Vitamin W: The Power of Wasta Squared
In which C.S. Layla, the American daughter of a Jordanian professor, remembers life and wasta in the old country.
TMR 10 WASTA!
Lebanese Oppose Corruption with a Game of Wasta
Victoria Schneider reports from Beirut on the new Wasta board game that satirizes corruption in Lebanon.
Syria’s Ruling Elite— A Master Class in Wasta
Lawrence Joffe on how the al-Assad and Makhlouf families have mastered the art of control and corruption in a country decimated by a decade of war.
In Tunisia, Wasta Kills When It Comes to Covid-19
Our correspondent in Tunis, Emna Mizouni, reports on the vaccination crisis exacerbated by wasta.
The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority
Author and attorney Raja Shehadeh recounts the legend of Ramallah's ritzy neighborhood, designed for heroes of the Palestinian Authority.
Wasta on Steroids: Speculative Finance & the Housing Market
Mischa Geracoulis discovers the film Push and explores the incredible greed and inequity of the speculative housing market.
“Pakistani Bureaucrats & The Booze Permit”—a story by Tariq Mehmood
Novelist and filmmaker Tariq Mehmood weaves a tale of wasta, women and booze in Rawalpindi.
Wasta Tawla, or how the Wastafarians Fared at Fawda
Bethlehem chef Fadi Kattan recalls the disaster of wasta leading up to Christmas Eve at Fawda restaurant.
Lebanon’s Wasta Has Contributed to the Country’s Collapse
Novelist Samir El-Youssef recalls adolescent challenges and more recent experience where wasta was a necessity.
I Love Wasta, Hate Standing in Line in Egypt, But I Am Poor
After surviving an Egyptian prison and obtaining asylum in the United States, Ahmed Naji contemplates wasta and standing in line.