Mat Nashed
The Palestinian Schoolboy Dreaming of an International Soccer Career
Palestinians in Lebanon are largely excluded from the political and cultural sphere, but for 11-year-old Omar, soccer has helped build bridges.
Tunisian Graffiti Artists Erased Torture and Unlawful Arrests from a Prison Wall
Tunisian Artist Karim Jabbari started a project called Toward the Light, which he hopes will pull young artists away from drug smuggling and violence in his impoverished homeland.
Runaways from Tunisia Search for an Identity in Jihad
Seddik had told his parents that he would be home at 6:30 PM. They called the police to report their son missing. When the police arrived at a suspect’s house, his family said he had already left to fight in Syria shortly after communicating with...
How Tunisians Are Fighting Free-Speech Limitations With Slam Poetry
For poor Tunisians who couldn’t afford to see a movie, slam poetry offered an alternative. Anyone could read their poetry.
How Tunisians Are Fighting Free-Speech Limitations with Slam Poetry
Although the rights to free speech and freedom of assembly have improved significantly since Tunisia’s revolution—an uprising that toppled former dictator Ben Ali in 2010—police have continued to target and beat outspoken artists at public...
These Guys Faked a Wedding to Smuggle Syrian Refugees and Filmed It
They would use the film to help five Syrian refugees get from Italy to Sweden. They called the project, "On the Bride’s Side."
These Guys Faked a Wedding to Smuggle Refugees and Filmed It
On November 14, their journey began. A fake wedding party of 23 people—mostly strangers to one another—left Italy on foot and headed southward through the mountains to France, a path that would ensure they could avoid the strict border controls between...
To Be Raped or to Become a Prostitute in Beirut
Foreign domestic workers in Beirut often have to choose between sexual abuse where they work or escaping and being swept into prostitution.
To Be Raped or to Become a Prostitute
Foreign domestic workers in Beirut often have to choose between facing sexual abuse at the houses they clean or trying to escape and being swept into the underworld of prostitution. Both traffickers and those trying to stop the trafficking agree that...
Forging Unity in Syria with Music
With more than 145,000 people dead and 2.7 million Syrians displaced since the beginning of the crisis, music has, like many aspects of life, become an instrument of resistance and war. But while artists from all circles propagate support for the...
Shatila's First Girls Basketball Team
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are excluded from the social and political sphere. They are prohibited from pursing citizenship, working in high-skilled professions, and owning property in the country. But a team of Palestinian teenage girls have found...
Syrian Refugees Turn to Europe—and Human Smugglers
“I’m not a smuggler,” a man who called himself Abu Khaled said through a crackly speakerphone, “but I can take you to Europe, for a price.”