مش وقتا ‘Mich Wa2ta’ (Lebanese saying for ‘This is not the time to…’) is a national slogan in Lebanon used on several occasions by people of different social-economic, political and religious backgrounds. Quite understandable in a country torn by cycles of physical and psychological wars, corruption, a dysfunctional system of diversity management, the reign of […]
Category Archives: Human Rights
I caught a line in your eyes
I caught a line in your eyes weaving the endless strings of destiny to carry dreams of children spat out by waters of indifference to the shores of denials Dreams vanished in the pure light of an unfulfilled life a fruitless tree healthy yet lifeless cut from its roots Sleep as deep as the deepest […]
I Urge you Not to Lose Faith in Humanity
My name is Kalima [my nickname, for security reasons] and I am Syrian. I left my country two years ago, following the massacre of my mother, father, brother, uncle and grand-parents. I was fortunate enough to be rescued and to be able to escape to Europe via Turkey, but many others weren’t. I have been […]
My Hope for a Better Afghan Society
Feminism is a word taken for granted. It is used by people who do not even know its true meaning. One of my first ideas of the word came from my high school English teacher who said, “the difference between a feminist and a normal woman is if you open a door for a normal […]
Women: An Inspiration
As a child, I grew up in a world that was part fantasy and part reality. I was very visual, and my mind would often wander as I looked at objects, observed patterns, and listened to conversations. I gained a particular interest in observing people and the way they behave. My mother took me along […]
Celebrating Women in our Families – International Women's Day (American University in Dubai)
Writing history – and defining our identity, individually and collectively – is linked to memory and memorialization, which never seem to be complete. Someone is always forgotten. Pieces of the puzzle are always missing. I tend to agree with Napoleon or whoever said “History is but a fable agreed upon”. In the history – or […]
Rape Culture in the UAE
Rates of sexual harassment continue to rise in the Middle East, feasibly linked to culture-enforced lack of sex education, experts say. In an interview with Joan Abdalla, a Counselor and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the American University in Dubai, she has revealed that the absence of awareness could be a contributing factor to how […]
The Paris Terror Attacks…Now What?
In light of the recent terror attacks that took place in Paris, many have taken to social media to publish their opinions. Hashtags including #JeSuisCharlie and #JeSuisAhmed went viral on twitter. The world seemed to be buzzing; the terror attacks in France had affected so many people. What happened as a result of the unprecedented […]
Lettre ouverte à mes compatriotes: Je suis Charlie et tous les Charlies
Dieu est grand. Il est miséricorde. Pour moi, Dieu est amour et pardon. On m’a toujours appris que Jésus était venu sur terre pour nous sauver pauvres pécheurs et nous mettre sur la voie d’une religion sans vengeance, sans violence.Mercredi 7, j’étais atterrée. Je n’avais pas une envie particulière d’articuler en long et e…n large […]
Je suis Charlie et je vous vomis!
Pire que les islamistes de Daech et les tueurs encagoulés de Charlie Hebdo… Ou aussi dangereux, délétères, obscènes, lâches, nauséeux, délinquants, pour que je reste dans les limites de l’objectivité. Aussi extrémistes et radicaux que les tueurs de Charlie Hebdo, ces chrétiens frustes qui s’indignent à la vue de Marie, mère de Jésus, jambes écartées […]