Global Voices » Lebanon

Lebanon: UK Ambassador to Chat on Twitter with Haifa Wehbe

Ayesha Saldanha — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:46:32 +0000

The British Embassy in Lebanon has announced an online discussion between the UK ambassador (@HMATomFletcher) and Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe (@HaifaWehbe), to take place on May 18 at 6pm (Lebanese time), tweeting under the hashtag #HaifaHMA.

Lebanon: Uproar Over Homophobic Article in University Newspaper

Joey Ayoub — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:21:07 +0000

Following the Alem Dechasa scandal that opened the eyes of many Lebanese to the horrible conditions in which migrant workers live, now an article about homosexuality in a university newspaper has stirred up a fierce debate online.

Mohamad Sibai, a student at the American University of Beirut (AUB), wrote a short opinion piece entitled “Please me at any price” in the university's newspaper, Outlook, restating all the traditional homophobic accusations and insults. He began by saying:

The other day, I saw a couple holding ands along Hamra Street. Normally I would never look twice, but something was not right. They both had short hair, facial hair, and rough voices. The sight was disturbing. Call me sexist, call me whatever you like, I couldn’t get that image out of my head for the whole day. I couldn’t believe what I saw, I know that Lebanon aims to be an ideal “secular” country, but if this is what “secular” is then maybe it’s not such a good idea.

Holding hands. Image by Guillaume Paumier on Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Mohamad's ideas were not new or original, but the strong reaction to his post was interesting. Shortly after someone copied the content of Mohamad's article online, the Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor put out a call on its Facebook page for bloggers to post their responses online, promising that it would publish them.

Elie Wafi wrote:

So you saw a gay couple holding hands? Suddenly, you world is shattered, Lebanon’s long lasting problems becoming so insignificant, and the Earth will stop spinning until we solve that matter. Is it so important that two guys held hands? Did it stop you from crossing the road, or going to work, or driving your car, or eating your lunch, or cutting your hair, or buying a new pair of jeans, or partying hard at night with your friends? I don’t think so.

Antoine Atallah addressed the newspaper's editors:

It pains me to know that AUB's official newspaper has become the tribune for homophobic statements to be freely expressed, published and spread to the entire AUB community. I will not even talk about the false-facts, arrogance and skewed logic that Sibai has expressed. Anyone has the right to express all the fallacies that please them, this is what freedom of speech is about. However any sort of freedom stops where the freedom of the others starts. To insult, ridicule, stigmatize a significant portion of a population is not called freedom.

Article by Mohamad Sibai. Image taken from al-bab.com.

Elie Fares responded to Mohamad's claims one by one:

I felt it is my duty as a holder of a biology degree with an interest in psychology, two domains that Mr. Sibai is apparently very fond of citing, to say a few things, respectfully of course. […] Mr. Sibai, twin studies have shown that their is a genetic correlation for homosexuality. It’s not a linear correlation but there is an effect of genes on a person’s sexual orientation, whether you like to admit or not. […] Mr. Sibai, the rate of STDs is not correlated with homosexuality in any way whatsoever.

Gino described the piece as “silly”:

The sheer ignorance, arrogance and homophobia makes me embarrassed to say I probably shared a few classrooms with the writer.

Beirut Boy explained why he loves Mohamad Sibai:

I love you Mohamad Sibai because you’re just a kid who shared his raw opinion, which is exactly the opinion of the majority of the people in this country. You just had the balls to speak up. (Even though you’re wrong).
I love you because I have that much love to give to someone who has some growing up to do.
I love you because you showed me just how much support the gay community has from straight people online!

Alloush at the group blog Homos Libnani wrote:

We, as Homos Libnani, will not dignify this article with a response because, firstly, we do not want to fight hatred with hatred, and second, we do not want to contribute to Sibai’s 15 minutes of fame.

The most moving response was undoubtedly by a man called Raja Farah, who invited Mohamad to have coffee with him. He wrote:

I’m a 33 year old gay man. Everything you’ve written in your article is something that I have read or heard a million times before, here in Beirut, as well as in Los Angeles, Paris, London, and South Africa. To be honest, you haven’t said anything groundbreaking, and more importantly, you haven’t said anything that hasn’t been debunked hundreds of times. I have learned to not get upset when I read such blatant homophobia. It hasn’t been easy, and you can imagine what having to deal with this on a daily basis can do to someone. I’ve gotten used to the stereotypes, to the fears, to the hatred. I’ve even gotten used to people inciting others to be violent towards me, which you have also done in your article. […] I don’t know about you, but, and this may be the gay in me speaking, I think a world full of love is better than a world full of hate. Have a coffee with me. Let’s talk about anything you want. We can talk about hate, religion, and faggots, or we can talk about cars, travel, and happiness. We can even talk about love, dreams, and hope. Let’s just talk. Like two human beings. You’ve accused me of not being human. I am responding in a way only a human can: by reaching out.

It should be noted that there were some people who sympathized with Mohamad's views. Others, although disagreeing with and condemning the content, stressed that freedom of speech should be granted to all. However, most bloggers spoke out strongly against the piece. A list of responses can be found on Brian Whitaker's blog and at Homos Libnani.

Lebanese media failed to report the case, with the exception of Al-Akhbar who interviewed a gay rights activist.

Outlook's Editor-in-chief, Lojine Kamel did apologize, as did AUB's Dean of Student Affairs, Talal Nizameddin.

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.

May Day Marked Around the Arab World

Ayesha Saldanha — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:25:02 +0000

May Day, or Labour Day, or International Workers' Day is recognised as a public holiday in many Arab countries, and demonstrations and rallies are held by unions and political parties to pay tribute to the role of workers and to call for workers' rights.

The National Transitional Council of Libya has declared [ar] International Workers' Day to be a national public holiday starting this year. Hamid tweeted from Tripoli:

@2011feb17: #Libya's first #MayDay (Worker's Day) holiday since 42 years ago! HAPPY HOLIDAY EVERYONE Yup #Libya has changed ;)

Demonstration on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis. Image by Amine Ghrabi on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Bahraini activist Maryam Alkhawaja remembered the migrant workers of the Gulf:

@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: On labor day we pay tribute to all the migrant workers who r treated like modern day slaves in #gulf countries

Demonstration in Barbar, Bahrain. Image by Twitter user @bahrainiac14.

Demonstrations were held all over Bahrain demanding the reinstatement of the hundreds of workers who were fired last year for taking part in protests. Many of the demonstrations were attacked by riot police with tear gas. Journalist Mazen Mahdi reported from Manama's souq (market):

@MazenMahdi: Despite tear-gasing #Manama souq labor day protest still on-going #Bahrain

Demonstration in Khouribga, Morocco. Image by Twitter user @__Hisham.

Imad Bazzi tweeted about the hacking of the Lebanese Ministry of Labour's website:

@TrellaLB: special delivery for the Ministry of Labor in #Lebanon on Labor day, a total makeover :D loooool http://www.labor.gov.lb/ thanks to #RYV

The website was changed to say the following:

We are RYV, short for Raise Your Voice, and we are simply a group of people who could not bare sitting in silence, watching all the crimes and injustice going on in Lebanon. We will not be silenced and brainwashed by your media. We will not stop until the Lebanese people mobilize, demand their rights, and earn them. We will not stop until the standards of living are raised to where they should be in Lebanon. We will not stop until this government's self-made problems are solved, like the power shortage, water shortage, rise in gas prices and rise in food product prices. We are RYV, expect us to break the silence, whether in the streets or on the Internet.
Silence is a crime

Demonstration in Cairo. Image by Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Lebanon: Palm Sunday and Easter Celebrations

Ayesha Saldanha — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:10:32 +0000

In Lebanon two Christian celebrations took place on April 8, 2012 as churches following the Gregorian calendar celebrated Easter Sunday and churches following the Julian calendar celebrated Palm Sunday. This means that some Christians are celebrating Easter next Sunday, on April 15. In 2013 the two Easters will be much further apart, on March 31 and May 5.

Sietske, a Dutch woman married to a Lebanese man, describes the family's Easter celebrations:

There is the annual Easter lunch with the Easter Egg Hunt attached to it in the garden of the father of the wife of the brother of my husband. And everyone is coming, whether they're Christian or not, or whether it's their Easter or not (the Orthodox celebrate Easter next Sunday). I have mentioned before that in Holland, that connection would qualify them as strangers. Here, it’s direct family. And the cousins of the wife of the brother of my husband come as well, and so do the wives of the brothers of the father of the wife of the brother of my husband. Still with me? And the parents of the wives of the brothers of the wife of the brother of my husband are there as well. In Lebanon they have names for family connections like that. In Holland you would never ever meet these people, save for an isolated wedding or funeral. Here I meet them every year. And the group is growing, as children get married, and so their extended family gets added. We were ranging from age 96 (3 were in their 90’s) to 4 months old; a bit like an Italian family. But I assume most people that live around the Mediterranean share these characteristics; large families, lots of celebrations and parties. And if you take into account that most Lebanese families have about half of their family members living abroad (on my husband’s side alone – and he is from a very small family) there are already 3 uncles, an aunt, and 11 cousins living outside), you can imagine what kind of celebrations we’d have if everyone were to be in town.

Sietske's Easter family photo. Image from sietske-in-beiroet.blogspot.com.

Tarek Joseph Chemaly writes that the egg hunt is not a Lebanese tradition:

In Lebanon we do not do egg hunts but rather “egg matches” whereby boiled eggs are struck against each other until the last standing egg is the winner… And damn cholesterol levels - because you have to eat them eventually right?

Painted eggs for Easter. Image by Twitter user @tarekfeghali.

Meanwhile, Orthodox Christians celebrated Palm Sunday.

Bishop Audi celebrating Palm Sunday, St George's Orthodox Cathedral, Beirut. Image by Twitter user @LebanonEguide.

Palm Sunday celebration at St George's Orthodox Cathedral, downtown Beirut. Image by Twitter user @antoine_haddad.

Palm Sunday celebration in Ashrafieh, Beirut. Image by Twitter user @rimamaktabi.

Video Highlights: Culture, Human Rights, Online Activism and Crowdfunding

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:09:24 +0000

This series of highlights aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel.

The Earth, image by Esparta Palma CCBy on Flickr

Culture

India: The Last Handwritten Newspaper in the World

The earliest forms of newspaper were handwritten and now ‘The Musalman‘ probably is the last handwritten newspaper in the world. This Urdu language newspaper was established in 1927 by Chenab Syed Asmadullah Sahi and has been published daily in the Chennai city of India ever since.

Azerbaijan: Novruz Bayram

Alongside Iran and elsewhere, Azerbaijan once again celebrated Novruz, the Zoroastrian or Persian New Year. Usually celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, Novruz marks the first day of Spring, and is one of the most important dates in the Azerbaijani calendar.

This next promotional video prepared for Eurovision shows how the holiday is celebrated in Azerbaijan.

Human rights and videos

Ethiopia: Child Abuse Caught on Mobile Phone Camera

Ethiopian Facebook users have reacted to a mobile phone recorded YouTube video which shows a little girl constantly being abused by her mother. Shortly after the upload of the video, netizens on Facebook organized an online campaign for justice by starting a Facebook group called “Ethiopians Against Child Abuse”:

Warning: the video shows situations of child abuse.

This month also saw other reactions in Ethiopia regarding human rights abuses, in the next case, an Ethiopian domestic worker was beaten by her employers in front of the Ethiopian Embassy in Lebanon, and it was captured on video. Sadly, she committed suicide shortly after.

Ethiopia: Outrage Over Abuse of Ethiopian Domestic Worker in Lebanon

Ethiopia Lebanon: Online Outrage Over Death of Domestic Worker Turns into Activism

The graphic nature of the video together with the tragic end of the plot left Ethiopians netizens outraged. Ethiopians have been using Facebook and online petition sites to mourn her death and campaign for justice for domestic workers in the Middle East.

Online activism

Kony 2012 Special Coverage Page

With the Kony 2012 campaign, discussions increased online on the topics of online activism, its efficiency and how media portrays the conflicts and situations lived in different African countries. A Special Coverage page was created to follow the reactions on the polemic video with Ugandans weighing in on the topic:

Uganda: Kony 2012 Video Response from Ugandan Prime Minister

On the YouTube comments for the previous video, Ugacentricity gives credit to the intentions behind the Invisible Children's video, but defends the need for an accurate portrayal:

No doubt, Jason's intentions MAY have been good, but he threw truth and fact out in favour of drama and innuendo. True, he may not have got the 100 million+ viewers, but the end doesn't always justify the means. As a Ugandan who was affected by Kony, I'd rather have had 100 people listening to the truth in my story than 100 million believing the untruths in it.

A series of video responses made by people inspired by the original Kony 2012 video can be found in the post Uganda: Yes We Kony!.

Other examples of online activism:

Online activism continues in the following examples of stories posted during the month of March 2012:

In Puerto Rico, an organization is seeking to raise awareness on the dangers and risks of planning unnecessary C-sections on women expecting babies through a music video.

In Russia, sex and videos were used as a means for political support by Putin supporters and detractors during the Election season, and this article walks us through some different examples.

In Latin America, women who had breast surgery with faulty implants are taking to the web to get their stories out and gather support. Through blogs, online forums, Facebook groups and online videos [es], women are talking about the high incidence of cosmetic breast enhancements, on financial responsibility for the removal of faulty implants and on the legal aspects of dealing with medical procedures that go wrong.

Crowdsourcing

Nicaragua: Film on the Consequences of a Leaked Sex Video Seeks Crowdfunding

An award-winning team of producers and actors is coming together in rural Nicaragua to make a movie based on actual events exploring the consequences of a couple of young people in love who make an intimate video of themselves which then becomes public by mistake, and how they deal with the backlash of their actions. They are looking for extra funding to cover costs on location in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and all the money raised will be spent locally.

Syria: A Year On, From Beirut With Love

Mohamed ElGohary — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:17:28 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

On 15 March, 2012, the Syrian revolution marked its first anniversary with increasing determination that marked its beginning. On this day many activists around the world rallied at the Global March Against the Syrian Dictator while protests were arranged in many cities around the world supporting the Syrian cause.

Lebanon, Syria's neighbour, and its capital Beirut, were not away from all what was happening despite the difficulties in freedom of expression lately. There, activists faced this challenge and decided to do something different. Beirut Walls [ar] explains the activists stance in Lebanon in the blog post entitled “The Syrian revolution after a year, from Beirut with love”:

منذ عام والشعب السوري يصرخ “الموت ولا المذلة”، “حرية حرية حرية”. قتل منهم ما يفوق الثمانية ألف شهيد واعتقل الآلاف ودمرت البيوت واغتصبت النساء… منذ عام ونحن في بيروت نحترق أمام المشاهد ونتخبط في حيرتنا عمّا بوسعنا ان نفعله. كيف نتضامن مع شعب يقتل لأنه يريد اسقاط نظام قمعه لمدة عقود؟ كيف نعبر عن تأييدنا وبيروت يملؤها شبيحة من الطراز البعثي والقومي والميليشيوي؟

منذ عام وبعضنا من أفراد وناشطين مستقلين نحاول ان نشارك من بيروت في ثورة سوريا. نعتصم هنا، نكتب هناك، نعرض أفلاماً، نيأس ثم نعود نرفض ان يطالنا القمع فنهرع الى جدران المدينة. كانت الجدران الحيز الحر الذي وجدنا فيه مكاننا للتعبير

For a year, the Syrian people have been chanting “Death rather than living in humiliation” and “Freedom Freedom Freedom”. More than 8,000 people have been murdered, and thousands of people have been detained, homes destroyed and women raped. A year has passed and we are on fire in Beirut watching what's happening in confusion not knowing what to do. How can we be in solidarity with people being murdered and whose only crime is their determination to take down a regime that has been repressing them for decades? How can we express our support and Beirut is full of thugs from different Baath, Ultra-National and Militant backgrounds?

Beirut Walls: To the Syrian revolution with love, used under CC.

Despite this, netizens and activist Twitter users announced their support for the Syrian revolution. @abirsasso [ar], from Beirut, tweeted:

عام والسوريون يبدعون بشعاراتهم. “الممانعة مو مانعة غير حريتنا” من المفضلات لدي، مكتوبة على جدران بيروت ‎‬#1YearAgo‪

A year passed and Syrian revolutionaries prove their creativity in their chants. My favorite one is “Resistance (to US/West) is only against our freedom”. It is written on Beirut walls. #1YearAgo

While @taniaelk said:

Early this morning, on the 1st anniversary of the revolution in #Syria Beiruti activists sent a message of solidarity.

@NadineBek [ar] also assured the Lebanese solidarity with the Syrian revolution saying:

رسائل من بيروت الى أحرار سوريا good morning Syria #Syria‪‏ ‎‬#banner‪‏ ‎‬#beirut‪‏ ‎‬#March15‪‏ صباح الثورة

Messages from Beirut to Syria's free people. Good morning Syria, good morning revolution!

Activists in Beirut found another way to announce their solidarity with the Syrian people, by drawing graffiti and putting posters on walkways and bridges. They also wrote and distributed slogans in the memory of the Syrian revolution.

Beirut Walls also wrote about the revolution morning [ar] including a video entitled: “From Beirut with love”:

لأن تضامن الشعوب والأفراد أقوى وأهم من تصريحات ومواقف الأنظمة وزعماء الطوائف والأحزاب، أردنا ان نعبّر عن تأييدنا لثورة الشعب السوري. في أولى ساعات الصباح في يوم 15 آذار وبعيداً عن أعين السلطات اللبنانية المختلفة، قمنا بعملية نشر هذه “الرسائل” من بيروت الى أحرار سوريا.

Because the people's and individuals' solidarity is stronger and more important than official statements and the stance of politicians and sect and parties heads, we wanted to express our support to the Syrian revolution. In the early hours of 15 March, and away from the different Lebanese official eyes, we were to spread these “messages” from Beirut to Syria's free people.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Lebanon : Mothers' Day Event in the Absence of Prisoners Detained in Syria

Jane Ellis — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:08:17 +0000

Various organisations demanding the liberation of Lebanese prisoners detained in Syria are organising an event in the “Tent of the Families of the Missing and Detained” on Lebanese Mothers' Day, today, 21st March 2012, in the gardens in front of the Beirut UN building.

Brazil: Solidarity March for Syrian Revolution

Rami Alhames — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:29:17 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Syrian revolution support reached Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 18, 2012. Hundreds of activists in Sao Paulo rallied to show their solidarity with the Syrian struggle on its first anniversary. The event took place as part of Global March Against the Syrian Dictator and in support of Palestine against Israeli occupation.

The activists shared photos and videos on Twitter and YouTube, for example Nadine Bekdache‏ (@NadineBek [pt]) who posted:

fotos da passeata hoje em #SaoPaulo apoiando a revolação #Siria - A #palestina estava em todas as palavras ditas

Photos of the march today in #SaoPaulo supporting #Syria Revolution - #Palestine was in all speeches there

Brazilian committee to support Syrian Revolution. Via @NadineBek on Twitter (used with permission)

Although the protest numbers did not reflect the whole Arab community that exists in Sao Paulo, people from different cultures, origins and backgrounds gathered to demonstrate: Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians, Brazilians, human rights activists and a leftist representative from a party from Argentina. The march started from Shopping Paulista to the MASP art museum and went via the Paulista avenue.

A video posted on YouTube [ar] described the actions of the protest:

واحد واحد واحد الشعب السورية واحد، بعد هذا الهتاف تأتي هذه الكلمة الذي يقول فيها المتكلم أن في سورية هدف واحد وهو إسقاط النظام ونحن هنا نتعلم من الثورة ورغم الصعوبات سنعمل كي نبقى موحدين. بإختصار: ثم يعتذر عن إنفعاله ويقول أن قضيته هي فلسطين وبأن ثورات كل البلدان العربية هي من شأنه وبإنه يؤمن أن من خلال حرية العالم العربي نقضي على إسرائيل. وينتظر أن يتغير النظام في الأردن أيضا ويحيي المغرب على حراكهم

One one one, the Syrian people is one. After chanting these words, the speaker declared that in Syria there is one goal: to bring down the regime while they are here to learn from the revolution, despite the difficulties, they will work to stay united. In brief: the speaker apologized for his troubles, says that his case is Palestine, and he pays attention to the Arab revolutions because he believes that through the freedom of the Arab world, they could fight Israel. He expected to change the regime in Jordan, whilst he cheered Moroccans for their mobility.

The march stopped at the Syrian and Lebanese consulates (although they were on their day off) chanting and requesting Lebanese officials to treat the Syrian refugees with respect, to provide them with necessities, and to open the borders for Syrians who are escaping the tyranny of the Syrian regime.

"Absolute Support to Syrian Revolution." Via @NadineBek on Twitter (used with permission)

Speeches focused a lot on Palestine, free Syria, occupy Golan heights, and called for a united Syria while rejecting foreign intervention.

"For a united nation, secular and democratic. Palestine will be free." Via @NadineBek on Twitter (used with permission)

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Ethiopia/Lebanon: Online Outrage Over Death of Domestic Worker Turns into Activism

Endalk — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:38:11 +0000

Alem Dechasa, the Ethiopian domestic worker in Lebanon whose abuse video sparked anger amongst Ethiopians, “preferred” to commit suicide by hanging herself using her bed sheets last Wednesday 14 March, 2012.

Clip art illustration of a maid mopping a floor. Image source: http://jontambek.wordpress.com/.

Zelalem updates his Facebook status with:

All of we share her plight to be dragged in the floor, all of we roar as a relief for our anger but, sadly and badly none of US can save HER life. Forget our government, we have no such.

Shame on Ws ALL!!!

May Peace be Up on You Alem!

Abiye Teklemariam says:

I have no words. Tragic, tragic, tragic.

Another Facebook user comments:

Last week I watched ETV reporting that Ethiopians in UAE pledged to contribute $22million for the renaissance dam. While our sisters are being abused and killed day in, day out in the Middle East, our ETV is delighted to tell us that these same destitute girls have pledged to contribute. Lord, have mercy!!!

Her controversial death has forced netizens to take the opportunity to put the abuse of many Ethiopians domestic workers in Middle East countries on spotlight.

Concerned Ethiopian netizens have created an online petition to stop the abuse of Ethiopian women in Middle-East and seek justice for abused workers such as Alem and Shewaye.

The petition says:

Due to the lack of prospects of a livelihood, lack of education and wrong perceptions of overseas work, thousands of young Ethiopian women continue to go to the Middle East countries every year to work as domestic workers. These young women are full of hope of bettering their lives and the lives of their families. However, once they arrive in their destination country, the hopes of the majority are shattered by what awaits them. In most cases, their passports are confiscated from them, their salaries withheld, they’re beaten and even prone to rape. In addition to ratifying almost all of the international human rights instruments pertinent to the issue at hand, the Ethiopian government has also put some policy and legislative frameworks for protecting the rights of these women. However, enforcement of these laws are very minimal and weak. Thus, until the Ethiopian government upholds its national and international obligations, issue appropriate policies to ensure the protection of human rights as well as re-integration of these women into the society, Ethiopian migrant and trafficked women will continue to commit suicides, face abuses, and remain trapped on foreign soil.

Another campaign page that seeks to stop the abuse of Ethiopian women in Middle East says:

Alem didn’t committed suicide. But she was abused & murdered. She was seeking for help but help did not arrive. Let us stop this abuse and let the killer and the abuser punished

A candlelight vigil is set to take place at Mesqel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 17 March, to mourn the death of Alem and express solidarity with all abused Ethiopian domestic workers in the Middle East. One of the organizers announced on Facebook:

Dear Friends, because of the absence of a Lebanese Embassy or Consulate in Addis, the initiators of the ‘Candlelight Vigil for Alem Dechasa' have decided to conduct the Vigil at Meskel Square. Please spread the news and be there on time so that we can remember our sister and say ‘never again’. tomorrow Saturday March 17 @ 5:05pm.

While the campaign is raging online, Saudi Arabia plans is reported to be in need of 45,000 Ethiopian nationals every month in order to meet its requirement for domestic workers.

Ali Mahfouz - the man seen in the video abusing Alem Dechasa. Photo source: http://www.lbcgroup.tv/.

On 16 March, Ethiopians gathered in front of the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington DC in a silent protest to mourn Alem Dechasa. First Secretary of the Lebanese embassy, Mr Toni Frangie spoke with the protesters.

Mobile phone video footage that shows Alem Dechasa being beaten and dragged by force into a car under the gaze of bystanders outside the Ethiopian consulate in Beirut, Lebanon, sparked outrage online.

Ethiopians organised a social media campaign for justice last year after a CNN journalist, Dan Rivers, revealed the horrifying abuse of Shweya Mullah who was brutally injured after the wife of Gaddafi’s son poured boiling water on her whole body for allegedly failing to keep a crying child quiet.

The number one cause for suicide is untreated depression. Depression is treatable and suicide is preventable. You can get help from confidential support lines for the suicidal and those in emotional crisis. Visit Befrienders.org to find a suicide prevention helpline in your country.

Lebanon: Picture An Arab Man

Claire Ulrich — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:19:56 +0000

Rania Massoud repost on her personal blog [fr] her article published by Lebanese daily L'orient-Le jour about a photography project undertaken by Tamara Abdul Hadi. ”Picture an Arab man” wishes to update the image of today's Arab men by photographing men from every Arab country in the nude.

Ethiopia: Outrage Over Abuse of Ethiopian Domestic Worker in Lebanon

Endalk — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:48:23 +0000

Mobile phone video footage that shows an Ethiopian domestic worker being beaten and dragged by force into a car under the gaze of bystanders outside the Ethiopian consulate in Beirut, Lebanon has caused angry reactions amongst Ethiopian netizens.

The video shows her laying on her back on the side of the road surrounded by the perpetrators who are speaking in Arabic. One of them is seen dragging her by the arms and hair. She was resisting while saying in Amharic “I will not go. I will not go.”

Instantly, Ethiopian netizens left hundreds of comments on YouTube. Many netizens shared the controversial video on their Facebook pages, the most frequented social media platform in Ethiopia, which in turn produced hundreds of comments. The silence of the Lebanese onlookers on the side of the road and most importantly the inability of members of the Ethiopian consulate in Lebanon to keep the girl away from her perpetrators has angered many Ethiopians.

Most netizens expressed anger at the perpetrators by stereotyping them as Arabs and Muslims.

One of the comments on YouTube from fisu2011 reads:

I want you to watch the video footage of “Barbarism in Lebanon” against defenseless Ethiopian woman. Someone has to be held accountable for this crime sooner or later. Shame on you barbaric Lebanese and Arabs. I hope once Syria is cleansed from Bashar Al Assad Lebanon might be expunged by the Israelites. Ethiopians who watched this video will never forget this brutality and will revenge soon or later.

The exchange of comments even became hostile towards Arabic culture and Muslims. One particular remark reads:

This is nothing compared to what many Arabs do to most emigrant workers…I have personally seen and witnessed some gruesome accounts of abuse and even death that happened to a number of Ethiopian woman, but as an EthiopianI feel for my sisters and as a human being I just can’t help but detest the Arabs and their barbaric culture…call it being racist or ignorant but this is the fact…..they are evil…

Yet, the conversation also included more moderate views from Ethiopians who insisted that Ethiopians must not stereotype people and must start to stand for themselves. For example, mamelo4us says:

I am not an Arab I am Ethiopian like you & I am proud to be a Muslim, if you had a brain you shouldn't give a comment like that blaming all Arabs for what happen to our sister. Cruel, insane & criminals have no faith, race or color they are all over the world & we should fight them as a person not as race, faith or as a society. I know your comment will not reflect as all Ethiopians because we Ethiopians know the difference between one person & a society. They brought the criminal to justice

Ali Mahfouz - the man seen in the video abusing the Ethiopian domestic worker. Photo courtesy of http://www.lbcgroup.tv/.

Mahlet Solomon, a prominent opinion leader, wrote on her Facebook:

I don't want to share the video of the Ethiopian domestic worker being kidnapped in front of the Ethiopian embassy in Lebanon. I don't want to share it because I am TIRED of the trivial question - why do Ethiopians suffer in every part of the world? And because there is nothing I can do about it or I have tried to do where as father(a white American) with the aspiration of giving a better world to his son wages a war on Uganda in the name of bring Joseph Kony to justice with the determination of stopping at nothing.

Being confined by our limitation must stop, it must stop. Our expectation shouldn't also be limited, they should not. And even if they are, we should exceed them yes we should exceed our limitation. We just have to start thinking, THINK!!!”

De Birahan blog contextualized the wide-ranging human right abuse in the country by giving a detailed perspective:

Maids in Ethiopia are mostly women who come to Addis Abeba from the rural to work in urban houses. They live with the people sheltered and fed, and paid a meagre monthly salary for their services. They often do the cooking, cleaning, washing, all houses chores; guard the house at times and also as nannies. Although there exists a symbiotic relationship between the employer and the maid; the intricacies of it shows that it is more of feudalistic and elitist. Some could argue that Ethiopian maids who export themselves to Arab countries face even the worst type of abuse there, so better that they be anyway here. No “Injustice anywhere, is injustice everywhere”, in most middle eastern countries and Ethiopia maids work long hours, seven days a week and month, no or sporadic vacations, no legal recourse in the case of disagreement with their employer. Maids most often maids eat leftovers or she cooks special food poor in quality and content from the rest of the household members for herself, sleeps in a separate building and room from the family (service bet). In most cases teenage maids that come from rural areas to help themselves and poor families are made to go to evening class (if ever allowed). They are forced to sex or raped by the men in the household (husband, son or relatives).

While many Ethiopian domestic workers flock to the Middle East, the Ethiopian government has not taken a leading role in protecting Ethiopian citizens enduring horrendous human right abuse in the region. Social media platforms continue to be a media outlet for Ethiopians to express their views and opinions about human rights abuse of domestic workers.

LBCI identified the man seen in the video, Ali Mahfouz, through his plate number.

Lebanon: Proposed Law to Regulate the Internet

Moussa Bashir — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:32:17 +0000

“I’ve previously called bullshit on the claims that the government wants to protect us. Oops, I just wrote “bullshit” and broke clause #1 of the proposed law,” blogs Mustapha in his post lambasting the Lebanese Ministry of Information's plan to discuss a draft law which aims at “regulating websites and protecting their owners”.

Lebanon: Is Social Media Useful?

Moussa Bashir — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:31:41 +0000

“I always ask myself whether the Lebanese online community is actually making things better by raising awareness or is just trying to reach out to more people?” writes Najib questioning the usefulness of social media in inciting action rather than just being concerned with tweeting and blogging. His post was in reaction to a video in which a man is shown abusing a foreign worker in front of the embassy of her country.

MENA: Which Salafist Movie Would You Watch?

Tarek Amr — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:37:23 +0000

“All art is a product of the time it's created in, and reflects that time whether it wants to or not, even if it attempts to escape it by hiding in fantasy,” wrote Stephen Whitty. And movies aren't any different here, and their names summarize all this in a few words, in an catching and funny way, just like a tweet.

Karl Sharro - a Lebanese/Iraqi architect and writer based in London - decided to start a new hashtag where people tweet movie names after putting a Salafist flavour into them.

His suggestion read:

@KarlreMarks: shall we do #SalafistMovies? I have a good one: Salafist of Fury

He then tweeted more suggestions to get the ball rolling:

@KarlreMarks: Come on people, help us get #SalafistMovies rolling: ‘12 Million Angry Men'

Soon, like with most of the humourous hashtags, this one got spread in no time, and Twitter users in different Arab countries - as well as some non Arabs - started using it.

Here is a sample of their movie selections:

@LamiaMoussa: How to grow a beard in 10 days. #SalafistMovies

@malekmakni: Shave me if you can #salafistmovies

@gihanbabiker: Shaving Private Ryan #SalafistMovies

@SheikhKhalifaPM: No blade runner #SalafistMovies #beard

@aymanfarhat: The Beauty And the Beard #SalafistMovies

@SalahZulfikar : #SalafistMovies eat pray pray again

@HanzadaElShihy: #SalafistMovies I know what you did last Ramadan

@Molka_Chaari: Women in Black #SalafistMovies

@JustAmira: V for Virgin #SalafistMovies

@EmnaBA: Alice au pays des exciseurs #salafistMovies

@EmnaBA: Alice in the circumcisers-land. #salafistMovies

@evildrako: Blanche neige et ses sept burquas #Salafistmovies

@evildrako: Snow While and her seven Burquas. #Salafistmovies

@_MohamedTarek_: My best friend's fourth wedding #SalafistMovies

@beleidy: My big fat segregated wedding #SalafistMovies

@CandaceHetchler: Haram and the City #SalafistMovies

@LocoRibelle: The BLast Samurai … #SalafistMovies

@Kemety: #SalafistMovies : Liberals at the gates

@sheeriif3amr : My top #SalafistMovies: The Longest Beard. Fasting and Furious. Hairy Potter. How I met your mother(s). Dude, where's the qiblah. Hahahhahah

But, on the other hand, some didn't like the hashtag.

@Omnia_ElMashad: Dear Egyptians, you're not supposed to support Salafist Movies, that's sad. Sincerely, shame on you.

@shafzibit: For an insight in to how Muslim humour is just as stagnant as Muslim science, economic development etc, follow #SalafistMovies

@Nada_Ismail: Is it my dull mood or is the Salafist Movies hashtag actually not funny?

Finally, are those tweets funny, true or stereotypical? What Lily Gataullina wrote here on Mass Media can be applied to Movies and Social Media too.

Mass media became on of the main sources of popular culture in modern capitalist society. Media, however, not only entertains and offers news to people, but also transfers the stereotypes, beliefs and values of the society to reproduce the existing order of social life.

She then added that the most important thing is not eliminating stereotypes but being able to identify them.

I am not quite sure how to combat the usage of stereotypes in media. Once we get rid of one stereotype another will take its place. I think, however, it is very important that people are able to recognize the stereotypes.