Voices of the Middle East and North Africa

This week, we continue our conversation with Adel Iskander, Professor of Global communications at Simon Fraser university, about the rise, history of the Al Jazeera network and future following the feud between Saudi Arabia, its allies and Qatar.

Later in the program, we pay tribute to prominent media scholar Professor Jack Shaheen, who passed away on July 9. Professor Shaheen’s seminal work “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People” tells the long history of vilification of Arab American and and Muslims on the silver screen.

Last month Saudi Arabia and its allies, Bahrain, The United Arab Emirates, and Egypt cut off all diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, and imposed a land and air blockade because of Qatar’s alleged support for "terrorism"

Soon after, they turned the screws on Qatar by giving it 10 days to comply to a list of 13 demands.

According to news reports, the list of demands included a dictate to shut down Al Jazeera Network and all media outlets funded by Qatar directly or indirectly like Arabi21, Middle East Eye, Al Araby Al jadeed, ( the new arab) and Rassd.

Malihe Spoke with Adel Iskandar, an Assistant Professor of Global Communications at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver about Aljazeera and its operation for the past 20 years, and what’s in store for the network, as well as an overview of the conflict between between the Saudi led block and Qatar!

Adel Iskandar is an Assistant Professor of Global Communications at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author, co-author, and editor of several works, including "Egypt In Flux: Essays on an Unfinished Revolution" (AUCP/OUP); "Al-Jazeera: The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism" He is a also co-editor of Jadaliyya.

Humanitarian Crisis In Yemen by VOMENA Team at KPFA

This week, we will talk about the dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen and how one organization is trying to raise awareness about the unfolding human catastrophe in Yemen and to raise funds to help people with food and medicine. We’ll be joined by 3 founding members of Yemen Relief Project, a grassroots, a charitable organization working to provide humanitarian relief while improving the overall quality of life of Yemeni people in underserved communities.

But first, we go to London to continue our conversation with Moroccan anthropologist and activist Dr. Miriyam Aouragh about the revival of anti-government protests in the northern Rif region on Morocco's Mediterranean coast.

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Last October, protests erupted in Morocco’s Rif region after a fish vendor named Mouhcine Fikri was crushed to death by a garbage truck compactor as he tried to retrieve fish the police had taken from him, claiming it was caught illegally.

The protests have continued through 2017 and have taken up many of the same demands made during the February 20th movement of 2011, the large-scale protest movement during the Arab Spring.

Anthropologist Miriyam Aouragh has called the recent protests as the “unfinished business” of Moroccan “Arab Spring” activists, and some on social media have been calling the latest wave of widespread demonstrations the “new February 20,” referring to the movement of 2011.

On June 26th, during the the Eid holiday at the end of Ramadan, around 50 protesters were arrested following violent clashes with Moroccan police in the northern city of Al-Hoceima in Morocco’s northern Rif region

Khalil Bendib picked up his conversation with Dr Arough where he left it last week about the latest protests in Morocco and what this means for the democracy movement in Morocco

For months now, the UN has been warning of a looming human catastrophe in Yemen that could potentially kill hundreds of thousands of people . United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security Council recently that the war, together with the cholera outbreak and widespread hunger in Yemen could lead to the collapse of the country. The brutal US funded Saudi led military attack in Yemen has claimed more than 10,000 lives and has left the country's infrastructure in Ruins.

Guests:

Safa al-dabyani, Husain Muhsin and Dr walid hamud-ahmed are founding members of the Yemen relief project, a grassroots, charitable organization working to provide humanitarian relief while improving the overall quality of life of Yemeni people in underserved communities. For more information on how you can help with their campaign to deliver food and life-saving supplies to Yemen, please visit Yemen relief project.org. We will post this information on our website @vomena.org

This week, we speak with award-winning Iraqi poet and author Sinan Antoon about his novel “The Corpse Washer”. The book paints a vivid and heartbreaking portrait of Iraq, confronting the war-torn nation’s horrifying recent history.

But first, we go to London to speak with Moroccan anthropologist and activist Miriyam Aouragh about the recent revival of anti- government protests in the northern Rif region on Morocco's Mediterranean coast

Last October, protests erupted in Morocco’s Rif region after A fish vendor named Mouhcine Fikri was crushed to death by a garbage truck compactor as he tried to retrieve fish the police had taken from him and claimed was caught illegally. The protests have continued through 2017 and have taken up many of the same demands made during the February 20th movement, the large-scale protest movement during the Arab Spring. Anthropologist Miriyam Aouragh has described the recent protests as the “unfinished business” of Moroccan “Arab Spring” activists, and some on social media have been calling the latest wave of widespread demonstrations the “new February 20,” referring to the movement of 2011.

Khalil Bendib spoke with Professor Aouragh about the legacy of resistance in Morocco, and specifically in the Rif region, the epicenter of the current protests.

VOMENA MAY 5TH 2017 Sopundcloud by VOMENA Team at KPFA

Samer Abboud on Syria by VOMENA Team at KPFA

The Ankara Massacre ; Racism in Israel by VOMENA Team at KPFA

A Black Saturday in Turkey: An interview with Osman Shahin by VOMENA Team at KPFA

Vomena_Oct 07 2015: Syria and Being homeless in West Oakland by VOMENA Team at KPFA