Arabeyes: On Selling a Palestinian Kidney and Changing the Israeli Flag · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Do you want to know why a Palestinian wants to sell his kidney, or what had happened to the bicycle of a Lebanese blogger on September 10, 2001? What is more difficult: returning home after living abroad for five years or demanding that Israel changes its flag just as the Kurds want to change the Iraqi flag? And last but not least: why does Ala'a Abdulfattah – the Godfather of Egyptian bloggers – say he isn't and was never a blogger?
To know more, read on.
Palestinian Kidney for Sale
Hareega, from Jordan, stuns us this week with a tale  about a man who has placed an advertisement for the sale of his kidney.
في مواطن فلسطيني من كثر الفقر نزل إعلان بدو يبيع كليته
يلعن أبو هالزمن
بعتله إيميل كالتالي
حضرة السيد أحمد
لقد تأثرت فعلاً عندما رأيت إعلانك المتعلق ببيع كليتك وبريدي الالكتروني هذا لا أعتقد أنه سيقدم أو سيأخر وأتمنى ألا يكون مضيعة لوقتك ، أنا مواطن أردني أعيش في الولايات المتحدة لدي مدونة الكترونية بسيطة يزورها بعض القراء وسأعرض قضيتك هناك و سأضع بريدك الالكتروني هناك وأسأل عن أي وسيلة ممكن من خلالها مساعدتك
لا أريد أن أعطيك آمالاً كاذبة لكنني سأفعل ما بوسعي لمساعدتك قدر الامكان وأرجو ألا يكون بعد المسافة عائقاً أمام مساعدتك
وان شاء الله الله بفرجها عليكو
What happened on September 10, 2001?
Lebanese blogger Muzna tells us what happened to her bicycle on September 10, 2001, and how her life was never the same after that.
في ذلك العام كنت أدرس في بلدة صغيرة في ولاية فيرجينيا، ولو كان لي أن أختار من ذلك العام معلما لن أختار غير صورة تلك الدراجة. فضية اللون، بدولابين رفيعين يطلقانها للريح، ..
Stranger at Home
From Syria, blogger Mohd Loay Baltaji feels like he is stranger back home after being away from his country for five years.
Change the Israeli Flag
Still in Syria, blogger Mustafa Hamido is reading into how news that the Kurds want to change the Iraqi flag can be put into use elsewhere.
Is Ala'a Abdulfattah a Blogger?
Our last stop is in Egypt, where blogger Ala'a Abdulfattah  tells us why he really isn't  a blogger.
Ala'a has come to this conclusion after returning from Lebanon and finding himself lost about what to blog about.
بس مش عارف أجيلها منين، مفيش كتابة عايزة تيجي، أصلي لما بسافر لازم لما أرجع أحكي كل الحواديت لكل الناس اللي بقابلهم و باين كده الحدوتة اللي اتحكت باللسان مينفعش تتحكي بالكيبورد.
But I don't know how to start. There are no words coming to my head. This is because when I travel I have to relate all the stories to all the people I meet. It seems that the story I narrate in person cannot be repeated using the keyboard,” he admits.
بلاش هبل، أنت هتصدق الهيلمان اللي معمول و تحس أنه واجب أنك تدون؟ أنك بتناضل بالكيبورد؟ لا أنت تنفع ولا أنت عايز. و بعدين لو هتكتب في الكلام ده ايه الجديد اللي هتقولله؟ ما الجرائد بتحكي فيه و الأمور واضحة و مفقوسة و مش عرضة أصلا لاختلاف الرأي. طيب منعم ضروري حاجة تتعمل لمنعم ده برضه صديق و كمان يمكن بكره تكون مطرحه و تحتاج اللي يقف معاك، .
Stop being a fool. Will you believe all the fuss being made around you and start feeling that it is your duty to blog? Are you rebelling using a keyboard? You are useless and your are not willing. And after all, even if you write about all this, what is the new thing that you will say? Newspapers are writing about all this and the situations are clear, detailed and not even debated. Of course there should be something done for Monem because he is a friend. I may also be in his place tomorrow and will have to stand besides him,” notes Ala'a.
Abdul Monem Mahmood, a Muslim Brotherhood blogger, was arrested by State Security on April 15 for articles he wrote online. Though different in ideologies, fears are that he will share the same fate as his country-blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman. It is no wonder then that Sandmonkey has given up blogging and Ala'a is no longer a blogger.
يعني في الثلاث سنين اللي هما عمر المدونة (أول سنة فاضية تقريبا) حاولت محاولة ولا اثنين في كل سكة من دول و مبسوط جدا من النتائج، و كتبت تدوينات بحب أرجع أقرأها. بس كل فين و فين.
“Therefore, in the three years which are the age of this blog (the first year it remained blank), I have attempted once or twice taking those routes and am happy with the results. I have posted entries which I love to read again – but from time to time,” he notes.
But writing is all about ego, and there is no bigger arousal for bloggers and writers than seeing their names in print – whether on paper or online – as well as the perks being famous bring in.
Our guess is as good as yours. What do you think will happen to Ala'a and other Egyptian bloggers? Will the ranting raving Egyptian blogger soon become a rare breed? Has the government succeeded in curtailing their activism? Or is it just the lull ahead of the storm?