European Compassion and its White Limitations

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Originally published in Fanack. This article was a finalist for the 2022 Samir Kassir Award for Press Freedom in the op-ed category.

Seven years ago, around 1.3 million people sought refuge in Europe in what was described by pundits, journalists, and politicians as a ‘migration crisis.’ This purported crisis was credited with triggering a wave in support for the far-right or far-right policies in Europe.

Today, Ukrainian refugees are pouring into neighboring countries to escape Russia’s invasion. Europe has already absorbed more than two million refugees in just over a week, yet the word “crisis” is conspicuously absent from its language.

The double standards are crystal clear. Indeed, many people have asked why the reaction from Europe in 2015 was panic compared to 2022, but the question remains largely rhetorical for those from the global south or who simply aren’t white. Just in case there were any doubts, a number of western media outlets offered racist explanations for why Europe was now welcoming so many refugees. Many commentators on Twitter rightly pointed out that western reporters were “saying the quiet part out loud.”

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Film Review: “Boy From Heaven” Shows How Religion can be Corrupted under Autocracy

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Originally published in Fanack.

Since Egypt first started producing films in 1930, it has been the cinema epicenter of the Arab world. The country’s golden age was the 1950s, where it was producing upward of 50 films a year and at times labeled the ‘Arab Hollywood’. In 2022, however, one of Egypt’s most acclaimed directors filmed the majority of his latest release in Istanbul.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi isn’t mentioned by name in the Egyptian-Swedish director Tarik Saleh’s latest film Boy From Heaven. But the recurring use of his portrait, watching over every government room or street coffee stand, makes him a central character. Sisi’s iron fist shapes the entire story, as the other characters – including the protagonist Adam (Tawfeek Barhom) – navigate the narrow margins his oppressive rule awards them.

Adam comes from a humble family of fishermen in Manzala, north Egypt. But after gaining acceptance into Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he leaves behind his widower father and two younger brothers. As soon as he arrives however, the earth shifts below the world’s most prestigious Sunni Islamic educational institution as the Grand Imam dies. Immediately, the state’s internal security force meets to inform their agents on the state’s preferred successor and to hatch a plan to bring him to power. Along the way, Adam’s piousness and relative innocence will be put to the test.

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Disinformation and electronic armies: How Lebanon's political class uses fake news to win elections

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This article first appeared in the New Arab.

With Lebanon’s general election announced for May, media experts and activists fear that establishment politicians will undermine the democratic process by spreading and amplifying disinformation across social media – just as they have done in the past.

Lebanese citizens are looking to the upcoming parliamentary elections as the first step toward ridding themselves of a corrupt political class that has failed to respond to a revolution, a global pandemic, one of the world’s largest-ever non-nuclear explosions and a crippling financial crisis.

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Why hopes remain dim for free and fair elections in Lebanon

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This article originally appeared in the New Arab.

On 15 May, Lebanon will hold parliamentary elections for the first time since the popular uprising that targeted the country’s political elite three years ago.

Since then, anger at the ruling class has grown exponentially due to a self-inflicted economic crisis that has plunged millions into poverty, locked them out of their bank accounts, and eradicated their savings.

The Beirut port blast on 4 August 2020, which people largely blame on the negligence of the sectarian government, compounded the grief. More than 200 people died while hundreds of thousands lost their homes.

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Appearance: The Fire These Times - Football is Political

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To listen to the podcast, click here.

This is a conversation with Justin Salhani of ‘Oh My Goal’ and Musa Okwonga (his 4th time on the pod) of ‘Stadio‘ about football, politics and human rights. We talked about the upcoming world cup in Qatar, the role of dirty money in football (including Russian, Emirati and Saudi) and what might come next.