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.
The Imagination Interviews
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.
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.
“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 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.
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.
In Tunisia, Wasta Kills When It Comes to Covid-19
Our correspondent in Tunis, Emna Mizouni, reports on the vaccination crisis exacerbated by wasta.
Palestine in the World: “Palestine: A Socialist Introduction”
Jenine Abboushi reviews the recent anthology of essays on socialism in the context of Palestinian resistance.
Spare Me the Empathy Tantrum: Rafia Zakaria’s “Against White Feminism”
Myriam Gurba reviews a book that argues that some "white feminists accept the benefits conferred by white supremacy at the expense of people of color."
The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria
Rana Asfour reviews Faysal Khartash's Roundabout of Death and Zeyn Joukhadar's The Map of Salt and Stars.
Arab Women and The Thousand and One Nights
Malu Halasa reviews a new anthology of Arab women writers on sex, love and lust, including "the leading lights of modern Arab fiction: Hanan al-Shaykh, Adhaf Soueif, Leila Slimani and Adania Shibli."
I was a French Muslim—Memories of an Algerian Freedom Fighter
Mischa Geracoulis reviews the memoir from Algerian freedom fighter Mokhtar Mokhtefi.
War Diary: The End of Innocence
Arie Amaya-Akkermans investigates Agenda 1979: Imagine sitting at home in the presence of a handbook for destroying, bombing, maiming and injuring. The poet Etel Adnan features prominently.
Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt’s Roaring 20s
Selma Dabbagh reviews the story of Egypt's pioneering women performers and feminists, including Oum Khoulthum and Munira al-Maydiyya.
World Picks: May – June 2021
Travel the world, meet people, see great places, without ever leaving the comfort of your screen…welcome to the pandemic!