From the Arab Spring, to the Charlie Hebdo attack and the refugee crisis, Sudanese artist Khalid Albaih is turning heads across the world with his viral cartoons. In an interview with CairoScene, he discusses censorship, stereotypes, and what it’s like to do post-Arab Spring political commentary. Oct 23,2015 A symbol of a generation of cartoonists...
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Waiting for the Boat: Abou Adnan and His Failed Attempt to Get to Italy
The room was dark. As he tried to keep his children away from the cockroaches leaking through from the kitchen, Abou Adnan* looked at the door. A shaft of light was slowly appearing as it opened, offering some relief from the musty air impregnating the apartment. It was yet another family trying to squeeze in. About...
Positano, The Land Where Sirens Come to Life
Set at the heart of the Amalfi coastline and surrounded by pastel-coloured balconies that lean towards the sea, Positano is the perfect destination for Valentine’s Day. Legend has it that Ulysses, on his way back from the Troyan war, came across certain tiny islands where the Sirens lived, those mythical creatures half-women, half-bird who lured...
25 under 25: The entrepreneurs driving Egypt’s Startup Revolution
Egypt’s startup industry is one of the fastest growing in the region, if not the world. What makes our business landscape even more unique is the ever-decreasing age of entrepreneurs. We gather the young changemakers to find out what makes them tick. Play the slideshow below to see all the photos. Battling multinational giants, redefining...
What Does Ramadan Mean for Egypt’s Coptic Christians?
As tens of millions of Egyptian Muslims begin their month-long fast, Valentina Primo heads to Coptic Cairo to find out how the Christian community celebrate and experience the festivities. Jun 17,2015 It is almost 4pm and the palm trees surrounding the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo offer soothing refuge from the burning heat. It is...
Stranded in Egypt: Yemen’s Refugees
With thousands fleeing each week, the exodus out of war-torn Yemen is populated mostly by professionals as the cost for escape soars. Senior writer Valentina Primo finds out more as she meets engineer Saeed Zakaria and doctor Mazen Al-Hebshi, just a few weeks into their new lives in Egypt. Jun 07,2015 It is a torrid...
The Pasha of Maadi’s Streets
We were intrigued by the myth of an Egyptian lord who, having lost his wealth and mind, now roams the streets of Maadi selling towels and narrating tales of his glories past. So we head to the street where Valentina Primo instead discovers a very different story but one of dignity nonetheless… Jun 01,2015 He...
War Through the Eyes of Yemen’s First Female Photojournalist
In 2011 Amira Al-Sharif became the first female to capture Yemen’s revolution as it happened. Her latest series, however, pieces together those brief moments of freedom with today’s horrifying realities, giving faces and voices to Yemen’s women. May 17,2015 Amira Al-Sharif can’t hold her tears as she reads her sister’s message. “At 2:30 am I saw...
Street Art and Women: the Revolution Undone?
Valentina Primo heads out to the GrEEK Campus where Women on Walls – an initiative promoting, producing and protecting street art created by the fairer sex – has taken over the streets with powerful murals, only to find objections from other artists. Apr 09,2015 As the Women on Walls initiative deployed a colourful array of...
¿Y YO QUÉ HAGO BUSCANDO BUENAS NOTICIAS EN MEDIO ORIENTE?
November 5, 2014 Me lo pregunto muchas veces. Mientras la guerra civil desangra desde hace cuatro años a Siria, el Estado Islámico avanza atrozmente en Irak y, en Egipto, la democracia nominal que succedió a la primavera árabe torna los derechos humanos en un concepto vacío y futil. ¿Tiene sentido, en este contexto, escribir sobre...