Stories about Arabic from April, 2008
Kuwait: No to No Pants Day
yawWAR, from Kuwait, (Ar) writes about No Pants Day, being celebrated on May 2. He hopes that day won't find it's way to Kuwait any time soon.
Saudi Blogger in Coma
Last week, Saudi Jeans announced that female blogger Hadeel was found in her bed in a coma. Saleh Al Zaid (Ar) updates us about her condition in this post.
Kuwait: Congrats Manchester United!
Kuwaiti blogger Frankom (Ar) is ecstatic that Manchester United beat Barcelona and reaching the football Champions League final.
Bahrain: Food, Money and Traffic
Bahraini bloggers are sticking to the important subjects this week: food, money and traffic congestion, writes Ayesha Saldanha who brings us the latest vibes from the local blogosphere this week.
Bahrain: Remembering Samar Al Ansari
From Bahrain, Soul Search shares with us a touching tribute blog by a Bahrain mother in memory of her daughter, Samar Al Ansari, who was killed in a car crash...
Overheard in Jordan
From Jordan, Salam shares a conversation she overheard at a fast food joint in Amman.
Touring Libyan Blogs: Pride, Patriotism, Nationalism and Chastity
There obviously is a link between patriotism, nationalism and pride but where do the women figure in this equation? If you are curious, bear with me and let's dissect the situation that has brought all this out on the Libyan blogs, writes Fozia Mohamed, who connects the dots in this article.
Kuwait: Just Give Me My Espresso
With Kuwait still recovering from last week's storm, one blogger updates us with pictures of the damage left behind; another tells us about the trouble one has to go through to order a simple espresso while a third talks about bribes and elections in this week's round up by Abdullatif AlOmar.
Egypt: Disappearing People
Michaelitoo compiles a post about Egyptians who have gone missing, for their religious and political beliefs, in this article Tarek Amr translates from Arabic.
Egypt: Handcuffed Patients
From Egypt, Mostafa Hussein, who posts pictures of patients arrested in the Al Mahalla protests, tells us why handcuffing patients to beds is not a good practice.
Egypt: Dairy Workers Stage Sit-In
Five hundred dairy factory workers staged a sit in and Hossam El Hamalawy from Egypt posts a picture here. The protesters are worried they would lose their jobs – after...
Bahrain: Wanted – more vlogs!
Yagoob has started vlogging (video blogging) and is encouraging other Bahraini bloggers to do the same.
AIDS – A Taboo in the Arab World
AIDS, the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is a taboo word in the Arab world. But the scary word has managed to crop up in many blog posts this week - from Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Bahrain and Yemen.
Egypt: Boycott the World
People around the world are using economic pressure in protest against political decisions by calling for boycotting products from certain countries. With more countries being constantly added to the boycott list, Egyptian blogger Tarek shares the following novel idea. Boycott the world, pleads the blogger.
Egypt: Anti-Strike Facebook Group Formed
To circumnavigate censorship, activists in the Arab world are strongly leaning on online tools to get their messages across and expose what they describe as state brutality against civilians. Word about last week's April 6 strike in Egypt was spread on a Facebook group, which has so far attracted more than 71,200 members. Now Egyptian blogger GEMYHOoOD (Ar) tells us about an anti-strike Facebook group, which has around 1,000 followers.
Iraq: The Story of the Doura Refinery
Alive in Baghdad updates us about the oil refining facilities in Doura district in this video. Built in 1953 and partially destroyed from mortar attacks in December 2007, the refinery...
Bahrain: Jews Remember Al Nakba
Bint Battuta in Bahrain links to Palestine Remembered and No Time to Celebrate – Jews Remember Al Nakba (Catastrophe), which draw attention to the plight of Palestinians since the establishment...
Bahrain: Iniquitous Distribution of Electoral Districts
“One of the main grievances people of Bahrain have is the iniquitous distribution of the electoral districts… Lawyer Abdulla Al-Shamlawi is suing the government in its own courts [Arabic] for...
Egypt: Residential Independence
OTV is a private Egyptian satellite TV channel which has attracted the attention of its viewers from the day it was launched, thanks to its liberal approach, the issues it tackles and the way it tackles them, which is different from conservative and traditional TV channels. Tarek Amr writes about how the channel covered the issue of unmarried girls living on their own and how a blogger reacted to it.
Tunisia: Al Radeyef Protests – When Bloggers Give a Voice to the Voiceless
With little to no coverage of the plight of thousands of people at the rich Phosphorous mines of Gafsa, Redyef and Oum el Arayess on mainstream media, Tunisian bloggers and activists are turning to the Internet to tell the world their story.
Bahrain: Policeman's death divides bloggers
Earlier this week a Bahraini policeman, Majid Asghar Ali, 27, was killed after a patrol car was attacked and set on fire near a village called Karzakan. Bahrain's bloggers have been quick to comment. While some are in shock, other cast their doubts on the credibility of the government's story that the young soldier was killed by protesters.
