Global Voices » Arabic

Egypt: The Questions Missing from the Presidential Debates

Mohamed Adel — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:43:07 +0000

Following Egypt's first ever presidential debate, and with interviews being held every day with presidential candidates, political analyst Mohamed Seif Eldawla has written on his blog Zakerat Aloma about the questions missing from the presidential debates [ar].

Saudi Arabia: May 7 Marked as Saudi Liberalism Day

Salah Almhamdi — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:59:09 +0000

On May 7 Saudi liberal activists gathered online to celebrate Saudi Liberalism Day, an initiative to acquire recognition and acceptance for liberal ideas. The gathering had to be online because it is forbidden to organize public meetings in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi liberals have been stigmatized for a long time for their progressive views and calls for human rights and democracy in a society that defines itself by its conservatism. They have been heavily attacked by the religiously-dominated ruling class. The group Saudi Liberalism aims in the long term to develop into a political organization.

7 May, 1st Saudi Liberalism Day. Image posted by Twitter user @mr_nejo.

Leading Saudi liberal activist, Souad Al Shammary, who is secretary-general of the group Saudi Liberalism, wrote:

@SouadALshammary: ‫#7مايو‬‏ دعوه لكل تيارات الوطن للحوار للمحبه للسلام للوحدة أرجوكم لاتقسمونا كلناهدفنا الإصلاح الليبراليه مجرد وسيله لاهدف لادين اعقلوافشلتونا

7 May is a call to all the factions to the country for dialogue, peace and unity. Please don't divide us. Reform is the goal of all of us. Liberalism is just a means not an end nor a religion. Use your minds, you disappointed us.

Secular university student Mohammad tweeted:

@M7mad_24: فكر بنفسك وأستعن بعقلك .. أحترم من يخالفك الرأي .. لا تؤجر عقلك لكنهة ووعاظ ‎:)‏)

Think by yourself and seek the help of your mind… Respect those who disagree with you… Don't “lease” your mind to priests and preachers.

Prominent liberal activist Wael Alqasm tweeted:

@waelalqasm: بدأ البذيئون في “تويتر” بالدعاء لي بالهداية والجنة، بعد أن عجزوا عن الانتصار بالشتائم. اللهم إن أدخلتهم جنتك، فاجعلني خالداً في النار أبداً.

Twitter's vulgar [users] started to call for me to have [religious] guidance and heaven after having failed to win through insults. O God, if you let them into your heaven, send me to hell for eternity.

Other people, however, criticized Saudi Liberalism Day as well as the idea of liberalism itself. Law graduate Jawahir Al Subaie commented:

@TheJawahir: I don't understand the purpose of Liberalism Day in ‪#Saudi‬ ‫#7مايو‬

Badr Al Rashed criticized Saudi liberals saying:

@BALRashed: الليبرالي السعودي يشجب ويتضايق من تشويه طالبان للإسلام لكنه ما يستاء من نحر أمريكا للحرية في أفغانستان والعراق ‎‫#7مايو‬‏ ‎‫

The Saudi liberal condemns and is annoyed by the Taliban's distortion of Islam but doesn't resent America's killing of the freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq

Abdullah Mohemed Al Dawood quoted [ar] Al Jazeera talk show host Faisal Al Qassem who apparently said: “I laugh very much when I see a secular man, who hasn't even convinced his family about his ideas, attacking the Islamists who control the streets everywhere.”

Abullrahman Al Kanhal criticized liberals in a blog post:

قيمهم الليبرالية تتمحور حول المرأة والهيئة والقضاء ، حتى بدا لكثير من الناس أن الليبرالية مجرد دعوات لإختلاط ومعاداة لرجال الشريعة.
الليبرالية الحقة لا تتجزأ ولا تتلون مثل حرباء الليبرالية السعودية ، فهم فجأة ضد ثورات الشعوب ، و ضد مطالب الإصلاح. […] لم يكن لهم حديث عن الفقر ولا الفساد إلا عندما منحهم الملك عبدالله الضوء الأخضر

Their liberal values are focused on women, the Committee [for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice] and the judiciary, to the extent that it seems to many people that liberalism is just a call for intermixing [between men and women] and against religious scholars.
True liberalism is indivisible and not colored like the chameleon of Saudi liberalism, as they are suddenly against the peoples' revolutions and the demands for reforms. […] They didn't talk about either poverty or corruption, only when King Abdullah gave them the green light.

Jordan: Campaign Launched Against “Rape-Marriage” Law

Ebtihal Mahadeen — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:25:51 +0000

In March of this year, 16-year-old Moroccan Amina Filali committed suicide after she was forced to marry her rapist, and Moroccans expressed their outrage at the incident. Now Jordanians are speaking up about a 15-year-old rape victim who has been married off to the man convicted of raping her, whose death sentence has been dropped as a consequence.

The sentence was dropped thanks to Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code that allows convicted rapists to walk free if they marry their victims. A campaign has now been launched to get the law abolished.

No to 308 campaign.

Blogger Naseem Tarawnah summarised the case that has angered people:

A 19 year old Jordanian kidnaps a 14 year old girl (with the assistance of his family) – takes her to a location where a tent was set up for him to rape her repeatedly for three straight days before the police roll in. The court sentences him to death by hanging but he manages to produce a very recent marriage certificate signed by a judge. The court then stays the execution but claims that it will be reinstated should the boy divorce her without a “justifiable cause”. A professor of sociology from the University of Jordan was widely quoted by the original article produced by Arab Al Yawm – that “women are different in nature from men” and that the girl should now make her best of the situation and play the role of a good wife, mostly by putting this whole silly rape thing behind her.

Twitter users in Jordan have condemned Article 308 and expressed their outrage at the way criminals are permitted to escape punishment while their victims are effectively punished. Activists and concerned Jordanians have been tweeting about Article 308 under the hashtag #جريمة308 (#Crime308) [ar] in order to raise awareness, and to garner support for a petition that aims to collect 20,000 signatures [ar] against Article 308:

نعلن رفضنا القاطع لما يطال النساء المغتـَـصبات من جرائم مركـّبة تحت مسمى العقوبات المخففة التي يوفرها القانون للمغتصب، ونسجل مواقفنا الرافضة لتخفيف العقوبة عن المجرمين، وتضييع حق الضحية والمجتمع تحت حماية القانون

We declare our unequivocal rejection for the multiple crimes that befall female rape victims because of the legal provisions for sentence reductions for rapists. We take a firm stance against both sentence reductions for criminals, and the dismissal of the victim's and society's rights, all under the banner of the law.

The petition also calls for stricter punishments for sexual assault and for the annulment of the category itself. In Jordan, sexual assault is any forced sexual act save for forced penile-vaginal penetration, which is the only act legally regarded as rape. Consequently, the rape of a male is not legally seen as rape, and neither is the forced penile-anal penetration of a female.

Tweets under the #Crime308 hashtag have mostly focused on the personal and social cost of Article 308 and highlighted its failings.

Zain tweeted:

@ZainMN: القوانين يجب أن تكون علاجاً لآفات المجتمع وليس تجسيداً لمفاهيم و ممارسات الظلم فيه.

@ZainMN: Laws should be a cure for society's diseases, not embody concepts and practices of oppression

Abd Ashhab wrote:

@abdashhab: جريمة 308 فن تحطيم شرف و مستقبلها البنت و كرامة عائلة و الدعس على مجتمع و بالآخر تبرئة الجاني

@abdashhab: Crime308 is the art of destroying a woman's honour and her future, as well as her family's dignity. It tramples on society and in the end the criminal is acquitted

Hadeel Abdel Aziz, Executive Director of Jordan's Justice Center for Legal Aid affirmed:

@hadilaziz:‬ لن نسمح بمعاقبة الضحية ولن نسمح بافلات المغتصب من العقوبة سنعمل على تعديل قانون العقوبات

@hadilaziz:‬ We will not allow victims to be punished and rapists to walk free anymore. We will change the penal code.

Raffoul H. Abubaida wrote:

@Raffoul: #جريمة308‬‏ معالجة ذيل المشكلة بعد الاغتصاب دون التفكير بان الاصل منع الاغتصاب ابتداءا وذلك بوضع العقوبة الرادعة

@Raffoul: [The current law] addresses ‎‫ the problems after rape without considering that we should prevent rape from happening in the first place by enforcing punishments that are a deterrent

Hadeel Maaitah tweeted:

@girl_brainy: Imagine tweeting once a day using ‫#جريمة308‬ saves one victim! Cumulative effort will save victims & save girls from becoming ones

The campaign against Article 308 was launched just weeks ago, but in this short period the campaign has had two volunteer meetings, gathered over 2000 signatures on its petition, and received considerable media coverage. Active beyond Twitter, the campaign is also present on Facebook.

Its use of social media has enabled it to get the support of prominent figures like the head of the Jordan National Commission for Women, an ex-minister, and an MP. However, Jordanian public outrage at this injustice is yet to bear fruit in the form of the abolishment of Article 308. There are high hopes this will be achieved before Jordan gets its own Amina Filali.

Egypt: How do the Presidential Candidates' Posters Compare?

Tarek Amr — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:03:40 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/12.

About ten days remain before the presidential elections in Egypt. A few days ago we witnessed the first presidential debate in the country's history, but the candidates' posters also play a big role in the final decision of the voters.

In an earlier post we saw how Abou Ismail - he's out of the race now - tried to influence people by the sheer number of his posters, but shouldn't the posters' design, colours and slogans play a role too?

Bloggers Mariam Saleh (@Mariam_Slh) and Mohamed Hussein have tried to analyse the posters of the different candidates.

Abdel-Monem Aboul-Fotoh

Aboul-Fotoh

Mariam Saleh wrote an analysis of Abdel-Monem Aboul-Fotoh'sposter, its colours, font, and so on:

Having the sky and the shining sun in the poster, makes you think that the sky is his limit. Choosing a scene from the revolution to say that he is a revolutionary candidate was not really needed, it's his actions, slogan and program that should say that. Plus, not every person who took part in the revolution will always be a revolutionary. He needs proof other than photos that he is still a revolutionary, that is if he is. The font is a nice and friendly one. Also the fact that his logo has the pyramids gives a feeling of belonging to Egypt as a country and not just to the Islamic Ummah. This is comforts those who want to think that he is different from the rest of the Islamists who don't care about Egypt as much as the Islamic Ummah [nation].

She added:

His father-like look gives a feeling of fondness and comfort. His tiny smile makes me feel his serious but kind to us. Again the fact that he is sitting down and not standing tall is sort of comfortable.

Mohamed Hussein also wrote about the candidates' posters [ar], and this is what he had to say about Aboul-Fotoh's:

اللون المسيطر: البرتقالي، أتذكر اختيار أيمن نور لحزب الغد اللون البرتقالي بعد شهور قليلة من الثورة “البرتقالية” في أوكرانيا، وهو ما اعتبره البعض جرأة منه، لكني أعتقد أن شهرة ثورتنا تجاوزت أوروبا الشرقية كلها، والجرأة هنا هي الخروج عن الألوان المعتادة واختيار لون يبرز في شوارعنا الرمادية الكئيبة.
الصورة الشخصية: بدون زوايا، فقط أبو الفتوح في مواجهتك بابتسامة هادئة، وهو ما يمنحه حميمية، والمصمم استخدم درجة ألوان تلائم شعره الأبيض وترك التجاعيد لحالها.

The dominant colour: orange. I remember Ayman Nour's choice of orange for El Ghad party a few months after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and people then considered it a bold move from him. But I think the fame of our revolution now is bigger that those of Eastern Europe, so the boldness here comes from choosing a colour people are not used to, which also shines in our grey, dull streets.
His photo: no angles, just a front view of Aboul-Fotouh with a calm smile that gives you a sense of intimacy. The designer used colours that suit his white hair and left the wrinkles untouched.

Mariam commented on Aboul-Fotoh's slogan, “The Powerful Egypt”:

A nice slogan that gives a shot of hope. His explanation of a powerful Egypt is one that is economically, politically, scientifically and militarily powerful. One that will give power and dignity to every Egyptian. The fact that his program makes it sound like an impossible dream is not the slogan's problem. The one problem with the slogan is actually a problem within us; the minute I read it I remember the old regime that only showed its power on its people. Of course he means a strong country and definitely not a government that kills its own people.

Hamdeen Sabahy

Hamdeen Sabahy

As for Hamdeen Sabahy, Mariam wrote:

The fact that the part below is black and the part above is white gives a feeling that he'll take us from the dark ages to a better one. The font used for his name and the Qur'anic verse is also a very nice one that says so much about him being connected to the Arab and Islamic world and heritage. The other font that is used for the rest of the sentences is also a friendly and comforting one, and the three sentences summarize his program very well. Focusing on his smiling face rather than his body and his suit again gives the same kind of comfort.

Mariam then added that Hamdeen is a moderate leftist who believes in a secular government, so the use of a Qur'anic verse in his poster can be interpreted in different ways. She moved to the candidate's slogan, “One of us”:

Although it makes us feel that he's closer to us than any other candidate, it doesn't say much. It does mean that he'd feel our pains because he's one of us though, which of course gives his campaign some sort intimacy. Yet, I keep thinking how a taxi driver is one of us, but would probably not make a good president.

Khaled Ali

Khaled Ali

Mariam commented on one of Khaled Ali'sposters:

Very simple with the flag colors. He has a look of a dreamer, this is a problem. I'd rather he looks straight to us, not down and not up. We want a realistic person, yes someone who can make dreams come true, but not a dreamer who looks to the sky and forgets to look ahead

Mohamed Hussein criticised another of Khaled Ali's posters, where he again doesn't look straight to the camera, and added:

يظهر بقميص عادي ولا يحاول إخفاء كرشه الناشئ، وصورته في البوستر الثاني (تصوير خارجي بالبدلة) أفضل بكثير رغم أنه الأقل انتشارا. بشكل عام تُظهر الصور انفتاحا وصدقا

He is shown with an ordinary shirt, and he doesn't try to hide his belly; his photo in the other poster (taken outside with a suit on) is much better though it hasn't been used as much. Generally, it reflects openness and honesty.

Mariam noted that Khaled Ali's slogans are taken from people's chants during the revolution:

Bread, freedom, social justice and We'll make their dream a reality: Khaled Ali's campaign is very poor unfortunately, so the advertising is not very professional. So I found two slogans both are revolution's chants… Sort of lack of creativity, but this is their way of proving that he's one of the revolutionary candidates. Both are nice and revolutionary and since these chants are the revolution's demands they make sense. But they could've done better with creating a new revolutionary slogan.

There are officially 13 candidates in the Egyptian presidential elections [ar]. Mariam has commented on two other candidates, Mohamed Salim El-Awwa and Mohamed Morsy, and Mohamed Hussein has written about [ar] candidates such as Ahmed Shafiq and Amr Moussa.

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Egypt: Historical Arabic Manuscripts Put Online

Mohamed Adel — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:15:37 +0000

Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Wellcome Library and King’s College London Digital Humanities Department have recently launched the Wellcome Arabic Manuscript Cataloguing Partnership (WAMCP). The manuscripts collection comprises around 1000 manuscript books and fragments relating to the history of medicine. All content is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Egypt: Disappointment at First Presidential Debate

Noon Arabia — Sat, 12 May 2012 05:38:14 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

On May 10, 2012, people around the region and beyond were pinned to their screens following Egypt's first ever presidential debate, which was between the top two presidential candidates, Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.

However, this was not the first presidential debate in the Arab world, as in Mauritania in 2007 a televised presidential debate took place between Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah.

The debate was three hours long, moderated by TV anchors Yosri Fouda and Mona El Shazly and aired on Egyptian private channels ONTV and Dream TV - ironically not on Egypt's state TV. Twitters users tweeted about the debate under the hashtag #monazarat.

The two candidates shaking hands. Image by @SultanAlQassemi

The start of the debate was delayed due to traffic. Ben Wedeman, CNN anchor and reporter, tweeted sarcastically:

‏@bencnn: Aboulfotouh arrival at debate delayed by #cairotraffic? No matter who is running, #cairotraffic always wins. #monazarat #Egypt

Many commented on the long series of commercials which were shown before the debate and during the breaks. Robert Mackey reporter and editor of the New York Times tweeted:

‏@RobertMackey: Don't know if this #monazarat has inspired Egypt to buy into democracy, but the barrage of ads did just motivate me to buy a Twix.

The candidates were asked questions on various topics such as human rights, health plans, the economy, foreign relations, sharia law, and the role of the military. They were even asked about their financial status and health.

Both Egyptians and Arabs around the region were tweeting the candidates' replies.

The first question was regarding their vision for Egypt; their replies were tweeted by Emirati commentator Sultan Al Qassemi, and Egyptian Dalia Ezzat:

@SultanAlQassemi: On vision for Egypt - Amr Moussa: A constitutional state that leads the region & serves expectations of its people + Sharia #monazarat

@DaliaEzzat_: Abuel Fottouh : bread, freedom, dignity and social justice. He's basically repeating the slogans of the revolution #Monazarat

Blogger Iyad El-Baghdadi summarized their priorities:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: Abulfutouh vs. Mousa: The first puts democracy, sharia and then security; Mousa puts security, democracy, Islam. #Monazarat

Regarding how they would have managed the Abbassiya events, Amr Moussa's reply was tweeted by Sultan Al Qassemi:

@SultanAlQassemi: On Abbaseya events - Amr Moussa: I didn't wait until I become president, I made calls & demanded police intervene #monazarat

Yet Aboul Fotouh had a more powerful reply, tweeted by Egyptian blogger Bassem Sabry:

@Bassem_Sabry: Fotouh: If I were president, the Abbasiyya events would not have happened at all, would protect right to protests and sit ins - #Monazarat

Regarding Israel, AboulFotouh had a clear and straightforward reply, tweeted by Egyptian professor Rasha Abdullah:

@RashaAbdulla Aboul Fotouh: Israel is an enemy, with 200 nuclear heads and history of occupation and violations #monazarat

Moussa on the other hand had a less confrontational and more diplomatic reply, refusing to answer whether he considered Israel an enemy:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: Mousa: I call for reviewing our treaty with Israel, but insist on a two-state solution. #Monazarat

Finally when asked why voters should elect them, their replies were as follows:

@SultanAlQassemi: AF: elect me because: I bring people from all backgrounds together. Don't elect Moussa because: he didn't stand by the revolution #Monazarat

@ahauslohner: Moussa: Elect me because I'm experienced and I've proven myself. #Egypt is in crisis & it needs an experienced statesman. #monazarat

Both candidates focused on each other's controversial points. Moussa, who was Mubarak's foreign minister and former Secretary General of the Arab League, referred to Aboul Fotoh having been a longtime member of the Muslim Brotherhood, while Abou el Fotouh countered with commenting on Moussa being part of the former toppled regime.

Iyad El-Baghdadi and Dalia Ezzat summarized the candidates strengths and arguments:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: Abdulfutouh playing on his ability to unite everyone behind the revolution; Mousa playing on his past experience. #Monazarat

@DaliaEzzat_: The debate in a nutshell : you're Ikhwani! [member of the Muslim Brotherhood] Is that right? Well you're felool [a remnant of the former regime] and part of the regime that the people revolted against. #Fail

Amr Moussa's answers were vague and came across as arrogant and hostile while Aboul El Fotouh's answers were more transparent, and he was more calm and collected. Jenan Moussa, a reporter for Al Aan TV, tweeted:

@jenanmoussa: Moussa is very dismissive of Abu El Fotouh. He feels he is better or sth. I dont like the attitude. #Monazarat

Twitter user The Ess summarized their performance:

@Nadesque: #Moussa : weak answers, strong attacks. #AbulFutouh : good answers, weak attacks. #Monazarat

Many voters had hoped that this debate would help them learn more about their candidates and their plans and vision. Menatallah Essam tweeted her disappointment, and that of many, of how the debate turned out:

@mentos_391: what i really hoped is that each one says his positive plans for the future not mentioning each one's negative points. #monazarat

Some voters changed their opinion regarding the candidate they might have voted for before viewing the debate, and some even considered other candidates. AbdEl-Rahman Khaled tweeted:

‏@3bd2lr7man5aled:
اللي هيطلع كسبان من ال ‎‫#مناظرة_الرئاسة‬‏ دي هو ‎‫#حمدين_صباحي‬‏

The winner of this presidential debate will be Hamdeen Sabahi

Blogger Ruwayda Mustafah compiled the presidential debate tweets: part 1, part 2 and a factcheck. Blogger Mostafa Hussein made a transcript of the debate. The debate can be seen in full on YouTube.

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Saudi Arabia: Twitter Hacking Prevention Tips

Mohamed ElGohary — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:25:08 +0000

Online accounts are frequently hacked and stolen. We often hear of those who hacked someone's email or stole someone's email password. Twitter is no different, so the Saudi tweep and blogger Manal Al-Sherif, who has worked as a Information Security Consultant in an oil company for years, shared her tips on how to protect Twitter accounts from being hacked [ar].

Syria: Revolution and Calcification

Mohamed ElGohary — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:14:23 +0000

Lebanese blog Beirut Walls has written about [ar] the accusations made against the Syrian revolution in a new light. “Maybe hard water, which is very common in Lebanon, is calcifying the mind. There is no other obvious explanation for the recent trend of inhuman or illogical accusations against the Syrian revolution. Let's try to find a reason that justifies this judgmental and offensive way of thinking.”

Egypt: Anger at Arrest of Lawyer in Saudi Arabia

Tarek Amr — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:20:39 +0000

A lot has been going on in Egypt in the past few weeks, such as the preparation for the presidential elections, and the clashes in Abbassiya. On top of that, diplomatic relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been under pressure because of the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer Ahmed El Gizawy in Saudi Arabia.

El Gizawy was arrested as soon as he arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 17 for pilgrimage. News reports stated that he was sentenced to 20 lashes for “defaming the Saudi king”, referring to El Gizawy's criticism made on television of Saudi Arabia's imprisonment of a number of Egyptian citizens.

Ahmed El Gizawy. Image taken from Egyptian Chronicles blog.

Egyptians received the news with rage both online and offline. A special hashtag was created for tweets attacking the Saudi king; it can loosely be translated as “Screw You, Royal Highness” [ar]. In addition, protesters gathered in front of the Saudi embassy in Cairo to condemn the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer.

Saudi officials later denied that El Gizawy was arrested for defaming the king, and they claimed instead he was arrested after being found in possession of more than 21,000 pills of the anti-depressant drug, Xanax.

Egyptians don't buy this claim; they wondered how El Gizawy was able to smuggle such a huge number of pills, and why the Saudi authorities did not announce that the arrest was because of drug trafficking from day one. In addition the authorities at Cairo airport said that they did not notice anything illegal in his luggage [ar] when leaving the country.

Writer Alaa Al Aswany said:

Al-Gizawi is a brave revolutionary lawyer who defended many of the rebels before military courts. He then took the cases of Egyptian workers in Saudi Arabia who were detained without trial, thus finding himself in litigation with the Saudi king himself. When al-Gizawi and his wife went to perform umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca), he was assured that the Saudi regime would not be able to punish him for his political positions, as under Islamic law, all those who go on a pilgrimage are untouchable. Unfortunately, al-Gizawi was arrested as soon as he landed in Saudi Arabia. Those who asked about him were told that he would be whipped and imprisoned for insulting the king of Saudi Arabia. Two days later, Saudi authorities announced that they found more than 21,000 drug tablets on al-Gizawi. This silly accusation is not worth discussion. Al-Gizawi is a brave fighter who got arrested several times in defense of his principles. What made him suddenly turn into a drug dealer? Is he stupid enough to travel with such a high amount of drugs through the Cairo airport, where baggage X-rays make it impossible to transfer that many drugs? Moreover, the quantity of that many tablets weighs more than 60 kilos, and the baggage weight limit is only 30 kilos. According to the records of the Cairo airport, the weight of al-Gizawi and his wife’s bag did not exceed the limit.

Zeinobia commented:

Young Egyptians on social networks do not buy the Saudi statement as it reminded them of the case of Khaled Said and how the ministry of interior in Egypt fabricated the drug story about him.

Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported [ar] that El Gizawy had previously filed a lawsuit in Egypt against the Saudi ambassador regarding the detention of torture of a number of Egyptian citizens in Saudi Arabia.

Zeinobia referred to another Egyptian detainee:

Now it is not only the case of Gizawy that we should follow and work on , I think we should work on the case of other Egyptians allegedly arrested and detained for years in the Kingdom for no reason like for instance the case of Abdullah Mamdouh [ar]. Mamdouh was detained from four years ago for no reason according to his wife Israa Kamal [ar] who is campaigning online and offline for him.

The Saudi government closed its embassy in Cairo in response to the protests there, in the worst diplomatic rift in years between the two countries. However the Saudi ambassador returned to Egypt a week later, after a high-level Egyptian delegation went to Riyadh led by Saad El Katatny, Muslim Brotherhood member and the current speaker of Egypt’s parliament.

As'ad Abou-Khalil wrote about the visit in a post entitled, “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood bows down to House of Saud“:

Such an opportunity to meet with the Saudi king would likely not have arisen in the short to medium term had Gizawy's case not been escalated by Egyptian activists. During the visit, Katatny clearly stated, “We will not interfere in Gizawy's case,” adding that “the Saudi justice system is fair.” Katatny stressed the “historic relations” between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and said that Saudi has “white hands” (Arabic for “a shining track record”) in backing Egypt. Katatny again remarked that Egypt and Saudi Arabia, “the two greatest powers in the region,” could lead the region into a bright future.

Ahmed El Gizawy remains in detention in Saudi Arabia, awaiting trial.

Yemen: How Many Women Have Been Subject to Sexual Harassment?

Noon Arabia — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:27:03 +0000

An article [ar] published in pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat on May 2, claiming that 90% of Yemeni women have been subject to sexual harassment, has caused a stir online.

While many Twitter users admitted that there was a problem with harassment in Yemen, the percentage quoted in the newspaper divided them.

Marwan Almuraisy wanted the newspaper to apologise:

@almuraisy: غرّدوا تحت هذا الهاشتاغ حتى تعتذر صحيفة الحياة عن الخطأ المهني الجسيم وراسلوهم على حسابهم ‎‪#AlHayatFail‬‏ ‎@alhayatdaily‏

Tweet with this hashtag and to this account until Al Hayat newspaper apologises for this grave professional mistake ‎‪#AlHayatFail‬‏ ‎@alhayatdaily

Almuraisy added in a tweet addressed to Al Hayat deputy editor Jameel Theyabi:

@almuraisy: أي شخص منصف يعلم أن نسبة ٩٠٪ مرفوضة حتى بالنسبة لأكثر الدول تفسخًا وانحلالاً فكيف ببلد محافظ كاليمن؟ ‎‪#AlHayatFail‬‏ ‎@JameelTheyabi

Any fair person knows that the figure of 90% is unacceptable even for the most liberal and decadent society let alone a conservative society such as Yemen #AlHayatFail‬‏ ‎@JameelTheyabi

Abeer Al Yosofi wondered:

@im_abeer: الى متي والمرأة اليمنيه ضحية لتقارير ليست عادله ولااساس لها من الصحة !! ‎‪#yemen

Until when will Yemeni women be the victim of unfair and unfounded reports? #yemen

She said:

@im_abeer: انا ضدالنسبه وبقوه ولست مؤيده ان في وطني التحرش فاق دول تحرشها ١٠٠٪ صح في تحرشات لفظيه لكن ليس بنسبة ٩٠٪ وليس في اغلب الاماكن!

I object strongly to the percentage and can't accept that harassment in my country exceeds that in countries where harassment is 100%. Yes there is verbal harassment but it is not 90% and not everywhere

Cartoon about harassment by Mohammed Al Ridaei. Image from the Safe Streets campaign Facebook page.

However, other people felt the problem needed to be addressed. Lamis Al Wadeai tweeted:

‏@MiSo0o0o0o: تحدّي لكل واحد منكر: يلبس بالتو ويتلثم وينزل الاسواق والجامعات والباصات في اليمن..و يجي بعدين يفتي في النسبه

I challenge any man who denies this to wear an abaya and cover his face and go to the markets and universities or on buses in Yemen…and after that he can come and dispute the percentage

Muna tweeted:

@ArabsUnite: Cant believe some in Yemen R surprised @ high % of women who experience harassment. Striving4change means acknowledging flaws in our society

Alia Eshaq tried to clarify the meaning of harassment:

@aliaeshaq: للتوضيح…التحرش يضم كل قول او فعل. ومافيش بنت مش بيتم التحرش بها لفظيا علي الاقل! حاربوا الظاهره لو زعلانين‎‫

For clarification: harassment includes everything which is said or done, and there is no Yemeni girl that hasn't been harassed, at least verbally! Fight this phenomenon if you are angry

Najla Al Hamadi linked to an article in the Yemen Times about an initiative to fight street harassment. She made some suggestions of her own:

@NajlaAlhamadi: الحل 1تغير نظرة المجتمع الدنيوية تجاه المرأة 2 وضع قوانين نافذة لردع اي متحرش 3قوانين تحمي المرأة وتحفظ كرامتها ‎‫#نرفض_تقرير_الحياة_اليمنيات‬‏

Solutions: 1. change society's low perception towards women 2. put in place laws to deter harassers 3. laws to protect women and maintain their dignity

A campaign against sexual harassment in Yemen called Safe Streets (Facebook) [ar] was started by activist and blogger Ghaidaa Motahar last year. The campaign made this video to raise awareness and address the issue of harassment:

Mohammed Alnehmi commented:

@m_alnehmi: حتى وان كانت النسبة 10% ساندوا حملة شوارع امنة وكفوا اذى المتحرشين

Even if the percentage was 10% support the Safe Streets campaign and stop the harassers

Al Hayat newspaper did apologise for the high percentage it had quoted, saying it was an exaggerated figure based on a regional study.

Rather than addressing the issue and providing solutions, a lot of time and effort was wasted debating and dismissing the figure, which was extremely high. Whether we like to admit it or not harassment in all its forms - stares, words or actions - is widespread. It is something that many women in Yemen's main cities, just as in other countries in the region, are subject to. The phenomenon needs to be acknowledged and addressed properly, starting by teaching proper family values and incorporating them into the educational system, designing media campaigns to address harassment, and introducing and applying laws. In this way we will be able to enjoy safe streets.

Best of the Blogs 2012: Winners Announced

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:53:23 +0000

Image from The BOBs website

After a month of voting and jury discussions, the awards for this year's Best of the Blogs - the BOBs - have been decided. This annual event held by the Deutsche Welle Media Group aims to award bloggers who contribute to their communities and promote freedom of expression.

In addition to User Prizes (selected by popular vote), a jury of bloggers, media experts and activists have curated the best blogs, campaigns and media projects in six multilingual categories.

Best Blog

Iranian journalist Arash Sigarchi (jury winner and user winner) and the Lebanese author of Mowaten Jou3an (user winner) are this year's “Best Blog” winners. Sigarchi, currently based in Washington, is the author of Window of Anguish [ar], where he writes about social and political issues in his homeland. While in Iran, he was arrested several times for the content he published on his blog and was eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison. The unnamed author of Mowaten Jou3an [ar] covers diverse subjects related to several countries including Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon.

This year’s other Jury Awards went to:

Best Social Activism Campaign: Free Syrian Blogger & Activist Razan Ghazzawi

This campaign was launched after Syrian activist and former Global Voices contributor Razan Ghazzawi was arrested in December as she was on her way to attend a workshop on press freedom in Jordan. After her release she was taken into custody, released and taken into custody again some months later. This Facebook page calls for her release and that of her colleagues from the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, who have been detained since February 2012.

Special Topic Award Education and Culture: Fasokan

Boukary Konaté is the author of Fasokan, where he promotes his local language and culture in both French and Bambara (the most widespread language of Mali). Konaté is a translator for Global Voices in French and also a Rising Voices grantee representing the Ségou Villages Connection.

Best Use of Technology for Social Good: Harassmap

This Egyptian project, using an Ushahidi map, allows victims of sexual harassment to report and map what happened by type and location. Reports can be made via the website, text message and via Twitter hashtag.

Best Video Channel: Kuang Kuang Kuang

This Chinese cartoon series, whose main character goes by the name Kuang Kuang, is one of animation director Pi San’s satirical works that has provocatively evoked China’s social ills.

Reporters Without Borders Award: Abu Sufian’s Blog

Reporter from Bangladesh Abu Sufian uses his blog to report on crimes that much of the mainstream media ignores, such as the recent killing of the journalists Sagar and Runi. He has been vocal against extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh, which take thousands of lives.

User Awards in all categories and languages

In addition to the Jury's Awards, the users have also chosen their favorite blogs in all the categories and languages of this year's competition. You can see the list here.

Congratulations from the Global Voices community to all the Award winners for their inspiring work. We wish to send special greetings to Boukary Konaté for his outstanding work. When we talked to Boukary about what this award meant for him, he answered:

I got the news in a moment when my country is going through a military and political crisis. I consider this Education and Culture Award as an award for unity and peace for Mali.

According to jury member and Global Voices author, Tarek Amr from Egypt who helped review Arabic language nominees:

The FreeRazan campaign is important on its own, but I also see it as symbol for acknowledging the struggle of the Syrian people and showing solidarity with political detainees in the Arab world, whether Abdulhadi Alkhawaja in Bahrain, military trials victims in Egypt, and many other examples. Harassmap is also a great platform to help raise awareness about sexual harassment in Egypt, and help victims to speak up, especially when society often tends to blame the victim before blaming the harasser.”

Mauritania: Opposition Sit-in Attacked by Security Forces

Ayesha Saldanha — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:29:48 +0000

A sit-in in Nouakchott by opposition groups was violently dispersed by security forces in the early hours of May 3. It was the latest of a series of protests that have taken place in Mauritania.

Protestors, who were calling for the downfall of the military government, had erected tents and brought supplies and a water truck, intending to stay. This was the first mass sit-in organised by all opposition parties and activist and community groups.

Mauritanians have been protesting for political and economic reforms, and the end to military rule, for more than a year. The country has been described as being at boiling point.

Opposition sit-in in Nouakchott on May 2. Image by Twitter user @ahmedj85.

Online activist Anita Hunt described what happened on the morning of May 3:

After cutting off electricity and barricading the area around the sit-in with road blocks and a convoy of about 30 vehicles, a barrage of tear gas, sound grenades and water cannon rained down on the camp. Police then attacked and beat protesters as they tried to escape. Scores of people were injured and dozens arrested in clashes that continued for over two hours. The injured included the leader of one of the opposition parties; the director of another opposition leader, Ould Daddah’s office; independent radio journalists; a pregnant woman who was overcome by tear gas and developed severe breathing diffculties; and a youth with internal bleeding. The police confiscated bedding, electronics, and provisions from the camp site, and were later seen dividing up the food and drink between themselves. Whatever police couldn’t remove easily – such as tables, chairs and toilet facilities – they destroyed. There are reports that president Aziz and a security detail of the presidential guard were spotted in the vicinity while the attacks were in progress, indicating that he was personally supervising the raid. The Council of Ministers met at the presidential palace later that morning, while police launched a fresh attack on the university, arresting several students. After the Council meeting, there was no mention in the official statement regarding the massive protest or the attack.

Mauritanian blogger Ahmed Jedou wrote:

هذا الاعتصام شاركت فيه جميع أطياف المعارضة الموريتانية
من أحزاب وقوى سياسية وحركات شبابية مثل حركة 25 فبراير التي دخلت في سمر ليلي صاخب .
حيث قرضوا الشعر ورددوا شعارهم الاشهر “يسقط يسقط حكم العسكر “الذي رفعوه من أكثر من عام مع بداية الربيع العربي.

The whole spectrum of the Mauritanian opposition took part in this sit-in: all parties, political forces, youth movements such as the 25 February movement [ar] that organised a night vigil during which they recited poems and repeated their slogan of months “Down, down with military rule”, which they have been saying for more than a year since the beginning of the Arab Spring.

US-based Mauritanian activist Nasser Weddady commented:

@weddady:#موريتانيا‬‏ على الرغم من قلة عدد سكانها قطعت أشواطاً بعيدة في الحراك الشعبي إذ أنها شهدت ميلاد حركات إحتجاجية في سنة.إنجاز قياسي بكل المعايير

@weddady:#Mauritania ‬despite its small population has made great strides in popular mobilisation, as it has witnessed the birth of protest movements in a year. Record achievement by any standard

He added:

@weddady: Now, we will see how the opposition will react to the mass beating. As usual, don't expect much on any of this in world media.

This video [ar], uploaded by ahmedj85, shows the sit-in on May 2:

The following video [ar], uploaded by alaakhbarinfo, shows the sit-in being attacked in the early morning of May 3:

Egypt: Eyewitness Account of Abbassiya Clashes

Mohamed ElGohary — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:21:27 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Eleven people were killed and more than 160 injured near Egypt's Ministry of Defence (MOD) on May 2, 2012, after protesters demanding an end to military rule were attacked by armed men. The protestors had been conducting a sit-in over a period of days outside the MOD in the Abbassiya area of Cairo, and included many supporters of Salafi politician Hazem Salah Abu Ismail who were protesting his exclusion from the forthcoming presidential elections.

The following is an eye-witness account [ar] by blogger Bassem Zakaria El-Samragy, who was at the sit-in. Bassem writes:

امبارح بالليل طبعا زي معظم الناس معرفتش أنام وصحيت الصبح مقدرتش أعمل أي حاجة غير إني أروح على الاعتصام. نزلت محطة مترو كوبري القبة ومشيت الخليفة المأمون كله الدنيا أمان والمواصلات ماشية ومفيش أي حاجة لحد ما وصلت للاعتصام عند ميدان العباسية برضه الدنيا أمان والعدد قليل جدا في الاعتصام، وأنا ضعيف في تقدير الأعداد لكن ما أظنّش إنهم يعدّوا مئات .. وصحيح مشفتش ولا يافطة لحازم أبو إسماعيل لكن أغلب المعتصمين سلفيين وده طبعا مش معناه إنهم يُعتدى عليهم أو يُسلبوا حق من حقوقهم بأي شكل من الأشكال.

Last night, like most people, I wasn't able to sleep, and when I woke up I couldn't do anything apart from go to the sit-in. I took the metro to Kobry El-Qobba station, and walked along El-Khalifa El-Ma'moon St [intersecting with MOD]. Everything was fine and traffic was flowing normally. There was nothing until I reached the sit-in in Abbassiya Square; everything was still fine with very few people at the sit-in. I'm not that good at estimating numbers but I don't think they were more than a few hundred. I didn't see a single Hazem Abo Ismael banner but most of the protestors were Salafists. Of course this doesn't mean they deserve to be assaulted or their rights violated by any means.

Clashes between thugs and protesters, by Abbassiya metro station. Image by Twitter user @adamakary.

المهم، عديت الاعتصام ولاقيت ناس من ناحيتنا محتلة الكوبري مأمّناه (وأنا مش هاقول ثوار وبلطجية .. هاقول من ناحيتنا ومن ناحيتهم) وساحة المعركة الأساسية هي موقف أوتوبيس العباسية .. الملاحظة الأساسية هي إن الناس اللي من ناحيتنا والناس اللي من ناحيتهم شبه بعض، الفرق بس إن ناحيتنا في سلفيين كتير .. السلاح الأساسي في المعركة الطوب والمولوتوف، وشفت اتنين من الناحية التانية معاهم فِرَد خرطوش .. واللي بيحصل كالآتي: احنا محتلين ساحة موقف الأوتوبيسات كله تقريبا معظم الوقت وهم واخدين البيوت في ضهرهم والطوب والمولوتوف شغال، وفي كذا فرشة خضار اتحرقت في الموقف من المولوتوف بتاعنا، وكل شوية العيلين اللي معاهم خرطوش يضربوا علينا فنرجع لنص الموقف أو نرجع لحد ما نجيبهم عند الكوبري فالناس اللي واقفة فوق الكوبري تحدف عليهم من فوق فيرجعوا ونتقدم تاني .. وهكذا، يتقدموا فنرجع ونتقدم فيرجعوا، في معركة متكافئة لأقصى حد .. مشفتش إصابات عندهم لكن شفت عندنا إصابات أغلبها من الطوب

Anyway, I passed through the sit-in, and I found people from our side occupying and guarding the bridge (I won't say “revolutionaries” and “thugs”, I will say “from our side” and “from their side”). The main battlefield was the Abbassiya bus station. My chief remark is that people from both sides were very much alike; the only difference was more Salafists on our side. The main weapons were bricks and Molotov cocktails. I saw two people on the other side with shotguns. This is what was happening: we were occupying the bus station most of the time while the other side had the houses behind their backs as the bricks and molotovs were in the air. A vegetable stall was burnt in the bus station by one of our molotovs. Every so often one of the two guys with shotguns aimed at us so we retreated to the rear half of the station or to the bridge, until the people standing on the bridge threw bricks at them so we could move forward again. This attacking and retreating went on in a very equal battle. No injuries on their side, but I saw injuries on our side, mostly from bricks.

الناس اللي بيضربوا علينا قلت إنهم شبهنا، وفيهم حتى عيال صغيرة وناس تانية بتحدف طوب حتى بطريقة ماتدلّش على إنهم محترفين إجرام .. لكن في ناس منهم شكلهم فعلا محترفين إجرام، وفي ناس من عندنا شكلهم برضه محترفين إجرام والسلاح الوحيد اللي شفته من ناحيتنا واحد معاه مطواة كان عايز يدخل الناحية التانية يجيب واد كده كان بيحاول يستفزّنا .. (بالمناسبة، أرجوكم محدش يزايد عليا في حوار الناس اللي شكلهم محترفين إجرام ده، أنا ولا شاب برجوازي ولا طبقى وسطى ولا كل الكليشيهات دي)

I mentioned earlier that the attackers were similar to us; there were even small kids, and other people throwing bricks at us in a way that proved they were not professionals thugs. But there were also people among them who really looked like criminals, and there were some people on our side too who looked like criminals. The only weapon I saw on our side was a guy with a knife who wanted to go over to capture a guy who was trying to provoke us. (By the way, please don't start going on at me about people looking like criminals or not; I'm not bourgeois or middle class and have nothing to do with all those cliches.)

Wounded and bloodied being carried away from Abbassiya. Image by Twitter user @sharifkouddous.

في ميدان العباسية العربيات بتعدّي عادي .. وشفت حالتين مرة عربية تاكسي ومرة عربية سوزوكي صغيرة معدية والناس حدفت عليها طوب لسبب مش فاهمه في حالة السوزوكي لكن في حالة التاكسي على حسب ما فهمت إن الراجل كان بيزمّر لهم علشان يعدّي .. وشفت حالة تانية لواحد كان ماشي وبيقول كلام من نوعية خربتوا البلد فواحد من ناحيتنا قلع له الحزام وكان هيدبّ فيه لولا الناس حاشته .. سمعت من أكتر من حد كلام عن الإحباط وعن إنها شكلها كده مش هتخلص إلا لو جبنا سلاح .. أنا مشفتش سلاح بعيني لكن كان في ناس بتتكلم عن “رغبة” مش “نية” في إنهم يجيبوا سلاح وذخيرة
الخلاصة: أنا أول مرة أبقى متلخبط لأن اللي بيدبّوا من الناحيتين زي ما قلت شبه بعض .. شكلهم مدني وماستبعدش يكون في بلطجية في الناحيتين فالموقف الأخلاقي فعلا صعب

In Abbassiya Square the cars were passing by normally; in only two cases I saw people throwing bricks at a taxi and a small Suzuki car as they passed. I didn't understand why for the Suzuki, but with the taxi from what I understood the driver was honking hard in order to pass. In another case a passing pedestrian was shouting some words like “They destroyed the country”, so someone from our side took off his belt to attack that guy, but people stopped him. Several times I heard frustrated comments that it wouldn't end without weapons. I didn't see weapons but there were people talking about a desire, not just an intention, to bring arms and ammunition.
In short: for the first time ever I felt confused because the two sides really looked alike, as I said. They looked like civilians, but I'm not saying there weren't thugs on both sides. Morally speaking the situation is really complicated.

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Palestine: Mass Hunger Strike by Prisoners

Jummana Kahlout — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:25:12 +0000

Palestinian prisoners began an open ended hunger strike on April 17 to protest the conditions within Israeli prisons. What had started earlier as a protest by a few has now increased to thousands of participants (with figures varying between 1,400 and 3,000). Several of the prisoners who began their hunger strike earlier are now at risk of dying.

There are more than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, and around 320 have been held without charge or trial under so-called administrative detention.

The situation in Israeli prisons has deteriorated over the years. The prisoners are demanding an end to solitary confinement, administrative detentions and punitive measures. Protests have taken place in the past, but this strike is different, following as it does the widely reported strike of Khader Adnan.

Blogger and journalist Joseph Dana wrote about Adnan's case in February:

Mr Adnan’s story is emblematic of the administrative detention experience of many Palestinians. He claims to have been beaten and humiliated by Israeli soldiers while in custody, and began his hunger strike in protest.

Freedom for Bilal Dhiab and all our prisoners. Image from Facebook page of We Are All Hana Shalabi.

Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike in February after 66 days, when the Israeli authorities agreed to release him on 17 April. Another prisoner, Hana Shalabi, ended a hunger strike after 40 days when she was exiled to Gaza for three years by the Israeli authorities.

In the current strike two prisoners, Bilal Dhiab and Thaer Halahleh, are at grave risk of death.

Information on the hunger strike and solidarity actions can be found at the Twitter hashtag #PalHunger.

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association based in Ramallah has been tweeting updates about the strike:

@Addameer_ps: In Ohalei Keidar prison, the 96 hunger strikers are all placed in solitary confinement cells, 2 prisoners to 1 cell. #palhunger

@Addameer_ps: 220 prisoners are on hunger strike in Ofer prison. #palhunger

@Addameer_ps: All 105 Palestinian prisoners in Eshel prison are on hunger strike #palhunger

@Addameer_ps: Hunger strikers in Naqab prison are being arbitrarily searched each day, including raids of their cells and body searches #palhunger

@Addameer_ps: Addameer currently estimating between 2,000 and 2,500 prisoners on hunger strike, but could be more #palhunger

Walaa Al Ghussein in Gaza tweeted:

@WalaaGh: My aunt's fiance is on his 20 day of hunger strike now, She is waiting him to get married,she don't want him to die! #PalHunger #Palestine

Activist Ali Abunimah ‏commented:

@AliAbunimah: Western media kept demanding “Palestinian Gandhis.” Now that 2000 political prisoners are on hunger strike they ignore. #PalHunger

Lebanon: Demotivational Humour on Facebook

Thalia Rahme — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:48:02 +0000

Internet memes are just as popular in the Arab world as elsewhere. Recently a number of Facebook pages have been started about specifically Lebanese memes. In this post Global Voices interviews the creator of a page called “Demotivational Lebanon”.

Over a very short period of time Facebook pages with general themes such as “Lebanese Memes”, or more specific ones related to certain schools or universities, have become popular among Lebanese netizens. Global Voices has interviewed the creator of “Demotivational Lebanon: a demotivational page for demotivational country”, who identified himself as “Youssef R., a 29-year-old demotivated yet angry citizen of a pseudo-nation called Lebanon”.

We are all one team - against the Lebanese people!

Global Voices (GV): How did you come up with the idea for the page?

Youssef R (YR): Months before creating the page, I discovered a type of internet meme called demotivational posters and quickly became addicted to browsing and collecting this type of poster. Then I thought, why don’t I start creating my own? So I started creating demotivationals featuring Lebanese politicians, pop stars and even Miss Lebanon and posting them on my own Facebook wall. My friends liked them and congratulated me. Later on, I learned about a page called Lebanese Memes and decided to create my own page.

I started creating new posters and posting them on the page, which quickly attracted a large number of fans who admired my efforts. Before long I stopped limiting myself to the Demotivational Poster format and started creating and posting all types of internet memes, such as the infamous Rage Comics. The page started with jokes about politicians, but then I decided to stop featuring politicians, and to tackle political, social and economic problems. It was an opportunity for me to express my anger over everything that is wrong in Lebanon using dark humor.

I get my inspiration from daily life in Lebanon. There are countless topics to address because the country is in dire need of reform. It is a country that risks sliding into a sectarian war at any given second. So I’m trying to raise awareness or at least express my anger and frustration, which a lot of fellow citizens share.

Planning to buy a house in Beirut? Please tell me which bank you will rob.

GV: Do you take the photos and do the designs yourself?

YR: I simply use Google to search for photos. I don’t have designer skills. I create the unsophisticated designs using one or a mix of the following tools: the simple design software Paint, a website called ragemaker.net for creating the Rage Comics you see everywhere on Facebook lately, and other online meme generators.

Civil war is more comfy in pyjamas - the only lesson that the Lebanese learnt from the civil war.

GV: Do you interact with visitors to the page? Have any expressed dislike for your messages?

YR: When the focus was on political figures, users used to engage in heated clashes, each defending his/her political idol, and sometimes cursing the page or its creator, but when I stopped featuring political figures and focused on issues that concern all Lebanese, fights among the users stopped and they started cursing the politicians and the political system itself, the real reason behind Lebanon’s problems. I sometimes take part in discussions. However, it is clearly mentioned in the page’s description that the page does not monitor, censor or take responsibility for user comments. Simply because I don’t have time to monitor the huge amounts of comments, given that I’m the only admin for the page.

By the way, users are allowed to send me their own demotivationals and memes and I post the ones I find creative and funny on the page’s main wall. Until now I have created 90% of the posts and other users have created only 10%. I’m looking forward to seeing a bigger contribution from the users.

I know he will steal from me, but I vote for him because he is from my religious sect.

GV: Have you thought of going beyond just a Facebook page ?

YR: That would depend on the circumstances; right now I don’t have such plans. However, I’m promoting and supporting certain causes on my page, such as freedom of expression, and trying to stand in the face of any injustice. I'm sharing the calls for protests and action on the ground. For example, the Lebanese authorities have recently detained and interrogated activists and comedians over graffiti they sprayed on Beirut’s walls. I try as much as I can to highlight these cases, defend freedom of expression and support the activists.

I think the Lebanese suffer from the Stockholm Syndrome. The Lebanese need to raise their voices. The amount of injustice in the country is unbearable. Sectarianism is preventing a real revolution in this country. The Lebanese must liberate themselves from the sectarian enslavement. They must stop thinking as sheep. The revolution does not necessarily have to be violent, it can start in the mind of every Lebanese.