Stories about Arabic from January, 2012
Russia, Syria: Anti- and Pro-Assad Facebook Comment Attack
Facebook pages of some Russian media outlets (e.g., Afisha, Bolshoi Gorod, Esquire Russia, Channel 1, MTV Russia) were deluged with copy-pasted comments [ru, ar] from users who appeared to be...
Saudi Arabia: A Family Living in a Cemetery
A Saudi family has been saved from homelessness and destitution thanks to a three-minute movie shot by young Saudi film maker Bader AlHomoud. Haifa Al Rasheed tells us how in this touching post.
Egypt: revolt's anniversary at Tahrir
Egyptian Twitter-sphere reports that jailed blogger #Maikel Nabil has just been released, while people are gathering for tomorrow's big rally at #Tahrir to celebrate the revolt's first anniversary: “feels chaotic...
Sudan: Sudanese Activist, Alim Boushi, Freed from Prison
A case that Sudanese bloggers have been highlighting in recent days, indicating the current repressive state of affairs in Sudan, is the arrest of the Sudanese political activist and engineer Mohamed Hassan Alim, nicknamed Boushi.
Video Highlights: Activism, Freedom of Speech, Identity and Culture
A selection of Global Voices' recent and interesting stories including video from Middle East and North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, Western, Eastern and Central Europe, East Asia and Latin America, selected by Juliana Rincón Parra.
Yemen: January 12, a Day Without Qat
Today has been declared a 'No Qat Day' by Yemeni netizens, who hope their call will deter their countrymen and women from chewing Qat, an addictive narcotic leaf, chewed by the majority of Yemeni men and women. Noon Arabia sums up online reactions to the day in this post.
Syria: Netizens Angered by Assad's Speech
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad gave a long rambling speech today, which further angered Syrians protesting against his dictatorship. When Arab leaders speak, netizens take to their keyboards and engage in taking a stab at heads of states who put themselves in such a position. Here is a round up of reactions from Twitter as Al Assad addressed his people - the same people being killed for protesting for democratic rights.
Libya: A Letter from a Woman in Benghazi
A Libyan woman from Benghazi is criticizing her countrymen for marrying non-Libyans after the revolution. She states that Libyan women are not getting rights equal to those granted to men in an open letter posted on Facebook. Mohamed ElGohary provides a translation from Arabic.
Libya 2011: A Seminal Year Through Citizen Media
Libya grabbed the headlines in 2011. Here is a summary of blog posts written by Libyan netizens in the year that was. Fozia Mohamed charts their disgust, fear, hope and dreams in a series of posts written throughout the year.
Syria: The Struggle for Freedom and the End of Silence
Since March 2011, when the uprisings that started in Tunisia and Egypt reaching Syria, thousands have been killed and tens of thousands have been arrested and disappeared in the country. Leila Nachawati Rego takes a look at how citizen media has helped offer an alternative to state-controlled narrative.
Syria: Damascus “Suicide Attack” and State TV Fabrications
As massive demonstrations take place all over the country demanding the end of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's regime, Syrian state TV reported a suicide bombing in the Midan neighborhood of Damascus on Friday, January 6. Videos circulated online show clear evidence of fabrication, writes Leila Nachawati Rego.
Egypt: Revolutionary Stencils
On Flickr, evianoo shares those revolutionary stencils.
Yemen: A Year of Revolution and a Story of Struggle
Yemen's Revolution is the longest ongoing revolution of the Arab Spring. It started with a protest on February 3 and has been ongoing ever since. Noon Arabia lists the posts covering the main events that happened in Yemen throughout this year and features the videos that tell the story of Yemen's struggle for freedom, democracy and justice.
From Sidi Bouzid to Kinshasa: Francophone Africa in 2011
The usual year-end review would hardly do justice to the epic changes that have turned Francophone Africa upside down, driven by the collective courage of its citizens who often faced violent repression while striving for emancipation from various dictatorships. Through the eyes of local citizen media, here are the highlights of 2011.
