Satirical art seems to vanish in Egypt as 'Year of Youth' marred by detention cases
Egyptians are well-known for their great sense of humor, but that humor is under threat due to the mass detention of people – most of whom are youths – who created satirical political videos or comics posted on social media.
Earlier this month, five young Egyptian men aged 19-25 from the Atfal Al-Shawarea (Street Children) satirical group were arrested. Four of them are likely to face charges of inciting protests and insulting state institutions.
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Book review: Guapa by Saleem Haddad
The novel’s namesake, Guapa, is a bar frequented by Rasa and his friends. As the story’s center of gravity, the bar is a meeting point, a place of enlivening conversations and experimentation. It is the place where tensions rise and are resolved, where Rasa’s friends have drag competitions in the basement and rounds of drinks above ground, where revolutions are planned and later lamented.
It is a site of intersecting forces of identity, belonging, and shame, which Rasa grapples with throughout the novel. Haddad skillfully narrates these struggles with energetic and insightful prose.
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Kfar Nabel's junior footballers strike out
Jamil al-Saloom developed a passion for football when he was a child, and joined the al-Numan club in 2007 when he was 13 years old. He spent years practicing and playing in the team’s matches, but was forced to stop playing when the Syrian revolution erupted.
This year al-Saloom, now 22 years old, is back on the pitch, coaching the junior team of the newly-established Kfar Nabel sports club.
The club was inaugurated by Idlib’s Public Authority for Youth and Sports on September 2, 2014.
Continue reading on Damascus Bureau
