt with a sparkle in their eyes. What I was partaking in in Egypt (protests) had, at that point, been unthinkable. Recent events have shown the power of taking to the streets, demonstrating for your rights and freedoms. I never thought that I would ever live to see the times we are witnessing right now...ever! My return to “the grind” in Toronto made me more and more anxious - I felt the need to be in the region, to fill that space. In April I decided to leave what I thought was my dream job, made arrangements with family and organisations I wanted to work with, packed my bags and booked a flight to the Arab region, first stop: Amman. I crossed the border into Palestine and headed for An-Najah University in Nablus where I would be spending the next month working with the Public Relations department. Some of my adventures to cities across Palestine are documented in Service, Sherut: Visual Tour of Palestine. While working in Nablus, I had first hand experience working with the professors and the students, listening to their demands, putting together workshops, touring the various departments, and working on the curriculum for the Department of Graphic Design in the Fine Arts Faculty. What I noticed was a lack of interest in various departments, most notably, in design (architecture, graphic, product, etc) and journalism. Yet there was no shortage of resources: An-Najah’s students were equipped with computers, software and studios that are comparable to the facilities we had in my own university. I was impressed - but two things bothered me: some of the disregard faculty members had for students and the manner in which they taught the subject matter, and the tawjeehee system. Most students (not all) that pursue the arts and social sciences are those that did not get the grades on their tawjeehee exam to pursue Engineering or Medicine. The faculty understands that only 15% of the class actually deserves and wants to be in this program, however, there is a certain quota to fill, so instead of 20 students that are passionate about this field, you have 165, most of which had to

pick a program fast. I grew up in the arts and am a believer in the power of design and media and its ability to produce change. At one point, I may have sounded like a bright-eyed undergraduate, stepping foot into an institution like many others thinking I can change the world, but instead, I walked down a long road and came out understanding what I needed to do - what people misunderstood and what they need to understand about Arabs. And that was when Kalimat came to mind. Initially, I wanted to start a newspaper, but there were too many complications around that. One day, I was sitting in a café in Amman called “Rakwit Arab” and Majda Al Roumi’s song “Kalimat” came on. Majda’s songs (and George Michael for that matter) always start playing at strategic moments in my life, it’s terribly strange, and the name felt right - descriptive of the look, content and mission. Once I returned to Canada, I continued to brainstorm, and after sketching a few logo designs and finalising the copy, I decided it was time. And five months later, the first issue is being released! In this issue, you will find four DOSSIERS covering a range of topics including Current Affairs, Culture, Art and Design and New Media. Each section is broad enough to allow the writers the ability to freely express their opinions and I wanted to make sure to have something for everyone, whether they are Arabs in the Diaspora, in the region or anyone else for that matter. The content is universal and interesting, and although there are various articles covering political issues (we are Arabs after all), Kalimat is more than politics. I hope you enjoy this first issue, a preview in a way into what’s coming up! I would like to thank you the entire team of people that helped make this issue a reality (the entire staff and contributors) from Joseph Maalouf who designed this gorgeous layout to each and every single contributor and to those who believed in this project. Thank you and happy reading!

Danah Abdulla danah@kalimatmagazine.com

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DOSSIER

STAFF DANAH ABDULLA

JOSEPH MAALOUF

CREATIVE DIRECTOR+EDITOR

DESIGN INTERN

Danah Abdulla is the brainchild of Kalimat Magazine. As the creative director and editor of the magazine, she is passionate about education in design, journalism and media alongside the creative industry in the Arab region. Danah completed her BA in Communications at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada and is a Master of Arts candidate in Social Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).She has experience in marketing and advertising where she has worked for companies like Matchstick, DDB and Isobar and is also a freelance writer. Her works have appeared in The Washington Report on Middle-East Affairs, blogTO, Heeba and FEN Magazine. With one foot in the East and another in the West, her goal is to make you rethink the way you know Arabs.

Joseph is a Lebanese Graphic Designer based in Beirut where he currently works as an independent freelancer. He received his Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design from the American University of Science & Technology, Lebanon, an affiliate to the State University of New York, USA. Joseph is driven and focused on every project he pursues in an effort to make it as personal and unique as possible using a minimalist style that emphasizes both the design process and conceptual thinking.

Twitter: @zoozel

Twitter: @theyuppie Web: www.danahabdulla.com

-----------------------------------------------------------NAIRA BADAWI INTERN

KARIM SULTAN EDITOR

Karim Sultan is a Toronto-based electronic muNaira (ni-air-uh) n. 1. A 21 year old music snob sic producer, oud player, and writer. Born to who hails from the coastal city of Alexandria, a mixed household (Syrian-Arab and Indian) Egypt. Born in Alexandria, she’s the textbook that moved and spread from country to country definition of a Leo. Globetrotting between Alexandria, Manchester, (Egypt, Canada, the Gulf, etc.), he found his home in the variety Little Rock, Charlottetown, Omaha, Philadelphia, and Toronto, is what of music and literature he adopted when left to his own devices. made her the self-proclaimed nerd she is now. Nothing excites her While studying the basics of Western (composition and theory) and more than politics, philosophy, poetry, good tunes and good food. Arab (oud technique and the maqam—pl. maqamaat—the Arabic Despite her love for political science and philosophy, studying said tonal system) art music, he is largely self-taught, inspired most of subjects at the University of Toronto is the absolute bane of her all by the chaotic structures of the world’s major cities and what existence. In her spare time she reads, drinks pretentious teas and Mahmoud Darwish, Said, and others call exile. Currently he is workplays with her cat, Abaza. ing at attempts to adopt a cosmopolitan approach to produce music based on encounters with electronic music and sound design and 2. Nigerian currency. an understanding of composition and improvisation found in Arab art and popular music.

Twitter: @karimsultan Web: www.soundcloud.com/gazelemusic

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CONTRIBUTORS ALI SULEIMAN Ali is a recent graduate from the University of Waterloo’s Civil Engineering (surprised?) program, in Ontario, Canada. He is of Palestinian and Turkish origin, and is fluent in Arabic and Turkish. Ali has worked in project management and construction in Canada, Turkey, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Currently, Ali is the director of Media and Public Relations for the Toronto Area Interfaith Council and was Project Coordinator of the University of Waterloo Sustainability Project from ‘07 to ‘10. His passion for entrepreneurship extended as far as fashion: in ‘09 he organized R4 Fashion, an eco-fashion show in Toronto. He has also provided workshops on sustainable business practices for the Youth Employment Services, and is an avid supporter of green design and development. His interests include historical research, film studies, windsurfing, and theatre. Ali is glad to be a contributor to Kalimat (and we are glad to have him on board too!), and hopes to provide comprehensive pieces that stimulate the minds of readers. He likes comments, suggestions, and criticism, so feel free to contact him whenever you wish: a.suleiman@gmail.com.

-------------------SUNDUS BALATA

Sundus is completing her Masters in Political Science at McMaster University where she is specializing in Comparitive Politics and International Relations. Her research interests focus on national identity, revolutions and the political processes that emerge. She is specifically interested in how political communities come to forge nations with a particular emphasis on the Middle Eastern Region. She has just returned from a humanitarian mission to Egypt, witnessing the unprecedented scenes from liberation square during news of Mubarak’s resignation. Twitter: @suuus23

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HEBA KANDIL

NOORA SHARRAB

Heba is an eccentric maker who enjoys producing works with strong commentaries and playing on the conventional notions of adornment. Currently studying at the Ontario College of Arts and Design (OCAD), her major is Jewellery and Metalsmithing. Greatly enjoying the process and evolution of refining her skill in precious metals, conveying meanings through three-dimensional forms seems to create the most conceptual and technical depth. In contrast, the ability to communicate via the written word is a powerful medium that she wishes to visit more frequently. Portfolio: www.hebakandil.ca

Noora is an MA graduate from York University’s Department of Political Science in Toronto, Canada. Her thesis focused on Palestinian Refugee Camps in Jordan, whereby she conducted her field research in both ‘48 and ‘67 refugee camps. Noora has actively engaged with Sudanese refugees in Egypt, where she taught them English through a collaborated Student Action Program through the American University in Cairo. She currently resides in Amman, Jordan where she recently completed an internship with UNESCO-Iraq and works with an organisation towards providing scholarships for mature Palestinian Women living in refugee camps in the Middle East. Her focus is on identity politics, refugee and forced migration, and education with particular focus on the Middle East. She is the author of: “Intergenerational Differences of Identity: Questioning the Palestinian ‘Other’ and the Romantic Rawan is a young Nostalgia of a ‘Palestine’ in the Hashemite Palestinian woman who has Kingdom of Jordan.” Twitter: @noora888 spent the first half of her Blog: consciousactivist.blogspot.com

-------------------RAWAN RISHEQ

life in Jordan, and the second half in Canada. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a double major in Political Science and Middle Eastern Civilizations. She has since traveled to Indonesia and Palestine where she volunteered and documented and has now settled on development work with an NGO as part of Queen Rania’s education initiatives. Independently, Rawan has started her own campaign, “Message In A Bottle”, to raise awareness of the water crisis in Gaza and collaborate with purification companies in an attempt to alleviate the dire need for clean drinking water. She is in a constant state of expression through her creative writing, photography, painting, and music, and believes in the power of art to heal and communicate across the world.

-------------------MARIAM NADER

Born in Toronto, and of Lebanese descent, Mariam Nader recently completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Ontario College of Arts and Design in Toronto where she specialised in curatorial practices, art theory and criticism. Currently working as a freelance curator, Mariam is interested in all spheres of contemporary art production, within Toronto and internationally.

-------------------ALEX KINIAS

Alexandra was born and raised in Egypt during a time where careers were not a personal choice but rather the result of parental guidance and the educational system. Following in her father’s footsteps, she graduated from Alexandria University as a Mechanical Engineer and pursued a career overseas with a corporation that built power distribution plants in Antigua and Barbuda. In ‘97, she moved to America and decided to pursue her ultimate passion: writing. She studied screenwriting and wrote her first script, Lonely Hearts. The screenplay, which was written in Arabic, was sold to an Egyptian production company. She is also the author of Cleopatra’s Sisters, a collection of short stories about women in Egypt, and several political thrillers and drama screenplays. Alexandra is a member of Scottsdale Society of Women Writers and currently lives between America and Egypt as she works on her first fiction novel that takes place between the two countries.

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CONTRIBUTORS NOUR BAWAB Nour is a Lebanese graphic designer whose studies have taken her to Lebanon, Egypt, Montreal and Toronto, where is now based. Her experience includes working as a student graphic designer at the Student Life Centre where she assisted various departments and produced assorted print material. Nour has also spearheaded a student group for International Students at the Ontario College of Arts and Design (OCAD), which she hopes will carry on after her graduation. She is a curious, engaged and active person.

-------------------LAILA MASRI

Laila Masri’s artwork forms a coherent, sincere, and raw story of her cathartic quest into individualism. Her art promotes the contemplation of issues around the social construction of the self in the context of contemporary globalism and feminism. Laila describes her approach to art as an outlet into her personal portrayal of culture, humanity, spirituality, women, and above all; identity. Her work is the combination of universal concepts and personal responses. This work has developed into two streams: painting and video. Her creativity is seen in the way she uses them either as independent or merged media. She constantly challenges perceptions of the “other” by using this media to deconstruct contemporary issues to her viewers. Her unique experiences as a Muslim woman influenced by North American culture give her the ability to blur the boundaries between any common understandings of “East” and “West”. She addresses cultural contradictions between these terms especially relevant in post-colonial Diasporas. Laila currently dedicates her time entirely to her art. She previously worked as a Graphic Designer in Dubai where she produced work for clients in a wide range of fields. Twitter: @lailamasri Web: lailamasri.com

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ASHELENE RAMADAN A Lebanese born in the United States, Ashlene is currently completing her education in Journalism at Northwestern University in Qatar. She pursued journalism because it provides her with the opportunity to travel around the world and meet different people, all with unique stories to tell. After all, isn’t journalism the professions that gives people the chance to speak up and allows their voices to be heard? Ashlene has a passion for video content because it provides the audience with a visual understanding of the situation and the lens provides a direct look into the feelings of the people on camera. Her goal with a degree from J-School? To reach out to people who are not given the opportunity to speak up.

NASSRA AL BUAINAIN Nassra is an Emirati artist, graphic designer, photographer and writer. With a Bachelor in Communication and Media, Nassra has a variety of experience under her belt. Her interest in art dates back to childhood when she was fascinated with colouring books and attempted to draw cartoon characters. This evolved into the challenge of drawing portraits with pencil and her current experimentation with acrylic painting inspired by silk screening. Nassra has experience in advertising, having interned at Young and Rubicam and she currently works as a graphic designer in a governmental entity in Abu Dhabi. Her poetry and writing has been published in a book published by her university and in a student magazine.

-------------------- -------------------RANA ALKHATIB Rana is a Palestinian born in the Emirates and raised in Doha, Qatar. She is a prospective journalist currently completing her education at Northwestern University in Qatar. In the last few years, she discovered and experimented with her passions for reporting, photography, research and travel. Although she is unsure whether to focus on broadcast journalism, documentary filmmaking or photojournalism, she knows that all three fascinate her and hopes to one day experience a mix of all three without having to limit herself to one field. Rana likes to focus on more humane stories that help make a difference.

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MARWA SIAM Originally Egyptian but born in Saudi Arabia, Marwa Siam-Abdou spent the first eight years of her life in the Middle East before her family relocated to Montreal, Quebec and finally settled in Toronto. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor in Journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto, one that she started after happily dropping out of the ever boring and traditional Engineering degree. To Marwa, journalism is the new politics, and potentially the only positive political tool left. She believes that “change stems from challenge” and journalism is something that challenges her motivation every day.

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CONTRIBUTORS HAMIDA ALKUWAIRI Hamida recently graduated from University College London (UCL) with a BA (Honours) in Politics and East European Studies. Currently, she is part of the Education team at the Doha Film Institute, a cultural organization dedicated to film appreciation, education and building a sustainable film industry in her home country of Qatar. Hamida is an aspiring director and believes that film is an untapped resource

in the Arabian Gulf. She believes that film has the power to change ideas and provides a balanced portrayal of social issues. Since the age of seven, she lived abroad for her formative years, and feels that she can understand and appreciate two world views; East and West. She wishes to reflect and promote this through her work, by reinventing culture with film as a part of the creative innovation boom in the region. Twitter: @ArabOprah

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SHATHA ALMUTAWA Shatha is a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago where she studies Muslim and Jewish intellectual history and philosophy.

-------------------SHANNON FARHOUD Shannon is an aspiring photojournalist and documentary filmmaker. She comes from a mixed background, a Canadian whose father is Syrian, and mother is Portugese and Indian. She enjoys traveling and exploring and being a journalist, she wants to do these things with the help of her writing, filming and photography. Shannon is interested in music, travel, sports, politics and culture and loves telling stories of the unknown. Her cliché statement? She loves giving a voice to the voiceless. Twitter: @shannonfarhoud

-------------------NOUR BISHOUTY SÉBASTIEN DURÁN

Nour is a Lebanese Illustrator who grew up in Amman. She learned to draw and paint with her father, a painter and sculptor. She completed her BFA in Visual Arts from the College of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan. Her work focuses on drawing, painting, digital illustration and design. Currently, she can be found drawing, procrastinating and singing (most of the time). Twitter: @bidoonsukkar Web: www.bidoonsukkar.com

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Sébastien Durán is a 21-yearold student in International Business and Relations at SKEMA Business School in France. French from an Andalusian background, his interest in the

Arab world resulted from his deep interest in the history of his roots. After a few trips to several Arab countries and having adopted Beirut as his second city, his passion for the region as whole gave rise to a tenacious will to change the current image of the Arab world in the west, aiming to offer a truer picture of what appears to be the most misunderstood region in the world.

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SHEYMA BUALI With a background in TV Production, Sheyma Buali’s work and writing covers various areas of media and culture from the Arab world. Her writing and photography has been published in a number of journals in Europe and the Middle East. Sheyma is also independently researching visual representation and the media of spaces in her native Bahrain which continues to produce written, visual and interactive-media pieces. Twitter: @sheymab Blog: humanette.blogspot.com

-------------------AMMAR ALMAJALI

Ammar currently resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada where is he surrounded by the Atlantic, seagulls and snow. His soul goes back and forth between the East, which represents childhood, innocence, simplicity and history, and the West, which represents the future, the unknown, and opportunity. Ammar is crazy yet shy and is a dreamer who dreams of a better place. A self-proclaimed bookworm, Ammar loves the smell of used books, yet cradles his Amazon Kindle on the beach. He is a proud Jordanian but an even prouder Arab.

-------------------SUSAN HOWARDAZZEH Susan Howard-Azzeh is a long-time human rights activist. She is the founder of the Niagara Coalition for Peace, moderator of the Niagara Palestinian Association News and cofounder of the Palestinian Canadian Congress.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Revolution, Egyptian Style Sundus Balata

The Shia-Sunni split in the Arab World - Sébastien Durán

The Lotus vs. Legislation: is Egypt ready for change? - Marwa Siam-Abdou

DOSSIER

Abu Sultan: Review Ali Suleiman

Contemporary Orientalism and Misrepresentation - Mariam Nader

Arabic Music Today Karim Sultan

Transit Cities: Review Sheyma Buali

K A L I M AT

CURRENT AFFAIRS

CULTURE

ART & DESIGN

NEW MEDIA

120

The Opinions of an Art School Student - Heba Kandil

From There to Here - Nour Bawab

100

Design Entrepreneur

104

The Arab Creative: Interview with Bilal Kerbaj - Nassra Al-Buainain

114

Integrating identity into art: Interview with Laila Masri Rawan Risheq

122

Isma3oo - Kalimat's Musical Feature

128

A special surprise

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CURRE AFFAI

ENT IRS

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

REVOLUTION, EGYPTIAN STYLE. by SUNDUS BALATA

gyptians did revolution like no other people. They made it exciting; peaceful and inclusive. The Egyptian revolution was sparked by the growing disdain for the security infrastructure that entrenched and engendered a system of brutality, which disfigured a young man named Khaled Said. On June 6, 2010, Security forces walked into a cyber café and picked up Said, forcefully dragging him outside, beating the life right out of him, and leaving him dead in the alleyways of the Cleopatra neighbourhood of Alexandria. The Egyptian revolution grew out of a movement for freedom, human dignity and decent livelihood, frustrated by the economic inflation and the political repression that left the population subservient to the state. The revolution emulated the Tunisian experience that started with the selfimmolation of Mohamed Bouaziz and ended with the resignation of Zine al Abidine. Egyptians fundamentally changed the way political aspirations could be realised starting with the way they protested. The protests I witnessed and participated in weren’t protests in the traditional sense. People didn’t just come to Liberation Square waving flags, chanting dry political slogans, loudly voicing demands, marching to a consulate or an embassy. Instead, they were festivals, complete with free food, popcorn, tea, live music, comedy skits, colourful slogans, political speeches, Christian and Muslim prayers, and of course, the national anthem at least four or five times daily. It was likened to a Sufi moulid with the uplifting positivity, the sense of togetherness, the fun of carnivals and the humbling spirituality. Liberation square during most of the 18 days was the place to be. When the government shut down the internet and mobile phone networks, it essentially sent the youth to the square since they had nothing better to do. Cafes, restaurants and theatres were closed and they were outraged by Mubarak’s audacity to cut them off from the world. The organizers did their part to find new and interesting ways to keep the youth coming back until eventually, they began camping out in large numbers in Liberation square effectively erecting tent city in the middle of downtown Cairo. The artistic creativity that emerged during the revolution as buildings, sidewalks; metro stops, fences and walls were draped in verses of love for the country; of demands for freedom and democracy and of encouraging symbols and phrases denoting victory and triumph. It became a nationalist tribute, an ode to Egypt culminating in a campaign to revive the Egyptian nation. The artistic outpouring converted Cairo into one big collage of resistance. Stores, sidewalks; billboards; traffic barriers; concrete dividers; balconies, windows displayed flags, nationalist symbols and messages of solidarity. I have never seen so much red, black and white in my life. The commodification of the revolution took on a life of its own: people sold flags, head bands, bracelets, hats, stickers and cards that commemorated Egypt’s colours and the martyrs of

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the revolution. Nationalism took on positive connotations– consolidating unity and effectively casting out the state, rendering it a pariah in its own borders. People felt a sense of familiarity and pride in their country that touched every aspect of their lives- in the privileged spaces in their homes; on the landscapes of their entire country; in the music played; in the videos clips that circulated; and in the discussions held. Egyptians fell in love with Egypt all over again, and for some, this was the first time. The revolution had produced an inclusive space for Egyptians, cutting across all kinds of cleavages that have traditionally segregated and separated the people. It had also erected national, social and familial bridges between the Egyptians within Egypt and those in the Diaspora. The revolution simultaneously produced an international-transnational movement— international in scope commanding participation and support from peoples of all different races and nations around the world; transnational because much of the organisation occurred from Egyptians in the Diaspora. Egyptians that felt connected to a body, a body that became fluid collapsing geographical borders and defying gravity restrictions on space and time. Margaret Canovan, a famous writer and modern theorist discussing political communities reflects on the difficulties and rarity it is to see a nation come into being. Usually, when we think of political communities they are abstract bodies of people that rarely if ever meet, however, it is the national myths, symbols and constructed histories that bind and bound them together. But there in Liberation square, in Sidi Gaber, in Mansura, in Suez, in the South of Egypt, Egyptians fled to the streets calling for one thing – calling in unison and harmony for the end to a political system. This body of people stood, shoulder to shoulder, so close you can hear each other’s heartbeat, you can see the sweat marks from standing too long in the sun, you can feel the body heat that would protect one another against the cold nights; and the voices would chant the different slogans together- as one. They would move together, as one collective body, they became the hands and legs of one Egyptian nation. Let me try and construct a visual, the architectural design of Liberation square is more of a circle, which is important because as a space, it is organised to privilege no group over another and because it was not constructed to hold a million plus people; people would move together and stand together and breathe together. It was one massively suffocating human wave that swept

Photo by Karim Marzouk K A L I M AT

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Photo by Karim Marzouk

Photos by Sundus Balata

Liberation square. The unity that was felt over those 18 days, spilling over into the days of celebration, would be a time like no other—a historic moment where Egyptians stood and nothing mattered but each other and their nation. National identity took precedence over everything and everyone. They stood as family: sisters and brothers; mothers and fathers; husbands and wives. These feelings would only reproduce themselves igniting the same oneness and togetherness in Egyptians in the Diaspora. Each Egyptian glued to the screens of Al Jazeera and the BBC would watch their country and their countrymen and women fight for change, and as they watched in their own homes, they saw the same images, they felt the same sentiments, they inevitably grew closer, producing a cohesive unity—extending and expanding the body of the nation over geographical time and space. Similar to the stories of people cooking food all day and bringing it into Liberation square; there were those who would set up on the sides wherever they could and make cheese sandwiches and tea and hand it out into the crowds of protesters, and if the receiver was full, he/she would pass the sandwich onto another as they moved succinctly— the sandwich an analogy for soulful gifts spreading throughout the nation. Those feelings of camaraderie would reproduce themselves in the Egyptian communities around the world.

holding meetings and discussing their role in the revolution. I attended such a group and as we sat debating the best ways in which we could contribute, we found medical supplies, financial aid and preservation of the moment to be our contribution. Using and leveraging our contacts in the community and our contacts in Egypt, we were able to secure medical supplies and financial aid quite quickly. This is a reflection of the spontaneous and sporadic organization we saw in Liberation square. This is also part of a larger narrative about the distinctiveness and exceptionality of the moment—where traditional stereotypes and nuanced characteristics of Egyptians were momentarily suspended. Characteristics that insisted: Egyptians could never be organized; that sexual harassment was rampant amongst Egyptian men and specifically in crowded spaces; that Egyptians were unwittingly apathetic; that the Egyptian population could always digress into divisive religious strife; and most importantly, that the only organized opposition was the Muslim Brotherhood. These characteristics would become indicative of the state’s propaganda and have been internalized by Egyptians over decades of authoritarian rule that they are now mirrored back as part of the Egyptian identity. However, like everything else, Liberation square proved to be a space to challenge these constructions.

To enter into the square, you would need to go through two check points: the first check point was guarded by the military. Along with the protests that echoed the same slogans They would examine your ID and make sure that you, at least visand oneness reverberating across bodies of water and continents, ibly, didn’t seem suspicious. The second checkpoint was far more creating multiple liberation squares in metropolitan cities like Paris interesting—it was a civilian checkpoint made up of volunteers from and Toronto, there were little pockets where Egyptians took part in the nation. The check point made separate lines: men; women and 18

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They were not members of any particular political party; just volunteers of the nation, there to ensure the space was safe and secure.

family. The checkpoints were gendered—only women would check women; and vice versa. These checkpoints were also very thorough: they would first request your ID; then they would search your body for any weapons; then they would look into your bag and ask if you were carrying anything sharp with you. They were polite, professional and courteous. There are countless entrance points and ways into Liberation square branching out from the different streets of downtown and at each entrance, there were always two checkpoints. They also managed to organize Egyptians into a line and the nation reciprocated by respecting and more importantly, observing the authority of these people, though these people were ordinary citizens and did not derive power from the state or any institution. They were not members of any particular political party; just volunteers of the nation, there to ensure the space was safe and secure. Egyptians coming from all sorts of cleavages never challenged the authority of these people, instead they inherently understood this was in their best interest and this affirmed national consensus that it was imperative that these protests remained peaceful. The other development that came across the airwaves on Egyptian and International media outlets was the lack of sexual harassment in such a tight space. Men would warn each other that a woman was standing so that they could press up against each other and create safe passage. With the suffocation of space, and the sheer numbers of single men to have no reports of sexual harassment and in fact, the complete contrary came as an absolute shock and played into the sentiments of the nation feeling as though they were family. This family would only be inclusive of ‘Egyptians’ and

so the incidents of assaults against journalists that made headlines in the West can be read as a backlash of violence (more broadly) against foreign journalists in Egypt at the time, seen as unwanted and intrusive visitors. Christians and Muslims united and despite all the external factors and the cheap tactics by the state, they would become each others human shields. As the Muslims prayed the Christians would stand, arms locked, protecting their fellow countrymen. The Christians would equally be protected by the Muslims as they prayed; the locking hands of the worshippers formed a human chain establishing safe spaces both figuratively and literally. A brotherhood was created in that space wherein it didn’t matter whether you were Muslim or Christian you were equal; you were Egyptian; you were family. The Muslims and Christians stood together, struggling against the state and struggling for the same cause. The Human chain used to protect the sanctity of worship would also protect the areas surrounding like the Egyptian Museum against looters in a lawless society ushered in by Habib al-Adly’s withdrawal of the police from the streets. Finally, there was a multiplicity of political groups available in the square, each with a space to rally their supporters. I have never seen more political engagement in one area and as mentioned earlier, the architectural landscape provides all groups equal distribution of the space and a platform that doesn’t infringe on each other. The groups were made up of a wide array of the rich political mosaic in Egypt that included but was not limited to: the April 6 movement, January 25 youth, Al-Ghad, Tagamuu, Kefaya, Al Wafd, and the K A L I M AT

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Photos by Sundus Balata

Muslim Brotherhood. The latter was simply one of the political players but not the main player and not the main opposition. There wasn’t a monopoly on voices of dissent; there wasn’t one leader or group privileged over another, rendering the space inclusive to debate, negotiate, contest and compromise. As we watch the historic moments and the post-Mubarak period unfold, I am hopeful that democracy will prevail. Egyptians fought for freedom and struggled for independence without once asking for outside intervention. They commanded support from the world and brought the West to its knees. The West, a longtime supporter and friend of Mubarak and Mubarak a strategic ally—this incestuous relationship marked by mutual interests and survival was destroyed to its very core by the Egyptian people. With each breath, with each chant, with each look of defiance they have charted the course of their country’s history. The sense of lawlessness created by one of Adly’s repulsive strategies to quell resistance by removing the police institution and letting prisoners free should have sent Egypt into a frenzy and while there was a worry, Egyptians took on the role of protecting their communities, their neighbours and their country. They became their own police and established the rule of law where there was none. The high mobilization that we saw in the 18 days and the feelings of camaraderie have now reproduced themselves in cleaning communities that pop up all over the country—cleaning suburbs and repainting sidewalks in hopes that tomorrow will prove to be better. A new Egypt for new Egyptians!

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A LESSON FROM THE RECENT EVENTS IN THE ARAB WORLD by ALI SULEIMAN

he recent headlines in the Arab world have surprised many political scientists and drawn a surplus of commentaries and opinions from international observers. They pointed out that given enough humiliation, oppression, and social injustice, the people of society are bound to break the chains of restraint and speak out. The collapse of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt following decades of their ‘presidential’ terms, produced much speculation of the regions future. We have been subjected to so-called lessons concerning the socio-political and historical dynamics of the Arab people. However, there is one lesson being overlooked by commentators both in the West and the Arab world.

with Yugoslavia under the leadership of Josip Tito, who after WWII joined the feuding Slavic states under his philosophy of Brotherhood & Unity. European and American influence began to wither, calling upon the re-ignition of old conflicts and re-organizing the geopolitics of the region to manageable and divided states. Now as Arab leaders fall sequentially and are sold-out by the very same powers that nurtured and secured their positions, they feel somewhat betrayed. I believe this is how life mysteriously teaches a lesson: had they concerted and ignored personal attainment, they would not face the humiliation they face today.This is the overlooked moral of the story, and it should motivate other leaders in the region to reconsider their priorities.

This problematic region had its first real confrontation with the Western world following the summoning of the First Crusade on the Vatican Square by Pope Urban II in 1095. Within 1099, Jerusalem was conquered and it dealt a heavy blow to the sovereignty of the region. The Arab and Muslim leaders of the time were baffled, attempting to explain how such a curse could fall upon them.

Saddam Hussein, no matter how much we disapprove of him, at least got one thing right. A short time prior to his execution he warned: “They got to me, and they will get to you too”. He did not specify who exactly, and his message remains murky, but the notion was clear. Being one of the few who defied Western imperialist hegemony in the area, he knew of the consequences facing the disunity among other leaders. Ironically, those who “got” to the leaders The chain reactions leading up to this event are very com- today are not foreign forces, but rather the Arab people themselves. plicated to cover in one article, however, the common denominator observed is the lack of unity and cooperation among the leaders. So what is the next step? Building cooperation among Indeed, exiles fleeing East and West of the region calling for action Arab people is difficult enough, let alone the nations. Egyptians see from the leaders had no luck. Neither did the Fatimid Caliphate nor their country as “Um al-Dunya” (Mother of the World), Jordanians the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustazher respond positively in supporting believe to be the source of fortitude, and some Lebanese claim to the liberation of Jerusalem. be Phoenician. Add the notions in the Gulf states and you have a real challenge. The reason? Rulers became ineffective, focusing on personal and materialistic matters whilst ignoring the plight of their people. The Messenger of Islam noted that the best prayer one can Refusing to collaborate with other governors for fear of losing influ- offer is that in his own home (other than Friday prayers) because it ence and they exhibited the greatest threat: disunity. ensures the family household, the smallest social unit of a society, is harmonious and functional. Interestingly and ironically enough, unity was restored under the leadership of Imad ad-Deen Zangi (son of a Turkish slave), Consequently, I believe the change must come from the joined by the Kurdish Salah al-Deen (Saladin), and the Mamluk Bay- households across the Arab world with parents educating their chilbars. Following Zangi’s death, Saladin ended the Fatimid Caliphate dren on cooperation and understanding of other people. While the in 1171, and eventually reconquered Jerusalem in 1187. psychological and social elements of this are complex, it nevertheless begins the eradication of a superiority complex. I have to appreciate how politically savvy the European colonial powers were when they entered the Arab stage in the 19th The obstacles for such a plan is the establishment of a century. They knew well how to divide and conquer. It is sad to state-sponsored outreach program which is questionable in a crippled say the leaders of the region studied less of their history than the education system that prevails in the Arab world. Furthermore, the would-be conquerors. change needs to come from within the people to confront such mentality, calling upon self-initiative and courage. Fast track to the 20th and 21st centuries, Arab leadership was again bought with promises of wealth and power. Enmity between With the changing political climate in the region, let us various rulers resurfaced and each sought personal comfort over the hope that the new leaders, or the now ‘enlightened’ ones, learn from common goal for sovereignty and unity of a people. this lesson and have the lion-heartedness to bring about positive change in the Arab world. The biggest threat to imperialist interests in the Arab world is its people’s political unity. A parallel can be easily drawn K A L I M AT

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JERUSALEM, ISRAEL’S CULTURAL HUB?

by SÉBASTIEN DURÁN

nce again, Nir Barkat, the 51-year old mayor of Jerusalem, sparked enthusiasm from Israeli and international medias alike with his recent speech on his grandiose vision and plans for the Holy city. Having already promised to boost the economy of the city attracting, pell-mell, millions of additional pilgrims and tourists, filmmakers and the affluent global business elite, he has recently added another facet to his ambitious and industrious strategy. Barkat’s most recent aspiration is to turn Jerusalem into Israel’s cultural hub; and there is a long, long way to go. Indeed, Israel’s capital, recognised as such only by Israel itself and a couple of minor countries, is also known for being the country’s poorest big city, as its creative and dynamic secular population left the Holy city in a steady and permanent flow, mostly for the more vibrant and westernised Tel Aviv, because of its growing religious character, rising real estate prices and permanent tensions. Since his election in 2008 by a short majority of an almost exclusively-Jewish voting population, Nir Barkat has been animated by a fervent spirit of entrepreneurship and is aiming to change the declining, some even say perishing, role of the city in the Israeli culture scene. Mr Barkat’s strategy to resurrect a strong cultural presence can be divided in two complementary and simultaneous policies: encouraging new art venues to open their doors in the picturesque and pedestrian city centre, located in the western part of the city, turning the sleepy district into an artist compound made up of art and design galleries mixed with various cultural institutions including theatres and music venues. Accompanying this plethora of new cultural institutions, prestigious Israeli schools, such as The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, will be relocated to the city centre, and other art and design schools should follow, with new educational facilities set to open in the same neighbourhood. This sudden interest in art and creativity, on a broader level, would be warmly welcomed and enthusiastically applauded if the scene of this hypocrite move was not set in Jerusalem. This superficial investment in art is only motivated by political expansionism and is merely one of the avatars of Israel’s policies of Judaisation of the Holy City. Indeed, Nir Barkat has, since the beginning of

his term in 2008, proved that his vision of Jerusalem fits the aspirations of the Israeli right, sharing the views of all his past and current allies, from religious zealots to nationalist factions and parties, thus accentuating the marginalisation of the Palestinian inhabitants of Jerusalem. A recent and flagrant example of Nir Bakat’s real disregard for culture is the attitude of the municipality toward the Arab initiative to make Jerusalem the Arab Capital of Culture in 2009. Jerusalem, being at the heart of the Palestinian narrative, collective conscience and culture, was set to celebrate its “Arabness” two years ago, but all the attempts to create events and festivals in the framework of this initiative were immediately shut down. Instead, Palestinians in Nazareth, in the West Bank, in Gaza and in the Diaspora marked their attachment to the city in their respective locations. Moreover, the Jerusalemite businessman hasn’t eased any of the anterior mechanisms of spatial segregation between Palestinians living in the West Bank and those living in the unilaterally-fixed border of the greater Jerusalem area, thus impeding and complicating communication and exchanges between Palestinians residing in the Holy City and their friends, partners and family members in the West Bank, adding obstacles to an already complicated and uneasy potential Palestinian artistic expression in the city. But the stream of Israel’s outrageous actions against the Arab character of Jerusalem runs much deeper. It runs as deep as the late 1940s, when Israeli militias seized and emptied the neighbourhoods in the Western part of the city from its Palestinian, using intimidations, threats and attacks before settling Jewish families in the emptied Arab homes. Qatamon, Baqaa, Taybeh, are to every Jewish Jerusalemite the three bastions of the past and present Jewish upper class of the city. In the 1930s and 1940s, these neighbourhoods were Oriental paradises, made of Arab mansions constructed with the most refined techniques and surrounded by splendid gardens in what used to be the traditional neighbourhoods of the Christian and Muslim elites of the Holy City. The most appalling fact is that Israeli settlers are now waging another real estate war against Palestinians living in the Old city area and in the neighbouring sectors of Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah and Ras Al ‘Amud. Accompanied by private guards or soldiers, Israeli settlers routinely seize

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An ederly Arab man passes by a tagged wall in the Old City of Jerusalem 2

properties and evict their dwellers with the silent approval of the municipality. Some organisations aim at the same demographic and political objectives but resort to wilder and more deceitful means to reach them. Indeed, many groups like Ateret Cohanim receive unlimited funding from wealthy Jewish businessmen in order to Judaise the Arab neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem. Taking advantage of the desperate social situation of many Palestinian families living in crowded structures with low incomes, those groups have bought many houses originally belonging to Palestinians in order to create Jewish enclaves at the heart of a couple of fully-Arab districts. The ruins of the Threatened village of Lifta 6

The ruins of the Threatened village of Lifta 6

The real-estate war and the ethnocentric policies of the municipality are even more obvious when one looks at the last plans to turn the ethnically cleansed village of Lifta into a profitable neighbourhood. The last plans, echoed by both Israeli and Palestinian medias, might include the renovation of most of the still-standing and vacant Palestinian homes in order to turn the village into a brand new neighbourhood, with plenty of new commercial and residential projects built around the village cluster, with an emphasis on the cultural and artistic dimension inherent to the charming and Oriental architecture and feeling of the dilapidated village. Turned into kitsch and upscale oases, the village will most likely remain a ghost town, since most of the potentially expensive and renovated Arab mansions will be sold to wealthy Jewish buyers living abroad. Artificially restored for commercial purposes, the village will have forever lost its very soul: its native inhabitants. Not only deprived from the right to return to their homes, the inhabitants of Lifta and their children will have their individual memories and their collective history completely erased in order to satisfy the political and economic ambitions of the municipality of Jerusalem.

The destruction of the genuine and original Lifta through ethnocentrism renovation works would mean the destruction of another past symbol of tolerance as the village used to be a successful example of irreproachable coexistence between Muslim and Christian Palestinians and a handful of Jewish families, all living together without sectarian animosity. Lifta could have been a solid counter-example to the model of segregation and exclusion and could have marked the beginning of a new era for the necessary acknowledgment and respect of the Palestinian heritage in Israel.

PHOTO SOURCES

Au contraire, Lifta, and Jerusalem in general, are more likely to become blatant examples of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Nir Barkatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethnocentric policies, including permanent re-writing of history, scandalous use and exploitation of culture, art, and architecture in order to erase Palestinian history and fulfil condemnable and dishonest political agendas, having as an ultimate objective, the destruction of any remnants of the Palestinian history of the Holy city of Jerusalem.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alessiaf/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rucheli/

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THE VIOLATION OF

asmine awoke with eager eyes on that gloomy February morning. Curious, she packs her notebook into her school bag, rising to the occasion of seeking answers for her class assignment. Spending her night thinking up the perfect interview questions, she is confident her teenage inquisition will please her high school history teacher. Head held high she walks up to border to cross over from East to West. After six hours spent at the checkpoint, Yasmine walks back out into East Jerusalem, with confidence deflated, eagerness demeaned, and a goal unfulfilled. She tells me that upon her entry into the checkpoint there was a photo of a wanted terrorist, that “looks just like me”, a Palestinian girl wearing a hijab, “we all look the same to them”. She was going to do a report assigned to her about the planned closing of the Old City Gates. The closure was anticipated to cause losses to businesses within, and increase suspicion of the digging to take place under the city for the eventual destruction of AlAqsa Mosque. Her teacher saw this as history in the making and so had sent her students out to collect information and absorb the events as they unfolded. The notebook of questions was confiscated by the interrogators, photocopied and translated into Hebrew, which only made matters worse for young Yasmine. “They didn’t believe it was for a project,” she said, and so continued to question her for hours on end. Eventually they sent her home with an empty backpack. Her struggle here is a microcosm of the violation of the right to education for the Palestinian people.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that education at all levels must be accessible, available and acceptable1. By setting these standards, implied is a level of accountability to fall upon the state in upholding the right to education. However, in the case of a Palestinian population - deprived of their right to operate under an independent state - Israel is in effective control of the West Bank and Occupied Palestinian Territory, and so has the duties of an Occupying Power2. As for Gaza, although permanent military forces and settlers have been withdrawn since 2005, under International Law Israel is still an occupying power as it exercises effective day-to-day control3. Article 50 (1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides that the “Occupying Power shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children4”. The first form of violation is in terms of accessibility, visibly restricted by the imposition of severe obstacles that prevent the freedom of movement through physical barriers, as in Yasmine’s case. In 2004, 719 physical barriers to movement were recorded in the West Bank5. One blatant example of such a barrier is the infamous Separation Wall, which acts as “a barrier to keep other people from crossing” and not necessarily only into Israel. In many places, the Wall prevents people from crossing from “one part of its own lands, to another6.” The International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Wall, found that it illegally impeded the exercises of Palestinians’ right to education 1 Al-Haq, Palestinian Education Under Israeli Occupation, Stop Collective Punishment, Paper presented at conference in Stockholm, Sweden, April 2005 2 Al-Haq 3 Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch: Israel must stop blocking school supplies to Gaza, Defense for Children International, October, 2009 4 Al-Haq 5 Al-Haq 6 Bill Trupen, Israel’s infamous wall‐separating Palestinians from the right to an education, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Washington: Nov 2003, Vol 22, Iss. 9; Pg.60

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THE PALESTINIAN RIGHT TO EDUCATION

text and photos by RAWAN RISHEQ

by cutting off teachers and students from their schools in East Jerusalem7. The United Nations Children’s Fund estimated in November 2004 that in the Occupied Palestinian Territories over “226,000 children in 580 schools find going to school impossible, irregular or very risky.8” One indirect repercussion of the Wall is the economic hardship befalling Palestinian families due to confiscation of agricultural land, the uprooting of olive trees and disruption of commercial flows, which results in the most common reason given for abandoning school9. Dr. Sadeq Al-Dabbad spoke to me of the hardships for Ahliya University as it tries its best to accommodate economic troubles, but “a family may live off of olives, and sell their land to educate their children.” For the students and staff, “commuting is a struggle,” he said, “exams and class schedules have been altered in cases of interrupted rights to freedom of movement”. And to end our interview, in the most shockingly calm tone he states, “Also, sometimes students are thrown in jail.” Detainment as an obstacle to education, it turns out, is a staggering common reason for impeding the availability of education. Since 2004, the Israeli army has arrested more than eight elected representatives of the Student Council of Birzeit University, five of whom were presidents of the Council at the time of arrest. Their role was to represent the interests of some 7,000 students before the university administration, take responsibility for welfare programs for students, provide sports and cultural activities and help with registration, fee payment and their studies10. Many cases were raised in regards to the motives of the jailing being solely for belonging to student societies or political parties, many of them holding positions of leadership11. In 2007, an alleged 3,000 young Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons were not allowed to sit the final-year examination for secondary schooling12. According to the Right to Education Campaign, Palestinian child detainees held in seven detention camps in the West Bank are being denied education, and only two out of five prisons in Israel provide any form of education13. What is effectively happening is the destruction of educational infrastructure, and then the systematic plucking of students exhibiting leadership capabilities, and the continued denial of education for those detained as children. For Gaza, the lack of availability is a direct result of attacks on educational institutions, facilities and personnel. Article 56 of the Hague Regulations reflects customary law and holds that the property of institutions dedicated to education “even when State property, shall be treated as private property”, and forbids “all seizure of, destruction of or willful damage done to institutions of this character14”. Israel’s 23-day military offensive on Gaza, which ended on January 18th 2009, had “devastating consequences for the education system”, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs out of a total of 640 schools in Gaza, some 280 schools were damaged and 18 were completely destroyed15. None have been rebuilt or repaired because of the Israeli ban on the entry into Gaza of construction materials; the Ministry says it needs 25,000 tons of iron bars and 40,000 tons 7 Refworld, Education Under Attack 2010‐Israel/the Palestinian Territories, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, Feb 2010 8 Al-Haq 9 Al-Haq 10 Refworld 11 Refworld 12 Refworld 13 Refworld 14 Al-Haq 15 Human Rights Watch, IRIN: Gaza Schoolchildren struggling to learn, Defence for Children International, Feb, 2010

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of cement to build 105 new schools for the annual rise in the number of school children16. Yousef Ibrahim deputy education minister in Gaza, told IRIN that damaged schools in use lacked functioning toilets, water and electricity; classrooms were overcrowded and there were shortages of basic items such as desks, doors, chairs and ink17. The devaluing of the other two elements compromises the acceptability of education. Stress and trauma are immeasurable in tangible terms, however accounts of teachers who still travel from afar tend to reach school late or exhausted can only lead one to believe that the quality of teaching will diminish. The restricted time available for teaching also leads teachers to revert to less stimulating methods18. In Gaza, the trauma makes for an extremely anxious and discouraging learning mindset and environment. Khalid Salim, a science teacher at Abu Ja’far alMansour preparatory school in north Gaza said it was a struggle to teach children, “Most of them don’t understand the lessons; they don’t concentrate at all...They forget everything explained in the class. When I give them exams, 80 percent fail. Before the war, just 3 percent failed”, he said, “When they hear Israeli jet planes, the children scream and cry loudly out of fear19”. Psycho-social support and recreational play activities to help relief the anxiety and trauma are unavailable, and the teacher who themselves are traumatized are left to deal with these scarred children alone, in damaged classrooms; with not a chair for them to sit down with weight of their heavy hearts, nor a pen for them to express the grief within. Essential support structures for teaching are rendered non-existent when facilities such as classrooms, laboratories, writing supplies and desks are inaccessible and unavailable. Article 28 (1) (e) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges State Parties to “take measures to encourage regular attendance at school and the reduction of dropout rates20”. The movement restrictions disrupt exams and cause turbulence in attendance records, de facto unfulfilling the clause of encouraging attendance or success. “Use me as an example of wasted intelligence,” Sarah says. A straight A+ student without much effort exerted; she is a 16 year old genius without a system to nurture her brilliance. Exceptionally lucky as she got to visit Morocco last year with her school, the only place she’s ever traveled to, She speaks to me of her dream “to go there and study to be a doctor” and her imminent fear of “being stuck in this hell forever.” Her desperation to leave serves as but a small sign of the unacceptability of the standard of education for a bright and budding young mind. Intentionally, systematically, and without remorse, the human Right to Education for Palestinian children has been violated on all fronts. Accessibility was restrained when checkpoints were further reinforced by the erection of an intrusive Wall. Availability was severely limited in Gaza in the last 23-day bombarding of 2009, and since no rebuilding has been enabled due to the total blockade of all materials from all possible sources. In the West Bank the occupation spreads to school buildings and student body presidents are arbitrarily arrested. Through this, the quality of education burns out slowly, and with it the spirits of teachers and students are broken with trauma, stress, humiliation and exhaustion. It seems the power of knowledge is an exclusive right of those with the power, and this prejudice has been feeding struggle and pain into the malleable minds of Palestinian youths. Until justice is attained, life will always have lessons to teach, however hard they may be to swallow. One can only hope that the incredible strength and patience gained from the deprivation and struggle will one day be showcased as an example of resilient human spirit in the face of unthinkable tribulations.

16 17 18 19 20

Human Rights Watch, IRIN Human Rights Watch, IRIN Al-Haq Human Rights Watch, IRIN Al-Haq

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THE BAHRAINI CRISIS

by SÉBASTIEN DURÁN

ahrain, a calm and tiny island known mainly by medias and foreigners for its friendly population, its convivial mix of locals and expatriates and its F1 tournament, has been since February 2011 marked by a wave of protests similar to those taking places in other Arab countries, from Tunisia to Syria. Beginning with large-scale protests in the capital city of Manama, the protests quickly spread to other cities and towns on the island. Although the protests themselves were similar to those in Tunisia and Egypt as they were lead by the working and middle classes and the youth, they were quickly assimilated by many Arab media outlets and personalities as an attempt by Shias to takeover linked to some secret conspiracies orchestrated by Iran. But an unbiased look at the Bahraini situation and at the protesters themselves shows that those conspiracy theories are undoubtedly wrong and that the causes of the demonstrations are motivated by a real and genuine desire for change and equality in a country where sectarian tensions and discrimination have been a reality for decades. Although Bahrain as whole has benefited from oil and from an open and successful financial and economic system, the fruits of this economic growth have not benefited all Bahrainis equally. Most Bahrainis have been chiefly Shia for centuries, although a sizable Sunni majority has always been present on the island. But in the recent past, the Sunni elite and ruling family, the Al Khalifa family, has turned into a caste of wealthy urbanite with a disproportionate amount of power, whereas the majority Shia populace has remained largely isolated from both political and economic spheres. The discrimination encountered daily by Shia Bahrainis are many: economic marginalisation, an opaque political system which ignores them, higher unemployment rates and a general atmosphere of

Bahraini women mourning in Manama 1

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dismissal and tensions where Shias are viewed and treated like a potential fifth column, as the military and polices forces are composed mainly of Syrian, Pakistani, Yemeni, Jordanian and Syrian Sunnis, which are preferred over the local Shia Bahrainis. But the grievances of the Shiites have not been a concern only for Shiites themselves: many liberal Sunnis have also joined the protesters, motivated by a wish to unite all Bahrainis, Shiites and Sunnis alike, a to put an end to the vicious circle of discrimination, defiance and sectarianism. Some Sunnis also agree that democracy should be more encouraged and less restricted to a few symbolic freedoms and elections without significant impact on the country and the society. Moreover, Bahrain’s ruling family is not only guilty of turning a blind eye, if not encouraging, the systematic discrimination of Shia Bahrainis, but also directly causes many of its grievances, one of the most important problems for Bahraini Shias being the largescale naturalisation of Sunni Arabs and non-Arabs alike in order to alter the demographic and religious make-up of the country. What is presented as a “Shiite wave” by many is merely another facet of the Arab street fight against corruption, social inequalities, lack of democratic freedoms, and widespread discrimination and increasing social stratification. Although a few noisy protesters have called for the ouster of King Hamad, most protesters, including the main Shiite party Al Wefaq, did not share their views and asserted numerous times that the rule of King Hamad would be completely compatible with their demand of democracy, social justice and the end of state-sponsored Sectarianism. Many protesters and Shiite political parties have asked for the constitution and legislative texts that blatantly oppose the ideals of human rights and democracy to be rewritten in order to make Bahrain a full-fledged democracy for all, and the rumours of an aggressive Shia populace preferring the rule of Iran to the end to the sovereignty looks, at best, like a clumsy attempt to diabolise them and turn them, once again, into dreadful Iranian agents. But again, the King of Bahrain did not listen to the voice of the protesters and instead decided to turn its army and police forces against them. During the first few days, several protesters were killed and a dozen others were injured by police forces attempting to evacuate the streets around Manama’s Pearl Roundabout. During the first few weeks, clashes between polices forces and demonstrators were responsible for the death of dozens of people, including teenagers,

A helicopter over Manama’s pearl roundabout, which was the epicenter of the protests 1

women and children, and hundreds were wounded. Even though the daily violent crackdown was responsible for a widespread feeling of fear for many Bahrainis and expatriates alike, it failed to curb and decrease the daily flux of protesters from Manama or the entire island for that matter. They continued to gather around the Pearl Roundabout, voicing their opposition to the unfair rule and policies of King Hamad. Exactly one month after the start of the uprisings, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forces, composed of nationals from all the states of the GCC council, entered Bahrain, with around 4,500 soldiers and policemen, mainly Saudis and Emiratis and around 200 vehicles, in order to help King Hamad’s forces fighting the on going battle between the government and the protesters. The entry of the GCC forces, which is a genuine example of foreign intervention in a country’s affair, had as consequence to increase the amount of violence used against Bahraini protesters: during those days, several protesters were killed and hundreds were beaten and injured. Those events and King Hamad’s reaction caused a stir in the region and amongst the international community, with many western governments expressing their anger and disapproval at King Hamad’s failure to answer the demands of the Bahrainis and his despotic attitude symbolised by the entry of foreign forces in its own country in order to silence the legitimate grievances of the population. The United Nations (UN) and many other foreign organisms operating in Bahrain were concerned by the death threats received by many Arabs and Western journalists in the country, reported after articles and reports showing the extent of violence from Bahraini security forces against the unarmed civilian population. As of today, King Hamad’s hypothetical wish to negotiate with the opposition and the civilian population has yet to materialise. Outside of a few symbolic measures to appease the demonstrators, such as the liberation of hundreds of political prisoners, increased social spending and a few unclear promises to tackle corruption and economic inequalities, Bahrain

remains an island deeply anchored in the absolutist rule of the Al Khalifa family, as the demands of the Bahraini population and its elected representatives have been met with a vicious use of disproportionate violence. The saddest point in the Bahraini protests, is that a significant part of the Arab population ignores or approves the violence used against the protesters PHOTO SOURCES 1 because of their affiliation with Shia Islam. http://www.flickr.com/ photos/60833677@N07/ As sectarianism in the Arab world is reaching new heights, the Bahraini example is a clear demonstration of the double standards in today’s Arab world, in which, for some, democracy is a gift only to be offered for those located on the right side of the religious divide. A patriotic poster from one of Bahrain’s opposition group 1

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EGYPTIAN WOMEN IN TAHRIR SQUARE

an opinion piece by ALEXANDRA KINIAS

he jubilation of the demonstrators in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the Egyptian revolution, on the night of February 11th was phenomenal. That night, the thirty years of Mubarak’s reign ended when the people’s demands for him to step down were finally met. The images from Tahrir Square that were viewed across the globe highlighted the vital role that women played, side by side with men as equal partners, to bring down the dictator. With full force, women had taken giant steps into the political limelight as a new dawn for Egypt was crawling on the horizon. United by a common goal, Egyptian men and women shared in making history for their country foe eighteen days, and the future of the Egyptian women looked promising. One month later, I am not so sure. My optimism for a better future for the women of Egypt has dwindled with every passing day. The celebrations in the streets were soon overshadowed by facts of life and the dreams for equality, social justice and political involvement crashed on the shores of reality. And soon my short-lived dreams were replaced by a nightmare that filled me with negative vibes. Women, from all walks of life, young and old, rich and poor, Christian and Muslim, veiled and non-veiled, rallied along their male partners. They carried banners, chanted slogans, shared the food, slept on the same cold sidewalks, were attacked by tear gas, and the bullets that ended the lives of many didn’t differentiate between their gender. The fearful voice of a twenty-year-old pleading on CNN for help in the early hours of January 29th is still echoing in my ears. Her trembling voice was interrupted by the sounds of the automatic weapons shot at the demonstrators, and the explosions of Molotov cocktails that the thugs of the regime were throwing few yards away from where they took shelter. The scene was more powerful than a Steven Spielberg movie. And when the right moment came, men and women breathed freedom together. Watching these women filled me with hope, pride and joy. Finally the voices of the Egyptian women were loud and clear. Even before the dust had settled though, women found that their roles had ended with toppling of the regime and they were pushed aside to the bleachers once more. Women were neither asked to take part in the constitutional drafting committee nor were appointed to the new cabinet of ministers. There were bluntly excluded from participating in the political transition process. Still energized by the momentum of the revolution and their important role in shaping it, women felt it was time to stand up for their rights after years of oppression and silence. Charged with optimism for a brighter future, they returned to the birth place of the revolution, Tahrir Square, to celebrate International Women’s Day and rally for more rights in the new era for the achievement of which they had equally fought.

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Unfortunately, the revolution had not changed anything for the women of Egypt. Their campaign for equal rights and more political involvement was sabotaged by male protestors who outnumbered them. Men gathered around the square for one purpose, to deny them their universal rights. The counter demonstrations commenced with mockery and humiliation. The slogans chanted by women demanding more rights were overshadowed by louder chants asking the women to return back to their homes, where they belonged. At one point, a crowd of male counter protesters circled a woman wearing a niqab chanting, “This is an Egyptian woman!” As the day progressed, the hostility escalated and the scenes became degrading. The verbal abuse turned into a physical one. Women were attacked, assaulted, groped and eventually chased away from the square while their predators waved their shoes at them and yelled “Happy Women’s Day”. The demonstrators were saved after the intervention of the army who fired shots in the air to dismantle the crowds. It was a disgrace to see how women’s voices were silenced, as if men were settling a score with them. It is no secret that women empowerment is feared and, thus, fought by Islamic fundamentalists in the name of religion. For the purpose of control, men are brainwashed into believing in the superiority of their gender, while parallel efforts are exerted in brainwashing women that they are of inferior status and that their obedience and husband’s approval are their tickets to God’s approval. What had happened was indeed disappointing and humiliating, but as the deplorable incident may have been shocking, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. The social curse of sexual harassment that had infested the daily lives of women, for years with no efforts to curb it, had indeed unveiled its ugly face once more. It is clear now that the success of the political revolution didn’t necessarily mean that there would be a transformation in behavior or that the social illness was cured. There cannot be a bright future as long as men believe in their superiority over women. Sustaining the status quo is a guarantee to maintain the artificial imbalance of power between the genders. Men will fight until their last breath not to allow women equal rights because a right given to a woman is one taken away from a man. Democracy can never be attainable anywhere when half of the society is denied equal rights.

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LIBYA: COULD IT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT?

an opinion piece by SUSAN HOWARD-AZZEH

ould liberation have come without a No-fly zone? It is very sad to see the situation in Libya come to this, to a no-fly zone and military intervention. If only Libya’s liberation from the Gadhafi regime could have been achieved by the Libyan people themselves and through peaceful means. Some people disagree with a no-fly zone because it’s foreign interference in a sovereign country, with unknown political and economic motivations, which will interfere with the Libyan people’s own process towards democracy. Some think Libyans are naive in asking for Western military aid - there will be a price to pay, and a civilian toll. Personally, I am saddened that regime change is being attempted through military action, not through diplomatic or peaceful democratic reform. Couldn’t anyone in his inner circle arrange his arrest and hand him over for trial for crimes against humanity? Can freedom in this world only be attained through violence and death?

Friends I have in Libya say life under Gadhafi is extremely oppressive. People are afraid to criticize Gadhafi openly, saying there are spies both inside and outside Libya. One friend said his relative was seen in a Facebook photo visiting someone in the West who was considered anti-Gadhafi , so Gadhafi forces visited his relatives’ home and warned him to stop his association. When I email or phone friends in Libya I can never discuss politics because they fear retribution. This is minor in comparison to Gadhafi’s suppression of other opposition.

What could have been done differently? What is the difference between Egypt and Libya? Why couldn’t Libyans have just organized mass peaceful demonstrations in the streets the way Egypt did? Because Egypt had the Egyptian military standing between them and Hosni Mubarak. Libyans do not. As an organic spontaneous uprising (at least in Benghazi) and in light of decades of violent repression of any opposition all across Libya, there appears to have been no opportunity for less violent and disruptive methods of regime change, or no opportunity to organize and prepare the people to properly build the foundation for a democracy. There are those who still support Gadhafi, loyal to him as the Revolutionary leader of 1969. They feel that at least he’s not a puppet installed by the West for the West’s political and economic gain. However, Gadhafi’s actions speak for themselves.

In 1981, Gadhafi announced the “Cleansing of Dissidents”, and the assassinations and arrests of dissidents inside and outside of Libya began, including former Libyan foreign minister Monsor al Kekeah being kidnapped in Egypt in 1993. Gadhafi’s “Cultural Ambassadors” set up gallows in public squares and on University campuses, turning executions and hangings into public “celebrations” of his supposed revolution. In 1996 he massacred 1,200 political opposition prisoners in Abu Salem prison, and a bodyguard of one of Gadhaf’s sons shot 50 spectators dead at a sports centre in Tripoli. So these are examples of why Libyans have not been able to overthrow Gadhafi earlier. In 1988 a PanAm jumbo jet, Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland killing 275 people, including 189 Americans, and 17 people on the ground. Gadhafi was suspected Less than a year later, Libya was accused of bombing a French plane which crashed over Niger killing 171 passengers. In 1992 Gadhafi was allegedly involved in Gadhafi’s Crimes. the bombing of a Libyan plane near Tripoli killing 157 passengers. Gadhafi refused to hand over suspects in the Lockerbie bombing, Gadhafi took power in 1969 through a military coup. He so the United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya from 1992 until overthrew the monarchy of King Idris of the Sanusiyah. We might 1999 when Gadhafi handed over the suspects. As recently as 2006, all automatically assume that was a good thing, forgetting that Gadhafi snipers killed 50 protesters in the February 17 uprising in Italy invaded and occupied Libya in 1912 and that it was King Idris Bengazi, something even young Canadian Libyans outside Libya following Omar al Mukhtar who liberated Libya from Italy in 1951. remember with horror. The red, black and green flag we now see in Libyan demonstrations, as opposed to Gadhafi’s solid green flag, was used during the reign So, what are the best methods for Libyans to oust Gadhafi of King Idris. The red, black and green flag is not a monarchist flag, and usher in a participatory representative democracy - with prosperity rather it illustrates both Libya’s regional nature and national unity. for all Libyans, not just for the Gadhafi family? Sadly, I don’t know. The black band and white crescent is based on the banner of the Senussi dynasty of the eastern [Cyrenaica] region of Libya which Look to the Palestinians. Whether they use peaceful or includes Bengazi. The red band represents the southwest region of violent methods, it doesn’t matter. They are condemned or ignored. Fezzan, and the green band represents the north eastern region And 92% of historic Palestine is now in the hands of the Zionists. around Tripoli. This flag was adopted as Libya’s Independence Flag This is the New World Order – regardless of what the people on the in 1951. ground want, need, deserve or work towards, it is the international cartel that will decide and will reap the benefits. Unfortunately, oil was discovered in Libya in 1959 and quickly dominated the country’s economy. The first few years of Gadhafi’s rule seemed progressive. He continued the implementation of social programs, health care and education which began under the monarchy. But in 1973 and 1980, Gadhafi led Libyans into a war which occupied part of northern Chad, causing the usual destruction and death. The area was returned to Chad in 1994. K A L I M AT

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THE SHIA-SUNNI SPLIT IN THE ARAB WORLD

by SÉBASTIEN DURÁN

rofound sectarian divisions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Arab world are often masked by the tragic events taking in place in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, in Egypt, where Christian communities are routinely targeted by radical Islamic groups. But behind the numerous anti-Christian attacks and aggressions, sectarianism inside the Muslim community has never been so exacerbated and threatening; even though tensions between Sunnis and Shias have existed and escalated in the past, they have dangerously increased and reached new heights in the past few decades.

around its strict Islamic identity and looks at the religiously-diverse Middle-East from its very own Shia perspective. Arab regimes, from Kuwait City to Cairo, fear that the emerging Iranian giant might have an increasing influence on Arab affairs due to the positive feelings of many Shia Arabs towards Iran and the presence of some political groups aiming at getting closer to Iran and actively searching to distantiate themselves from the majoritySunni leading Arab countries, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

One of Iran’s tactics to gain influence in the Arab Shias, concentrated in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Arab world is to exploit the widespread and deeply rooted Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, live in countries discriminations that Shia Arabs have been facing in the with important Sunni communities, as Shias represent the countries they inhabit. Silenced by the ruling Saudi monvast majority of the Muslim population only in Bahrain and archy, treated as second-class citizens by the Al Khalifa Iraq, as well as a short majority of the Muslim population family of Bahrain and politically marginalised during the in Lebanon, they only represent around one quarter of last decades of Baath rule in Iraq, they have been intenthe Kuwaiti population and up to 15% of the Syrian and tionally kept away from decisional powers and political Saudi population. Sizable Shiite minorities also exist in institutions, even in the countries where they represent the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Oman, with the majority of the population. Shias accounting for an estimated 10% of the population. The only exception is Syria, where the Alawis, Arab Shias have for a long time been marginalised followers of an offshoot of Shia Islam, seized the power four in a largely Sunni Arab world as Shia Islam being tradi- decades ago mainly because of their over-representation tionally associated with Iran since the conversion of the in the army and in the ranks of the Ba’ath party but also Persian Safavid dynasty from Sunnism to Shiism in the thanks to the colonial policies of gradual exclusion of early 16th century. The Safavid’s military might and its the traditional Sunni elites of Damascus and Aleppo from territorial expansionism toward neighbouring Arab coun- strategic positions. Even though they only represent, at tries, especially with Iraq and the holy cities of Karbala best, 15% of the Syrian population, Syrian Alawis have and Najaf, had a lasting impact on the collective memory managed to run the country thanks to the close ties beof the Sunni Arabs in the region. tween the army and the Baath party, two powerful and Alawi-dominated institutions, for more than four decades. Strong ties between Shia Arabs and Iran predate the advent of the Islamic republic, a notable example of this In neighbouring Lebanon, the French implemented deep relationship being the role of the holy city of Qom, where a controversial sectarian system, in which every community numerous and famous Arab Shia clerics have been formed in is assigned a specific role in the government and where the past centuries. Modern-day Iran centres its domestic and Christian and Muslims enjoy equal representation in the f o r - parliament. But the marginalisation of the Lebanese Shia Imam Hussein’s shrine in Kerbala, one of the most important religious center for Shia Muslims 5 eign community was obvious since the firsy days of the newly poli- independent Lebanese state. Concentrated in the rural and c i e s impoverished South and Beqa’a valley, Lebanese Shias were not really involved in the decision-making process before the emergence of a gradual Shia awakening movement initiated mainly by Musa Al Sadr and culminating with the current political weight of Hezbollah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Moreover, although Shia Muslims weren’t underrepresented in the Iraqi branch of the Ba’ath party in the early 1960s, they have been notably excluded from the political arena and governing institutions aftermath, to the extent that Iraqi Shias were left with no other alternative 32

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than to create their own parallel and underground politiThe wave of religious revivalism in the Arab world cal parties centred around their religious particularities. since the late 1960s fuelled Sunni/Shia sectarian tensions, adding a strong religious component to communal and The Iraqi Sunni leadership, personified with Sad- social grievances and discrimination. Many accusations, dam Hussein until the American invasion in 2003, often implying that Shias are heretics, sometimes even not Musresorted to inhumane and violent measures in order to lims at all, have resurfaced in societies once-dominated keep Shias away from power. The actions of the Ba’ath by more Secular and Pan-Arab speeches and ideologies. In leadership were also ambivalent and paradoxical: during the Saudi Arabia, Shia Islam is barely tolerated, even in regions Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the Iraqi regime tried to gain and cities with large Shia minorities. This intolerance has the support of the Shia population by using nationalist concrete consequences in the everyday life on the Shia slogans against Iran’s Persian identity and emphasising on segment of the Saudi population, like the scarcity of Shia the shared Islamic values of both Sunnis and Shias. The mosques, anti-Shia rhetoric in public schools or official past processes of political marginalisation also resulted in media outlets. an ostracisation of the Shia communities from economic and cultural circles. Absent from the decisive structures The resurrected religious aspect is the most recent of the states or kingdoms they inhabit, Shias also had to development of numerous economic and political dysfunccope with a clearly disadvantaged socio-economic position. tions caused by foreign interventions, from Ottoman policies to modern western interventionist actions, that resulted In Kuwait and Bahrain, Sunnis constitute both in a growing divide within Muslim communities. Lack of the political and social elites of the nation, and a few democracy, political instability, economic clientelism, social influential Sunni families monopolise sizable parts of the inequalities and the heritage of past tensions have also economy. In Iraq, large-scale rural exodus from the Shia played a significant role in shaping the current sectarcountryside in the southern part of the country has resulted ian mentalities pervading in many countries where Shias in an emerging urban Shia middle class with a small but and Sunnis coexist. Often portrayed as a purely doctrinal growing Shia bourgeoisie made of post-2003 entrepreneurs. conflict between two Muslim sects, the conflict has more profound and diverse causes that assumed, and has difIn Lebanon, urbanisation, migrations to the capi- ferent implications and consequences in every country. tal and the progressive access of Shia youths to private The unifying factor is undoubtedly the threat that intrahigh schools and universities has lead to the entry of Shias Muslim sectarianism represents to the creation of modern into middle and higher segments of society, although Shias and unified societies. living in traditionally Shiite enclaves didn’t witness any Political banners for Hezbollah, the main Shiite party in Lebanon 3 major improvements in the post-war decades. What was decisive for the creation of a LebaneseShiite bourgeoisie was the emigration of many Shia families to Africa and North America, where many founded successful businesses and fulfilled the ambitions they couldn’t materialise back home. Some states offer a striking example of these economic and social discriminations, as Saudi Arabia used and still uses all possible means in order to undermine the emergence of a wealthy Shia upper class in the oil-rich Eastern part of the kingdom, where Shiites constitute an important minority of the population. Clientelism and networking being important factors of economic ascension and empowerment in tribal societies like Saudi Arabia, an isolated community like the Shias are condemned to remain in a state of economic marginalisation.

Bashar Al Assad, the current Alawi president of the majority-Sunni Syria 4

To complete this process of relegation of the Arab Shiites into a peripheral role in the Arab world, some countries institutionalised anti-Shia discriminative measures, with the example of a Bahraini decision to forbid their Shia nationals to enrol in the army or to serve in the police forces. Indeed, the kingdom relies almost exclusively on imported Sunni manpower when it comes to its small army and local police force. Neighbouring Saudi Arabia also uses the same discriminatory policies in order to bar the entry of its Shia population from its national security services under the pretext that Saudi Shias are potential Iranian agents and inherently disloyal to their own country. Disfranchised Shias in Lebanon, Iraq and Bahrain were therefore easily attracted by revivalist religious doctrines flourishing from the 1960s and onward, as religious parties appeared as the unique way to give Arab Shias a strong and lasting political representation in their respective countries. Treated with enmity and suspicion and harshly discriminated, Shias were largely attracted by a growing Iranian solicitude and concern, with numerous help ranging from direct material donations to important infrastructure works made to improve the existence of impoverished Shia communities.

PHOTO SOURCES

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hazy_jenius/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/spdl_n1/ 5 http://www.flickr.com/photos/60095477@N08/

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THE LOTUS VS. LEGISLATION: IS EGYPT READY FOR CHANGE? an opinion piece by MARWA SIAM-ABDOU

ebruary 11th marked the beginning of revolutionary change, not the overthrowing of Mubarak, but the simple fact that change is even possible for a people who had were forced to live with the undesirable(s); a frustrated society plagued by unemployment, overpopulation and a thousand broken promises. It was nearing a “game over” for Egypt until minimal hopes stemmed from the Lotus revolution - and I say minimal for a reason. What many believe is that “change has come,” what has really come to fruition is the “possibility of ‘a’ change”, not “change” itself. Change is cultivated, taught, tested, discussed and developed, not created over a 17-day long manifestation of anger and executed within two months - anger is temporary, change should smell and feel like permanence.

The most recently suggested changes for a “new Egypt” make this hope for change seem like a desperate rather than a calculated, and well though-out decision. Egypt’s military has selected a committee that would be responsible for putting together ‘interim’ suggestions for the new constitution - amendments that would definitely seem appealing to a change-hungry people, regardless of whether they are good for the nation or not. Some of the interesting changes pertaining to a future presidential candidate are: He can not have a dual citizenship, neither one of his parents could have a dual citizenship, his wife must be of Egyptian origin and he could not be under 40 years of age. [Other than the appreciated suggestion that a presidential term should only be four years long].

It’s only a revolution if change follows, and change isn’t synonym to immediacy, Despite the somewhat nonsensical nature of these changes, the referendum has passed with a 77 per cent majority vote. Have the people of Egypt attained the much-needed change? It’s difficult to tell, especially when the changes were initially suggested by a panel that is partially formed of members of the National Democratic Party - the party that is fully responsible for a 30-year-old problematic nation.

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It’s only a revolution if change follows, and change isn’t synonym to immediacy, change means decisions, it means cleaning up three decades of social, political and economic messes. Change means the rebirth of a system, which comes after the death of what once existed, change means no involvement of former political authorities, none whatsoever. Change also means that the decisions are not based on the interests of the powers, but on the interests of the people. The decisions create a concern for what’s to come. If the people want to live the “out with the old and in with the new” motto, they need to take direct part in the decisions, they need to choose everything, starting with choosing those who make the choices.

change means decisions, it means cleaning up three decade of social political and economic messes. What once plagued Egypt is not over till it’s gone forever, till the people get re-educated on what conscious choices of the people really mean. Come to the think of it, Egypt has never really lived democratically - it wasn’t three decades of problems, it was actually three series of poor presidents. Egypt has never seen a stable political system. With things being in the control of a military that pledges allegiance to no one, any immediate change should be concerning, not celebrated. Egypt needs time to make a reflective change, not a reflexive one again.

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LOST IDENTITY: THE EXILED PALESTINIAN

by NOORA SHARRAB

n the midst of the turmoil that seems to be escalating day by day in the heart of Gaza and the West Bank, there still lies a problematic that seems to almost been ignored, Palestinians right of return. It is with no doubt that the raison d’être for this is because the issue in itself has been normalized. My focus is to shed light into the dark glory and fate of the consequences of Palestinians right to return to their land; a case that is too often ignored in the many unpromising peace treaties and peace initiatives. As revealed recently in the Al-Jazeera’s leak of the Palestine Papers, PLO negotiators were discussing Palestinian refugees right at a rate of 10,000 for ten years, to equal a limited 100,000 Palestinian refugees from the growing number of over 6 million Palestinian refugees living in limbo and awaiting for their return since 1948. In lieu to the growing global milieu, there is an intricate dilemma of border control. The propagated excuse that Israel’s extreme security and tightened border control is due to the threat of terrorism. Questions to who is defined as a terrorist in the context of a colonial expropriation of Palestinian land, denying the rights of the indigenous Palestinians from living freely without curfews, border control, land-confiscation, military brutality, bombardment of one’s autonomy and the imprisonment and limitations in movement. The problematic of this image is that all this functions under the incapability and uncontested international community that has been sedated to accept cruel directed control by the state of Israel. The experiences of exiled Palestinians, proves to show that this neglected issue has been a byproduct of the systematic design of Israel, that works to implement its political regime in the midst of strong localized Middle Eastern countries and global international community, in so much so, that these minor difficulties are done at the hands of the law; a rule of law that is meant to control the “good” from the “bad”. As articulated by Rabab Abdulhadi, in her article entitled, “Where is Home? Fragmented Lives, Border Crossings and the Politics of Exile”: In the Palestinian case, going home assumes further complications, especially in view of the Israeli Law of Return, which bestows automatic citizenship on Jews arriving in Israel while denying the indigenous Palestinian population the right to return to the homes from which they were uprooted in 1948. For the Palestinian exiled, going home brings back memories of one’s worst nightmares at international borders: interrogation and harassment, suspicion of mal-intent, and rejection of one’s chosen self-identification.

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It is the very institutionalization of law that is meant to secure a society towards greater security and order, yet how can this be attained when those that are aiming to attain security and order are doing it at the expense of another subjugated nation? The current state of border crossing is quite complex to define, largely due to the citizenship one holds, whether one is Israeli, Arab Israeli, Palestinian living in Gaza, Palestinian living in the West Bank, a Palestinian Refugee with a Palestinian Identity number, or a Palestinian Refugee with a foreign passport, or simply a Foreign Passport. Now the latter labilization of these Palestinians is done to control and limit the access of entry or re-entry into the land. On the contrary, Foreign born Jews can simply claim a “birth-right”, simply on the means that they are Jewish, a 3000 year old religious connection that binds them to the land, not an ancestral, or even cultural distinction and bond. In a recent attempt to cross the Israeli/West Bank border crossing from both Eilat Borders in Taba, Egypt and the Allenby Borders in Jordan; my story depicts my journey towards attempting to cross the borders as a Canadian citizen into my indigenous homeland to visit the Holy Site of Jerusalem. My mother who was travelling along with my brother and I, was born in Gaza in 1962, inevitably holding a Palestinian identity number. She fled as a refugee to Egypt and had resided in Canada for over 14 years. Both my brother and I were born in the United Arab Emirates, holding “stateless” refugee status’. In 1993, my mother had attempted to include us [her children] in her identity number; in order to uphold our right to our Palestinian ancestral history. So, what does this have to do with our border crossing? Ironically enough, our very denial to enter the West Bank or Jerusalem, was not due to our current Passport, but was directly due to our ancestral root. Crossing via Eilat into Israel is only permitted to Israeli Nationals and Foreigners. Considering that we held Canadian Passports and had no residence in Gaza or the West Bank, we assumed we would fall under the eligible category. When crossing via Eilat, we were first separated, asked numerous questions related to our family, reasons for being in the region, why we wanted to go to Jerusalem, why we came to Egypt, where our extended family resided, and our names, and association with the region, etc.; many questions that extended beyond the very reasons of our desire to visit the Holy Land of Jerusalem, to visit our homeland, or merely to visit the magnificence of a land that has been under quarrel for over 60 years now. Yet after intense interrogation, we were later left to wait for the Interior Ministry’s decision to enter into Israel. After hours of waiting, the Israeli soldier at the border had informed us that only one of us was allowed to cross, my mother; who was over the age-risk (46 years old), and because her identity number issued from Gaza had expired. While, on the other hand, me and my brother, both never born in Palestine were denied access because we had “Palestinian Identity numbers”. To our dismay, we were told that because we held Palestinian ID numbers we were not allowed to cross through this border, but should head to Jordan, where we could gain access via the King Hussein/ Allenby Borders.

Without losing our chance on hope, we decided that we were not going to stop our journey, and quickly began heading towards Nuweiba to cross via boat to Aqaba. In the following days, we made our way to the Jordanian border crossing towards entering the West Bank. At the King Hussein/ Allenby Borders, we went through the usual procedures at the Borders, and then it was the waiting period. We were instructed by the Israeli Officers [who hold and control all border crossing in / out the West Bank] to wait while they processed our passports. After an exhausting 10 hour wait, we were told that because me and my brother held Palestinian Identity numbers, we could not cross, regardless of the fact that Palestinians were allowed to cross through the borders. The Israeli Officer elucidated that the only possible option to cross was a) to forfeit our right to being Palestinian by getting rid of our Palestinian Identity number [which would invalidate our very right to our right of return to the land], or b) to go back to the Palestinian officials to be issued a Palestinian Passport. Regardless of the decision we were to take, there would be absolutely no chance or hope to enter into the West Bank/ Jerusalem. Now a greater predicament falls in the details that constitute the options that were offered to us. If choice (a) was chosen, we would be able to cross via our Canadian Passports, with a limit of three months at a time and with no chance to renew our visa. On the other hand, with choice (b), since our Palestinian Identity numbers were issued in Gaza, our passports would also have to be issued from Gaza, leaving no possibility to enter into the West Bank. As mentioned earlier, the chances to cross solely relies on where one fell in the labilization of being Palestinian. A Palestinian in Gaza has no right to enter to the West Bank, similarly, a Palestinian in the West Bank has no right to enter Gaza; this then means that even if we were to retain our right of being Palestinian, our hopes of ever visiting the West Bank/ Jerusalem would be impossible. This brings into light the very problematic of a Palestine, as a nation, a land, a people to ever freely function or run as a normal state. This so-called state cannot be subjugated by the rules of a colonizer and an occupier that dictates its very functionality. It becomes dangerous because this very problematic has been repeatedly pushed aside under the pre-tenses that the security of Israel is what matters, and that the Palestinians have no other choice but to comply. Although this seems to illustrate a microscopic image of what really is unfolding in the magnificent Holy Land, Al-Haram al-Sharif, this overwhelming pebble of an issue is just one of the many things that are taken for granted in this protracted conflict. The next time you cross a border you should ask yourself, what right do you have? Are you merely privileged for holding different citizenships? Or is our ever-expanding globalization only moving towards ever-more restricted border control? Our very right to demand any means of fairness and equality is found on our ability to accept and tolerate the rule of law that is being institutionalized within our global society. For change will not take place until we take it upon ourselves to implement such a change. Or will it?

Photo by Danah Abdulla K A L I M AT

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THE TYRANT’S PSYCHOLOGY

by AMMAR AL-MAJALI

killed and hundreds injured. The Egyptian police had a license to kill, they were ordered by their superiors to use any force to keep the situation under control. This applies to every regime with a considerable military force: instill fear in the mind and soul of your average citizen through police brutality so in case the people revolted, all their anger and frustration would be aimed at the policeman mages of inhumane atrocities are burned into our memories. who tortured them, and not at the leader who facilitated The ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, the destruc- and gave orders of such abuse. tion of Iraqi cities by the invading American forces, the ethnic cleansing in the Balkan region and the abuse of prisoners in Abu The central tool used by these dictators is the Ghraib in Iraq. One should also mention the wiping out of villages unlimited power of obedience. One must understand the in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and the war between the power of this psychological and social concept to compreProtestants and Catholics in Ireland. All of these show an aspect of hend what makes good people do evil. tyranny and dictatorship. The tyrant could be a military leader, a political leader or even a CEO who encourages industrial espionage.

MILGRAM AND OBEDIENCE

One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter…that is what an Irishman from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) once said. Obedience is one of the most important aspects The same applies to any leader anywhere in the world. Tyrants and of the tyrant’s personality. Every person obeys him and dictators are not new to the region, they have evolved over time those who disobey end up either in prison or in a coffin. through power and money. Scientists experimented with obedience in the summer of 1961 when Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale Some of today’s tyrants assumed power through revolutions University, conducted a series of experiments to observe or through a coup d’état. The Arab world in 2011 is in many ways a and measure the willingness of participants to obey an déja vu, a mirror image of the Middle East and North Africa of the authoritarian figure. Milgram believed that accomplices in 1950s to the late 1960s. The Arabic psyche is experiencing the same any tragic event would be merely obeying orders, despite raw emotions and feelings of hope, freedom, an image of a better violating their deepest system of moral belief. future that were experienced in the past, yet now it is mixed with fear and some elements of despair. This fear and despair comes from A volunteer was given the role of a teacher and a a notion that the so-called revolutionaries of today may become, in confederate and a member of the research team assumed time, into the same dictators they overthrew. the role of a learner. The teacher and the learner do not see each other, and sometimes the learner would mention What the Arab world is experiencing these days is the to the teacher that they suffer from a medical condition. fruit of labour of decades of repression and oppression. The tyrants The teacher asks the learner some questions, and when of today were the revolutionaries of the past. They lead a selected the learner answers the question incorrectly, the teacher is group of friends and officers to the top echelon of power. Jamal instructed to deliver an electric shock to the learner. The Abdul Nasser transformed Egypt from a Monarchy to a Republic. shocks were increased by an increment of 15 volts. One Egyptians were happy that he changed the constitution. In 1965, would expect that volunteers would stop at a ‘moderate’ Nasser was the sole candidate for presidency because his rivals were to ‘extreme’ voltage and not administer a shock to the either in jail or reduced to some secondary positions in the politi- learner, but 65% of them administered an electric shock cal arena of Egypt. He executed leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood of 450 volts. as a result of a failed assassination attempt on his life. He was the inspiration for a young Libyan named Muammar Al Gaddafi who During my research and readings about this exsought to overthrow the Libyan monarch Idris I. periment, I did not read about any volunteer who left the experiment, who ordered it to stop, who said I do not An observation I could deduce from tyrant leaders is that want the money, or anyone who checked on the learner some of them have never killed anyone personally. Hitler did not after administering any shock. Many teachers exhibited kill a German, nor did Stalin kill a Russian…those who undertook ‘nervous laughter’, many were shocked when, at the end the chores where soldiers, aides, partners, normal men either in of the experiment, they were briefed that the learner did uniforms or in plain clothes. not receive any shock. Letès fast forward to January 25 in Egypt. Thousands of Maybe obedience is one of the most manipulated Egyptians from all walks of life demonstrated and demanded for a aspects by the dictators and tyrants and so people who are new political system, social justice, and a better life. They were met selected end up doing the dirty work, for instance when with riot police and Egyptian security. Clashes took place, many were the police are asked to kill demonstrators. If the police officers do not do the job, they would be threatened.

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ZIMBARDO’S PRISON Another example in the history of social psychology is the infamous Stanford prison experiment conducted in 1971. The researchers randomly assigned college students to be either prisoners or guards in a simulated prison located in the basement of a campus building. The goal of the experiment was to explore the dynamics that developed between groups during a two-week period. The experiment had to be suspended after six days due to the harsh treatment delivered by the guards on the prisoners. Zimbardo concluded that group members cannot resist the pressure of their assumed roles and stations and that brutality is the ‘normal and natural’ expression of roles associated with groups who have unequal powers. Furthermore, he concluded that people in groups tend to lose their capacity for intellectual and moral judgment, and it is inevitable for people to act as tyrants when put in a group and given power.

The Arab world in 2011 is in many ways a déja vu, a mirror image of the Middle East and North Africa of the 1950s to the late 1960s. COUNTERACTING DICTATORS As Arabs observed the Tunisian, Egyptian and the on-going Libyan uprising, the sense of unity among the protesters counteracts the brutality of the regime. When protesters are united under nationalism, a culture or a religion, they form better organisations and become more willing to follow an elected leader. They seek agreement and trust one another. People under those situations would pull together to create a social world based on their shared values. This was proven during the Tahrir Square camps where males and females lived together, shared food and felt safe. Some of my female friends, who were at Tahrir during the protests, told me they experienced no form of sexual harassment. However, some reporters were attacked, not by the protesters, but by hired thugs. These thugs attacked CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, an attack that was caught on camera and televised worldwide. American journalist Lara Logan was also subject to a sexual assault by a mob of thugs. Lara was rescued by a group of women with the help of the army. The Egyptians were focused on their mission: to topple the regime. Unfortunately, thugs and mobs smeared the success of the Egyptian revolution, they threatened, vandalised, stole, and even killed Egyptians. Tyrants will continue to exist, as long as evil which in my opinion is innate in our spirit.They will abuse authority, try and manipulate the masses, and distort media. Yet if their subjects unite and sacrifice they can counter the influence of their ‘beloved leaders’. Let us Arabs both youth and old work together for a better life for us all, let us demand reform from the leaders and let us work for a better future.

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ABU SULTAN’S FAMILY: REVIEW by ALI SULEIMAN

ecently, I had the opportunity to attend Abu Sultan’s Family, a theatrical play produced by Risala Theatrical Group (RTG) in London, Ontario. Written by Ahmad Abu Sharkh, the play examines the challenges an Arab family faces after immigrating to Canada. A story that the entire [Arab] audience could relate to, it was brilliantly presented whilst examining themes such as romance, education, parenting, and odd Arabic customs. With a humble set design, it provided a good indication of this middle-class family’s standing in their Gulf hometown. Details such as a hanged prayer rug, dull coloured curtains, and typical large home doors gave the feeling that this is the Arab world. Though simple, the set proved effective in adapting to various settings. Composed of 18 (mainly) full-time university students, the energy remained high; dialogue was constantly picked up amid actors with proper elocution emphasizing character emotion and thought. Khaled Elnabolsi is the 24-year-old civil engineer who took on the lead role of Abu Sultan, the 55-year-old school teacher and father of three. With no professional training, he spoke on the challenges: “I had to use my personal experience and observations to develop the character. I recalled my Arabic teachers back in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), how they dressed, and how proud they were of their Arabic language skills”. The superb acting is also the work of director Osama Kadi, head of RTG and president of Concordia College of Canada for health, business and technology. Though admitting to the obstacles of working with amateur actors, he adds that they “...worked very hard over six months to perform like any other professional actors” because of their commitment and talent. Having a cast filled with university students to commit is one challenge, while keeping the audience engaged is another. “The biggest challenge was the age of our audience. Ranging from the age of 7 to 80, we had to entertain and convey one message to all of these ages,” notes Kadi. Playwright Abu Sharkh adds: “...being in Canada means that the Arabs in the audience are from different types of backgrounds...sometimes I would be limited with the kinds of Arabic jokes I could use. I had to make sure I was culturally relevant for everybody.”

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Interestingly, what delivered the laughter was Abu Sharkh also points to the same issue: “... rather the plot development that the audience could an- because our audience is mostly ‘conservative’, the detail, ticipate in a form of dramatic irony, albeit an aloof one. vividness, and tone with which I would depict certain behaviours and actions had to match the audience”. For instance, one of the most memorable scenes was Abu Sultan entering his classroom. Upon hearing the Upon Abu Sultan’s discovery that his son has arrival of their teacher, one of the students warns the oth- picked up smoking, he disciplines him the traditional way, ers of the impending doom. What follows next is a set of by beating him. The theme of parenting is now examined comedic and terrorising events that can be relived by any in more detail with a final scene of a legal battle between audience member who was schooled in the Arab world. child services and Abu Sultan’s family. Prior to the scene Students trembling, Abu Sultan orders them to vocalise a however, a pre-recorded video is played: TV news coverage classic poem while waving his rod. If you’ve never been of community protests concerning the case. in an Arabic language class in the Arab world (let alone a public one), you will never understand the fear (and The integration of multimedia into the production, comedy) in this scene. especially at this moment in the plot, serves two imperative purposes. First, it provides a good distraction while the set At the end of Act 1, we see the family packing and is being reorganized. Secondly, and most importantly, it leaving for Canada for the sake of their children’s future. refreshes the audience’s perspective on the issue by providIn my opinion, this was the strongest scene of the play; ing a Canadian viewpoint as the news coverage interviews the audience was captivated as they delved in empathy various individuals from the community. with the characters, further emphasized with attention to minor detail, such as having a blanket cover the couch, The court scene is one of the most powerful ones, something most of us recognized with. forcing us to reflect on our culture of parenting and its impact on our society; a key message the play delivers to The second act starts with a new tone with the the audience. arrival of the family to their new apartment in Canada, the $1500/month rent, and the first confrontation with As director Kadi points out: “I consider stage the police over noise complaints. Abu Sultan, who cannot plays to be a vital part of societal aspects in an Arababandon his teaching career, stays in the Gulf and visits Canadian society. Theatre is one media tool which can occasionally, leaving the children under Um Sultan’s (the help in expressing difficulties, ambitions, and reflecting mother) supervision. life onstage...[and] to be used as an educational as well as an entertaining tool”. Stage Manager Heather May notes: “...the first half was a comedy and very funny, then after the intermission The verdict of the court? “Personally, I really liked everything gets serious and sad.” Last year, May directed that people left the play questioning the ending. For me, and produced Norm Foster’s The Love List, which received that’s success,” notes playwright Abu Sharkh. Best Comedy at the 2010 Brickenden Awards. Taking up a play in a foreign language, she notes: “There were times Catch the ending of this must-see play in Toronto when our director went into great depth with regards to in June 2011. Comedic and thought provoking, Abu Sultan’s a certain character...in Arabic. Sometimes I had to raise Family is a must-see. For showtime and location informamy hand and speak-up: ‘can we have this conversation tion, check out WWW.RISALA.CA. again in English?’”. Nevertheless, she says that the team was very understanding and she was extremely happy to work with them. The new social obstacles for the family is further realised by the transformation of the children, who are adapting to Canadian culture. The children have become accustomed to speaking more English than Arabic and are beginning to grow alienated from their father. “Ever since I’ve come here I haven’t seen the kids. Don’t they miss me?”, asks Abu Sultan during one of his visits. Alaa Aljarousha, who plays Um Sultan, notes that “...the obstacles that the children face is caused by the disintegration in the family...this theatrical performance articulates to the audience that families do face problems when moving and changing their way of life, however, help and resources are constantly available.”

Personally, I really like that people left the play questioning the ending.

Being a female in Arab theatre is not easy, especially if you’re a Muslim wearing the hijab. “I tried my best to play my role without crossing any limits, whether it was the way I acted or the way I dressed, in bringing out Um Sultan’s personality,” says Alaa, concerning meeting the expectations of the female members of the audience.

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CURRENT CULTURE AFFAIRS

CONTEMPORARY ORIENTALISM AND MISREPRESENTATION: AN INQUIRY INTO THE DOCUMENTATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY OF TRAUMA AND ATROCITY IN LEBANON by MARIAM NADER

hose whose academic practices specialize and revolve around social criticism and visual studies tend to forget that not everyone is exposed to the study of hegemony; even those in fields that require intense intellectual devotion, such as in science or mathematics, can earn several degrees and never hear the word. The study of hegemony, which aims to discern how the influential structures of one nation functions to create inferiority in others, exists for these people. Because not everyone can be taught to recognize indoctrination when they see it, social reforms are created so that the majority of people do not have to be exposed to false, or misleading information. A contemporary example of this is the ASC’s (Advertising Standard of Canada) campaign to promote truth in advertising: their slogan proclaims, “dressing it up doesn’t make it true.”1

More awareness is being stimulated on the topic of representation in television commercials and magazine adverts-- Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, featuring the Self-Esteem fund, while not altogether entirely unproblematic (the women featured in their commercials for products unrelated to the Real Beauty campaign are still size-zero models), it still alerts young women to the fact that they are potentially being conditioned to accept a single standard of (impossible) beauty. But what about an issue not as apparent as advertising? What about the images we’ve come to accept as standard representations of truth about something as broad and critical as our history, and the history of others? I initially realised the unfortunate truth when I was 18. I was watching a stand-up comedy skit with a university-bound friend of mine; the comedian, an Iranian born British man named Omid Djalili was poking fun at the American media, mentioning that CNN constantly showcased the voice of the Middle-East as video footage of Islamic extremists chanting “death to America,” and burning American flags. Djalili likened this to the Al Jazeera network showing footage of the leader of the Klu Klux Klan stating, “death to all Jews, A-rabs, and darkies,” and then telling its viewers that this was the voice of the Christian Midwest. This humour around the selective nature of the media was not lost on me, and I began to laugh. My friend, however, merely had a pensive look on her face as she said, “oh, wow-- I’d never thought of it that way.” It was in that moment that I truly appreciated the benefits of my education.

critical thought towards the way images and video documentation are processed by the viewer in contemporary society, there are already some damages that have been done. Photographs taken by photographers that travel to war zones are widely circulated-- in newspapers, magazines, sometimes even galleries and museums. Often, these photographs are not accompanied with text that elaborates on their original context, which can lead to misinterpretation on the part of the viewer. Not only is misinterpretation an issue, but also, repetitive exposure to scenes of a certain nature can cause people to come to broad conclusions; this is apparent in the example mentioned above, i.e., Islamic extremists being the only type of people that seem to dwell in the Middle-East. In this essay, I want to examine how photographic documentation of war and civil unrest in Lebanon is used to perpetuate hegemonic structures. I choose Lebanon in particular, insofar as it is the most recognisably ‘civilised’ (read: ‘westernised’) nation in the Middle East; however, as I will attempt to prove in this essay, repetitive examples of war photography in this region cause the Lebanese to appear irrational and in a constant state of turmoil. I want to investigate how these representations have caused the Western world to view the existence of the Arab people as one that is directly opposed to theirs, which thus justifies the stereotypes and preconceived notions that have been formed in many North American and European individuals. I argue that these caricatures created for Arabs allow for the oppression and dehumanisation of the East by Western political powers. The late Edward Said, a Palestinian-American literary theorist and once-professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, wrote a comprehensive critique of ‘Orientalist’ academic specialities in a now controversial text entitled Orientalism (1978). In his research, Said argues that the Occident (the West) and the Orient (the East) do not exist on an equal platform, but rather, that the West has very simply defined the East as something “other than themselves, and thus creates representations of it through literature, art, and media that are flawed; this flawed representation does not allow the East to speak for itself, and therefore the Orient remains misunderstood, and even demonised. This demonization, according to Said, allows for the complete dominance of Western ideals as the only true moralising ideals.

Said argues that “at the outset one can say While society has more or less tried to give more that so far as the West was concerned during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an assumption had been made 1 Janet Feasby, “ASC Launches Campaign to Promote Commitment to Truth in Advertising,” Advertising Standards of Canada, (2010): that the Orient [...] was, if not patently inferior to, then accessed March 31, 2011. http://www.adstandards.com/en/PR_ Dec_14_2010_EN.pdf 46

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in need of corrective study by the West.”2 The author sets up a binary that appears almost Apollonian and Dionysian; the West as rational, scientific, and representative of good Christian morals, while the East is irrational, subversive, and violent (via Islamic ideals). Most (if not all) of these characteristics can be found in documentative photography taken during Israeli air strikes on Lebanon, and during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). Martha Rosler, in an essay entitled In, Around and Afterthoughts (On Documentary Photography) (1989) suggests that sometimes “social institutions [serve] one class by legitimating and enforcing its domination while hiding behind the false mantle of even-handed universality…”3 She explains that some critical theorists have attacked this “myth of objectivity,” in which something like documentary photography is used by the media to denote pure truth. The first image that I would like to analyze is a 10”x15.25” gelatine silver print, entitled Christian militia mock the body of a young Palestinian girl killed in the Battle of Karantina (Beirut, 1967) taken by Britishborn photographer Don McCullin. In this heavily shadowed black and white image, six men appear standing in the middle ground of what appears to be a destroyed street— smoke billows out from the doors on the street, and it the background, it appears as though something is on fire. The image is haunting and confusing; the body of a woman lays sprawled out and foreshortened in the foreground, arms opened wide as though crucified, looking like a photographic representation of the death of St. Eulalia, a Christian virgin martyred in Spain. The men behind her are an image of utter disorder: one holds an AK 47, aimed as though he has just shot something, or someone, and the man next to him appears to be strumming an oud, a guitar commonly used in the Arab world. There is a man in the middle, who appears to be laughing with mirth, and three men to his right are staring at something in the distance. I suggest that this image is confusing because the title doesn’t translate to what is represented, although it has the potential to be true. What we are supposed to be seeing is Christian militia mocking the body of this dead woman, but none of them appear to be looking at her—they all stare past her. The use of the term militia is strange as well; the majority of men in this photograph are wearing bell-bottoms and tightly-fitted sweaters, as though they were ordinary civilians. I am not, however, going to dwell on arguing for the amount of truth that the title may or may not be purporting; my concern in analysing this image is assessing how it would be received in the eyes of a Western viewer.

instigated Lebanon in a new series of regional conflicts.4 The Christian militia referred to in this photograph were a group of dominantly Maronite-Catholics, under the leadership of Bachir Gemayel, with frequent support from Israel against the PLO forces.5 In regards to the nature of this photograph, I want to point out the intense irrationality of the scene depicted before the viewer. The fact that one man laughs hysterically, while another plays music before the body of a dead woman is something that John M. Mackenzie, author of Orientalism: History, Theory, and the Arts (1995) suggests “becomes an indicator of the monumental indifference to human life which is the supposed characteristic of the East […] Orientalist images imply timelessness, the absence of the historical dynamic of progress that represents Western superiority.”6 While in this case, Mackenzie is speaking about images like The Death of Sardanapalus by Delacroix (1827), I feel that this photograph is almost a contemporary translation of such a scene. McCullin, in taking this picture suggests, that he “[doesn’t] make any protest other than take photographs and show how bad it is.”7 I am not arguing that McCullin is single-handedly purporting that Arabs are irrational, blood-thirsty individuals—I’m sure his intentions in taking this photo were not anything more than he claimed them to be. It is the circulation of these photographs without their original context that is Fouad Elkoury, 14 JUILLET, ON WAR AND LOVE (2006)

problematic. I concede with John Tagg’s statements in his essay entitled Currency of the Photograph: New Deal Reformism (1988): “[…] we are not concerned with exposing the manipulation of a pristine ‘truth’, or with unmasking some conspiracy, but rather with the analysis of the specific ‘political economy’ within which the ‘mode of production’ of ‘truth’ is operative […]”8 This image, when viewed without the background knowledge of the specific circumstances surrounding it, heralds a blatant stereotype. The title, the only apparent information around the photograph besides its location in a collection and its materials, suggests an act that is not

This image was taken during the civil war in Lebanon, which was, at its most basic level, a result of dramatically increased Palestinian refugee presence in the 4 Ritchie Ovendale, The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Wars (New York: country. At the establishment of the state of Israel, some Longman Publishing, 1999) 114. 100,000 refugees fled into Lebanon alone—this resulted 5 Ibid., 116. in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) gaining a 6 John M. Mackenzie, Orientalism: History, Theory, and the Arts presence amongst the Lebanese; furthermore, as the cre- (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995) 46. ation of Israel changed the demographics of the nation, it 7 Don McCullin, “The Lebanese War, 1975—” in The Indelible Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Random House, 1978) 41. Martha Rosler, “In, Around, and Afterthoughts (On Documentary Photography)” in The Photography Reader, ed. Liz Wells (Abingdon: Routledge, 2003) 269. 2 3

Image: Photographs of War, 1846 to the Present, ed. Frances Fralin (New York: Abrams, 1985) 224. 8 John Tagg, “Currency of the Photograph: New Deal Reformism,” in The Burden of Representation: Essays on Photographies and Histories, ed. John Tagg (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988) 175.

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actually proven in the photograph. Furthermore, the idea of a ‘civil war’ suggests domestic unrest, as though these occurrences happen without instigation from outside, non-Arab forces—viewed with only this basic understanding of the war, the viewer is left to deduce that this sort of destruction is a result of internal irresponsibility on the part of the Lebanese society. Worse, it is made to look typical of the situation in the Middle East. Zachary Lockman, author of Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism (2004), states that “there is no objectively existing Orient; that entity, Said argued, came into being with a specific meaning for Europeans through [the production of] widely accepted truths about it, and thereby made a certain representation of it appear real.”9 In contradiction to this, a work by Khalil Joreige entitled Wonder Beirut: The Story of a Pyromaniac Photographer (1976-89) is a culmination of the entire body of work of the Lebanese photographer during the years of the civil war. It was installed in the Janine Rbayz Gallery in Beirut, in July of 1998, and manifested as 6452 rolls of film laid on the floor, “rolls containing photos taken by the photographer for the duration of the war but left undeveloped.”10 From a Lebanese perspective, photos of trauma and atrocity are thus hidden away, unprocessed and unseen; the need to document for Joreige is not done to identify to the world the hideous scenarios experienced on a daily basis, but rather as an exercise in futility. American and European photographers travel to the East to take pictures of unimaginable situations that rarely occur on such a frequent basis in the West; as Rosler suggests, “documentary is […] putting a face on fear and transforming threat into […] imagery. One can handle imagery by leaving it behind. (It is them, not us.)”11 For Joreige, it isn’t a recording of spectacle intended to elicit sympathy or understanding from foreign viewers, but a deeply personal way of dealing with trauma. The next image I would like to draw attention to is a work by French photographer Catherine Leroy, entitled Beirut, August 8th, 1982. Israeli Shelling from the Air, the Ground, Sea… (1982). I found this image by typing “Beirut” into a Google image search, and chose it because it came up several times on the first few pages. A hazy scene is depicted; the coastline of the city is enveloped in smoke, black and billowing, in the foreground and in the background, and some buildings appear to be in the process of being bombed, while others were assaulted earlier. From the title, we know that this is a result of the 1982 Israeli invasion and siege of West Beirut; however, it took me quite some time to find the name of the photographer and photograph online. In most cases, the image was Zachary Lockman, Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004) 187. 10 Jalal Toufic, “Post-War Lebanese Photography: Between the Withdrawal of Tradition and Unwordly Irruptions,” in We Can Make Rain But No One Came To Ask, ed. Jalal Toufic, Michele Theriault (Montreal: Concordia University, 2006) 76. 11 Martha Rosler, “In, Around, and Afterthoughts (On Documentary Photography)” 263.

thoughtlessly cut and pasted onto an amateur website with information about Lebanon. After some research, however, I found that the source of the image was from a compilation of her photographs accompanied about the war entitled God Cried (1983), which was accompanied with essays by Newsweek journalist Tony Clifton. In this book, the author and photographer engage in a dialogue on the Israeli massacre that resulted in the death of over 19,000 Lebanese, Palestinians, and Syrians.12 In the introductory remarks, Clifton asserts that “tens of thousands of civilians died in this now forgotten holocaust. There is still some discussion of Sabra and Chatila, […] but the far more horrid and extensive massacre represented by the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of the civilian sectors of Beirut is almost completely forgotten […] by the US media.”13 This photograph is part of a series of photographs that specifically takes aim at the violation of international laws by Israel in the shelling of Beirut; even the title of the photograph suggests the unforgiving and constant rain of violence—from the air, the ground, the sea. When Leroy’s work is not placed within its proper context, however, the image is difficult to read. This is a representation of Beirut that is not so unusual; the aggressors, (in this case, the Israeli war planes) are nowhere to be seen. Blame is not assigned, and this picture fades into one of many that exist without meaning. The Western observer may see a destroyed city, but without the title or explanation (which, as I had previously suggested, is hard to find unless you look for it) it is merely another war-torn zone as a result of unsophisticated Middle-Eastern governing. Said argues that the reasons for this lack of progress (by Western standards) is due to the way that the Occident is “dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, structuring, and having authority over the Orient.”14 So although in many cases these images of devastation are written off as natural occurrences in the East, it is sometimes a result of Western influences in foreign policy, as it was in 1982. Noam Chomsky, in his text Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (2003) echoes this sentiment when he states that “UN attempts to halt the aggression were blocked by immediate US vetoes. So matters continued through eighteen bloody years of Israeli atrocities in Lebanon, rarely with even a thin pretext of self-defence.”15 When images compiled for a good cause are ripped from their original meaning (as in the case with the work of Leroy) and then ignored, something of a defeatist attitude tends to manifest in the ‘Oriental’ individual.

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Noam Chomsky, Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2003) 167. 13 Catherine Leroy, Tony Clifton, God Cried (Michigan: Quartet Books, 1983) 2. 14 Edward Said, Orientalism. 3. 15 Noam Chomsky, Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance. 167. 12

In Sweet Talk: The Hilwe Commission (1992/2004) Lamia Hilwe, a Lebanese photographer commissioned by the Atlas group photographs dozens of facades of buildings in Beirut. The buildings symbolise spaces of national, cultural, and political significance in the city; the series is composed of a small black and white photograph, and a largescale colour photograph. The black and white shots were taken in 1992, as documents of the effects of the war, and the colour plates were taken in 2004, twelve years after the end of the war. The dichotomy between two varying forms of contemporary photography is challenging when placed side by side. Although the colour photographs are taken over ten years later, it appears that very little has changed; it’s especially odd when you consider that 2004 was the year that Beirut was being hailed once again as a top tourist destination.16 This imagery results in an entirely different attitude towards the incessant bombing that seems to happen in Lebanon every fifteen years or so; here, the buildings are shown before and after, black/ white and colour, cropped and spliced. It is an effective reflection for someone who has dwelled in Beirut and passes by these buildings understanding that they represent strife, oppression, and yet, a surprising zest for life. It speaks to the viewer, Western or not, to suggest that Beirut does not only exist when people are forced to notice that it does, during times of war, but wears its scars like a multicoloured banner, alerting the world to its continuous survival. Possibly one of the most problematic photos I’ve come across in my research is one taken by Stephen R. Brown, an American-born photographer in 1982, entitled PLO Soldier with Pistol and Artillery Shell, July 1982. This image was taken in Beirut, during the Israeli occupation of the Western part of the city. The photograph depicts a very severe-looking man holding a giant artillery shell in one hand and a pistol in the other; he sits on an unmade bed covered in dust and debris, much the like rubble that is around his feet and on the dresser behind him. The room looks uninhabited and horrific. He wears a typical sweater one would sport in the early eighties, but he is also in what appears to be white boxer shorts, soccer cleats, and knee-length socks. This is another image that denotes chaos and irrationality; he appears as if he were a mad-man, surrounded by filth, obviously lacking any real sense of what decent people should be wearing. His casual slouch alerts the viewer that it is not the first time he has held such weapons. This is once again a photograph that leaves plenty of room for misinterpretation and stereotype. In a small paragraph on the back of the page, Brown explains that he asked the man to pose after hearing his story: the refugee camp he was in had been recently bombed by Israeli air strikes. The house he sits in was one that he had just purchased before the air-strikes started, because he was planning on getting married. “The dust and rubble that surround According to Lonely Planet, find source here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/lebanon/beirut/ travel-tips-and-articles/76179 16

him came from a hole made by an artillery shell in the take pleasure in. It speaks to the history of Lebanon, and roof.”17 Quite possibly, this is the same shell that the man gives voice to the individual, even though we cannot see holds in the photograph. his face. This is of course what documentary photography could never achieve: the victims of war as singular entities Tagg argues that “the photograph is particu- with thoughts and feelings that mirror our own. larly forceful because of photography’s privileged status as a guaranteed witness of the actuality of the events it It is not only through documentary photogrepresents. […] This really happened. The camera was there. raphy that techniques of hegemony are used by the West See for yourself.”18 The idea of photography as a supposed to caricaturise Arab peoples. I was indignant to find that a vessel for truth is flawed, largely because the photograph photograph taken by photographer Spencer Platt in Beirut cannot actually depict the moments before and the moments after the Israeli bombing, entitled Affluent Lebanese drive after; additionally, it certainly cannot speak for itself, re- down the street to look at a destroyed neighbourhood 15 gardless of how adamantly others may suggest otherwise. August 2006 in southern Beirut, Lebanon (2006), had won If this particular photograph could articulate itself based the first prize in the World Press Photo Awards. The title is on what it represents, it would declare that was the viewer an accurate description of what it being depicted, although was looking at was an Arab man holding a live artillery Kim Ghattas, of BBC News in Beirut does a somewhat sucshell and a handgun, sitting amidst a very dirty room. cessful job of diffusing what seems to be the obviousness This literal reading results in a feeling of pity, fear, and of the photograph. She states that “Only in Lebanon can insuppressible superiority in the minds of an uninformed you find a Mini Cooper against a backdrop of bombed out Western audience—superiority for the fact that they (the buildings. Lebanese people are very hard to classify.”21 viewer) have not failed to progress past barbarism. Said She backs this up with a quote from the photographer suggests that “[Orientals are supplied with] a mentality, a who suggests that he took this photograph because “the genealogy, an atmosphere; most important, [they are seen picture challenges our notion of what a victim is meant to as] phenomenon possessing regular characteristics.”19 look like. These people are not victims, they look strong, they’re full of youth.”22 I would like to contrast this photograph with a series called On War and Love (2006) by Fouad What is irritating and frustrating about Elkhoury, a Lebanese-born artist living and working be- the controversy surrounding this photograph is how the tween Beirut and Paris. This collection documents the life Western media coverage of events in the Middle-East seem of the photographer as he evacuates Beirut in the summer to somehow lose track of the bigger picture. The fact that of 2006 due to the weeks-long air-strike by Israel on the Israel continued bombing the city well after a UN ceasecity in retaliation to Hezbollah taking two Israeli soldiers fire was ordered23 did not, for reasons unknown, seem to hostage. The particular photo I’ve chosen to comment strike up as much debate and scandal as this photograph of upon is entitled July 14 and is a black and white image of Lebanese teenagers in a car. I argue that this is a method two wicker stools and a low coffee table from an elevated of maintaining the inherent dominative mode of Western perspective. A pack of cigarettes and matches is on one idealism—the documentary photograph, in this case, is stool, a flashlight on the other. An ashtray rests atop an used to not only distract viewers from the more urgent unidentified white object on the table. What is intrigu- situation at hand, but to further discriminate against the ing about this body of work by Elkhoury is that it reads structure of their society. One can argue as well, that a like a diary. This image has plain text (in French) printed group of well-dressed young people driving by a mound of directly onto the image. Translated, it reads: 14 July - My rubble is a typical day in Beirut; why does Platt structure neighbours left this morning after a frightening night of the title to sound as if the youths are taking a tour? And bombing raids on the suburbs. I’m alone in the building, perhaps the most pressing question of all, does it really surrounded by the humming of the generators that provide even matter? This photograph winning top prize at the electricity a few hours a day. I put on a record by Marianne World Press Photo Awards is not only an ignorant choice on Faithfull in an attempt to drown the sound of the planes the part of the judges, but shows a blatant and repugnant but I soon take it out: incompatibility of situation? I think ethical disregard for the victims of an unwarranted and of my girlfriend in Alexandria who certainly worries like violent attack. mad. I check my e-mails. No message from her among the ads for “Viagra”, “Cialis” and “Enlarge your Penis”, but Although the histories examined in this one from a friend abroad who worries about me: “I don’t essay are thousands of years old, and as the critiques of know what to say, there’s no such thing as a greeting card Orientalism and Edward Said begin to fade into obscurity, saying ‘Sorry, your city is under siege’ but I just want you I continue to admire the spirit of Lebanon. To look at to know you’re on my mind’.” Beirut – 200620 photographs that turn the coastline of Beirut into something that looks like a black veil settling over the city is Although this scene presents an easily un- numbing, especially where memory is involved. I have derstood dialogue—cigarettes and a flashlight, the go-to faith, however, that the wealth of talented, contemporary for the Lebanese citizen under siege yet again—the viewer Lebanese photographers working in and outside the counis left with no choice but to hear exactly what the pho- try will succeed in negating the harmful stereotypes that tographer is thinking. Furthermore, it makes a reasonably have arisen since the advent of the camera, and will show terrifying situation seem tedious and routine, but not in a the world exactly why Lebanon is the oldest, continuallyway that perpetuates something the Arab individual would inhabited civilisation on earth. Stephen R Brown, “The Lebanese War, 1975—” in The Indelible Image: Photographs of War, 1846 to the Present, ed. Frances Fralin (New York: Abrams, 1985) 246. 18 John Tagg, “Currency of the Photograph: New Deal Reformism.” 160. 17

Edward Said, Orientalism. 42. Fouad ElKhoury, “On War and Love,” Fouad Elkhoury: Works, (2006): accessed April 1, 2011. http://www.fouadelkoury.com/works3.php?work=12 21 Kim Ghattas, “Lebanon War Image Causes Controversy,” BBC News (March 8, 2007): accessed April 4, 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6385969.stm 19 20

22 Ibid. 23 Human Rights 22

Watch, Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon During the 2006 War (New York: publisher unknown, 2007) 64. 23

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GULF VOICES SHORT FILM FESTIVAL: REVIEW by SHEYMA BUALI

As a Gulfie (or Khaleejiah), I’m very excited about the region’s fast growing film scene. It’s easy to say that the most exciting program to me at the annual Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is ‘Gulf Voices’ showcasing regional filmmakers’ work. Film of the Arabian Gulf peninsula is having its heyday today and the DIFF’s devoted section links their international reach to the local growing industry. ‘Gulf Voices’ is the fastening end of the festival’s

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“bridging” of “cultures”. For me personally, it’s an opportunity to visit how my regional peers are choosing to represent themselves. There is a prominent topicality that is coming out of the films being made by this new young breed of filmmakers that has caught my interest on a few levels. That is the focus on traditional, lost heritage of previous generations. As a region that has only recently brought the idea of documenting culture to the forefront, these films play a longlasting role. Except for the fact that they are being made through a contemporary mind frame, they are retroactively filling a void that is very necessary to fill.

this wave of films is just right.

Historically, the Gulf region’s filmic documentation was produced by British imperialists, leaving these films dripping with exoticism and bureaucracy. Later, and pertaining to the broader region, to compliment this, Western scientists visiting the area recorded what they saw to send home to scrutinise ‘other’ cultures.

At DIFF 2010, I was able to see eight of the Gulf-made short films. Only eight because most screenings were sold out: a good sign of great interest. ‘Gulf Voices’, along with the ‘Muhr Arab Shorts’ program, which also included at least one Gulf representative short in each session, presented an assortment ranging in genres and technical standards.

The retroactive documentation that is occurring now is thus vital to building a much-needed popular archive of self-representing films. Whether by way of exploring marginalised lifestyles, using a visual metaphoric style parallel to the traditional linguistic poetics of the region or re-enacting memories of more modern histories, it is the ‘self-representation’ of an other-wise continuously spoken for culture that is the exciting part here. In today’s fast moving growth, the timing for

Out of the eight films, there were six that I found particular interest in for their documentation of certain cultural ideas. The two films that had the strongest element of that were Hamama and Ar’Riyadh. These two films’ focus on human and social interaction make them characteristically ethnographic. While Hamama follows a woman of a certain age and her traditional medical profession, Ar’Riyadh focuses on the narrator and his

relationship with a changing city. HAMAMA - DIR. NUJOOM AL GHANEM, 64 MINUTES (UAE): WINNER OF THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE, MUHR EMIRATI This film follows Hamama, a dynamic woman in her nineties. She is a traditional healer living in a desert area on the edge of Sharjah. Her healing method, which includes herbal mixes, blood letting and cauterisation, is a dying practice. In the discussion after the screening, director Nujoom Al Ghanem explained that this film was her reaction to the endangerment of this profession. Interested in seeing it revived she set out to document the medical practice and every day life of Hamama, the practitioner. Recording the details of her work was a way of preserving these scientific methods on film. As a character, it is hard not to feel endearment towards her. Hamama is a dedicated, independent and charming individual. She fiercely embodies characteristics of a strong Gulfie woman, dressed in her leather batula she practices her self-taught medicine, living up to the reputation she garnered all over the country. The film is a strong cultural document to be added to the UAE’s now fast-growing archive. By following Hamama, audiences see more than the endangerment of her medical practice. Her home lies on the borders of a modern city reflecting something particular about her life. She straddles between the modernity of today and the tradition of her own generation, forcefully coming to terms with the physical changes going on in her surrounding area. For years Hamama would enjoy sitting outside her house drinking large pots of strong coffee while watching people go by. But today the space outside her house has turned into a construction site with a big road being paved, soon to become a major vein passing through, disrupting the serenity she is accustomed to. The anthropological value makes this a very pertinent film. In the stark contrast between Hamama’s way of life and profession versus all that surrounds her, we see Hamama as a testament to a lifestyle she maintained throughout her life despite the ongoing ‘modernization’ that in some ways stands against her. This film is recommended to anyone interested in seeing traditional medicines in practice. It also bears strong witness to the bridge between the fast changing lifestyles. AR’RIYADH - DIR. TALAL AYEEL, 10 MINUTES (SAUDI ARABIA) This film, named after the city it explores, takes its audience on a walk, bus ride, tea stop and onwards exploring its urban surroundings. The narration leads our nameless protagonist’s route, pondering life in Saudi Arabia’s capitol city, looking at the anxieties, fast lives and habits of its inhabitants. With globalisation taking over, there are still certain distinct characteristics that make Riyadh what it is. The film is made up of shoddy imagery, low-quality sound and botchy subtitles. Nonetheless, I see great

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value in it. It offers a glimpse at what is among the least commonly visited cities in the world. And that’s not because people aren’t interested, but because of the broad range of general restrictions (including religion, gender, purpose of visit, etc). Through this film audiences are able to transcend those hurdles and get an audiovisual introduction to Riyadh’s everyday and people. If treating the low quality of the film as a form of scripted observation, audiences can sense a certain reality of the city being portrayed. The audiovisual recording of a place that is not as accessible by the world’s general population is a document that should hold much value today and in the future. The next two films significance as cultural documents is in their presentation of visual and social scenarios not generally witnessed in the mainstream. SABEEL - DIR. KHALED AL MAHMOOD, 20 MINUTES (UAE): 2ND PRIZE WINNER: MUHR EMIRATI Three things struck me about this film. First, it is a silent short film. Second, it offers a rare glimpse at a lifestyle that is marginally represented in media from the UAE. And finally, the location was breathtaking; the mountainous backdrop offers a new view, different from the ‘bling’ sci-fi usually portraying the country. The film is the story of two young Emirati farmers who sell their produce on the side of the road. They live with their sick grandmother, trying to make enough money to afford medicine for her. Presented in scorched, saturated colours, the heat and hardship endured daily by these two boys is emphasized against the soft, bright matter of their useless fruit and vegetables. This script presented a side of UAE life that is seldom seen in the popular, contemporary media of today; the side of poverty and misfortune. Interestingly, and probably something I shouldn’t make a note of, the communication was so fluid that it took a while for me to notice that there was no spoken dialogue. Made with the intention of being an ‘art house’ film, the director Khaled Al Mahmood explored this new method of filmmaking, noting that not all styles are appropriate for all audiences. TO REST IN PEACE - DIR. FAWAZ AL MATROUK, 18 MINUTES (KUWAIT) To Rest in Peace is the first film I have ever encountered on the subject of the 1990/91 Iraqi invasion on Kuwait from the Kuwaiti perspective. While the Gulf War has been reflected on in number of American movies, this film offers a very long-awaited angle on the situation that was 20 years ago. Audiences can finally see a story on the screen from the eyes of a Kuwaiti household, void of all the American heroism Gulf War cinema is usually muddled in. And what’s more is that the script is based on real life events. Filmed with high quality production value, it is hard to believe that it was actually director Fawaz Al Matrouk’s first film produced as the thesis project for his film degree from the University of Southern California. Based on the true story of Malek, the film recounts the fear Kuwaiti civilians had of Saddam’s occupying forces. Passing by two dead bodies day after day, Malek struggles with overcoming his own apprehension regarding the respect for human life, questioning why these two men have not been buried. Quite profound to the making of the film, the location used was Failaka Island, a spot off the coast of Kuwait’s

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main land that had not been touched since the invasion. The script was based on a story told to the director as a young boy; Malek, the main character of the film, is in fact the Al Matrouk’s uncle. This film brings to life a very personal and poignant memory and will hopefully encourage more renditions from that point in Kuwait’s history. The final two films discussed here look at a symbolism that is unique to the Arab world. While Moustache deals with a detail of masculine identity, Leaking uses a visually metaphorical style that resembles literary poetics of the region. MOUSTACHE - DIR. MEGDAD AL KOUT, 15 MINUTES (KUWAIT) Moustache is a dryly-hilarious film about a man who could not grow a moustache, and thus could not get the respect he felt he should. Responding to the moustache as a large part of the male countenance and virility, this young man was surrounded by his family, friends and colleagues, who call him ‘bu shanab’ (guy with the moustache). A term of endearment, the nickname results in a twinge of humiliation each time. As the Lebanese writer Hassan Daoud once said, the moustache and its symbol of manhood was one that stood the test of time in the Arab region due to its continuous placement in sayings and folklore as a bond to a man’s honour. Bringing this folklore to the short film format, the various styles of moustaches in this film presented an opportunity for visual humour in contrast to our main character’s empty space in the centre of his face. The imagery wittily noted this mundane and banal detail as a major aspect to a man’s self-image, making a funny comment on Arab ideas on the culture of masculinity and the self-consciousness that comes with that. LEAKING - DIR. AMJA AL HINAI AND KHAMIS AMBOSAIDI, 5 MINUTES (OMAN) Leaking is a conceptual short film about family tensions. A young girl goes outside to play but is still able to hear the voices of her family members arguing. A metaphorical short film, it plays with temperaments of sound with the imagery. The film is shot amidst the small ‘sikkahs’ of Oman with traditional architectural as background. Unfortunately, both the visual and audio quality of the film left much to be desired, particularly against such a picturesque setting. But on a positive note, the development of conceptual movies like this may lead towards a new generation of more experimental short film that use traditional imagery. These six films, ranging in technical quality, each hold significance in how and what they’ve decided to portray. Previous years’ ‘Gulf Voices’ showcases had similarly cultural films within their program, some using hightech special-effects to tell desert folklore and spiritual myths particular to the region. This wave of traditional stories being produced, in some cases as directors’ firstmade films, illustrate that the younger generation of moviegoers-cum-moviemakers are seeking portrayals their own heritage. Bringing this in to a contemporary art form, filmmakers and audiences – as seen in the fast sell-outs of Gulfie film screenings – are looking for that which represents familiarity to their own culture. This independently collective focus within this newly galvanized film industry, shows an intelligent pursuit of being able to tell stories from the local, native perspective that has been missing for so long.

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M’HANNCHA

text and photos by NAIRA BADAWI

oasty almonds, tart orange and earthy cinnamon work wonders alongside buttered, flaky phyllo pastry. M’hanncha, or snake cake as I call it, is a Moroccan desert that has a sweet almond and orange mix rolled into phyllo dough and shaped into a cinnamon bun-like swirl. But it’s much tastier than a cinnamon bun, I promise!

INGREDIENTS: Pastry (snakeskin): • 1 box of phyllo dough • ½ cup melted unsalted butter • 1 egg yolk (made into egg wash: egg yolk and a tablespoon of water) • powdered sugarcinnamon Almond paste (the snake’s insides): • 2 cups/handfuls of almonds • ½ cup icing sugar3 tbsp orange juice • ¼ cup melted unsalted butter • 1 beaten egg yolk • 1 tsp vanilla extract

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STEPS: ALMOND PASTE: 1. If the almonds aren’t toasted, throw them onto a pan and cook them on low for about an hour or until the skins darken and the center of the nut turns light brown. The room should smell like almonds by now! If the almonds are toasted, you can obviously skip this step altogether. 2. Put the almonds, icing sugar, orange juice, butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the food processor and pulse until the paste reaches the texture you like. If you want the desert to be a bit more rustic, leave the paste to be relatively chunky. If you don’t, grind the almonds down as fine as possible. (You can go for ground almonds instead of whole almonds, that’ll give you a finer texture in the end). 3. Scrape the mixture out of the food processor, wrap it in saran wrap and refrigerate until you’re done prepping the pastry.

PASTRY AND COMPLETION: 1. Grab two sheets of phyllo dough and lay them out onto a flat working surface. Butter the top sheet and place two other pieces of phyllo right onto the buttered side. Butter the surface of the additional two you have just laid out. 2. Pull out the paste and with a few chunks of it in hand, roll out a cylinder about the thickness of a finger (I suppose finger thicknesses vary, so make it as thick as you want!). Make sure the cylinder’s long enough to go from one end of the phyllo to the other. Roll the phyllo over it and keep rolling until you have a cigar-like mess in front of you. 3. Butter the log then coil it into a swirl. 4. Continue making swirls until you run out of paste or dough, whichever comes first! Then take the swirls and place them onto a buttered and floured baking tray. Brush each one with a bit of egg wash (egg wash should be pretty watery). Douse the swirls in as much cinnamon as you’d like then let them bake in a 200 degree oven (Celsius) for about 20-25 minutes or until the outside is golden and crisp. 5. Once they’re out, hit them with a generous dusting of powdered sugar and garnish with raw almond slivers and you’re done! *You can also make a simple syrup to drizzle over the swirls! Instead of using water, use orange juice and a tiny bit of marmalade (if you have it).* This desert is the perfect balance of nutty, tart and sweet. The moist and chewy center compliments the crisp and light phyllo pastry encasing it. Have it alone, with a bowl of vanilla ice cream or a hot cup of black tea! Enjoy!

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ARABIC MUSIC TODAY

by KARIM SULTAN

ver the next instalments, I’ll be writing about Arabic music. It’s not an easy thing to talk about. This is quite true if there is an emotional investment (especially those of us “on the outside,” in the Diaspora, where cultural things like Arabic music seem to freeze in place), and a lack of direct knowledge of the genres and styles. But instead of comparing artists and styles right away or using approaches that might be outdated or make Don’t worry, you’re not lost. This is a perfectly things less clear, a thorough and clear approach from the valid question. After all, how can you begin to describe ground up is needed. something with any depth (let alone start to explain what’s wrong with it) before you can even define it? The question The last thing we need is for you to begin reading isn’t as easy as it looks. Let’s take a few guesses: and become disheartened with the idea that the music you might have loved all your life can only be explained with Arabic music is music that is sung in Arabic. long, academic terms. This makes sense, and it’s really convenient too. Now (especially now) many of us, artists and lis- Is it really that easy? This covers almost everything one teners alike, are experimenting with new sounds, looking will see on television, all the old music the parents and to the past for examples of what has been done, and put- the ‘folks back home’ listen to, the new stuff that sounds ting our ears around the world for what else is happening. like rock or hip hop until that one friend of yours puts With each generation, there are considerable changes, and on a whole album of someone just playing the oud or the things are gained and things are lost. qanun (no words!). Is this still Arabic music? It sounds like it, doesn’t it? Let’s get to it then — Arabic music is music made with Arab instruments.

“DON’T YOU JUST LOVE ARABIC MUSIC?”

WHAT IS ARABIC MUSIC ANYWAYS?

This is safer, right? After all, this takes us back to the greats. We hear a scratchy, black-and-white-era classic and see or hear the classical Arab instruments: the oud, the qanun, the ney, some sort of hand drum, the violin. Doum, tak! Shake your hips. Dabke, bellydance. The violin? And is that a guitar? A synthesizer? Hold on. Chill out mixes in the car with a smoke. Soft rock, hip hop, These are definitely not Arab instruments, right? And don’t and comfortable world pop. The sounds of Arabic music they play the all those ‘Arab instruments’ in Turkey and today are a varied landscape — just about as varied as the Iran too? And they play the santur in Iraq, Iran, and India, stations on the radio dial in almost any major city. but not in next-door Syria? Going online to search doesn’t help either. Before you know it, a YouTube comments deA bit harsh? Not if you’re a person who finds issues bate begins about who-invented-what-first and since we with the current state of Arabic music. In fact, you might still haven’t been able to fully explain what Arabic music find this sounds just about right. If you begin to criticize, is yet, nobody will fare well. Let’s try again. however, you’ll quickly find that the lines are already thickly drawn: “older is better” (golden-age nostalgia), “that old Arabic music involves singing and playing music in an stuff is too depressing” (escapism), “where are our great “Arabic way.” musical figures, like an Arab Mozart or Beethoven?” (inferiority, or a more sophisticated escapism), etc. Closer? The warmer you get, the more difficult it becomes to draw clear lines around what we think of Where does one even begin? That feeling you as musically Arab, especially when we take into account might get, when listening at a café, changing channels, the many numbers of ways things have been done. Music or being at a friend/relative’s house or party and just not made in Morocco will be very different than music made being happy with the sounds coming out of the speakers, in Oman, and even in one country, say, Egypt, music can is legitimate, isn’t it? “What’s wrong with what I’m listen- be made in almost too many ways, so can attempting to ing to?” There are so many places to start, so let’s start define music, but it helps to have a method, which we will from the top. develop together in the coming instalments.

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Doum, tak! Shake your hips. Dabke, bellydance. WHAT TIES ARABIC MUSIC TOGETHER?

SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? One of my main issues with the current production of much Arab music today is the change in approach that has occurred over the past generation. The introduction of ideas like “traditional” versus “modern” had a tremendous impact whose contours can be seen clearly today. Not to say, like before, that I am somehow insisting that we all must return to some golden past, to re-enact ‘what was done before.’ Arabic music, like the Arabic language, has been able to encounter a wide range of other approaches, systems, and vocabularies and take in seemingly ‘foreign’ elements while retaining a core practice that is able to reproduce itself and still—and this is what is important to me—reflect something that is inherently present or felt about the setting back on itself. (This however calls for a measure of caution, as it is far too easy to impose a certain set of perceived values on the setting that we wish to look at.)

Despite the many, many differences between musical practices, there is a cohesive sort of identity. This often is a difficult thing to discuss. Arabic music, like many other kinds of music, shows its influences. At the middle of the Persian/Iranian, Turkish, Indian, African, and European practices, observers will often have difficulty in seeing While many more strictly academic or consciously Arabic music as a whole, but give a sense of “wholeness” ‘tradition-minded’ will uphold the music of, say, Halab/ to each of the others. Aleppo in Syria (known for its preservation of what can be Even though this is jumping ahead quite a bit, seen as ‘ancient’ or ‘classical’ Arabic music, i.e. the songs this example can’t be resisted: some time ago I read a re- composed to the muwashah, a genre of metric poetry, and view of an album by Iraqi singer Farida Ali Mohammed by older practices that are passed down in the older way) and a person admittedly unfamiliar with her music (or Iraqi look down at the music of Cairo as being too cosmopolitan, music in general) and couldn’t offer much in terms of a too foreign or ‘modern,’ I see it as an exciting and still proper review. However, he didn’t hesitate to comment that viable model of what was done in the past and what can the percussion was “reminiscent of African drumming.” inform a modern approach. Of course, one never tosses out It was quite an unusual album, but the least interesting the classics. It would be foolish to discard one’s ‘classical’ thing about it was its percussion, but rather that, the in- literature or music, as often times these serve as a model strumentation and production was far more ‘pop’ than your to artists in the future to re-interpret as a sort of archive typical Iraqi art music and was a sort of fusion of the two. of what a certain practice was and can represent and set a The smallest research effort (especially now with growing historical standard. In this case however, setting is the key. online archives of Iraqis preserving their art music after In Cairo, between the 1920s and the 1930s, for the invasion) could have clarified this. example, older 19th Century genres of popular song, OttoThis sense of ‘wholeness’ can be confusing to the man-era court music, music of the cabarets and nightclubs unfamiliar. Sometimes a single artist will have more diversity (frequented by European soldiers), jazz, Italian light opera, in the styles they produce than the perceived differences new European art music, Sufi songs, and vocal techniques between those big ‘cultural blocs’ (Arabic, Turkish, etc). learned by recitation of sacred texts all came together, sometimes all at once in performance. The subject matter But what ties all this together? You can look at ranged from colloquial reflections on relationships and curthis in a number of ways, but a good place to start would rent affairs (social and political), songs of protest, elegant be to say that the Arabic approach tends to favour deal- bourgeois love, highly erotic odes to one’s beloved, etc. ing with the text first. The core of this idea is that the Now, well into the 21st Century, instrumental singer is giving the listener a taste, in a way, of what the words mean, transmitting their meaning through the way music, highly structured and repeatedly reproducible songs, they shape, ornament, pronounce, and emote the words. and an incredible variety of sounds available become both a Much attention is usually given to what poetry is chosen, plus and a minus to listeners and artists. The push towards as often a singer or ensemble can go between the very what is perceived as ‘the new’ and a superficial approach old and very new poetry (often the intricately difficult to ‘the old,’ the ending of many teaching relationships that rhythms of the older art music are shaped directly after produce and develop singers and musicians, the growing the poetic meter) and often with great variation in each inability of many to read and understand Arabic (even performance. The instrumental backing was seen exactly amongst many for whom an Arabic dialect is their main as that, a backdrop, a support for the sung music, with language), and the understanding that music is simply a complex musical system providing the structure to the meant to be listened to passively, all have a dramatic imperformance. Later developments will place less empha- pact on what it means to listen to and make Arabic music. sis on what was often largely a highly developed set of In the next issue of Kalimat, we will get into some improvisations and melodies to a more rigid, composed approach—coming from the understanding that the old more detail and discuss some suggestions for the future. was merely ‘emotional’ and ‘felt’ and the new was ‘rational’ and ‘modern’ and inherently more complex.

Make sure to visit “New Media Extras” at kalimatmagazine.com for interactive components of this article. K A L I M AT

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TRANSIT CITIES: REVIEW by SHEYMA BUALI

DIRECTOR: MOHAMMED HUSHKI STARRING: SABA MUBARAK, MOHAMMAD QABBANI AND SHAFIQA AL TIL

ucky enough to attend the Dubai International Film Festival for the second time, my interest was, once again, in the Arab films. I saw mostly shorts, and most of them were great: creative writing, intense acting, a range of production values, a nice diversity overall. But among the features, I noticed a new variety of films, one with a common theme: the protagonist who left to the West years ago has now come back. Using a fish-out-of-water format there is a culture clash played out by an incessant interpolation whereby the protagonist is confused and frustrated by [their own] local culture. In the post-colonial flavour, what we are left with is a premise of “man against [his own] othered society”. This plays out in Microphone from Alexandria, a great film showcasing the immense underground musical and visual talent in the city. Here, perhaps this ‘new to town’ approach is used as a vehicle to really draw out the difficulty that the main character goes through as a producer attempting to get these artists a gig. By allowing the audience to follow the protagonist through his maze of bureaucracy, the movie illustrates the information and culture control in Egypt, a form of censorship that should be broken away from in order to celebrate the arts and promote individual expression. But the premise I speak of is more clearly played out in Transit Cities, a Jordanian film about a woman who comes back from the US to Amman while going through a divorce (what seems to be a cultural faux pas). In Amman, she is aggravated by the religion, she is annoyed by the globalization and disturbed by the smugness on one-side and the passivity on the other. The director of the film, Mohammed Hushki, wanted to highlight the setting of Amman as a place that is merely transit for many different people, in particular the Jordanians who have left only to come back bringing with them the idea that they are, at anytime, ready to leave again. Hushki mentions in an article in the Jordan Times that the film is meant to show how polarized the city of Amman has become. A pious and conservative half is on one side and a globalized, Western thinking “neurosis” on the other. This premise of the film is based on this clash amidst the Ammani community and is played out through one main protagonist, Laila. She is annoyed by either side, and does not seem interested to fit in to any of it.

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Laila, the character through whom we follow these ideas adds a certain layer of discomfort to the picture. Her representation of the independent liberal woman is by way of her painfully tight jeans, messy hair, cleavage popping, smoking-on- the-streets (indeed yet another cultural faux pas), and hanging out with a stereotypical intellectual married ex-boyfriend while he lies to his wife about it (despite the mocking of Laila’s liberal-morale). By this point, it is the representation of the theme and the confused outlook it presents that are somewhat uneasy.

Unfortunately, however, besides this cliché and weak representation, there is some truth to it, she actually does represent a good deal of people. This film attempting to illustrate the two poles by placing a [supposedly] liberated, independent woman in the middle is uneasy because we see so much of this. There is a popular misleading and somewhat naïve expectation of what ‘development’, both social and societal, should be. Based on the ideas that Hushki is presenting regarding his illustrations of the two poles, couldn’t we say that it is somewhat fantastical to

believe that a changing city will be so harmonious? And looking at Laila’s reaction to the piousness of her sister and mother, isn’t it a bit narrow minded to think that those who have changed alongside the changing city are inferior? Again, unfortunately, many people do; this kind of postcolonial judgement is everywhere. Acting as a lens through which the hometown (Amman in this case) is portrayed as backwards and fanatic adds to this existing attitude. As an Arab who has gone back and forth between my ‘homeland’ and the West, I identify with that person on the screen from when I was a young teenager. At that age, I didn’t recognize the line between teenage angst and judgment of the nuances of a local cultural. It is only at one final point during the climax where Laila’s family has a big blow-up on morality, that her sister puts her in her place. In response to her comment about going ‘back to the kitchen to cook for the kids’, her sister points out the misfortune of what her idea of being ‘cultured and liberated’ is. While she’s out being her ‘free’ self, it is her veiled, married sister who is making payments for the house that their parents live in and all else. The film almost entirely seemed to showcase stereotypical characters that were the thorn in our protagonist’s freethinking side. She being the active female character amongst both, other passive females and even more passive males, puts her in a more daring situation, packaging her as superior to the rest, perhaps for not fitting into the two categories of Ammani society that have been presented to us: she is presented as an independent thinker that doesn’t fall into the pigeonholes that everyone else does. So in the end I was a bit lost. While I appreciate that the filmmaker has identified a general issue that is blazing across the entire Middle East, that conflict between ‘religious dogma’ and the ‘globalized’ towards the grave point of neoliberal, the portrayal of it was skewed in its drawing the main character as a just-back-from-the-West woman with issues as the person through whose eyes we are meant to be questioning local society. The interpolation here is palpable, and although it is a story by a native of the society we are watching the film about, this society is portrayed as more of an ‘other’ society as any foreign film would. I could understand Laila’s frustrations, but I thought the portrayal and form of question was immature and disrespectful of local traits and contexts. The only voice we actually hear, again, the only eyes through which we as audiences see, is that of this “empowered” Westernized woman, which in turn completely diminishes any ‘local’ voice the film could have presented. Unlike the Microphone case, the ‘vehicle’ here was lost to a scoffy attitude that was ultimately judgmental and adolescent in it self.

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SERVICE, SHERUT: VISUAL TOUR OF PALESTINE

text and photos by DANAH ABDULLA

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Constantly photographed as a place of sadness, conflict and refugees, I made sure my lens captured Palestineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essential beauty - the way I experienced it and the way its inhabitants see it.

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We were searching for the Arab area in Haifa and we knew we found it when a passing car had George Wassouf’s “Habibi Kedah” blasting from the speakers. K A L I M AT

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THE SHOPKEEPER:

text and photo by NOORA SHARRAB

The hustles of their feet scurry leaving dust to sweep through his feet, swollen from walks that have taken him from city to city, in refuge of a place to find and return his body back home. There is life that continues to stir hope in returning, in surviving, no longer able to dedicate his willing formed time into thriving. We are missing the point. We are sinking beneath these muddled bodies that lose hope in the destruction that continues to occupy their minds in the midst of long-lost land. The shopkeeper sits outside, on the tip of a broken perforated chair, in the corners of his dark corner shop; every day, the same passerbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s swift through, Hussein, Amal, Imm Abed, Omar and Ali, off to another day, bounded by fences and walls that unify their bodies, towards a lingering yearn, a nostalgic thirst, to wet their tongues with the fruits al-Wattan, Al-Quds, holiness of ancient lands, torn by battles that reminisce every street with rocks that stand witness to the scars that bleed furiously the disharmony that have worn-out the clothes on your backs. And the shopkeeper still sits outside, dull with the dusts that brush his bearded face softly, straining even the smile that once fought against the suns hot golden rays, darkening his olive complexion, painting his eyes with colorless shades of greys. Today, Khaled walks in with an unfamiliar face, a familiar foreignness that stands colorfully, carrying in her hands a grass-green notebook, with a pen dripping with unwritten words of dark long-forgotten tales. The shopkeeper stands tall underneath the splintered rooftops, hiding from the sharp rays of the days break. He exchanges his jagged chair to the rock 70

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that lays in the tip of his thrift-shop staring coldly at old shoes, vases, broken watches and frame-tops that capture reminders of colonial portraits driven miles and miles to be placed in his personal encamped daily-outlet. She sits calmly, waiting, staring at the creases in the shopkeepers face, trying without a nudge to notice the tears that have long engraved the tips of his face. She begins, with the winds, painting words that fall from the shopkeepers mouth unto the nakedness of her white sheets. And it begins. He awakens the long-kept-away memories that moved him tenaciously from farm-lands, city-streets, checkpoints, un-paved borders, ending evidently to the tips of wavering blue flags, and white delicate sheets that hung above him, against wind-whistles and wet thunders. She writes. Pauses. Only pushed back by the wavering inks of her pen, that scurries to catch every pleading word hungry for a listener, a reader. The shopkeeper breaths in and stops abruptly, only to offer her some black Turkish coffee, that boils madly in the wakes of beating hearts. She sips a taste of a long history. Of every morning gesture that is dressed with the warmness of, al-Finjan al-Ahwa. The hands of the clock move about in a hurry, forcing the girl to rise, in gratitude, to the encapsulated moments captured and kept by the shopkeeper. She departs. The shopkeeper sits back on the broken perforated chair staring away at the rolling dusts that dulls his face and steals his smile while Hussein, Amal, Imm Abed, Omar and Ali scurry by.

Photo by Karim Marzouk K A L I M AT

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ARAB AMERICAN WOMEN TAKE THE STAGE

by Shatha Almutawa

Silenced. Dehumanized. Villainized. Those are the words that come to mind when one thinks of the Arab American experience, especially after September 11. But the ethnic profiling and incarcerations of Muslims across the United States, the news of Guantanamo Bay, and the war on Iraq created an unexpected stir in the Arab American communities—a bigger involvement in the arts, and a more pronounced presence on stage.

PALESTINIAN AMERICAN THEATRE Betty Shamieh grew up speaking Arabic and listening to Lebanese and Egyptian music in San Francisco, where her parents made their home after immigrating from Palestine in the mid sixties. “Almost the entire village of Ramallah immigrated to the US,” Betty says, so she was immersed in Arabic culture throughout her childhood. After getting her undergraduate degree in English from Harvard and an MFA from Yale, Shamieh established herself as a playwright in New York City. Her plays draw from her experiences as an Arab in America, but are also rooted in history. Roar, about a Palestinian American family in Detroit during the Gulf War, was produced off-Broadway. In The Black Eyed, which was performed both in New York and in Greece, four Arab women meet in heaven: Delilah from biblical times, Tamam from the time of the crusades, Aishah, a suicide bomber, and a contemporary architect. Heated arguments ensue. But perhaps most interesting is Territories, whose main character is a woman who insists on traveling to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage during the Crusades. On the way, she is kidnapped by the crusader Reginald of Chatillon, who was “one of the best torturers but also one of the best seducers.” This event was a catalyst for Salah El-Din’s victorious battle in 1187. So who is this woman? “From her perspective,” Shamieh says of her protagonist, “she said ‘I caused the war that ended the crusades, and nobody thought it would be worthwhile to write my name.’ That’s how the play starts out.”

Even as her work is often set in violent contexts—the Gulf War, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the crusades—Shamieh creates real characters who are neither victims nor villains. These negative images of the Arab as either villain or victim are all too common in the American media, which makes it difficult for westerners to relate to Arab Americans. “I think that’s part of the dehumanization.”

“I feel that there is hope in the Middle East,” Shamieh says. “Not long ago the Arab world was more culturally and scientifically advanced than the West.” But for westerners to recognize this, Shamieh believes that Arabs The idea for Territories came to Shamieh on a visit would have to realize the importance and power of the arts. “By supporting to the West Bank, where she was teaching playwriting to an artist you’re helping decide how your image is shaped, how your children children at the Aideh refugee camp. She tries to go back are treated in school. People like Edward Said make it easier to be an Arab every few years to lead more playwriting workshops. “It’s academic in America. I was an English major and I felt that very strongly, very important to show children theatre too,” she says. “If because people associated me with Edward Said.” Her goal for the near future you’re involved in theatre as a child it teaches you how to is to have a play produced in the Arab world. “My plays shouldn’t be done in Swedish and German and Dutch before they’re done in Arabic!” be a public speaker and have poise.” 72

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Raffo remembers her first visit to Iraq in 1993 fondly. After taking a bus from Amman to the Iraq border, “the man just shook my hand and looked so intently into my eyes and said ‘Welcome to your father’s country. Know that our people are not our government.’” I was blown away by that. People on the street wanted to nurture me, talk to me, tell me their stories. I didn’t get a sense of an anti-American nature.” In fact, after September 11, Raffo’s Iraqi family was devastated. “My uncle was trying to reach me for three days, he kept calling and calling, but the phones in Iraq are always suspect but at that time the phones in New York were hit and miss. Three days later he left a message on my machine and it was just this triumph of loving relations,” Raffo recalls. “He went on and on with this declaration of his care and sorrow for what had happened and his sorrow for what he called my great city. I found it so touching because they had lived through so much bombardment. So they knew what it was like. And I think that that’s what he was communicating to me. The whole family in Iraq knew what it was like to have an attack on their city and I thought it was so unique that he kept saying ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’”

ARAB PLAYWRIGHT IN THE FROM IRAQ TO AMERICA AMERICAN SOUTH Heather Raffo was born in the United States to an Iraqi father and an American mother. Her play Nine Parts of Desire came to life after Raffo’s visits to her family in Baghdad. “My time spent with them was full of conversation. Full of getting to know each other, sharing from the deepest parts of ourselves. In writing the play I was interested in finding out who I am as an Arab woman, as an Iraqi woman, and as an American woman with Iraqi heritage.”

Suehyla El-Attar, Egyptian American actress and playwright, takes the stage in the American south. Her play The Perfect Prayer, which has been performed across the US, portrays a young Muslim woman in Mississippi and her relationship with her conservative family as she questions her culture and religion. El-Attar was inspired to write this play after taking a college course her father taught on Contemporary Muslim Society.

“One of the things that happens growing up in a bicultural world,” El-Attar says, “I think that you end up with no gray area as you’re growing up. Everything is either good or bad. There’s no middle ground for learning.” In the play the protagonist goes from one extreme to the other. “I wrote this Nine Parts of Desire is about nine Iraqi women, play when I was nineteen. I wrote it about my family. I wrote it as a way for and their complex lives and thoughts during the war. anything that I had ever wanted to say to my parents, I finally said it to them Even though the tales that unfold on stage are harrow- on stage. Hadia got to embody all that courage.” ing, one of the characters, Huda, says “Exile in London for the intellectuals is mostly scotch.” She goes on to exEl-Attar stresses that her work is not about Arab or Muslim experiplain why she supported the American war on Iraq, even ence, but about universal experience. “It was never meant to be about being Arab or about being a Muslim. It was about a family,” though she marched against war in she says. When an Arab character says a funny line Vietnam, Beirut, and Chile. “I prefer on stage, “That line is said and everybody laughs. this chaos to permanent repression and cruelty. Saddam is the worse Muslims, Christians, Jews, agnostics, atheists... They enemy to the people than anybody laugh in recognition of family.” else. He beheaded 70 women for being El-Attar also acted in the play Bluish in the prostitutes—He made them prostirole of a Jewish woman. This “was the easiest role tutes. They kidnap a woman—she’s for me to do,” she says. “[The playwright] wrote the just going from her car to her house. They take her as a slave. Sex slave or character so well that I thought I knew her. A lot of her insecurities are mine. She has a great monologue house slave when they are in their where she talks to a woman who’s not Jewish and she hideouts. When he finishes with her tries to explain to her what it’s like to be Jewish.” he goes to her family saying she’s a At the end of the play the predominantly Jewish prostitute. He puts her head in the street. There was no law if you’re a audience asked which of the actors in the play were Jewish. “They would always say that they thought prostitute. You are beheaded. So what chaos is worse than this?” that I’m Jewish.” The response to the play, which was performed in New York, London, Chicago and other cities, was resoundingly positive. Iraqi women “tended to be extraordinarily moved by it. They stayed after the show just crying. They cry from a very deep place and they want to hold on to me and hug me and cry, then they want to feed me,” Raffo says. “They felt so represented by the complexities of the issues in my play. I don’t give one side of the Iraqi story. I give the other side too. Iraqis are forced to live on all these sides of issues. To have a play that represents the internal civil war is refreshing for them but also very hard. The women feel like I’m saying things that—not that they can’t say, but to say it all at once and enact it. That’s powerful!”

El-Attar performed the athaan, or call to prayer, for the first woman-led prayer in New York City in February 2005. Men and women prayed side by side led by Amina Wadood, a professor of Islam who focuses on women in the Quran. When she was growing up, “It was not the prayer that comforts me, but the call to prayer,” she says. “When I was little I would call it. My grandfather was a mu’ethin and very well known in Cairo.” El-Attar’s current project is a commission for Horizon Theatre, home to the world premiere of The Perfect Prayer. The play is inspired by the historical events in Clarkston, Georgia surrounding the youth soccer team The Fugees.

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STREET ART IN QATAR: MOVEMENT OF LIBERATION

by RANA Al-KHATIB, SHANNON FARHOUD & ASHLENE RAMADAN

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usic and politics often go hand in hand, and as pro-democracy revolutions spread throughout the Arab world, one sound in particular is echoing the hopes, dreams, and frustrations of the people. Arab hip-hop, once relegated to the sidelines, has emerged as the soundtrack of the resistance.

Photo by Shannon Farhoud

A crowd gathers around a group of break-dancers rapidly getting down and moving their arms in different directions to the hip-hop music. The crew of five is dancing on a basketball court that seems to be turning into a club. The only visible things in the crowded area are the crew of five and the bright spotlight. All that can be heard is the loud thumping of heavy hip-hop beats. The deep base is echoing in the distance. The floor is vibrating, hands, knees, bodies hitting the ground. The break-dancers are determined to put on a show and want to prove to the crowd they have something to offer. This is not a scene on the busy streets of New York, but you would be surprised to know, it is happening on the sandy roads of Qatar. Street art is becoming more popular in Doha Events, such as Battle of the Bands and the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, have been increasing in the past few years and local artists are performing at these events. There is change in the culture. Locals in the Middle East are taking in trends from around the world, “You can see, commercially speaking, globalization is here in a very big way,” said Robert Wirsing, a political science professor at Georgetown University in Qatar. “It’s also here in terms of media. The news agency, Al Jazeera, is very well known and it’s reaching out to the Eastern part of the U.S.” In Qatar’s case, there’s also globalization of street art, “I wouldn’t call it Westernization. It’s mixing. There’s a lot of similarity. Music can mutate and spread very naturally,” said Sonali Pahwa, a sociology professor at Northwestern University in Qatar. According to Pahwa, the media plays a big role in art globalization, especially in Qatar, whether it is dance or music. This same opinion is shared by Yassin Alsalman, better known as The Narcicyst. With his dark Oakley eyeglasses, khafi patterned bow tie and chunky Arabic scripted ring, the Narcicyst is an Iraqi rapper and producer based in Montreal, Canada who produces music in both Arabic and English. “I never questioned why hip-hop. Hip-hop was natural; it was something we grew up with, musically. It was on television, it was the CDs that were coming to me, it was my friends, the way people dressed around me, and it was in the community,” said The Narcicyst. “I started K A L I M AT

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OMAR OFFENDUM Photo by Shannon Farhoud

writing at the age of 14 but really recorded at said. the age of 17 and then I put out my first album when I was 19.” Omar Chakaki, who goes by Omar Offendum, is another globally recognized Arab The Narcicyst’s music is well known all artist who closely works with The Narcicyst on around the world capturing his life experiences the development of Arab rap not only in the and showing appreciation toward Arab culture. Middle East, but in the United States as well. Many of his lyrics, in both English and Arabic Together, Offendum, the Narcicyst and other are based on political and social issues in the talented artists released “#Jan25,” a popular new Middle East. song dedicated to the recent uprising in Egypt and named after a hashtag on Twitter. “I did my [Bachelor of Arts degree] in political science and communication studies and Offendum is a Syrian-American who then my masters in Media Studies and I think my grew up in Saudi Arabia. “I went to a Saudi career is that,” he said. “At first when I started school growing up, so music was technically making music, I was communicating our politi- haram [forbidden]. But, I grew up listening to cal experience, so that’s what I was doing in my [hip-hop] as part of the culture. My parents were BA. Then in my master’s studies I did it on Arab relatively liberal and open-minded and they listen identity in the social form of arts like hip-hop.” to music, much like the majority of the people in the Arab world do,” he said, adding: “Music The Narcicyst who grew up in Dubai is a big part of our culture. I was very blessed to now lives in Montreal and has really tried to use have their support in doing what I do.” his education and personal interests to better the understanding of the Arab world. He now Unlike most religious leaders in Islam teaches a class at Concordia University about the who believe music with the use of instrument development of the Arab Hip-Hop culture. “I al- is forbidden, Offendum sees more to the music ways meshed the two and made sure both worlds with his strong lyrical and poetic background. crossed each other because both worlds didn’t necessarily respect each other,” The Narcicyst “I’m not an Imam and I never claim 76

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to be and so I’m not going to sit here on a pedestal and preach with my music,” he said. “I express myself as an artist and human being. My understanding and perception of Islam is very inclusive. That said there is obviously a moral code and compass with being Muslim and that’s something, Hamdulillah, I’m rooted in. It’s my religion and culture but it doesn’t hold me back.”

“It’s more than a hobby now,” he said. “My crew and I practice everyday until I feel exhausted and can’t move my body anymore.”

More and more people are taking up break dancing in Qatar. The Md’z crew is even teaching at Falcon Academy because many people are interested to learn the moves. “It takes years for someone to be a good break-dancer and Offendum, like The Narcicyst, uses his cultural this takes time to happen,” Hamdi said. experience in his lyrics. “I’ve been performing in the Middle East more because hip-hop is starting to grow more,” he said. “There is more of a demand for it; naturally people want to see artists, not just American artists. They see that our generation is seeking people to represent them in a He said his parents initially struggled to accept his more holistic way, people who are coming from where they break dancing, but they came around to the idea when he are coming from and not talking about things that they began getting paid to perform at events around Doha. Red can’t relate too. Because of the level and quality of the Bull, an international beverage company, sponsors several music we are making is similar to that, it’s of a standard break-dancers and gave the Md’z a chance to perform in that isn’t amateur anymore. The shows that I’ve done from opening and closing events such as the Doha Tribeca Film places like Beirut to Amman to Damascus to Doha to Dubai Festival. Like Hamdi, The Narcicyst faced issues with family have been very well received.” when he first got into the industry.

PARENTS AND HIP-HOP

DANCE IN HIP-HOP Not only is American rap expanding in Qatar, break-dancing has made its way up, gaining fans. A young 21-year-old Egyptian, Abderahman Hamdi, has been an active break-dancer from the age of 10. “I didn’t know what break-dancing was at first, I was a little devil and kept flipping and wrestling,” Hamdi said. He started to find out about what break-dancing was and liked the idea. He had watched videos of people dancing on the streets. He proposed the idea of trying to break-dance to his friends and they liked it, which lead them to form a crew that they called ‘Md’z.’ According to Hamdi, in Qatar, the Arab society sees break-dancers as uneducated youth who perform ‘Western Street Dancing’. It’s something against traditions and religion. “For me, I take this hip-hop culture and try to make it fit with my culture,” Hamdi said.

“Well my mother and father always heard me bumping music really loud at the house. But, when I went to university they were afraid that I would focus too much on that aspect of my life. Now only 6 to 7 years later is where they see the results of what we were doing. It has become a self- sufficient thing that’s bigger than hip-hop, bigger than just the music and shows. It has become cultural, taste making together with our friends or a more artistic movement than just the music,” said Alsalman. The Narcicyst has preformed all over the world and has been the opening act for several artists like Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, A-Trak, Dead Prez and several others. “At first, it’s hard because musically hip-hop, is not as deep as Abdul-Halim. In the sense that the soundtrack is not as written out, note by note unless you have an artist like Kanye [West] who layers his music with instruments. But gaining that respect was hard. But, people are being open to the possibility of this being beyond a childhood dream. It could be something real. We made sure we took that and blended it with the live element and blended it with the poetic side of what we do. So, people that might disregard the drum will listen to the words,” adds Narcicyst. “Our parents don’t understand the music itself. My mom always says a joke that it sounds like a broken record because it’s the same beat over and over again. But, when they just hear the lyrics from artists like me or the Narcicyst they respect it and they understand we are saying some really important things, some powerful things and they encourage us,” said Offendum.

LANGUAGE BY PREFERENCE

THE NARCICYST Photo by Shannon Farhoud

The street art trend has been growing in Qatar. More local street artists are performing at events. It’s natural for young people to experiment with different kinds of music and exploring what’s new. But slowly, they develop their own taste, according to Professor Pahwa. “We are originally Arabs but the way I dream, I dream in English, the way I think, I think in English except if the situation is an Arabic experience then I will think in Arabic. So when I write my verses, I write how I think. So, we speak a combination of English ‘Ya3ni’ (kind of). It just comes out that way. The words will seep themselves into my verses. Sometimes I write a full Arabic verse because I want to speak on a certain thing but it isn’t just about being Arab, it’s just the way we linguistically articulate ourselves,” said the Narcicyst. K A L I M AT

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Many Arabs rap in English instead of Arabic because they don’t feel right when they’re singing. “Just because many Arabs rap in English, it doesn’t mean they’re abandoning their culture,” said Pahwa. Many Arab parents don’t agree with street art because they see it as uneducated people who don’t have a future. They don’t want their children to be portrayed like this. “At first my parents were having a difficult time accepting the fact that I break dance, they’re worried it’ll distract me from my studies,” said Hamdi. However, Hamdi is now in this third and final year in Aeronautical training and will graduate as a first cadet pilot in June and hopes to become a captain soon. Not all artists perform bilingual. Fouad Abdulhadi, a 22-year-old Palestinian, has been an Arabic rapper for eight years.

A big part of Abulhadi’s music involves commentary on politics in Palestine and the Arab lifestyle. He said lyrics weren’t initially important to him at first but have become a part of who he is and what he loves to do. “I’m getting shows and the chance to travel to other countries to perform and I’m also getting paid for it.” There’s a reason why English rap is #more popular than Arabic rap in Qatar. It’s because the young Arabs try to mimic the Western society because they see it as ‘cool.’ “Hip-hop comes from the United States so I guess it’s a Western influence,” said David Albanese, an American living in Qatar. “But it’s exciting because the Arabs maintain their identity while experiencing a different culture.”

Even though Arabs are rapping in English, they “Arabic is my language, why should I rap in Eng- still have a sense of who they are and their heritage. “I lish when I can express my feelings in Arabic way better think the future we were thinking about is actually there than I can in English?” he said. He started writing his now. Slowly, if you go to places like Lebanon, Palestine, own lyrics at 10 when the second intifada happened in and even in the Gulf, you’ll see new artists coming out. Palestine in 2000. These kids that came from other places are now adults and they’re making music. It will find its place, inshallah [If God “I’m a Palestinian, you don’t need to learn poli- be it], in a cultural form. But, it’s there in a musical form tics. I am politics,” he said. The Narcicyst said he was also definitely. There is a want for it, we just have to develop influenced by political events. the need for it in the society,” explains the Narcicyst. “Hip-hop stands for highly intellectual people Arabs are not the first to use art to break stehovering over politics, the hyphen in between the hip and reotypes, African Americans took this same initiative to the hop is the land that we [artists] walk on,” he said. try and find voices for themselves. Over the years, art forms like hip-hop helped develop the African-American Abdulhadi travels to Palestine for shows. “I rap identity. In time, the Arab youth will also create their in Palestine. It’s different when you’re in the environment own cultural voice. your rapping about. You feel it more and the people around you understand how you feel.” “There is a very healthy respect for poetry and

ABDERAHMAN HAMDI Photo by Saif Alnuweiri

FOUAD ABDULHADI Photo by Saif Alnuweiri

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OMAR OFFENDUM Photo by Shannon Farhoud

spoken word in the Middle East. It’s a big part of our culture. The younger generation recognizes that and they see what we are doing as hip-hop artists, it is a continuation of that tradition,” Offendum said.

THE MD’Z CREW Photo by Saif Alnuweiri

With time, all these artists have showed a different side of music. Arabs are using their talents to fight western stereotypes such as the influence of terrorism and religious oppression. “The future of hip-hop in the Middle East is very positive; there is definitely a lot of important things that can happen out here,” Offendum said. “60 percent or more of the general population in the Middle East is under 30 and hip-hop is very much a youth culture, even though it has been around for 40 years. It continues to regenerate itself as a youth culture and be something the youth can use as their own. With all those layers, there’s a lot of room to really start creating a whole array of cultural diversity in the Middle East and still at the same time, respects one’s identity as Arabs and allows us to explore it even further.” This article is a collaboration between Shannon, Ashlene and Rana who produced the documentary “Broken Records”.

Make sure to visit “New Media Extras” at kalimatmagazine.com for interactive components of this article. K A L I M AT

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A JUGGLER’S CLUMSINESS: REVIEW

by Naira Badawi

hanks to Heroes and Villains and their tremendously vibrant new album, “A Juggler’s Clumsiness”, I now know what my favourite instrument is…the melodica. But, don’t fret; my wondrous discovery of this bizarre piano-flute instrument isn’t the only benefit I came away with from listening to this devastatingly underexposed group’s material. As you may already know, Lebanon is the centre of underground music in the Middle East. Heroes and Villains, among several others, is one of those Lebanese groups you probably haven’t heard of and should get into ASAP… there’s no excuse now! The brainchild of Charif Megarbane are Charif-Pierre and Dominique Salameh. Heroes and Villains is basically what you would get if you mashed up Aesop Rock and The Morning Benders. However, their inspirations are older than the legendary emcee Aesop rock and Chris Chu combined. When I asked Salameh to tell me a little bit about himself, his pal Megarbane and the creation of the quirky group, his subsequent accounts were extremely sentimental. As he illustrated memories of listening to Megarbane play his pink guitar on staircases in their high school in Lebanon, I could tell the group was built on more than just a love of music. The buddies, who have been friends since before either of them “ever had a moustache”, grew together as musicians and worked together quite frequently even after their ‘stache-less era. Despite the unfortunate distance they are currently experiencing, the two have maintained their friendship and, interestingly enough, Salameh mentions, are almost unrelenting when it comes to recording and producing new material. Now in their late-20’s, Megarbane and Salameh have established their own Montreal-based studio intriguingly dubbed “The Fishmarket”. I wonder if I could buy some sashimi grade salmon off of them… “A Juggler’s Clumsiness” was practically completed in less time than it takes to actually listen to the album in its entirety! The LP was basically an impromptu composition that simply came to be when Megarbane and Salameh met up during a holiday in Awkar, Lebanon at the end of 2010. The album is a melee of improvisations and sudden muses that ended up being chronicled in song throughout the 11-track composition. Megarbane actually wrote every single lyric and recorded all the vocals in less than two

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days! Besides my new favourite gizmo, the melodica, the album is packed with trippy sitar tunes, intricate guitar riffs, romantic piano keys and a few bangs on the tabla. Megarbane’s idiosyncratic and charmingly verbose lyrics are a pleasure to listen to and attempt to understand. His monotonous and guttural voice is unique and has a somewhat retro/hard-core blues feel to it. The little imperfections in the album’s production, which seems to be heavily analogue, actually make “A Juggler’s Clumsiness” really lovely to listen to. At times, the vocals are a little too low and the delivery and flow of certain lyrics is rushed and almost messy. But it’s those little oddities and that lack of anal fine-tuning that adds so much character to the overall album. It’s not a sterile and clean-cut production; it’s raw and filled to the brim with soul. I mean, I doubt Madlib himself could put together an album this dope in only a week. If you’re not into this whimsical, off-the-beaten path type of music, give the album a few listens and you’ll undoubtedly acquire a taste for the group’s distinctive sound. Each track is infectious in its own inexplicable way. The album is short and sweet, no unnecessary skits or interludes to be found. Every track holds its own and boasts a sound different than that of the others. Although every track has its distinct quirky aesthetic, all the pieces seem to somehow match and complement each other. The track list is as follows:

1. I Don't Know (But I'm Getting Closer) 2. Grandmaster of Tears 3. I'm Walkin' 4. Back to the Coast 5. To Be Your Usher 6. Easy with the Wordplays There, Babe 7. When I'm Not Around 8. Every Once in a While 9. The Price of a Season Fare 10. False Endings by the Sea 11. False Endings by the Sea: Part Two

to the soulful and funky guitar riffs and the high octave vocals. Even the images the lyrics invoke are très funky; “driving to the creek” with the ahhing and the oohing definitely does the trick. As much as I love this song, the vocals don’t really flow as fluently as the beat does. The vocals somewhat force themselves upon the melody.

“A Juggler’s Clumsiness” has a few really great entrances. “False Endings by the Sea” starts off intensely; the cascading keys of the piano along with the electric guitar chords sprinkled The duo’s bluesy side is demonstrated in a few every here and there and the melodica songs like “When I’m Not Around” and “I’m Walkin’. In “When that’s thrown in to tug at my heart I’m Not Around”, Megarbane’s voice is akin to that of Eric strings, is absolutely magnificent. Burdon’s in its vigour and the manner in which he seems to be pulling the sound out from the very pit of his stomach. There are some songs that “I’m Walkin’” is straight up new age Doo Wop. This song were a just a tad bit off because of the has, without a doubt, one of the coolest styles I’ve heard vocals. I’m not too big on somewhat in a while. Megarbane’s almost lazy delivery melds with the incoherent indie music, so “Easy with cathartic and tragic the Wordplays There, Babe” struck me sitar chords being as being a little sloppy in terms of how smoothly strummed the lyrics flowed. If the lyrics were into the song. One enunciated a tad bit more, the song can visualise the would’ve been perfect. With that said vocalist walking and done, I’m in love with the track slowly to his doom, on an instrumental basis! “Every Once or something! The in a While” is another instrumental insanely expressive wonder; with a trippy and spaced out melody, it sets an and skilful guitar echoic and cathartic atmosphere. The few birds chirping solo in the mid- and spurts of water add a pleasant earthiness to the song. dle is refreshingly Moreover, the instrumental outro, “False Endings by the bluesy and throws Sea: Part Two” is really psychedelic and bass-y. It’s perfect in an extra layer to listen to during any time of day, grab a cup of tea, put of solemnity to the this on repeat and chill. It’s a light yet poignant track for already devastat- wrapping up the album. ingly catastrophic, demure aesthetic. The idiosyncratic vocals and cathartic soundscapes In this track, their created by the dynamic duo of Charif-Pierre Megarbane abilities as instru- and Salameh make this album an extremely refreshing and mentalists is shown interesting listen. The innovative Heroes and Villains have off, as the song’s managed to create a sound of their own while working in a main focus is the few classic styles and leaving behind traces of influential beat. In the equally artists we can identify upon first hear. If I haven’t already bluesy “I Don’t Know”, Megarbane’s strings seem to be made it explicit enough, I would definitely recommend “A parading around as the strings of a banjo, which is really Juggler’s Clumsiness” by Heroes and Villains. To download interesting to hear. My buddy, the melodica, adds a lot to their stuff and find more albums similar to that of Heroes the upbeat melody and the simple and lovely piano notes and Villains’, go to WWW.HISSTOLOGY.COM. Happy listening! jingling sparsely throughout the beat. The seconds long drum exit performed by Salameh, ends the track beautifully. In this lament about the incomprehensible ways of the world, Megarbane soliloquises how he feels like he’s “Getting Closer” to finding answers to all his questions. The happy-go-lucky guitar riffs and romantic piano notes lacing the beat in “Grandmaster of Tears” fit seamlessly with the chorus. As Megarbane talks about “seeing raindrops” the piano keys twinkle in a way which invokes the image of raindrops and snowflakes falling. The strings practically sing along with Megarbane. He sure is nimble with that guitar. These people also added a splash of head-bopping garage rock guitar riffs, to boot! The light and airy sound of “Back to the Coast” features the melodica and the eerie presence of the sitar, strangely enough, matches Megarbane’s vocals in this particular track. The prominent keyboard notes towards the end and the little submarinelike sound addition create the coastal soundscape you’d expect from the title. You can feel traces of the Beach Boys in this track; it’s awesome. Moving on from the Beach Boys, “To Be Your Usher” is definitely as Motown as it gets these days thanks K A L I M AT

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READY, AIM…. WAIT…. INSPIRE: TEDXRAMALLAH IN AMMAN

Text and Photos by RAWAN RISHEQ

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If you bet on yourself, people will bet on you” said Lina Shehadeh, the first Amman speaker, during her talk about overcoming scepticism. As the opening act, she could not have picked a more suitable topic for the growing tensions in the Landmark Hotel. As complacent tweets had already started flying in the anxious air of a hall stuffed with over 300 people waiting, Lina gave her casual talk, reminiscent of one to have with a girlfriend, about pushing through negativity. Her life was filled with scepticism, as in her symbolic story of a race she took part in. As a microcosm of her life, by trying her best and being positive, she came in first in that race! I had eagerly arrived at 8:45AM in hopes of catching good seats, only to find that it was practically packed, with the first two front rows completely reserved and people trying to save spots for expected friends. Pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic turnout, my expectations of the event started rising. Settled in my fourth row seat, I waited, we waited, and waited, and … waited. Hanging in the air after Lina’s motivational speech, soon the event organiser took to the stage to kill time. We learned that the delays came from Bethlehem, which made it easier to be patient. She spoke briefly about how

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TEDxRamallah has been in the works since 2009 and just how much work goes into organisation an event as unique and groundbreaking as this. Much like other TEDx events, the speakers are mostly from the local community, but what differentiated this one in specific is that it requested special permission to simulcast to 20 other countries due to the nature of the Palestinian Diaspora, making it the first of its kind where local and international no longer were seen as mutually exclusive. Typical of Arabstanding timing, the program finally began at approximately 10:30AM. The duo hosting in Bethlehem begged us with the question everyone entering the region was asked by Israeli security forces: “Why are you here?” The answer they offered: to inspire and be inspired. Salome, a representative from TED in New York City, gave a history of the organisation in its early beginnings as an exclusive annual conference for scientists and experts to share new inventions. However, its recent rapid growth has transformed it into a worldwide online forum for “ideas worth spreading.” Its philosophy as of late is becoming more of radical openness, including the of launching the TEDx events which allow local communities to use the TED trademark to organise their own platforms for sharing and discussing ideas pertinent to their own growth.

Sam Katiela then quickly briefed on the international team aiding in the technological tools enabling this event to take place. Sam spoke of his mission to help truth surface faster and in this case, the truth being that “Palestinians are equal to others”. He concluded with a mission to us viewers to be “ambassadors” of the truth revealed today. To Sam I say here, I accept this privilege and responsibility. Raja Shehadeh is the founder of the first human rights organisation, Al-Haqq, in Palestine. He spoke of a time when the concept of being a professional human rights activist was so foreign that the local community was suspicious of his true intentions. Fast forward to the present day however and one can see locals and internationals working side by side to serve humanity in a wide range of ways. People like Gisele Kordestani, director of New Business Development with Google, consider themselves “world citizens” and show an uninhibited will to do for the other what they would do for themselves. She took the Bethlehem stage to speak of the power of technology in amplifying voices, diminishing borders and increasing accessibility to information. Her personal story as an American living and working in Palestine, after developing technology in 70 different countries, is a true testament to her universal mentality, and her advice to all is to serve humanity by ‘doing what you know’, an admirable and practical approach for those who want to take action but feel crippled by the magnitude of the problems facing the world today. Gisele then went on to introduce the third speaker who was personally impacted by her program, Mohammad Khatib, the only Palestinian to show up to a Google workshop in Tel Aviv amongst 800 Israelis. A man of courage and talent to boot, he received a placement with Google in California and while awaiting a permit he started his own company called Bazinga!, aiding other Palestinians in the West Bank in launching their own start-ups. “Give me a place to stand,” he said, “and I will move the earth.” And it’s not hard to believe him.

responsibility towards the greater good. This serves as a reality-check in dire need of realisation worldwide within the individualist capitalist lifestyle. The tears held back behind Huwaida Arraf’s eyes quickly turned the mood solemn. As founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), she had almost dropped out of hosting the event due to the tragic death a day prior of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza and sure enough, her appreciation for a man with so much passion for Palestine began to seep through her cracking voice . He was one of the few activists who lived in Gaza and when his mom would cry asking him to come home he would respond, “I am home.” He refused to leave Gaza and became a high profile target for kidnapping and murder. The audience watched a video of him, and the feeling of loss spread like a wave across the crowd as we stood in ovation. A synchronised moment of silence across three cities took place and all I could hope was that this was reaching the souls of all martyrs of Palestine. On that note, the first session was concluded and a coffee break commenced. People were caffeine hungry, and only two tables were provided. It became apparent that many were now leaving, “I found it very unorganised and the waiting combined with choices of starting speakers wasn’t compelling enough to hook the audience into committing for a whole day”, said Jumana Risheq, one participant who left at this juncture.

Testing 1…2…3…we sat watching Amal Shahabi, the next speaker, help the Beirut crew in ensuring the broadcast was functional while laughing nervously. The program resumed with the first personal struggle account by this mother and Palestinian refugee. A woman that has endured many trials and tribulations still speaks of how “love can create miracles.”Although people were tweeting during this talk about how disappointed they were with the selection of speakers, the Amman host, Aroub Soubh, was quick to address this head on. She rightfully reminded us Aiming for the “corporate profit-centred people all of the struggle we could never comprehend of surviving who exclude themselves from the margins of develop- under occupation, and the due respect owed to those who ment”, Fadi Ghandour went on to shatter this illusion of persevere through this every day. This was the only one isolation. Along with being a successful businessman, he of many times that Aroub facilitated the event and kept also founded Ruwwad for Development, a private sector-led the crowd in tune with the purpose and pace of the talks. initiative engaging youth to empower disadvantaged com- Her circumstances were a challenge with many technical munities. His observation is that foreign led NGOs are not delays and complaints, but her effort was undeniably key necessarily driven by local needs, and hence his module to the success of the day. is based on collaboration of the local community, groups of entrepreneurs and the government to create an ecoA humble hero, Steve Sosebee, has saved hunsystem of development. By sharing his efforts and their dreds of lives through by founding the Palestine Children’s effects, he squashes the notion that anyone is free of the Relief Fund. This organisation places children in need of

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urgent medical care outside for free treatment, brings doctors inside to treat less severe cases and trains locals so they may be able to provide the healthcare needed to their own people. One case he shares with us goes on to manifest itself right before our very eyes, that of 6-yearold Ola. When he encountered Ola, she only had a month to live from a brain tumour. There are no neurosurgeons in Palestine, and her case was expensive. A heroine came to Ola in the form of volunteer named Sara Rifa’e who dedicated her efforts and fundraised enough money to send her to Italy for treatment. Ola, small and frail, had the sweetest spirit that spread instantaneously. She uttered one word, “Gracias” towards Sara, Vittorio, and Italy. Steve ended by speaking about how internationals with the will to help Palestine will not be intimidated by the recent killings of Juliano Mer Khamis and Vittorio. He says that, “If you dig you sink, if you build you rise.” And heroes like Steve and Sara will rise and rise again, until lions become lambs.

time.” The narrative was that Palestinians were terrorists, and so a story of civil disobedience did not blend in. This then ushered her insightful in-depth explanation of why. We as humans practice something called confirmation-bias where we select information to avoid challenging notions we hold as true. The moment we encounter something that disrupts our narrative, we experience a pain in the form of another phenomena called cognitive dissonance. One way I prefer to describe this turbulence is as a meaningful disturbance. She says it prompts us to two reactions; either we ignore the new proof, or we change our story to incorporate it. She went on to talk about the power of stories to allow people to incorporate new information into their narrative. This is what motivated her to work with Just Vision; an organisation created with the purpose of documenting stories of Palestinians and Israelis trying to end the conflict using non-violence. She encourages us all to be aware of the process of opening ones mind. “Stories can break through the confirmation bias….a powerful The hall was hypnotised as soon as Rim Al-Banna enough story can change the course of history…and when began her acapella performance with her haunting sound. change comes, there will be a story.” She sang “Ya Leil Ma Atwalak” (Oh longest night) as a tribute to Juliano, Vittorio and all Palestinian martyrs. Her Wisdom of an elder dawned upon us from Munir style is classically oriental, her voice deep with the passion Fasheh, accompanied by many laughs and unorthodox of pain, which sends vibrations down your chest. It was a statements. He began with a strong declaration of all innice break from all the talks and just connect through this stitutions as being illusions. He also declared that he is a musical mosaic. Rim ended with a song on the opposite man with a PHD, but to write his thesis he had two sources: end of the emotional spectrum, a celebratory village chant books, and his life teachers consisting of his mother and for men released from prison. With this, she uplifted the the Palestinian chicken! To begin with, his mother is a spirits once again to the light that accompanies darkness, seamstress, and by constructing over 15,000 dresses she and the hope hidden within each tragedy, enticing the knows math and design better than he ever can by studysenses to the awaited day of freedom! ing it. As for the chicken, he shared the tale of visiting a modern Israeli style farm and seeing the chickens in rows Later I would come to confess during an interview and cages, all eating non-stop, and the first thought that that, in my opinon, the most inspirational talk of the day came to his mind is “this is like school!” An institution was by Julia Bacha. A filmmaker from Brazil, she chose this mindlessly stuffed the Israeli chicken while the Palestinian profession because of her belief in “films’ and their abil- chicken knew how to fend for itself; it had life skills gained ity to change the world.” Her most recent documentary, from experience. After many other anti-institution tales, “Budrus”, is about the Palestinian village of the same name he concluded that the wisdom of the elders’ knowledge is that protested peacefully to stop the wall from ruining its more valuable than any spoon fed information. community and succeeded. Julia spoke of her confusion as to why this story wasn’t covered at the time that the At this time lunch was served, and I returned wall was built. When she asked an American journalist inside early and upgraded my location to the second row. friend of hers, he told her “it didn’t fit the narrative of the It is important to note that throughout the second session

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technical difficulties only worsened, with full cuts of sound Palestine”. I sat in amazement of the simple brilliance of or image at some points for five minutes at a time, but such a discovery and implementation plan! mostly a nagging bad connection. Three writers wrapped up the day with a beautiful “Sumood” is an Arabic word that means fighting diction, each with very different backgrounds and styles. (or holding on) to exist. The stories of Shereen Araj and Mark Gonzales is a Mexican poet and activist who grew up her community in the Al-Warjeh Villages were a reflection in Alaska. He spoke to us in verses of “cultural kaleidoscope of that struggle. The villages were evacuated and her family of liquid hope crystallised…”As a creative writer myself, lived in a cave for12 years in hopes of returning home. She and a huge fan of spoken poetry, I was mesmerised by his now leads the non-violent popular resistance movement fast paced, animated and lyrical language. He connected and one particular story she shared relayed Sumood very in a second the whole world and the wicked web weaved well. Abu Nizar had a house that was confiscated to build a by the deception of the powers that be. He reminded us settlement. He traveled to Turkey to obtain Ottoman papers that he was Palestinian and we were Mexican, because the to prove his ownership. Before attempting to return, he struggle of the indigenous against the coloniser and ocpassed the papers to a stranger in fear of being detained, cupier is an old one, and a universal one. With that same and he was in fact imprisoned for four months, but still thread continued the world-renowned African-American managed to save his home. This speech alone served as an author, Alice Walker. In her calm and wise tone, she shared answer to those earlier who were disappointed they weren’t her disgust with the treatment at the border. She spoke listening strictly to professionals and experts. Sumood is of the native Australians and their struggle, the plight of a life skill no education could teach; only through the the African Americans in the USA and of South African experience of occupation could it be learned. Apartheid. She emphasised that “we are one expression of humanity” and that “to love humanity is to show up when A very special lady by the name of Laila Atshan we need each other.” “The purpose of our suffering”, she had all the typical challenges said is “so that we can connect of a Palestinian woman but she to the others’ suffering” and also suffered from blindness. unite for ultimate power.” Laila had obviously learned to connect very well through huThe last and most mour as throughout her talk shared speech via social meoutbursts of laughter would dia after the event was that of infect the crowd, and she herSuad Amiry. An architect and self at one point asked all the an author, she spoke of liberaudience to yell “yaaaaayyyyy” ating oneself from the prison so as to make her feel comfortmade up of the things you are able, which they gladly did! She born with, the things you never shared three lessons from her chose. “Love what you do in student days abroad: 1-kind relife”, she advised, as she opened actions are the best way to get up her personal story for us to a point across, 2-not all Jews delve into. She became a writer are the enemy, and 3-prejudice comes from ignorance by accident at 50 when she resorted to writing stories as and insecurity. She returned home to work with Intifada an escape from the misery of a 24 hour curfew imposed on Injured Youth as a therapist, re-energising traumatic and her by the Israeli army and her mother in law. Her humour marginalised injured people. Her way of keeping that was unprecedented when she began telling us the tale of enigmatic smile on her face is by allowing herself room to her dog with the Jerusalem passport and the now sparse be vulnerable, to continuously be humorous, and to stay hall laughed with the might of a full house! At 60 years connected. In her speech, I felt a sense of humanity so of age, this woman is glowing and at her most productive raw and universal. She, like in her the story of the sick peak. “Nothing makes sense, so why should I?” A perfect village cow propped up on the wall to receive a vaccine in question to end a fruitful day of thought and soul, Suad its buttocks, will always find a way around her roadblocks left every last person sitting after the 11 hour event smiland laugh through the strife. ing as they sang “Happy Birthday” over broadcast. The Qanoun is a classical Arab instrument; however the way that Abdel Halim plays it is anything but traditional. Wonderfully, this Qanoun player, who uses all 10 fingers instead of two, caressed this intricate instrument with such concentration. Live in Amman, he transformed the Qanoun into an oriental harp of sorts, with a whole new range of awe to its sound. Watching his face, I could see him transport into another world where his fingertips danced upon the strings like whirling dervishes engulfed by their own twirl.

Despite hours spent waiting and technical difficulties as annoying as mosquitoes on a summer night, never had I endured such a prolonged seating with this level of sustained interest. The more time passed, the more truth surfaced. The rich eclectic variety of speakers-spanning from Brazil, USA, Jordan, Lebanon, Canada and back to local Palestinians was truly refreshing! As listeners, we were given the rare privilege to hear first person accounts that can now find an entry into our personal narrative, and were exposed to new information that can help in expanding our understanding of Palestine’s reality in context As I had already begun to notice, the more time with the world. By becoming aware of our minds opening, passed, the more powerful and interesting the talks became. and by welcoming the will of these people to aim into our “Geothermal” was Khaled Sabawi’s answer when asked why conscious, we have lit the flame of inspiration and become he was visiting Israel. He starts off by giving us the facts: ambassadors of the truth, of TED and of Palestine. Palestine has one of the highest population densities and pays the highest energy prices in the region. His solution is To watch the talks in full and hear the stories simple and sustainable: two feet under the ground is stored of the speakers not mentioned in this article please visit up heat from the sun in the form of geothermal energy WWW.TEDXRAMALLAH.COM. that can be used to heat and cool housing. The piping for the project can be created from limestone powder, a byproduct in ample availability due to the limestone cutting industry. His proposition is an “Independent Geothermal

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ART & DESIGN

THE OPINIONS OF AN ART SCHOOL STUDENT by HEBA KANDIL

hat does it mean to have an opinion? Is it something that should be suppressed for fear of offending? Or is it something that should be expressed and debated? There are two types of people with a raging lack of conviction; the one who is too passive to form opinions for fear of being persecuted, and the other who will stubbornly stand behind an illinformed and inadequately formulated idea. Specifically, I find it to be a particular oddity that the timidness to express opinions has affected art students (a seeming contradiction), and is affecting their production of work. I believe the root cause of this issue may stem from the fact that art students seem to be far more concerned with being politically correct, then with creating independent thought, or have insufficient mental capacity to generate an original thought. Let me start from the beginning. When I initially enrolled in art school, I was excited to be around like-minded peers; who had radical opinions, were well informed and were willing to project their thoughts into unique pieces of art. I must admit, being in third year, this had not been my experience. What I have found is a plethora of clichĂŠd pieces, unoriginal thought, bandwagon themes and complete passivity. Granted my opinion is based on experience, observation and interaction, I am stating this as a generalization - there are diamonds in the rough that break outside the barriers and are willing to be martyrs for their work, but it is rare. After sitting through countless critiques, both observing and participating in exhibitions, what I see is a student body that is not willing to take risks and instead fall back into their comfort zones of generic concepts. The most radical piece I have seen thus far has been the work of a first year student who made a pornographic crucifix. Blasphemous, yes. Willing to link two very controversial topics together and make it life size, very admirable. Whether or not I personally agreed with the piece is irrelevant. What mattered is that they had an idea and stood behind it.

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The essence of my grievances is that the apatheticpassivity that runs rampant through the minds of our student body produces very bland work. Please don’t be mistaken, I am by no means advocating belligerent, misinformed or out-right offensive opinions and bodies of work, nor am I promoting complacent acceptance or dismissal of others perspectives; but there must be a middle ground. How about having well-rounded, informed, independent opinions, with the ability to be objective and be challenged into instigating in depth and cohesive discussions. I have noticed that somewhere along the way ego overrides, and this blocks any sort of progressive thought evolution. As if saying, “if I acknowledge what this person is saying as viable, that instantly means I’m wrong…so, I must fight them to the death!” But this is petty, we learn nothing from this instinctually defensive reaction and no one wants to have a discussion with someone who thinks they have the absolute answer. All that I am asking for is not to tiptoe around being so politically correct that the idea of having an independent thought becomes an allergy. Offending people has become the ultimate faux pas. But really you’re only offensive if what you’re saying is unjustified, belligerent and inconsiderate. Standing behind any opinion to the death, no matter how informed, is immature. You don’t have to accept another side to acknowledge its validity. The forum for promoting discussions that are provocative should not be undermined or shoved under the table. It should be the foundation that we, as students, use to portray alternate perspectives. We have the opportunity to be the medium for some very strong ideas, and yet our apathy and political correctness perpetuates passivity and therefore clichés. When no one is willing to stand behind their opinion to the extent that they are willing to create a physical manifestation of it so that it becomes universally recognizable and attainable, everyone just paints flowers.

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ART & DESIGN

FROM THERE TO HERE by NOUR BAWAB

“From There to Here” is a typography project by Ontario College of Art and Design Student Nour Bawab. Through typography, Nour descirbes her departure from her native Lebanon up to her arrival in her current home, Toronto, Canada.

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I left on a beautif ul day. I to my fam said good ily and h bye opped on I stuck m the plane y nose to . the windo to grasp w hoping the last d etails and guess wh trying to ich buildi ng is whi ch.

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And I flew away farther and farther and Beirut was slowly getting smaller and smaller.

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While on the plane, people were snoozing and I was watching in flight movies. I was reminiscing on the past and looking forward to the future. Toronto on the Horizon. How organized and unknown to me. Landing in Toronto made me feel overwhelmed. Everything was big, similar, and nothing appealed to me at the beginning because I missed home.

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Where am I? How do I get around? Amazing skyscrapers and many people surrounded me.

A week later or so, Toronto came to life right before my eyes and everything started to make sense. I started to develop a warm feeling. Could this be the sense of safety and the feeling of happiness?

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Yes! The feelings were real! I felt a warm and homey feeling, even though the buildings were still overwhelming and there was still too many people, but Queen Street, Bloor Street and Spadina made it all worthwhile.

Toronto is now my second home. I know my way around, I understand the lifestyle, I appreciate the diversity and take part of it as much as I can, especially since I became part of the community and made my own circle of friends. K A L I M AT

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ART & DESIGN

DESIGN ENTREPRENEUR How can we resist the opportunity to brag about one of our own? Joseph Maalouf, Kalimat’s intern extraordinaire, recently attended the Tasmeem Doha conference in order to present his innovative and entrepreneurial design project.

TASMEEM DOHA Tasmeem is an international design conference organized and hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Qatar. For the past six years, Tasmeem has gathered scholars and practitioners in the fields of graphic, interior and fashion design in Doha to discuss critical issues in design and engage with students and community members. The 2011 conference took place from March 21 to 24, at VCUQatar in Doha, Qatar. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Synapse: Designer as Link’’.

DESIGN ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION WINNER: JOSEPH MAALOUF The competition was open to international students working with entrepreneurial projects that place design at the core. The panel of judges included venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, potential investors, leading educators and designers. Being one of the five winners of the challenge, Joseph received a scholarship to travel to Doha in order to attend Tasmeem and present his project ‘Neuewind’ to the best potential investors and supporters of innovation in Qatar. Joseph was also offered a booth to display his project and the opportunity to choose and participate between a variety of design workshops.

WHAT IS NEUEWIND? Neuewind is an upgrade of vehicle windshields and GPS systems combined into one application via OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology to create a new environment: Augmented Reality. Neuewind will maximise the driving and navigating experience. The technology dramatically enhances the experience by guiding the driver directly on their windshield without any distractions, informing them of speed bumps or obstacles on the road, measuring distance and monitoring traffic, in turn decreasing the amount of accidents. The idea itself is not new, we’ve seen it in science fiction movies countless times, however what’s unique about Neuwind is the technology used which is organic and the nonobstructive design approach which is purely typographical. Due to early production costs of Neuewind, only high-end vehicles would be equipped with the technology. Once it picks up, production costs would decrease and can be implemented in mass-produced vehicles.

For more information on Tasmeem Doha, visit their website: www.tasmeemdoha.com. And don’t forget to follow Joseph on twitter @zoozel

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ART & DESIGN

INSPIRATIONS OF THE STRINGS, MOVING WITH… by NOORA SHARRAB

This is for those who are in adoration of unreserved reflections of the ‘Oud’... a dedication to sounds that play so sweetly to Diasporic heart and homegrown familiarities, from Iraq to Morocco, to Algeria, to Egypt, to Palestine.

hese strings play stories that were passed through ancestral centuries of lonely, unison, shared, mystic, and esoteric times. These strings speak in languages not deciphered in mindful understandings. These strings resonate a place we once called home, in an image painted through repeatedly in our fantasia of desires to fly. These strings vibrate to the pulls of these oceans to be closer to its forever sky. These strings dance in the footsteps stolen from movement against chains and shackles of oppressive subjugated ways. These strings breath a new meaning to be. These strings in their most silent aura quivered the cores of your inner souls to feel entirely of passion. These strings were more than vibrant movements. And we listened. Mesmerized and mystified by the exotic familiarity of what clothed our hearts, we listened.

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Embraced by what unlocked treasures of mysteries within us, we listen silently to their stories. These strings come together for reason. These strings lay there waiting to be caressed in the most abrasive degrees, no harshness or lightness penetrates it better. These strings illuminate your thoughts to ruminate beyond these bare walls. These strings are not merely sounds of music. These strings hold that which is captured by the desert’s winds against violent calls. And we listened. Inspired by Munir Bashir, from “The Maqam to the Raga”

ART & DESIGN

THE REVOLUTION WAS TELEVISED. by NOORA SHARRAB

Revolution...

people’s remunerations

in power and

not in history books

in a mother-land

celebrations

a people’s dream

where people’s unification

by a people

or promising memoirs

reflected a security threat

inspired

of masses in power

that might pose as terrorists

by sacrifices

of unification in

broken

lost souls

honour

toppled

violated and targeted

dignity

ousted

individuals

respect

and finally forfeited

other nations

fearless

to a forced authority

achievements

and powered together

against the people’s wills.

Tunisia

in voices

Bouazizi

chanting

The revolution

Sidibouzid

demanding

televised

#jan25

singing

twitterized

#feb11

and cheering

and socialized

#revolution

in roars

into a mosaic

words transformed

of jubilant

of voices

vividly coloured

sensations

and energetic

in memorable snapshots

celebrations

irrepressible emotions

slogans

of a dictators resignation

that released

and fusion

inspirations

thirty years of

with millions in union

flourishing around the Arab

silenced inclinations

for a revolution

regions

in less than thirty seconds

remembered

without contemplations

of proclamations

recorded

of a people’s domination

and announcements

attended

continuations of

awaited for over 18

and speechlessness

commemorations

cold and brittle

uttering realities

of Freedom

violent and fearful

of what lifts every

tasted

insecure and uncertain

citizen

after 3 decades of

determined and passionate

proud

corruption

hopeful and confident

empowered

oppressions

unyielding and committed

and finally

deceptions

towards a finale

recognized.

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ART & DESIGN

THE ARAB CREATIVE: AN INTERVIEW WITH BILAL KERBAJ by NASSRA AL-BUAINAIN

ilal Kerbaj is an Art Director and Creative Group Head at Fortune Promoseven in the Abu Dhabi office. He is a winner of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Young Cannes Lions Competition in 2007 and 2009, and represented the UAE in the 54th and 56th International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France. Bilal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Notre Dame University in Lebanon. When you meet Bilal in person you see a very calm man who is truly passionate about his profession, and when you take a look at his impressive portfolio, you discover how little you know about how talented he really is. Bilal talks to me about his experience working in advertising: NB: How did you get into advertising? BK: I have been painting since I was 10 years old. My parents sent me to an art academy to study Fine Art (from the age of 11 to 14). When I got my first computer, I used a very old version of Photoshop, maybe 2.0, and I remember it was very basic and the layer concept wasn’t included yet.

I decided to major in Graphic Design since I was 13, and so I pursued it. After my graduation, I decided to build a career in advertising and here I am trying to explore the power of the mind, the photo, and the word.

the society improves, advertising will also improve.

NB: What are the obvious difficulties?

BK: Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Japan, Netherlands.

BK: Communication; people see things differently, even if they were among the same target group. When you come up with a new idea, it has to be understood, and liked by most of your target audience.

NB: Do you feel the Arab voice is lacking in this area (advertising)?

NB: How is society’s (in the Arab region) reaction to your profession? BK: They say: Ooohhh you are a creative person?? So you work on Photoshop??? Creativity isn’t Photoshop, it is a big idea that travels across a culture. NB: Do you like the work being produced from advertising agencies in the region? What is your opinion on it? BK: Yes, we have a lot of good work happening. The Ad Work is becoming more authentic and it is winning international awards. NB: What needs to be improved? BK: Advertising is all about verbal and visual messages; I think that when the level of thinking and education in 104

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NB: Where is some of the world’s best advertising work being produced?

BK: No, the Arab voice is stronger now. Many Arabic campaigns are receiving awards in festivals like the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

NB: What type of work do you want to see in the region?

BK: You cannot deny the idea that the UAE has two big different markets: Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Dubai’s strength is that it is livelier in term of advertising: the communication reaches more. Dubai is a big brand and a wellknown place in the world, it is more up-todate, and people in Dubai are more interactive and adaptive to advertising. Dubai’s weakness is that it lacks a cultural identity, the thing that makes advertising less authentic. It is a city filled with people from all over the world.

BK: I would like to see a consistent level of advertising; there is some good work being produced but there is also a lot of bad work. What I mean by “bad” is work that is illogical, irrational, and very unprofessional. I do not mind seeing work with no strong ideas or with no idea at all, but I hate to see work with no idea combined with an ugly design or a clumsy color combination or bad retouching or production. Abu Dhabi has many advantages: Very big local brands that have great potential, the NB: Do you feel the educational system (in presence of money, and the trust that Abu the Arab region) provides enough tools and Dhabi gained in and after the [economic] opportunities for students interested in pur- crisis. There is a real culture, and reaching suing a career in advertising to do so? out is easy because the city is more centered and organized. There are few weaknesses that BK: I am not familiar with the education sys- affect advertising in Abu Dhabi: Multiple tem in all the Arab region. The Gulf countries decision makers in the advertising process have different systems than Egypt which itself from (the client side), unprofessional use of is different than Lebanon, Syria…I studied media for example, poetry on a lamppost and in Lebanon and I believe I was well prepared the weakness of the “retainer” concept: many to enter a professional work environment. clients distribute work to many agencies, the thing that makes the work inconsistent, NB: You are based in the UAE, how do you de- making the brand lose its identity. fine the local market in term of Advertising? NB: What value does Dubai Lynx International BK: Most clients in the UAE go for standard Awards add to the UAE and MENA region? ideas in their advertising campaigns, because they underestimate the intelligence of their BK: It is a big event in the Middle-East and target audience. Advertisers must know that North African (MENA) region that is managed people have the same intellectual level as they by the Cannes Lions Organizers, and the fact do, and are smart enough to understand and that it happens in Dubai makes the latter a appreciate big ideas. All in all, I believe that powerful advertising spot. As for the MENA UAE has a fair level of advertising. region, it improved the quality of work that’s being produced and gave the creatives of the NB: Can you highlight the points of strengths Arab region the chance to expose their work. and weaknesses?

NB: As the UAE is changing rapidly, where do you see advertising in the upcoming years? BK: I see it going more digital and there will be more use of social media like Facebook and Twitter. There will definitely be improvement here in advertising because the residents of the UAE are in love with technology and they are very updated. This will make communication more targeted and more reachable. The Abu Dhabi Brand is getting more global since it is holding big events like the Formula1 and the Ferrari World. The question is: How fast will advertising in Abu Dhabi follow up with Dubai, and how long will both Emirates take to reach world class advertising?

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ART & DESIGN

PALESTINE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

artwork by NOUR BISHOUTY text by NOUR BISHOUTY & MIKE DERDERIAN

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“

No, the launch is upstairs! If you go to the right and straight ahead you will find an exhibition hall,” a young woman gently said, answering the queries of individuals arriving for the first time to The Studio, a newly opened art house close to Al Balad – Downtown Amman. The shuffling of feet against a moss covered cement staircase echoed across the venue’s wallpapered office, where the anxious organizers of the event were finalizing things before the launch at 8PM. With a flick of a button a mic was operational and a laptop connected to a projector. “I wish to welcome you all to what will be Palestine: The Graphic Novel,” announced a man, who went on with a simple presentation about comics to the curious attendees, some of whom were familiar with this sequential art form of panels, words bubbles, narration boxes, illustrated characters and backgrounds.On November 6, over 30 people attended the launch of Palestine: The Graphic Novel. Since then, 16 sessions were held at The Studio, a quaint and welcoming art house. During the sessions, between 3PM-9PM, on Fridays and Saturdays, 50 writers, artists, bloggers, illustrators and comic artists shared, discussed and illustrated ideas of their stories. The stories cover fantasy, science-fiction, horror, action, tragedy, diary entries, travelogues, and of course, Palestinian folklore (stories and songs). The number of attendees increased with each session. These individuals were no longer just participants in a literary-artistic project but they were now friends, who shared a passion for comics. One of our goals has been achieved!

Participating artists are: Omar Al Zobi, Salam Hmoud, Lutfi Zayed, Alaa Sasha-Fierce Assadi, Nour Bishouty, Natasha Dahdaleh, Nuha Innab, Mothanna Hussein, Hadi Alaedin, Ola Doudin, Omar Momani, Ahmed Al Ja’abri, Mohammed Haitham Ajaj, Mike ‘Khalid’ Rahmeh, Thomas Wolfing, Ahmad Farah, Sijal Nasrallah, Yazan Al Zo’bi, Rana Muallem, Shaden Abdulrahman, Salwa Abdel-Khaliq, Shamekh Al-Bluwi, Nour Nsheiwat, Nahla Tabba, Maya Assad, Dina Batshon, Sara Rashdan, Sara Hatahet, Ghalia Barghouthi, Muna Amareen, Laila Demashqieh, Majida Zaghlan, Hassan Mansrah, Farah Mehdawi, Mohammad “Flyin’ Dutchman” Almuti, Nidal Elkhairy, Hamdi Shawqi, Mohammed Abd Elhadi, Abdul Qader Miqdadi, Bassam Alassad, Zeena Kurd, Alexia de Tillesse, Dana Qabbani, Iona Fournier-Tombs, Malte Urban, Hilal Ashour, Tamer Al Masri, and Mike V. Derderian. All proceeds from the sale of the book, which will be in Arabic and English, will be given to a charity in Palestine.

NOUR BISHOUTY’S ILLUSTRATION Inspired by Joe Sacco’s graphic novel “Palestine,” a group of Arab artists, writers, poets and illustrators came together to create a collective graphic novel about Palestine. My contribution was a short illustrated comic strip telling a true story about my uncle and grandfather. The plot is, to a degree, more personal than political. What was most interesting for me about this project was having the opportunity to fully construct an artwork, starting from an idea and story line to writing and illustrating it. Typically, I would only be in charge of the visuals in any project. It was also an interesting experience to engage my artwork in a somewhat political theme, not something I normally get into.

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ART & DESIGN

SOFT AWAKENING by HAMIDA AL-KUWAIRI

“I soared in my imagination until I made perfumes visible and the echo’s vibration fragrant.” - Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet

s I feel the gentle touch of your silky sand dune, Khor Al-Udaid, a powerful release takes over me. I always visit your iconic setting in the south of Qatar with my family – where the turquoise waves meet the sand dunes in a graceful manner. This serene atmosphere softly awakens my soul. The sight rejuvenates my mind and ignites reflection and appreciation for our past. I can almost see the pearl divers on their dhows steadily wafting through the waters in front of me. I can feel the vibrations of the euphoric call to prayer in my bones; it always brings goose bumps to my skin and spark the curiosity for more knowledge of my people’s past.

I feel the salty wind brush against my refreshed face, jolting me back from my daze. I look down at my hands and realize that they are the hands of a child. I search for Mama Hamida’s gaze as I slowly look up and I am alarmed to find her no more. She has disappeared from the Persian carpet – the memory forever stored in my heart. I search desperately for her on the horizon and hear nothing but the athan. I rise from the Bedouin seating and look around me, searching for any sign of her. I start running down the sand dune, feeling the softness of each granule on my bare feet. Running has never been so easy. I was running with the spirit of my childhood.

Whenever I am in the presence of nature’s beauty, I am assured that I am in the presence of Allah. As the verse in the Quran says: “Then which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?” It is when I recite my whispered prayers of thanks that I begin to waft into a state of delirium. I drift into a deep sleep, into the land of dreams, where logic is left at the door – into the world of utopia where mirrors are doorways and never means nothing.

As I reach the water pool that spreads out to the end of the sand dune, I notice that the tides are changing rapidly. The water is quickly flowing inland, creating a breathtakingly gorgeous sight. I wade through the serene turquoise glitter that reaches my skinny child ankles and keep searching for another sign. The athan is ringing in my ears – a message from God. I drop to my knees and begin to cry. Tears swell from those innocent child eyes that I once knew so well – as strong as the tide of the blue ocean – and encourages the water to grow deeper with every sigh of my pain. I crave my Grandmothers hands to remind me of those beautiful tales of my ancestors so I can cling to the message of simplicity, as if it were music that makes my spirit burst into traditional dance on the clouds up in the heavens.

In my reverie, I am dressed in a green jalabiya, walking along the coast of the inland sea, breathing in the soft breeze. I can almost taste the salt particles in my mouth. The calling for prayer reverberates in my ears. I see dhows in the distance with their pearl divers swooping into the serene waters with ease. I stare down at my feet; my toes play with the gentle sand. Whenever I dream of my grandparents’ time, I soak up the beauty of it all. As majestic as the spread wings of an eagle, the blue sea washes away my worries of daily life. The various shades of green and blue shine in striking contrast to the brown sand dunes. Peacefulness takes over my body as I admire this breath-taking sight – the colours seem to have been made for each other. My thoughts sends me to memories of walking off the plane at Doha International Airport; the warm humid air on my face fills me with a sense of pride. I belong to this land, just as much as it belongs to me, no matter how indifferent I feel at my weakest times. This sense of belonging is written into my genes, which have been etched in delicate Arabic calligraphy upon the grains of sand that surround me. I feel undeniably intertwined with my homeland – a priceless feeling that is echoes in my soul. As I contemplate the simple beauty of heritage, I decide to break out in a run along the seashore. Every stride takes me back to my childhood, sprinting like a ten-reminder to wake us up from the haze of materialism. Ironically, it has taken a personal dream of my own to stimulate the softness of my awakening.

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I am sitting atop of the sand dune, watching the water rise. I slowly drift into a slumber, almost tasting the honey of my Grandmother in my mouth, as I replay my treasured memories with her. I dwell in self-pity, yearning to be near her. I am awakened from my sad slumber by the sound of the waves crashing on my chin. The tide has reached the top of the sand dune as I was selfishly bathing in sadness. I stand up and find myself swimming due to the deep-water current. I did not realize that self-pity almost drowned me! Mulling over the past in a negative light never does anyone any good. Luckily, I notice a dhow wafting nearby, gracefully floating towards me. I kick against the current with all my might as I find myself submerged in the watery depths of turquoise beauty. As I approach the dhow I take a moment to admire its regal nature. It is an emblem that stands in our history as a symbol of hard work and ambition; our ancestors worked laboriously to make a living. In the past, the pearl was Qatar’s natural gas and we must be grateful for the harsh nature of the way we used to acquire it. As these grateful thoughts swirl in my brain, I reach the ladder that awaits for me on the back of the dhow. Someone is waiting.

As I swing my foot onto the ladder, I eagerly scramble to the top, excited to see what remains in store for me. A group of men are sitting in a circle on the flat surface of the dhow staring in my direction as I emerge. The elderly man sitting in the middle has the soft eyes of my father. He smiles in my direction. “Baba Ghanim!” I scream heartily as I lunge forward to hug my Grandfather with all my might. The group of pearl divers laugh in appreciation for the love that I have for this man—a love that was never actualized in reality, since he passed away before I entered this world. I had longed to hear his voice, listen to his stories and understand the time in which he lived in. Clearly, this was the chance of a lifetime to ask my deeply-stored questions locked in my heart.

They all look in my direction, bidding me farewell – an image that will serve as a constant reminder of what is and always will be an intrinsic part of our nations’ spirit. Those souls will be forever remembered and live on through our children if we hold onto the memories and stories of our beloved history. It is their legacy that defines us as a people and the simplicity of their nature that needs to be eternally valued. “HAMIDA! HAMIDA!” I bolt up in shock and find my father’s wise face before me. “Wake up! You fell asleep on the sand and you are covered in it,” he yells in a joking manner.

“Sorry Baba, I was doing some historical research,” I reply, Each pearl diver is wrapped in white linen cloth. laughing to myself. Baskets of oysters are scattered around them, tokens of their hard earned work. They are lucky to work in the most “Ok habibti, I think you are delirious from the sunlight. We beautiful settings that I have ever seen in my life. There is must get in the car and drive back to Doha before sunset. something mystical about the sea and the way it moves – Yallah!” My father gets up from my side as he says this, and the changing directions of the tide and the waves that are begins to walk towards the car. He will not understand the constantly crashing on the sand dunes. It reminds me of deep appreciation that was instilled in me on that very day, the way we have developed as people; the essence is still until I become a mother and bless him with grandchildren. there, but it is constantly changing with time. The sound of the crashing waves reminds me of the cyclical nature of I rise slowly, as I look out across the beautiful this world and life itself. water of the Arabian Gulf. I follow my father to the car, ready for our journey back into town. “I do not need to tell you in words what you need to learn from us today, my darling. You can see for yourself During our long drive home, I repeatedly replay that we are always here, in your subconscious, to remind the images and lessons ingrained in my soul. Doha’s skyline you of the wonders of your heritage. I am always watching makes me long to return to the land of dreams. I know I over you, in the hopes that you will come to this very real- cannot escape from reality forever; and I need to put my ization. I am proud to say that you will deliver my message new found wisdom into practice. As I conclude this very to those that need to hear it.” thought, the resounding call for prayer rings through the streets of my city. I stare at my Grandfather in awe as he mutters those kind words, as he strokes his moustache just as my A sense of euphoria takes over me. I feel those father does. I am still holding his hands in my mind, always. goose bumps once more. Khor Al-Udaid, thank you for reHis spiritual love and support remind me of the significance minding me of who we are as a people. The swift changes of of respect for the old Qatar – the Qatar that once had the your sand dunes remind me of the transformation we have masses sweating for their existence, fighting for survival, and undergone in the past few decades. How easy would life be setting the foundations for my generation. I smile proudly if we all focused on the simplicity of life’s travels – if we all at the group of men, resembling angels in their white robes. looked at the core values of what we need to respect and They smile back with deep understanding. love one another without the complexities of the nature of human selfishness? Our previous generations understood this “Thank you for giving me the gift of reminiscence.” due to their strenuous way of life. My father once told me that he had to wait for months for his father to return home With these words, the grasp I have on my beloved from a pearl diving expedition – never knowing whether or Grandfather loosens and this beautifully simple sight slowly not he was alive. disintegrates. The dhow vanishes and I find myself floating above the watery depths below. The warm humid breeze Khor Al Udaid! Thank you for reminding me of greets my face, almost kissing me on both cheeks three the beauty of simplicity. It is a lesson that I will carry and times, in our traditional way. I smile with fondness for our pass on for as long as I am breathing. I will always keep way of life. the lessons of my heritage close to my heart. Our gorgeous Arabic calligraphy is imprinted on each grain of your sand. It I fly with the sultry wind and land on the soft symbolizes the simple nature of the way we are. sand dune once more. I notice that my child-like hands are transformed into an elderly woman’s. I slowly begin to “Hamida, habibti, you have been awfully quiet climb the silky sand dune on all fours, anticipating what during the drive back. Are you sure you haven’t suffered waits for me at the top. from sun stroke?” My father asks this jokingly, but I barely hear him, since my spirit is floating in the warm humid The very same Bedouin seating with which Mama breeze, with the athan ringing in my ears. I am drifting Hamida began this journey with is spread out before me. far away, appreciating my awakening to those deep lessons All our ancestors sit in a grand gathering, sharing chai and that were conveyed to me in the softest manner on those gahwa, and laughing tenderly over the tales of our past. I silky sand dunes. realize that simple sharing of love and happiness is what matters. Appreciation and striving to be selfless in this increasingly corrupt world, where traditional values are not longer given the weight they deserve, should be our focus.

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THE MISUNDERSTOOD CONCEPT: INTERVIEW WITH DESIGN JORDAN by DANAH ABDULLA

he term “designer” and “architect” are often misunderstood in the Arab world and designers are often frustrated by having to explain the significance of their profession. Luckily, the region is seeing a handful of design studios specialising in product and industrial design popping up in major cities. One studio in particular is taking design in Amman to a whole new level by educating students and implementing green design programs into their mix. I had the opportunity to discuss design, education and innovation in the Arab world with Therwah Abdelhaq, head of Product Design at Design Jordan, a product design studio focused on product innovation in Amman. DANAH: Tell us more about Design Jordan – what is it, who is the brainchild behind it, and why is it important to Jordan and the Arab region… THERWAH: Design Jordan is a visionary design house that focuses

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manufacturability and to reduce the amount of materials that are harmful to the environment. Design Jordan will establish a new branch that focuses on recyclable materials called “Useful from Un-useful” UFU. The goal is to design and produce from recyclable materials. This concept will create awareness among the Jordanian people in order for them to make use of the stuff they throw away, and to be part of an environmentally conscious community. DANAH: How do you plan on introducing a humanitarian design approach to the city of Jordan?

on Product design and innovation. We try to create positive social change through product innovation. Design Jordan is based in Amman, our comprehensive approach enables us to create culturally sensitive products and solutions that improve the personal and professional lives of everyone, no matter where they are. The chairperson is Architect Meisa Batayneh, and the board members are Nuqul Group, Sayegh Group, Kaddb, Maani Prefab, Petra industries and al Sabeel. Design Jordan was born out of necessity, the necessity to find solutions through design whether it for individuals or companies. Our products also focus on Arabic culture through as they are inspired by our culture and heritage.

THERWAH: We’ve implemented a humanitarian design approach when we designed the bus stops and the new police huts around Amman. We designed these with the public in mind, their behaviours and other factors including weather and the heritage of the city [Amman]. Currently, our designs aren’t exactly a fit with the way Amman’s streets are designed, however, this is something we want to consider in the future. DANAH: In terms of the education system in Jordan and within the Arab world as a whole, do you feel students who are interested in industrial and product design and architecture have enough resources and training or do they have to seek it elsewhere by traveling abroad to Europe or North America? If so, what types of projects would you like to see spring up?

DANAH: What are the types of services you provide? THERWAH: Design Jordan is a client based service provider. We respond to the client’s brief and find solutions which elevate their business to a whole new level in order to help them reach new markets. Our services vary in form: we work on anything from a new design for a water bottle, furniture design, display shelf to developing a mobile clinic or a self service kiosk. Recently, we launched a new commercial arm, which focuses on products created by Design Jordan and which respond directly to the Jordanian and Arab market. Such products are designed for a large population and not just for a higher income market. DANAH: What are some of the projects undertaken in Jordan by your studio? THERWAH: We have several types of projects including: The Royal podium, holy water bottle, self service kiosk, mobile clinic, packaging for pots and pans, bent wood furniture, coffee cart, bus stop shelter, point of sale display, faucet design, coffee pot design... DANAH: What are your thoughts on green design? And how do you feel this concept will be seen in the Arab world? THERWAH: Through the process of design, we think about

This is why we [Design Jordan] offer an internship program to students who wish to pursue a career in Product Design... K A L I M AT

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THERWAH: Unfortunately, Jordan and the Arab countries are immature when it comes to industrial design. I have identified two major reasons: - There is no focus on research, therefore it’s very difficult to identify problems and find solutions. - The Arab world is not an industrial region. Product design is very much related to manufacturing capability, therefore, we have to manufacture our products somewhere else. Due to the reasons stated above, schools and universities believe that there is no demand for Industrial Design, however, we believe the opposite, that there is a need. In my personal experience, I had to study Product and Transport design in the UK, as the level of teaching in this field in Jordan and across the Arab world was not as advanced as the education and training I would DANAH: Do you see any competitors to your firm? receive in Europe or North America. This is why we [Design Jordan] offer an internship program to students who wish to pursue a career in Product Design and for students of Architecture who are also interested in the field. Product Design and Architecture are closely related as they follow the same process, however, a few weeks of training for an Architect will make him/her a better product designer.

THERWAH: Competition is always healthy, it will urge you to improve your work and to launch better products every time. Jordan has about 2-3 design studios, one of them focuses on Promotional items and giveaways while the other focuses on Fashion design and products targeting a high income market so I don’t see any direct competition to our studio, however, I’m looking forward for it!

DANAH: What has your experience been like as a designer DANAH: What up-and-coming designers in the Arab world are currently attracting your eye? in Jordan? Therwah: I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Product and Transport Design three years ago from Coventry University in the UK. Since then, I have had the opportunity to join Design Jordan and I feel that through this experience, I have learnt a lot, because it gave me the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of design which translated into the office environment as well. I am attached to my job. This job will never suit any designer anywhere in the world if they don’t have the passion for it, it’s all about fun and creativity!

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THERWAH: We are always attracted to designers with a good background in hand sketching, in search of solutions, explorers and who consider product design as part of their lives and not just a job. We’re always looking for designers across various disciplines including architecture, graphic design, 3D Modeling...they have a similar way of thinking to product designers. Find out more about Design Jordan at WWW.DESIGNJORDAN.COM

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INTEGRATING IDENTITY INTO ART: INTERVIEW WITH LAILA MASRI by RAWAN RISHEQ

Photo by Shamma Al-Amri at Nomads Box 2010 “Invisible Constellations” show.

ntroducing an up-and-coming Arab artist, Laila Masri. Of Palestinian origins, she was born and raised in Abu Dhabi and then attended the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, returning afterwards to her city of birth. After working for three years as a graphic artist in an advertising firm, she finally broke free to focus on her independent artwork in painting and video. She has since held two solo exhibitions and has also showcased her work alongside other artists in Amman, Dubai, and Marseille. She has had an eclectic set of experiences that have influenced her views of femininity, spirituality, culture, and the state of status quo perceptions of society. Here we discuss process and the dialogue between the artist and human in her. RR: What are the key elements that make up your identity as Laila Masri? LM: I’ve grown up with the understanding that I am

Palestinian and always known my responsibility to understand our cause, as a human rights cause, and do my part of activism through the art I produce. My Islamic identity is the second key element, as a spiritual aspect. My creativity is also a part of my identity; the ability to express, experiment and create is key to the core of who I am. RR: What role has producing art played in your journey of self-discovery? LM: Art is a non-filtering agent of your thoughts, so every single idea I think of is unconsciously thrown onto the canvas. If you paint from your heart it can actually embarrass you sometimes. It made me see things I was actually unaware of in myself. I also realized through that process that the most important subject matter for me, that is recurring, is my feminist role, whether in the Western context or in the traditional Eastern one, and how the two

integrate, as they are not mutually exclusive. However, they hold very different core views of women.

I don’t like being confined by self-fulfilling style that is overdone. As I switch back and forth, I like to be true to the reality of my state at the time. Video art has proven RR: How do your [personal] characteristics appear through itself to be the most powerful medium I have worked with your work? as of yet. It is confrontational yet it is inclusive. It can be magnified or minimized. It is alive and is very much LM: Layers, earth tones and experimentation show my the language of the day. It communicates sensitive issues love for the sensually organic, the interplay of what is and difficult ones at that, which are very challenging to hidden and revealed, and the ever-evolving redefinition of represent through traditional mediums. elements. The ethereal feel of my work is how I am very conscious of my femininity, whether it is dark or playful. RR: Would you say that your personality and your art have I use found objects randomly in an eccentric way. I’m grown parallel to one another, or evolved by feeding off not afraid of experimenting in a very non-sensical way, each other? it is part of my humour. One of my greatest inspirations is actually Alice in Wonderland, which represents to me LM: Some of my works have not been conceptual per se, the uninhibited nature of children and how they will just but the technique helps you discover the idea of the piece. say anything! So in some ways the art was produced separate from the identity, but at the same time, once a creative process RR: Through using different art media, how has each form flourishes so does a new dimension of ideas. allowed you to express different aspects of yourself?’ RR: Can you separate your view of yourself as a [person], LM: I flirt with both digital and traditional media because and as an artist?

Photo by Rawan Risheq, ‘Gossip’ 2010

Photo by Rawan Risheq,‘Spot the Queen’ 2010

Photo By Rawan Risheq, “Social Threads” 2011 K A L I M AT

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Photo by Rawan Risheq, ‘Nazareth’ 2010,

Photo by Rawan Risheq, ‘Silent Conversation’ 2010 Video Installation

Photo by Rawan Risheq, Detail of ‘Girl Interrupted’, 2011 116

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LM: No. I feel much more human when I create, my senses are heightened and I am much more true to my instincts. I truly believe humanity will suffer without the existence of art, because it speaks to places inside us that cannot always be verbalized or written. Even in terms of political crises it can express the reality more than anything else. RR: Are there messages that you try to relay through your work? Are they personal/public?

a shift from earth tones to far brighter colours Can you trace the shift that has influenced this?

LM: I always used to say that the purpose of my work was to make one question anything they hold as certain or see as black or white. I have come to realize that that in itself is a message. I want people to take themselves out of their comfort zone, to acknowledge the shades of grey and all the different influences that come into shaping the context their preconceived notions. Taking the Middle East as an example, with its unstable political and social situation, there is a growing difficulty in the ability of each person to understand their identity due to psychological cultural displacement. Because of the polarity created by the emphasis on the differences between people, and the ever invading sense of globalized consumerism at hand, comfort zones are the safest havens, and to challenge oneself out of the preconceived notions is the hardest task at hand. I guess what I propose to the public is a challenge to question their perceptions.

LM: The drama was always there. Back in the day in Canada, my artwork was influenced by my emotional attachments to the past, so my work was darker and more dramatic. But when I moved back to Dubai, post-spiritual revelation, I was able to neutralize and refine who I am and my technique. My work now is more playful and layered, but still holds on to its ethereal essence. I think the choices are fluid, intuitive and natural, they simply reflect the maturity level and emotional state I am in.

RR: By watching your work over the years, I have noticed

RR: What do you anticipate will be your next focus or direction? LM: I want to focus more on installation art and theorybased works. I want to integrate as many different mediums and forms as possible. I’m fascinated with projecting video art on contemporary miniature paintings. Also I think its time I travel and begin to allow more cultures and locations to influence my work, pushing myself more into the international art scene. Showcasing my video art in Marseille, France is a start to that and I hope to push it even further. Also merging my landscape and figurative themes is something I have been thinking about more recently. RR: Thank you for your time Laila! LM: My pleasure! To view more of Laila’s work, visit her website at WWW.LAILAMASRI.COM

PHOTO BY RAWAN RISHEQ, ‘IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD’ 2010

Photo by Rawan Risheq, ‘Hollow Vase, Heavy Heart’ 2006

Photo by Rawan Risheq, ‘It’s all in your head’ 2010 K A L I M AT

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ART & DESIGN

BOOMERS IN THE UAE AD MARKET

by NASSRA AL-BUAINAIN

t’s a good time to mention the word “Advertising” in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially in the midst of the exciting Dubai Lynx 2011 International Advertising Festival, a festival that started in 2008. The annual event awards outstanding advertising in the Middle-East and North African (MENA) region. It has contributed greatly to the UAE and has transformed it into a destination for all creatives from the advertising industry across the MENA region. In recent years, advertising has been making its way up in the UAE and companies are paying a great deal of attention to the way they position themselves among others, especially in such a dynamic part of the world. The United Arab Emirates today is an example of the remarkable effort it has made in order to stamp its own fingerprint and create a brand for itself in the outside world. The Abu Dhabi Emirate is working on Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 which is outlining the foundations for a socially cohesive and economically sustainable community that, at the same time, when there is a population growth, preserves the Emirates’ unique culture and heritage. In the past few years, Abu Dhabi has focused on promoting its brand globally in order to attract tourists. This led the city to host various types of art and cultural events. The Dubai Emirate has been known for its vibrant lifestyle and the burst of its economic state made it a good place for different types of businesses to invest in the city. All these factors made the UAE active on different levels, which gave companies and brands competing in the market a chance to establish their names. A study completed by the Pan Arab Research Center (PARC) shows that the UAE is the second biggest advertising market in the region with a 12% share after Egypt. In other words, what we see is a lot of advertising.

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I would compare this burst in advertising to the time of baby boomers in the United States in the post World War II period. When the increase in population caused new inventions and products to emerge, this in turn created different brands battling in the advertising market. This competition increased the amount of advertisements and enhanced the level of creativity. It was a challenging time but it shaped the advertising

It’s important to highlight that the UAE is the number one country in the world for print according to the BigWon report 2010. .

industry and can definitely be described as the Golden Age of Advertising.

The modern UAE attracted diverse nationalities and as a result, the targeted demographic mirrors the different cultural backgrounds. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the UAE’s population has grown to 8.26 million.When you are in advertising business, that means a great opportunity, as you will use bigger media coverage to reach different backgrounds depending on your target. But for a client that means that they will have to focus a bit more on the tactical approach rather than on brand advertising strictly. At this time, they will be put in situations where they must “Think globally, act locally.” This approach is being used by international names to apply their brand image to different cultures. There has been huge competition, apparent in everything from newspapers, magazines, billboards, to television and radio. But what about today’s most vital and basic media...the Internet? A recent study has shown that 75.9% of the UAE population is using the Internet on a daily basis. This has made companies not only base their media plans and buys around the Internet, but also pay great attention to the interface of their website in order to make them both attractive and interactive at the same time. It’s important to highlight that the UAE is the number one country in the world for print according to the BigWon report 2010. The same report ranked the UAE 10th in the world in overall creativity. There was a debate within the advertising industry in the UAE regarding this rank. Some people thought that this remarkable accomplishment adds credit to the MENA region as much as it does to the UAE on the international stage. Others thought that being ranked number one for print ads doesn’t add much credit in the digital world. Furthermore, there was a concern that nowadays, most of the world does not place much emphasis on print and so it means that the ‘old way’ of thinking is still used in the region. Whether it’s digital or print I see that the future has a lot to offer to the UAE advertising world. There is so much to be done and endless tools and ideas waiting to be released from the box. I expect to see a more local vision and a voice that speaks to a new generation in the UAE. Fresh local brands will rise and new techniques and approaches will be used, and most importantly, they will be providing the local perspective.

Make sure to visit “New Media Extras” at kalimatmagazine.com for interactive components of this article. K A L I M AT

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KALIMAT’S MUSICAL FEATURE

While putting together the first issue, Kalimat’s staff and contributors were asked to submit one song by an Arab artist that they like and why they chose it. The result is a section we’re going to be featuring in every issue - a playlist of songs from various genres and languages for your listening pleasure, mixed by musician and producer Karim Sultan. We hope you enjoy it.

onstructing this mix was interesting to say the least. Few of the tracks were related by genre, subject matter, style of production, or even overall sound. Plus, on a personal note, not all the tracks were ones I would pick. How would one go about putting something like this together for others to enjoy? First, I dropped all the tracks into my usual mixing setup on Ableton Live, with filters and effects mapped out the way I like. One by one, I saw what flowed and what didn’t and worked out the basic track listing from there. Of course, not everything was completely smooth, but it was interesting seeing where bits of narrative and structure emerged in between and what needed a bit of nudging or spacing out. I was faced early on with the option of either ‘aggressive’ mixing, where I

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would take the songs apart and shape the mix as a sort of collage, or let the tracks stand on their own (which I did), letting the tastes of each of the contributors stand individually and come into contact with the others. After a few practice runs, the mix was first sequenced live in one take, with a minor mistakes corrected after the fact (no one is perfect!). To make things loud and clear rather than delicate and dynamic, I did a bit of production afterwards so that one can play this mix back with ease on small mp3 player earbuds, the speaker on their phone, in the car, etc. I hope that you all take a listen and enjoy. - Karim Sultan

SUNDUS BALATA • SONG: Shadia - Ya Habibty Ya Masr• WHY: Revolution! Revolution! Revolution!

JOSEPH MAALOUF • SONG: Miah - Charabiabada • WHY: I found this sound to be very unusual for a Lebanase artist and I liked it! The whole album by Miah ‘Catimini’ is HAMIDA AL-KUWERI • SONG: The Narcicyst featuring Shadia a home-made album with songs that come from the heart, Mansour – Hamdulillah • WHY: This song represents the and each piece has a touch of inevitable cynicism. new wave of Arab creativity and cultural innovation in this day and age. Musicians like The Narcicyst and Omar KARIM SULTAN • SONG: Ahmed Adawiyyah - Habba Fouq• Offendum have reinvented Arab culture with a modern WHY: I chose the song “Habba Fouq” by the Egyptian Western twist, and inspire me as an aspiring Arab artist. popular singer Ahmed Adawiyyah — this is the 2010 summer song for me and a number of others in Egypt, DANAH ABDULLA • SONG: Azar Habib - Ajbeen El Lail • so for me, it’s part nostalgia and part pure vintage sha’bi WHY: The late Azar Habib is so nostalgic. His melodies and catchiness. Plus, it’s always interesting when music reflects voice remind me of youth and a more laissez-faire lifestyle accurately the scene in which it was born, and classic and of course, of Beirut! Adawiyyah sounds like downtown Cairo (in the 1970s). NOUR BAWAB • SONG: Dalida - Helwah ya Baladi WHY: First, Dalida is singing it, second because it is linked somehow to my submission, third because it’s in Arabic and fourth, because every one thinks and feels that their country is the most beautiful.

NASSRA AL BUAINAIN • SONG: Mohamad Abdo - Kel Ma Nasnas • WHY: I am a fan of Mohamad Abdo’s old songs because I find them perfect in terms of lyrics, meaning and melody. Kel ma nasnas is written by Prince Khalid Al Faisal. MARIAM NADER • SONG: Mashrou3 Leila - Raksit Leila

NOORA SHARRAB • SONG: Omar Offendum, The Narcicyst, Freeway, Amir Sulaiman and Ayah - #Jan25 • WHY: For many, the song #Jan25 represented the tireless hours spent in front of news stations, primarily Al-Jazeera, as Arabs from all over the world, including those living in the Diaspora, expressed what was a vibrant and unshaken struggle for freedom, for fundamental human rights and for democracy for the people by the people. The call to oust Mubarak, was not only a call against a dictator, but for an entire regime change, against corruption, deception, fraud, manipulation and despotic acts. #Jan25 was a song that was rooted in the feelings of so many people, both in Tahrir Square and out. The song brought to light the inspiring protests from Bouazizi’s spark in Tunisia to the resilient struggle in Egypt. As expressed by the numerous artists that produced this piece, this song stood in solidarity to the people in Tahrir Square and all over the Middle East to say, “We are with you”, “we are supporting you”, “you are not alone!” And truly, those in Tahrir Square were not alone.

RAWAN RISHEQ • SONG: Abdel Halim Hafez - Ahwak • WHY: This song is a real classic Arabic song/artist that never loses its charm or soul. This song is the epitome of poet longing. Simply love it and him! ALI SULEIMAN • SONG: Kadem Saher - Zedini 3ishkan • WHY: This is probably the earliest song of this style that I can remember from my childhood. I first heard it on the teleivision while at my grandmother’s house in Amman, and it’s the first song whose lyrics I learned by heart. SHANNON FARHOUD • SONG: Omar Offendum - Finjan • WHY: The song’s lyrics come from Nizar Qabanni and is a great mix between modern beats and traditional poetry.

LAILA MASRI • SONG: Souad Massi – Raoui • WHY: I chose the song because it depicts the mental state a lot of young Arabs are in. They need answers to questions about their purpose in life, the meaning of existence, the reason NAIRA BADAWI • SONG: Mohammed Mounir - Shababeek • behind the political problems in the Arab world that is WHY: If my life had a soundtrack accompanying it, 90% of stopping them from finding solace in an identity they can its songs would be by Mounir. The 4 minute eargasm that comfortably relate to. Ultimately, a lot of us young Arabs is Shababeek invokes memories of watching the sunrise today want to live and find peace in a chaotic world. from a dingy balcony in Alexandria. Shababeek screams regret and laments over the things we left behind. Mounir’s TRACKLISTING (1:26:44) voice carries traces of the saddening homesickness that results from the summer’s farewells (or at least, that’s 1. Shadia - Ya Habibti Ya Masr what I hear). Summer 2010 was spent gazing through 2. The Narcysist featuring Shadia Mansour- Hamdulilah the shababeek of my Nina’s house by the Mahmoudeyya 3. Azar Habib - Ajbeen el Leil and through the rolled down windows of taxis speeding 4. Dalida - Helwa Ya Balady along the Mediterranean. I long for Masr and this sends 5. Amir Sulaiman ft Ayah Freeway The Narcicyst & Omar me right back to her. Offendum - Jan25 6. Mohammed Mounir - Shababeek NOUR NSHEIWAT • SONG: Fairuz - Ahwak 7. Fairouz - Ahwak 8. Soap Kills - Wadih NOUR BISHOUTY • SONG: Soapkills - Wadih • WHY: This 9. Elissa - Awakher el Sheta song is by one of my favourite Lebanese bands, one of the 10. Rayess Bek - Thawra first groups to produce contemporary Arabic music and 11. Miah - Charablabada embracing less serious and rather fringe lyrics. 12. Ahmed Adawiyyah - Habba Fouq 13. Mohammed Abdo - Kel Ma Nasnas ALEXANDRA KINIAS • SONG: Elissa - Awakher el Sheta • 14. Mashrou’ Leila - Raksit Leila WHY: I like Elissa’s songs because the lyrics are sentimental, 15. Abdel Halim Hafez - Ahwak the music is captivating and her voice is angelic. 16. Kathem el Saher - Zedini Eishkan 17. Omar Offendum - Finjan SHEYMA BUALI • SONG: Rayess Bek - Thawra • WHY: Because 18. Souad Massi - Raoul it is energetic and in the spirit of today. Make sure to visit “New Media Extras” at kalimatmagazine.com/isma3oo to download this mix. K A L I M AT

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WHO TO FOLLOW, PART I by DANAH ABDULLA

ere at Kalimat we are passionate about new media, and so we’ve created a Dossier dedicated solely to anything and everything found on the internet, although we are aware that new media isn’t only about the internet. In our “Who to Follow” section, we browse the twitter feeds of individuals, organisations and businesses in order to suggest some accounts you should follow to keep up. This first part is compiled by Kalimat’s Creative Director and Editor Danah Abdulla. @TEDXRAMALLAH: TED events are quickly attracting the attention of many, and now many cities across the world are putting together TED events, making it more accessible. TEDxRamallah has a great website, blog and twitter feed that keeps you up to date on all their activities and events across the Arab region. @NOORA888: Noora is one of Kalimat’s contributors, but that’s not why we suggest you press follow when you’re on her Twitter feed, it’s because she actually shares relevant and interesting content, whether it’s events in Jordan or news from across the Arab region she knows her stuff and isn’t afraid to use hash tags either! @NJASHANMAL: The General Manager of the Jashanmal Group, one of the largest distributors of print media in the Gulf region is also a filmmaker. His twitter feed is a mirror image of his interests including tweets on technology, books, cinema, design and locations around the Gulf region.

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@SHANKABOOT: Web drama from the rooftops of Beirut...need we say more? @DIMA_KHATIB: Al Jazeera’s Latin America Correspondent tweets in English, Spanish, Arabic and I’ve seen French a few times. Her tweets cater to many markets and she keeps you up to date on the latest news from the Arab region.

@3ARABAWY: Hossam has a lot of followers for a reason: he tweets news and commentary from the Arab region in both English and Arabic and posts some riveting content on his blog too! @BIKYAMASR: BikyaMasr claims to be your source for the best news, analysis, travel, opinion and special sections on Going Green, Animals, Food covering Egypt, the Middle East and the world, and they do just that. @DOHAFILM: Everyone loves films and when most films are springing out of the Arab world, you know there’s bound to be a lot of Film Talk. The Doha Film Institute is dedicated to film appreciation, education and building a dynamic film industry in Qatar which in turn, builds a support system and an industry in the Arab region. DFI is resourceful, follow them.

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REMIXING THE CLASSICS

by DANAH ABDULLA

his is the third time I stumble upon an English music blog where dj’s are remixing old Arabic jams. Kalimat featured the remix of Ahmed Fakroun’s song “Nisyan” back in the December newsletter and now a famous Fairuz jam is hitting the New Media Dossier. In a tribute to Egypt, the blog “Mixtape Riot” featured a few Arabic songs the writer “Chuck Wild” came across. He reworked Fairuz’s “Albosta” but still sticking true to the original. Listen up.

Make sure to visit “New Media Extras” at kalimatmagazine.com to listen to the “Al Bostah” remix.

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