What If I Get Free?
Politics
Nayla Tueni says Palestinians Bully Lebanon
Jun 28th
Shame on Nayla Tueni, one of only 4 Lebanese women in Parliament and only 28. She has published an Op Ed in her family’s Arabic newspaper, Al Nahar, accusing Palestinians of bullying Lebanon and telling activists who are demanding equal rights for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees to piss off. Written in such self-righteous style, one could forget the fact that it is incredibly racist. I have translated her article into English below. Yes, Nayla, Lebanon is an apartheid state, denying a refugee population that lives on its land (because it has nowhere else to go) their human rights More >
Protect Me From What I Want
Jun 6th
Like thousands of other Lebanese fans (and wannabe fans), I was excited about Placebo performing in Beirut this Wednesday. For many years, their music and lyrics, full of hurt and angst and queerness, have accompanied me through phases of depression, anger, calm, and even hope.
Last week the attacks on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla inspired me to learn more about strategies of Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS), widely viewed as a growing movement to end Israeli apartheid and occupation. And so, I put together a quick talk where two speakers explained the basics of the movement to me and some fellow activists. More >
What else is #Israel to do?
May 31st
We were on a mission this weekend to raise global twitter awareness about the Freedom Flotilla heading towards Gaza with tons of aid supplies. The organizers were doing an amazing job with social media, tweeting live from the boats, video live streaming, as well as Google-mapping their locations in the sea on the hour. We wanted to amplify those efforts.
Before the AttackWe tweeted and tweeted and #flotilla did not trend, although it was technically ahead of many trending topics over 24 hours. Even the Jerusalem Post recognized the phenomenal effort we put. I flipped through the TV channels and found More >
Thousands March for Secularism in Lebanon!
Apr 25th
click to enlarge
After months of incessant publicity (all of which started through social media and then moved into press coverage), the Lebanese Laique Pride, a march for secularism, finally took place this morning with thousands of people participating! Numbers are estimated at two to three thousand, but I am very sure that at least 5,000 people started the march. At one point, they filled up the width of the road from on top of the Expo Beirut tunnel all the way down and around the Phoenicia hotel. Everyone came together for a very simple, yet daring and bold, initiative by More >
Tick Me Twice, I’m Arab
Apr 11th
Panic over Arab travelers in New York City’s JFK airport is getting worse every time I pass through it. As soon as they see an Arab passport, the guard at the beginning of the security line ticks your boarding pass twice so that the guard at the screening machines can “randomly” select you for extra screening. In 2007, I was passing through San Francisco airport and was asked to step into a 1m x 1m glass room that sprays something on you for a second. This time, March 2010, leaving New York to Paris, after the CSW meeting, in JFK, More >
The Lebanese Nationality Law Will Pass Today!
Mar 7th
Good morning, Lebanon! And Happy International Women’s Day! I am writing from New York city, where I have been attending sessions at the 54th Commission for the Status of Women. Rumors had been going around since last week that the Lebanese government is going to pass the amendment to the nationality law, granting women the right to pass on the Lebanese nationality to their children and husbands. And the rumors turned out to be true! They are passing the law today!!
Taken from Nationality Campaign's Blog
What a coincidence, just yesterday I attended a panel by WLP with two prominent Arab feminists More >
Tweeting for Palestine Again
Jan 29th
This is going to be a quick post because I need to get dressed & go to work, but I wanted to give a summary of our spur-of-the-moment campaign yesterday:
I saw a tweet by @RedPlebiscite mentioning how pissed off he was that a zionist was leading the Shorty Awards list in politics. Of course I had heard of the Shorty Awards but didn’t really care much for them. But then when I saw the zionist nomination page accusing the #Gaza activists of being murderers and terrorists (again), I figured we shouldn’t shut up about anything – especially the allegations made online – not even More >
Change?
Jun 6th
Tomorrow, Lebanon votes. Big deal. There is nothing about this year’s elections that excites me – not even remotely. I don’t care if the handful of women who are running win. I am sure we will have less women in parliament than we had yesterday. I keep reading about this elections being the most expensive in the world per capita. What a waste of money. What a waste of paper. What a waste of our past 3 months. What a waste of discourse. I wonder what they are thinking, the millions of people who are excited about voting tomorrow.
And so More >
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