With a sad look on his pale face, nine-year old Mido sat on a small bench on the balcony of his room in Al-Ma’moura District, east of Alexandria.  His eyes followed the neighbors’ children as they played in the nearby yard. Mohammed Hassanein, Mido’s father, said his son’s normal life ended when Mido was five […]

‘Bureaucracy’ and ‘media blackout’ are two formidable stumbling blocks preventing the documentation of the Egyptian revolution. This process, which began very enthusiastically, is currently facing an unknown destiny. The Tahrir Sqaure revolution now seems a distant memory and attempts to bring its memory back to life is like carrying water in thin vessel with pierced […]

For over 50 years, Egyptian union activities were constrained by the General Federation of Trade Unions, established under Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1956 to control the working classes. But in 2009 Egypt’s property tax collectors announced the establishment of the country’s first independent trade union, the result of a long sit-in. They went on to […]

Salameh’s shop is located in Birket El-Fil near Sayeda Zeinab mosque in a street called the ‘Light of Darkness,’ which is famous in Cairo for its lantern manufacture. When Correspondents asked Salameh what he thinks of the Chinese lanterns that have flooded the Egyptian markets, he said agitated: “China does not make Ramadan lanterns, it […]

It is no surprise that writer Karam Saber’s prison sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeal; the last few months have seen similar judicial support for the harsh judgments meted out against poet Omar Haziq, sentenced to two years in prison, and the activist All Abdel Fattah and his colleagues, all given fifteen years […]

“Glory to the unknown!” That was the slogan in Egypt during the revolution, sparked by people whose faces no one would recognize. One of these unknown revolutionaries was Noubi, a young man in his twenties from the Abdeen district of Cairo, who helped ignite the revolution and organize demonstrations. I met him after the second […]

The ruling authority in Egypt often manipulates the issue of homosexuality to assert its position as a protector of morality and a controller of its citizens’ behavior. The Egyptian state occasionally exercises its support for ethics by emphasizing its attitude against the Egyptian gay community. The ruling authority in Egypt often manipulates the issue of […]

Every country hoping to host the World Cup has been known to pour state funds into constructing star-studded stadiums.  In 2010, when Egypt vied for hosting the event, Damanhur Stadium in Beheira Governorate (north of Cairo) was envisaged to be one of the best in the world and planning for construction began in 2003. The […]

Medical care is a fundamental human right, and the Hippocratic Oath, which symbolizes a physician’s duties, compels those swearing it to keep patients from harm. Medical care is a fundamental human right, and the Hippocratic Oath, which symbolizes a physician’s duties, compels those swearing it to keep patients from harm. But although ethical standards in […]

Workers were the main beneficiaries of the legal power to appeal against investment contracts concluded under former President Hosni Mubarak’s scheme to privatize numerous public factories. Workers were the main beneficiaries of the legal power to appeal against investment contracts concluded under former President Hosni Mubarak’s scheme to privatize numerous public factories. According to a […]