23 March 2009

Stories from 23 March 2009

Qatar: Cooking for Purim

Jocelyn is an American living in Qatar, who loves cooking: “There's just something about living in a Muslim country that means the Jewish holidays seem to sneak up on me… so of course, I just realized today that tonight was Purim. A trip to the grocery store and a hurried...

Israel: The Pomegranate

Hatam Kanaaneh, who blogs at A Doctor in Galilee, writes about the pomegranate: “Rumman – Arabic for pomegranate, originally the Pharonic name for the Iranian native fruit – has a special romantic ring to it in my heart.”

Palestine: Remembering Rachel Corrie

Gazan blogger Fida Qishta commemorates the death of American activist Rachel Corrie six years ago: “Every year we remember 16th March. We remember a kind, insightful, talented person committed to the plight of the Palestinian people. Her name was Rachel Corrie. … We should remember Rachel and all that she...

Palestine: Robbed of a Childhood

Gazan blogger Ayman Quader describes the plight of children who are forced to work because of the desperate economic situation in the Gaza Strip: “It is true that Palestinians have honed a collective resilience in the face of historic hardships. But this strength should not be sentimentalized. Children, who remain...

Palestine: The Importance of Plastic

In Gaza, Eva Bartlett describes how plastic sheeting is playing an important role: “The siege is still on and cement is still unavailable. Major reconstructions and repairs won’t happen for a long time, just as the thousands of houses needing to be re-built won’t be so until Egypt and Israel...

Bahrain: Internet Puzzle

Bahrain blogger Hussain Yousif has a question: “As a provider, I know that deals for installing and configuring censorship solutions are held between the ISP’s and the providers. The providers are at most agents\resellers for an international provider. The new thing is that the “UNIFIED” solution is suggested by the...

Bahrain: A Mother's Perspective

Rick Beeman is an American living in Bahrain – and he asked his mother to write about her experience of visiting the country: “Here I am on the other side of the world for the first time in the Middle East… Bahrain so far has shown me some very beautiful...

Pakistan: Declaring Negligible Wealth

  23 March 2009

Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan is outraged with the populist practice of Pakistani politicians of declaring a negligible amount as their wealth: “I am not an idiot, and I would really really appreciate if our politicians stopped insulting my intelligence!”

Sri Lanka: The Rationale Behind Blogging

  23 March 2009

The Whackster's Lair from Sri Lanka asks some questions to find out why we blog: “are we all boring? or are we just interesting to some people? and if we are interesting is that the sole reason to keep writing? or are we writing for our own pleasure in which...

Maldives: Free Speech Under Threat

  23 March 2009

In early March Mohamed Nasheed, the new President of the Maldives, met with Frank La Rue, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression. In the meeting Nasheed expressed his government’s commitment to free speech and announced that Maldives will be made a haven for dissident writers from...

Fiji: ‘It was stones, now it's molotov cocktails’

  23 March 2009

At least six people in Fiji who could be termed “public opponents” of the country’s military-backed government have been targeted by unidentified individuals who late at night have thrown large stones at their houses and severally damaged their cars. During the stonings, much of Fiji’s political blogosphere have claimed the rock attacks were perpetrated by members of the country’s military.

Is Egypt on the verge of a cultural revolution?

Between Bahaa Taher's first Arabic Language Booker Prize, bloggers' books, Youssef Zidan's Azazeel's Booker prize, writing competitions on Facebook, the Sawiris Foundation Competitions, and new creative initiatives to nurture new blood, Egypt's literary scene has been revived over the past few years. Marwa Rakha digs up even more projects being discussed on the blogs.