“There’s Nothing Worse Than War”
24 FEBRUARY 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
“I Had a Dream III,” by Syrian artist Marwan Sahmarani, oil on canvas, 225 x 300 cm, 2016 (courtesy Marwan Sahmarani)

 

 
Letter from the Editor: Russia’s Attack on Ukraine seen from European and Middle Eastern Vantage Points

 

Jordan Elgrably

 

The war started this morning in the early hours, with bombs falling on Ukraine. The consequences of a major war in Europe will be far-reaching. I expect gas prices to go up immediately and inflation will increase the cost of food — so war always costs most those who have the least.

Conventional western wisdom would suggest that there hasn’t been a major war in Europe since the first shots were fired in Sarajevo in 1992, and even then the conflict was confined to the Balkans, mostly in the former Yugoslavia. But between Bosnia and Kosovo, war lasted in the region till 1999. What about Russian bombing and troops in Chechnya 1994-1996, the Russo-Georgia War 2008, and in 2014, the Russian Federation annexation of eastern Ukraine’s Crimea? Now, with Russian missiles and artillery shells dropping on Ukraine — on Odessa, Kharkiv and Kyiv, all hell is breaking loose. As explosions are reported and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky commands people stay in their homes while blathering “we’re ready for anything” bravado, there are miles-long lanes of vehicles heading west toward the border with Poland, while thousands of Ukrainians hunker down below ground in subway stations, fearing the worst.

Ukrainians gather in the Kharkiv subway, escaping the invasion on 24 Feb., 2022 (photo courtesy Twitter).

Honestly, I find myself wondering whether to stay, or go — go where? I would like to be near family in California if these are end times. I realize that’s extremely bleak, but having seen apocalyptic movies and been obliged to think about the end of the world resulting from nuclear holocaust, it can’t be helped.

I feel depression coming on, like everything is going to hell in a hand basket. Recently I escaped what was a traumatic situation, where nearly every day felt like an emergency, and thoughts of the next brought fear of looming catastrophe — not that I am any stranger to thinking about war. For years I have worked with refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Syria, people who have suffered far more than most of us could ever imagine — and are suffering still.

But now war is a black cloud cast over the whole of Europe, and potentially the world. Fear hasn’t yet become as omnipresent as Covid, but I noticed today at the local Carrefour supermarket, here in Montpellier, people seemed to be piling their carts high with more goods, and the discount gas station, always open 24/7, was inexplicably closed, with a long stay-out ribbon blocking its many pumps. One imagines not that we have already run low on petrol, but that on the contrary, suppliers are waiting a day or two to see what happens to the price of oil, before they raise their prices.

It almost seems obscene to go about one’s day as usual, but what other choice do we have? Obsessively, I read the Ukraine updates reported on European and Middle Eastern news sites, avoiding US sources, for fear they may be compromised by CIA speak. I notice that the political chatter among friends on Facebook has quickly reached a kind of frenzy, with one person I know railing that the work of the neo-cons has chickens coming home to roost. He swears, “I’ve followed Russia and Eurasia from geo-economic angles for over two decades,” arguing that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is to be expected “because Russia/China dare to challenge the 48 year-old petrodollar standard through oil/gas/yuan strategy, versus hot war — ‘boring details’ one won’t hear/read about in trite, bullshit-ridden Atlanticist corporate press, which remains simply stenography for hackneyed spooks ready to send others’ kids off to fight the entire Eurasian continent.”

Is everyone already as amped up about this, you wonder?

Maryam Jamshidi, an international law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, writes on Twitter: “This is a devastating day for 10s of millions of ppl who have become the casualties of political leaders flexing power. NATO’s expansion led to this point. As did Russian imperialism. As did US intransigence. As did the US-led erosion of Intl law. All of it could’ve been avoided.”

Claire Berlinksi, the Paris-based editor of a political site called Cosmopolitan Globalist, responds to an email query from me, asking how she’s doing, noted that she is extremely worried. “This is as dangerous a conflict as we’ve seen in the atomic age. Putin is not going to stop until someone stops him. His appetite will grow with the eating. And this will eventually end in a nuclear showdown of some kind, where eyeball to eyeball either someone will blink or the fucking things will be launched. 

“We made a fundamental strategic mistake when we demanded Ukraine give up its nuclear weapons. I’m reading an astonishingly prescient article by Walter Meirsheimer right now—people keep blathering on stupidly about how Kennan was right and we should never have pursued NATO expansion. (People who know nothing at all about history will latch on to ideas like this and parrot them mindlessly, completely unaware that Kennan thought the formation of NATO was a mistake in 1948!) No, the fundamental strategic mistake was forcing Ukraine to give up its nuclear deterrent. And we’re going to pay and pay and pay for that mistake.” 

A German I know, who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s and always talked about the ashes of WW II, who today makes her living at a think tank, writing about Eastern Europe, admitted to me that she is “shattered. The European weaklings and appeasement politicians have succeeded in giving Putin’s Russia a free hand to invade an independent European country. This is a process which has been going on for 20 years. Stupid Germans worry more about proper woke speech than liberty.

“As Churchill said in 1940, ‘Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear greatly that the storm will not pass. It will rage and it will roar ever more loudly, ever more widely.’”

My German friend observes darkly, “Today there is no De Gaulle and no Churchill to lead. Only clowns.”

And Maya Mikdashi, editor at Jadaliyya tweets: “There is nothing worse than war. Anyone who has lived through an invasion knows this in their bones. From Ukraine to Iraq to Lebanon and across the world, the feeling of vulnerability, the knowledge that ‘international law’ was never meant to protect you, but rather your invaders.”

Try as I might, I’m afraid I can find little solace today, despite the fact that the sun continues to shine. Looking for guidance somehow, I turn away from the news of Ukraine to read a poem, “With Urgency,”* by Moroccan poet-novelist Aicha Bassry:

No one has desired me
With such urgency as death has.
I have lived many lives in my metaphors.
That is how I extended life
And forged a small eternity for myself.

The world is still here, but it seems infinitely more fragile than it did yesterday.

 

*from With Urgency, A Selection of Poems, translated from the Arabic by Mbarek Sryfi and Eric Sellin (Diágolos, New Orleans, 2021).

Jordan Elgrably

Jordan Elgrably is an American, French, and Moroccan writer and translator. His stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in many anthologies and reviews, including Apulée, Salmagundi, and the Paris Review. Editor-in-chief and founder of The Markaz Review, he is the cofounder and... Read more

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15 JANUARY 2024 • By Samira Azzam, Ranya Abdelrahman
“New Reasons”—a short story by Samira Azzam
Poetry

Brian Turner: 3 Poems From Three New Books

14 JANUARY 2024 • By Brian Turner
Brian Turner: 3 Poems From Three New Books
Art & Photography

Cyprus: Return to Petrofani with Ali Cherri & Vicky Pericleous

8 JANUARY 2024 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
Cyprus: Return to Petrofani with Ali Cherri & Vicky Pericleous
Essays

Jesus Was Palestinian, But Bethlehem Suspends Christmas

25 DECEMBER 2023 • By Ahmed Twaij
Jesus Was Palestinian, But Bethlehem Suspends Christmas
Books

Inside Hamas: From Resistance to Regime

25 DECEMBER 2023 • By Paola Caridi
Inside <em>Hamas: From Resistance to Regime</em>
Columns

Messages from Gaza Now / 2

18 DECEMBER 2023 • By Hossam Madhoun
Messages from Gaza Now / 2
Music

We Will Sing Until the Pain Goes Away—a Palestinian Playlist

18 DECEMBER 2023 • By Brianna Halasa
We Will Sing Until the Pain Goes Away—a Palestinian Playlist
Editorial

Why Endings & Beginnings?

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Jordan Elgrably
Why Endings & Beginnings?
Beirut

“The Summer They Heard Music”—a short story by MK Harb

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By MK Harb
“The Summer They Heard Music”—a short story by MK Harb
Fiction

“Kabul’s Haikus”—fiction from Maryam Mahjoba

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Maryam Mahjoba, Zubair Popalzai
“Kabul’s Haikus”—fiction from Maryam Mahjoba
Essays

The Paranda Network—Afghan Women Writing

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Lillie Razvi
The Paranda Network—Afghan Women Writing
Fiction

“The Waiting Bones”—an essay by Maryam Haidari

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Maryam Haidari, Salar Abdoh
“The Waiting Bones”—an essay by Maryam Haidari
Fiction

“I, Hanan”—a Gazan tale of survival by Joumana Haddad

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Joumana Haddad
“I, Hanan”—a Gazan tale of survival by Joumana Haddad
Art

Hanan Eshaq

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Hanan Eshaq
Hanan Eshaq
Essays

“My Father’s Last Meal”—a Kurdish Tale

28 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Dilan Qadir
“My Father’s Last Meal”—a Kurdish Tale
Book Reviews

First Kurdish Sci-Fi Collection is Rooted in the Past

28 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Matt Broomfield
First Kurdish Sci-Fi Collection is Rooted in the Past
Opinion

Gaza vs. Mosul from a Medical and Humanitarian Standpoint

27 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Ahmed Twaij
Gaza vs. Mosul from a Medical and Humanitarian Standpoint
Art & Photography

Palestinian Artists & Anti-War Supporters of Gaza Cancelled

27 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Nada Ghosn
Palestinian Artists & Anti-War Supporters of Gaza Cancelled
Art & Photography

War and Art: A Lebanese Photographer and His Protégés

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Nicole Hamouche
War and Art: A Lebanese Photographer and His Protégés
Opinion

Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Mark LeVine
Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War
Arabic

Poet Ahmad Almallah

9 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Ahmad Almallah
Poet Ahmad Almallah
Opinion

Palestine’s Pen against Israel’s Swords of Injustice

6 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Mai Al-Nakib
Palestine’s Pen against Israel’s Swords of Injustice
Books

Domicide—War on the City

5 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Ammar Azzouz
<em>Domicide</em>—War on the City
Book Reviews

Suad Aldarra’s I Don’t Want to Talk About Home

5 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Ammar Azzouz
Suad Aldarra’s <em>I Don’t Want to Talk About Home</em>
Essays

On Fathers, Daughters and the Genocide in Gaza 

30 OCTOBER 2023 • By Deema K Shehabi
On Fathers, Daughters and the Genocide in Gaza 
Book Reviews

The Refugee Ocean—An Intriguing Premise

30 OCTOBER 2023 • By Natasha Tynes
<em>The Refugee Ocean</em>—An Intriguing Premise
Islam

October 7 and the First Days of the War

23 OCTOBER 2023 • By Robin Yassin-Kassab
October 7 and the First Days of the War
Art & Photography

Middle Eastern Artists and Galleries at Frieze London

23 OCTOBER 2023 • By Sophie Kazan Makhlouf
Middle Eastern Artists and Galleries at Frieze London
Editorial

Palestine and the Unspeakable

16 OCTOBER 2023 • By Lina Mounzer
Palestine and the Unspeakable
Art

Vera Tamari’s Lifetime of Palestinian Art

16 OCTOBER 2023 • By Taline Voskeritchian
Vera Tamari’s Lifetime of Palestinian Art
Book Reviews

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: A Palestine Story

16 OCTOBER 2023 • By Dalia Hatuqa
<em>A Day in the Life of Abed Salama</em>: A Palestine Story
Essays

Forging Peace for Artsakh—The Debacle of Nagorno Karabagh

16 OCTOBER 2023 • By Seta Kabranian-Melkonian
Forging Peace for Artsakh—The Debacle of Nagorno Karabagh
Weekly

World Picks from the Editors, Oct 13 — Oct 27, 2023

12 OCTOBER 2023 • By TMR
World Picks from the Editors, Oct 13 — Oct 27, 2023
Poetry

Home: New Arabic Poems in Translation

11 OCTOBER 2023 • By Sarah Coolidge
<em>Home</em>: New Arabic Poems in Translation
Books

Edward Said: Writing in the Service of Life 

9 OCTOBER 2023 • By Layla AlAmmar
Edward Said: Writing in the Service of Life 
Books

Fairouz: The Peacemaker and Champion of Palestine

1 OCTOBER 2023 • By Dima Issa
Fairouz: The Peacemaker and Champion of Palestine
Art & Photography

Adel Abidin, October 2023

1 OCTOBER 2023 • By TMR
Adel Abidin, October 2023
Book Reviews

Saqi’s Revenant: Sahar Khalifeh’s Classic Nablus Novel Wild Thorns

25 SEPTEMBER 2023 • By Noshin Bokth
Saqi’s Revenant: Sahar Khalifeh’s Classic Nablus Novel <em>Wild Thorns</em>
Art

Special World Picks Sept 15-26 on TMR’s Third Anniversary

14 SEPTEMBER 2023 • By TMR
Special World Picks Sept 15-26 on TMR’s Third Anniversary
Book Reviews

Laila Halaby’s The Weight of Ghosts is a Haunting Memoir

28 AUGUST 2023 • By Thérèse Soukar Chehade
Laila Halaby’s <em>The Weight of Ghosts</em> is a Haunting Memoir
Book Reviews

On Museums and the Preservation of Cultural Heritage

21 AUGUST 2023 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
On Museums and the Preservation of Cultural Heritage
Book Reviews

What’s the Solution for Jews and Palestine in the Face of Apartheid Zionism?

21 AUGUST 2023 • By Jonathan Ofir
What’s the Solution for Jews and Palestine in the Face of Apartheid Zionism?
Book Reviews

Ilan Pappé on Tahrir Hamdi’s Imagining Palestine

7 AUGUST 2023 • By Ilan Pappé
Ilan Pappé on Tahrir Hamdi’s <em> Imagining Palestine</em>
Poetry

Three Poems from Pantea Amin Tofangchi’s Glazed With War

3 AUGUST 2023 • By Pantea Amin Tofangchi
Three Poems from Pantea Amin Tofangchi’s <em>Glazed With War</em>
Art

What Palestine Brings to the World—a Major Paris Exhibition

31 JULY 2023 • By Sasha Moujaes
<em>What Palestine Brings to the World</em>—a Major Paris Exhibition
Book Reviews

Can the Kurdish Women’s Movement Transform the Middle East?

31 JULY 2023 • By Matt Broomfield
Can the Kurdish Women’s Movement Transform the Middle East?
Film Reviews

A Deaf Boy’s Quest to Find His Voice in a Hearing World

24 JULY 2023 • By Nazli Tarzi
A Deaf Boy’s Quest to Find His Voice in a Hearing World
Interviews

Musical Artists at Work: Naïssam Jalal, Fazil Say & Azu Tiwaline

17 JULY 2023 • By Jordan Elgrably
Musical Artists at Work: Naïssam Jalal, Fazil Say & Azu Tiwaline
Book Reviews

Why Isn’t Ghaith Abdul-Ahad a Household Name?

10 JULY 2023 • By Iason Athanasiadis
Why Isn’t Ghaith Abdul-Ahad a Household Name?
Opinion

The End of the Palestinian State? Jenin Is Only the Beginning

10 JULY 2023 • By Yousef M. Aljamal
The End of the Palestinian State? Jenin Is Only the Beginning
Essays

“My Mother is a Tree”—a story by Aliyeh Ataei

2 JULY 2023 • By Aliyeh Ataei, Siavash Saadlou
“My Mother is a Tree”—a story by Aliyeh Ataei
Fiction

“The Long Walk of the Martyr”—fiction from Salar Abdoh

2 JULY 2023 • By Salar Abdoh
“The Long Walk of the Martyr”—fiction from Salar Abdoh
Fiction

Tears from a Glass Eye—a story by Samira Azzam

2 JULY 2023 • By Samira Azzam, Ranya Abdelrahman
Tears from a Glass Eye—a story by Samira Azzam
Featured Artist

Artist at Work: Syrian Filmmaker Afraa Batous

26 JUNE 2023 • By Dima Hamdan
Artist at Work: Syrian Filmmaker Afraa Batous
Book Reviews

Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilisation

12 JUNE 2023 • By Nazli Tarzi
<em>Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilisation</em>
Columns

Afghan Cuisine’s Rice Dishes—Delectables of the Silk Road

12 JUNE 2023 • By Sumaira Akbarzada
Afghan Cuisine’s Rice Dishes—Delectables of the Silk Road
Editorial

EARTH: Our Only Home

4 JUNE 2023 • By Jordan Elgrably
EARTH: Our Only Home
Essays

Turkey’s Earthquake as a Generational Disaster

4 JUNE 2023 • By Sanem Su Avci
Turkey’s Earthquake as a Generational Disaster
Arabic

Arab Theatre Grapples With Climate Change, Borders, War & Love

4 JUNE 2023 • By Hassan Abdulrazzak
Arab Theatre Grapples With Climate Change, Borders, War & Love
Essays

Alien Entities in the Desert

4 JUNE 2023 • By Dror Shohet
Alien Entities in the Desert
Featured Artist

Nasrin Abu Baker: The Markaz Review Featured Artist, June 2023

4 JUNE 2023 • By TMR
Nasrin Abu Baker: The Markaz Review Featured Artist, June 2023
Poetry Markaz

Zara Houshmand, Moon and Sun

4 JUNE 2023 • By Zara Houshmand
Zara Houshmand, <em>Moon and Sun</em>
Islam

From Pawns to Global Powers: Middle East Nations Strike Back

29 MAY 2023 • By Chas Freeman, Jr.
From Pawns to Global Powers: Middle East Nations Strike Back
Book Reviews

The Yellow Birds Author Returns With Iraq War/Noir Mystery

29 MAY 2023 • By Hamilton Cain
<em>The Yellow Birds</em> Author Returns With Iraq War/Noir Mystery
Music

Artist At Work: Maya Youssef Finds Home in the Qanun

22 MAY 2023 • By Rana Asfour
Artist At Work: Maya Youssef Finds Home in the Qanun
Book Reviews

How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town

15 MAY 2023 • By Karim Kattan
How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town
TMR Conversations

TMR CONVERSATIONS: Amal Ghandour Interviews Raja Shehadeh

11 MAY 2023 • By Amal Ghandour, Raja Shehadeh
TMR CONVERSATIONS: Amal Ghandour Interviews Raja Shehadeh
Film

The Refugees by the Lake, a Greek Migrant Story

8 MAY 2023 • By Iason Athanasiadis
The Refugees by the Lake, a Greek Migrant Story
Opinion

Nurredin Amro’s Epic Battle to Save His Home From Demolition

24 APRIL 2023 • By Nora Lester Murad
Nurredin Amro’s Epic Battle to Save His Home From Demolition
Essays

When a Country is not a Country—the Chimera of Borders

17 APRIL 2023 • By Ara Oshagan
When a Country is not a Country—the Chimera of Borders
Essays

Artsakh and the Truth About the Legend of Monte Melkonian

17 APRIL 2023 • By Seta Kabranian-Melkonian
Artsakh and the Truth About the Legend of Monte Melkonian
Film

Hanging Gardens and the New Iraqi Cinema Scene

27 MARCH 2023 • By Laura Silvia Battaglia
<em>Hanging Gardens</em> and the New Iraqi Cinema Scene
Beirut

Tel Aviv-Beirut, a Film on War, Love & Borders

20 MARCH 2023 • By Karim Goury
<em>Tel Aviv-Beirut</em>, a Film on War, Love & Borders
Book Reviews

In Search of Fathers: Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Memoir

13 MARCH 2023 • By Amal Ghandour
In Search of Fathers: Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Memoir
Centerpiece

Broken Home: Britain in the Time of Migration

5 MARCH 2023 • By Malu Halasa
Broken Home: Britain in the Time of Migration
Fiction

“Counter Strike”—a story by MK HARB

5 MARCH 2023 • By MK Harb
“Counter Strike”—a story by MK HARB
Cities

For Those Who Dwell in Tents, Home is Temporal—Or Is It?

5 MARCH 2023 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
For Those Who Dwell in Tents, Home is Temporal—Or Is It?
Essays

More Photographs Taken From The Pocket of a Dead Arab

5 MARCH 2023 • By Saeed Taji Farouky
More Photographs Taken From The Pocket of a Dead Arab
Art & Photography

Going Home—a photo essay by Jassem Ghazbanpour

5 MARCH 2023 • By Jassem Ghazbanpour
Going Home—a photo essay by Jassem Ghazbanpour
Essays

Home Under Siege: a Palestine Photo Essay

5 MARCH 2023 • By Anam Raheem
Home Under Siege: a Palestine Photo Essay
Columns

Letter From Turkey—Antioch is Finished

20 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
Letter From Turkey—Antioch is Finished
Book Reviews

Yemen War Survivors Speak in What Have You Left Behind?

20 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Saliha Haddad
Yemen War Survivors Speak in <em>What Have You Left Behind?</em>
Beirut

Arab Women’s War Stories, Oral Histories from Lebanon

13 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Evelyne Accad
Arab Women’s War Stories, Oral Histories from Lebanon
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Deluge at Wadi Feynan

6 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Deluge at Wadi Feynan
TV Review

Palestinian Territories Under Siege But Season 4 of Fauda Goes to Brussels and Beirut Instead

6 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Brett Kline
Palestinian Territories Under Siege But Season 4 of <em>Fauda</em> Goes to Brussels and Beirut Instead
Columns

Tiba al-Ali: A Death Foretold on Social Media

5 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Malu Halasa
Tiba al-Ali: A Death Foretold on Social Media
Featured excerpt

Fiction: Inaam Kachachi’s The Dispersal, or Tashari

5 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Inaam Kachachi
Fiction: Inaam Kachachi’s <em>The Dispersal</em>, or <em>Tashari</em>
Art

Lahib Jaddo—An Iraqi Artist in the Diaspora

5 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Mischa Geracoulis
Lahib Jaddo—An Iraqi Artist in the Diaspora
Interviews

Zahra Ali, Pioneer of Feminist Studies on Iraq

5 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Nada Ghosn
Zahra Ali, Pioneer of Feminist Studies on Iraq
Book Reviews

 The Watermelon Boys on Iraq, War, Colonization and Familial Love

5 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Rachel Campbell
<em> The Watermelon Boys</em> on Iraq, War, Colonization and Familial Love
Art

The Creative Resistance in Palestinian Art

26 DECEMBER 2022 • By Malu Halasa
The Creative Resistance in Palestinian Art
Book Reviews

Mohamed Makhzangi Despairs at Man’s Cruelty to Animals

26 DECEMBER 2022 • By Saliha Haddad
Mohamed Makhzangi Despairs at Man’s Cruelty to Animals
Film

The Swimmers and the Mardini Sisters: a True Liberation Tale

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Rana Haddad
<em>The Swimmers</em> and the Mardini Sisters: a True Liberation Tale
Poetry

Three Poems by Tishani Doshi

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Tishani Doshi
Three Poems by Tishani Doshi
Art

Art World Picks: Albraehe, Kerem Yavuz, Zeghidour, Amer & Tatah

12 DECEMBER 2022 • By TMR
Art

Museums in Exile—MO.CO’s show for Chile, Sarajevo & Palestine

12 DECEMBER 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Museums in Exile—MO.CO’s show for Chile, Sarajevo & Palestine
Art

Where is the Palestinian National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art?

12 DECEMBER 2022 • By Nora Ounnas Leroy
Where is the Palestinian National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art?
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 3

5 DECEMBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 3
Book Reviews

Fida Jiryis on Palestine in Stranger in My Own Land

28 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Diana Buttu
Fida Jiryis on Palestine in <em>Stranger in My Own Land</em>
Film

You Resemble Me Deconstructs a Muslim Life That Ends Radically

21 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
<em>You Resemble Me</em> Deconstructs a Muslim Life That Ends Radically
Fiction

“Eleazar”—a short story by Karim Kattan

15 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Karim Kattan
“Eleazar”—a short story by Karim Kattan
Opinion

Fragile Freedom, Fragile States in the Muslim World

24 OCTOBER 2022 • By I. Rida Mahmood
Fragile Freedom, Fragile States in the Muslim World
Editorial

You Don’t Have to Be A Super Hero to Be a Heroine

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By TMR
You Don’t Have to Be A Super Hero to Be a Heroine
Interviews

Interview with Ahed Tamimi, an Icon of the Palestinian Resistance

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Nora Lester Murad
Interview with Ahed Tamimi, an Icon of the Palestinian Resistance
Essays

Nawal El-Saadawi, a Heroine in Prison

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Ibrahim Fawzy
Nawal El-Saadawi, a Heroine in Prison
Book Reviews

A London Murder Mystery Leads to Jihadis and Syria

3 OCTOBER 2022 • By Ghazi Gheblawi
A London Murder Mystery Leads to Jihadis and Syria
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1

26 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1
Art & Photography

Kader Attia, Berlin Biennale’s Curator

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Melissa Chemam
Kader Attia, Berlin Biennale’s Curator
Film

Ziad Kalthoum: Trajectory of a Syrian Filmmaker

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Viola Shafik
Ziad Kalthoum: Trajectory of a Syrian Filmmaker
Columns

Phoneless in Filthy Berlin

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Maisan Hamdan, Rana Asfour
Phoneless in Filthy Berlin
Film

The Mystery of Tycoon Michel Baida in Old Arab Berlin

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Irit Neidhardt
The Mystery of Tycoon Michel Baida in Old Arab Berlin
Art & Photography

Photographer Mohamed Badarne (Palestine) and his U48 Project

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Viola Shafik
Photographer Mohamed Badarne (Palestine) and his U48 Project
Book Reviews

After Nine Years in Detention, an Iraqi is Finally Granted Asylum

22 AUGUST 2022 • By Rana Asfour
After Nine Years in Detention, an Iraqi is Finally Granted Asylum
Film

Two Syrian Brothers Find Themselves in “We Are From There”

22 AUGUST 2022 • By Angélique Crux
Two Syrian Brothers Find Themselves in “We Are From There”
Book Reviews

Questionable Thinking on the Syrian Revolution

1 AUGUST 2022 • By Fouad Mami
Questionable Thinking on the Syrian Revolution
Art

Abundant Middle Eastern Talent at the ’22 Avignon Theatre Fest

18 JULY 2022 • By Nada Ghosn
Abundant Middle Eastern Talent at the ’22 Avignon Theatre Fest
Editorial

Editorial: Is the World Driving Us Mad?

15 JULY 2022 • By TMR
Editorial: Is the World Driving Us Mad?
Film Reviews

War and Trauma in Yemen: Asim Abdulaziz’s “1941”

15 JULY 2022 • By Farah Abdessamad
War and Trauma in Yemen: Asim Abdulaziz’s “1941”
Book Reviews

Leaving One’s Country in Mai Al-Nakib’s “An Unlasting Home”

27 JUNE 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Leaving One’s Country in Mai Al-Nakib’s “An Unlasting Home”
Columns

World Refugee Day — What We Owe Each Other

20 JUNE 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
World Refugee Day — What We Owe Each Other
Art & Photography

Featured Artist: Steve Sabella, Beyond Palestine

15 JUNE 2022 • By TMR
Featured Artist: Steve Sabella, Beyond Palestine
Fiction

Mai Al-Nakib: “Naaseha’s Counsel”

15 JUNE 2022 • By Mai Al-Nakib
Mai Al-Nakib: “Naaseha’s Counsel”
Essays

Sulafa Zidani: “Three Buses and the Rhythm of Remembering”

15 JUNE 2022 • By Sulafa Zidani
Sulafa Zidani: “Three Buses and the Rhythm of Remembering”
Film

Saeed Taji Farouky: “Strange Cities Are Familiar”

15 JUNE 2022 • By Saeed Taji Farouky
Saeed Taji Farouky: “Strange Cities Are Familiar”
Fiction

Selma Dabbagh: “Trash”

15 JUNE 2022 • By Selma Dabbagh
Selma Dabbagh: “Trash”
Featured excerpt

Hawra Al-Nadawi: “Tuesday and the Green Movement”

15 JUNE 2022 • By Hawra Al-Nadawi, Alice Guthrie
Hawra Al-Nadawi: “Tuesday and the Green Movement”
Film

Film Review: Maysoon Pachachi’s “Our River…Our Sky” in Iraq

30 MAY 2022 • By Nadje Al-Ali
Film Review: Maysoon Pachachi’s “Our River…Our Sky” in Iraq
Book Reviews

Fragmented Love in Alison Glick’s “The Other End of the Sea”

16 MAY 2022 • By Nora Lester Murad
Fragmented Love in Alison Glick’s “The Other End of the Sea”
Film

Art Film Depicts the Landlocked Drama of Nagorno-Karabakh

2 MAY 2022 • By Taline Voskeritchian
Art Film Depicts the Landlocked Drama of Nagorno-Karabakh
Opinion

Palestinians and Israelis Will Commemorate the Nakba Together

25 APRIL 2022 • By Rana Salman, Yonatan Gher
Palestinians and Israelis Will Commemorate the Nakba Together
Interviews

Conversations on Food and Race with Andy Shallal

15 APRIL 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Conversations on Food and Race with Andy Shallal
Book Reviews

Abū Ḥamza’s Bread

15 APRIL 2022 • By Philip Grant
Abū Ḥamza’s Bread
Columns

Green Almonds in Ramallah

15 APRIL 2022 • By Wafa Shami
Green Almonds in Ramallah
Columns

Libyan, Palestinian and Syrian Family Dinners in London

15 APRIL 2022 • By Layla Maghribi
Libyan, Palestinian and Syrian Family Dinners in London
Art

Artist Hayv Kahraman’s “Gut Feelings” Exhibition Reviewed

28 MARCH 2022 • By Melissa Chemam
Artist Hayv Kahraman’s “Gut Feelings” Exhibition Reviewed
Film Reviews

Palestine in Pieces: Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon

21 MARCH 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Palestine in Pieces: Hany Abu-Assad’s <em>Huda’s Salon</em>
Opinion

U.S. Sanctions Russia for its Invasion of Ukraine; Now Sanction Israel for its Occupation of Palestine

21 MARCH 2022 • By Yossi Khen, Jeff Warner
U.S. Sanctions Russia for its Invasion of Ukraine; Now Sanction Israel for its Occupation of Palestine
Columns

Nowruz and The Sins of the New Day

21 MARCH 2022 • By Maha Tourbah
Nowruz and The Sins of the New Day
Columns

Music in the Middle East: Bring Back Peace

21 MARCH 2022 • By Melissa Chemam
Music in the Middle East: Bring Back Peace
Essays

Mariupol, Ukraine and the Crime of Hospital Bombing

17 MARCH 2022 • By Neve Gordon, Nicola Perugini
Mariupol, Ukraine and the Crime of Hospital Bombing
Poetry

Three Poems of Love and Desire by Nouri Al-Jarrah

15 MARCH 2022 • By Nouri Al-Jarrah
Three Poems of Love and Desire by Nouri Al-Jarrah
Art

Fiction: “Skin Calluses” by Khalil Younes

15 MARCH 2022 • By Khalil Younes
Fiction: “Skin Calluses” by Khalil Younes
Opinion

Ukraine War Reminds Refugees Some Are More Equal Than Others

7 MARCH 2022 • By Anna Lekas Miller
Ukraine War Reminds Refugees Some Are More Equal Than Others
Book Reviews

Nadia Murad Speaks on Behalf of Women Heroes of War

7 MARCH 2022 • By Maryam Zar
Nadia Murad Speaks on Behalf of Women Heroes of War
Columns

“There’s Nothing Worse Than War”

24 FEBRUARY 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
“There’s Nothing Worse Than War”
Art

(G)Hosting the Past: On Michael Rakowitz’s “Reapparitions”

7 FEBRUARY 2022 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
(G)Hosting the Past: On Michael Rakowitz’s “Reapparitions”
Editorial

Refuge, or the Inherent Dignity of Every Human Being

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Refuge, or the Inherent Dignity of Every Human Being
Fiction

Fiction from “Free Fall”: I fled the city as a murderer whose crime had just been uncovered

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Abeer Esber, Nouha Homad
Fiction from “Free Fall”: I fled the city as a murderer whose crime had just been uncovered
Art & Photography

Children in Search of Refuge: a Photographic Essay

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Iason Athanasiadis
Children in Search of Refuge: a Photographic Essay
Columns

Getting to the Other Side: a Kurdish Migrant Story

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Iason Athanasiadis
Getting to the Other Side: a Kurdish Migrant Story
Film Reviews

“Europa,” Iraq’s Entry in the 94th annual Oscars, Frames Epic Refugee Struggle

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Thomas Dallal
“Europa,” Iraq’s Entry in the 94th annual Oscars, Frames Epic Refugee Struggle
Art & Photography

Refugees of Afghanistan in Iran: a Photo Essay by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Peyman Hooshmandzadeh, Salar Abdoh
Refugees of Afghanistan in Iran: a Photo Essay by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh
Fiction

Fiction: Refugees in Serbia, an excerpt from “Silence is a Sense” by Layla AlAmmar

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Layla AlAmmar
Fiction: Refugees in Serbia, an excerpt from “Silence is a Sense” by Layla AlAmmar
Book Reviews

Temptations of the Imagination: how Jana Elhassan and Samar Yazbek transmogrify the world

10 JANUARY 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Temptations of the Imagination: how Jana Elhassan and Samar Yazbek transmogrify the world
Columns

An Arab and a Jew Walk into a Bar…

15 DECEMBER 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
An Arab and a Jew Walk into a Bar…
Fiction

Three Levantine Tales

15 DECEMBER 2021 • By Nouha Homad
Three Levantine Tales
Columns

The (Afghan) Writer Who Sold His Book Collection to Pay the Rent

13 DECEMBER 2021 • By Angeles Espinosa
The (Afghan) Writer Who Sold His Book Collection to Pay the Rent
Beirut

Sudden Journeys: The Villa Salameh Bequest

29 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: The Villa Salameh Bequest
Essays

Syria Through British Eyes

29 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Rana Haddad
Syria Through British Eyes
Columns

Burning Forests, Burning Nations

15 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
Burning Forests, Burning Nations
Book Reviews

The Vanishing: Are Arab Christians an Endangered Minority?

15 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
The Vanishing: Are Arab Christians an Endangered Minority?
Essays

A Street in Marrakesh Revisited

8 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Deborah Kapchan
A Street in Marrakesh Revisited
Columns

Refugees Detained in Thessonaliki’s Diavata Camp Await Asylum

1 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Iason Athanasiadis
Refugees Detained in Thessonaliki’s Diavata Camp Await Asylum
Art

Guantánamo—The World’s Most Infamous Prison

15 OCTOBER 2021 • By Sarah Mirk
<em>Guantánamo</em>—The World’s Most Infamous Prison
Centerpiece

The Untold Story of Zakaria Zubeidi

15 OCTOBER 2021 • By Ramzy Baroud
The Untold Story of Zakaria Zubeidi
Interviews

Interview With Prisoner X, Accused by the Bashar Al-Assad Regime of Terrorism

15 OCTOBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Interview With Prisoner X, Accused by the Bashar Al-Assad Regime of Terrorism
Film Reviews

Will Love Triumph in the Midst of Gaza’s 14-Year Siege?

11 OCTOBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Will Love Triumph in the Midst of Gaza’s 14-Year Siege?
Essays

Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Ava Homa
Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature
Featured excerpt

The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Kobra Banehi, Jordan Elgrably
The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
Essays

Attack the Empire and the Empire Strikes Back: What 20 Years of American Imperialism Has Wrought

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Omar El Akkad
Attack the Empire and the Empire Strikes Back: What 20 Years of American Imperialism Has Wrought
Columns

20 Years Ago This Month, 9/11 at Souk Ukaz

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
20 Years Ago This Month, 9/11 at Souk Ukaz
Columns

Afghanistan Falls to the Taliban

16 AUGUST 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
Afghanistan Falls to the Taliban
Latest Reviews

Women Comic Artists, from Afghanistan to Morocco

15 AUGUST 2021 • By Sherine Hamdy
Women Comic Artists, from Afghanistan to Morocco
Weekly

World Picks: August 2021

12 AUGUST 2021 • By Lawrence Joffe
World Picks: August 2021
Weekly

Summer of ‘21 Reading—Notes from the Editors

25 JULY 2021 • By TMR
Summer of ‘21 Reading—Notes from the Editors
Art

Malak Mattar — Gaza Artist and Survivor

14 JULY 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Malak Mattar — Gaza Artist and Survivor
Columns

The Semantics of Gaza, War and Truth

14 JULY 2021 • By Mischa Geracoulis
The Semantics of Gaza, War and Truth
Essays

Gaza, You and Me

14 JULY 2021 • By Abdallah Salha
Gaza, You and Me
Book Reviews

ISIS and the Absurdity of War in the Age of Twitter

4 JULY 2021 • By Jessica Proett
ISIS and the Absurdity of War in the Age of Twitter
Weekly

World Picks: July 2021

3 JULY 2021 • By TMR
World Picks: July 2021
Essays

Syria’s Ruling Elite— A Master Class in Wasta

14 JUNE 2021 • By Lawrence Joffe
Syria’s Ruling Elite— A Master Class in Wasta
Weekly

The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria

30 MAY 2021 • By Rana Asfour
The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria
Book Reviews

The Triumph of Love and the Palestinian Revolution

16 MAY 2021 • By Fouad Mami
Art

The Murals of Yemen’s Haifa Subay

14 MAY 2021 • By Farah Abdessamad
The Murals of Yemen’s Haifa Subay
Essays

Is Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek, Too, Occupied Territory?

14 MAY 2021 • By Taylor Miller, TMR
Is Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek, Too, Occupied Territory?
Essays

Between Thorns and Thistles in Bil’in

14 MAY 2021 • By Francisco Letelier
Between Thorns and Thistles in Bil’in
Essays

We Are All at the Border Now

14 MAY 2021 • By Todd Miller
We Are All at the Border Now
Essays

From Damascus to Birmingham, a Selected Glossary

14 MAY 2021 • By Frances Zaid
From Damascus to Birmingham, a Selected Glossary
Weekly

Beirut Brings a Fragmented Family Together in “The Arsonists’ City”

9 MAY 2021 • By Rana Asfour
Weekly

“I Advance in Defeat”, the Poems of Najwan Darwish

28 MARCH 2021 • By Patrick James Dunagan
“I Advance in Defeat”, the Poems of Najwan Darwish
TMR 7 • Truth?

Truth or Dare? Reinterpreting Al-Harīrī’s Arab Rogue

14 MARCH 2021 • By Farah Abdessamad
Truth or Dare? Reinterpreting Al-Harīrī’s Arab Rogue
TMR 7 • Truth?

Poetry Against the State

14 MARCH 2021 • By Gil Anidjar
Poetry Against the State
Columns

The Truth About Iraq: Memory, Trauma and the End of an Era

14 MARCH 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
The Truth About Iraq: Memory, Trauma and the End of an Era
Poetry

A visual poem from Hala Alyan: Gaza

14 MARCH 2021 • By TMR
A visual poem from Hala Alyan: Gaza
Columns

Memory and the Assassination of Lokman Slim

14 MARCH 2021 • By Claire Launchbury
Memory and the Assassination of Lokman Slim
Poetry

The Freedom You Want

14 MARCH 2021 • By Mohja Kahf
The Freedom You Want
TMR 6 • Revolutions

The Revolution Sees its Shadow 10 Years Later

14 FEBRUARY 2021 • By Mischa Geracoulis
The Revolution Sees its Shadow 10 Years Later
TMR 6 • Revolutions

Ten Years of Hope and Blood

14 FEBRUARY 2021 • By Robert Solé
Ten Years of Hope and Blood
TMR 5 • Water

Watch Water Films & Donate to Water Organizations

16 JANUARY 2021 • By TMR
Watch Water Films & Donate to Water Organizations
TMR 5 • Water

Iraq and the Arab World on the Edge of the Abyss

14 JANUARY 2021 • By Osama Esber
Iraq and the Arab World on the Edge of the Abyss
Columns

On American Democracy and Empire, a Corrective

14 JANUARY 2021 • By I. Rida Mahmood
On American Democracy and Empire, a Corrective
Film Reviews

Muhammad Malas, Syria’s Auteur, is the subject of a Film Biography

10 JANUARY 2021 • By Rana Asfour
Muhammad Malas, Syria’s Auteur, is the subject of a Film Biography
Book Reviews

The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”

30 DECEMBER 2020 • By Layla AlAmmar
The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”
TMR 4 • Small & Indie Presses

Hassan Blasim’s “God 99”

14 DECEMBER 2020 • By Hassan Blasim
Hassan Blasim’s “God 99”
TMR 4 • Small & Indie Presses

Children of the Ghetto, My Name Is Adam

14 DECEMBER 2020 • By Elias Khoury
Children of the Ghetto, My Name Is Adam
TMR 4 • Small & Indie Presses

Trembling Landscapes: Between Reality and Fiction: Eleven Artists from the Middle East*

14 DECEMBER 2020 • By Nat Muller
Trembling Landscapes: Between Reality and Fiction: Eleven Artists from the Middle East*
TMR 4 • Small & Indie Presses

Freedom is femininity: Faraj Bayrakdar

14 DECEMBER 2020 • By Faraj Bayrakdar
Freedom is femininity: Faraj Bayrakdar
Weekly

Kuwait’s Alanoud Alsharekh, Feminist Groundbreaker

6 DECEMBER 2020 • By Nada Ghosn
Kuwait’s Alanoud Alsharekh, Feminist Groundbreaker
Centerpiece

The Road to Jerusalem, Then and Now

15 NOVEMBER 2020 • By Raja Shehadeh
The Road to Jerusalem, Then and Now
World Picks

World Art, Music & Zoom Beat the Pandemic Blues

28 SEPTEMBER 2020 • By Malu Halasa
World Art, Music & Zoom Beat the Pandemic Blues
World Picks

Interlink Proposes 4 New Arab Novels

22 SEPTEMBER 2020 • By TMR
Interlink Proposes 4 New Arab Novels

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