North Africa

“Mid-October, 2019. The mood across the country was like the opening passage to a novel that promises to turn sad. But on the 17th of that month, something unexpected began, setting the course for a very different story” - Abraham Zeitoun remembers.

On February 10, 2019, Bouteflika announced his fifth presidential candidacy, and six days later protests erupted in Algeria: the Revolution of Smiles. The protagonists of Salah Badis' short story meet in front of a dysfunctional ATM in one of Algiers' richest neighborhoods, and a conversation between strangers unfolds.

January 25th marks the beginning of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, which has been followed by a counter-revolution that continues to this day. More and more political and cultural actors end up in prison or flee into exile. As part of our series “Reminiscence of the future”, Alia Mossallam illuminates the inner spaces of the revolution, where fear and courage, kindness and monstrosity are inherently close to one another.

Tunisia is often deemed the main success story of the “Arab Spring” after long-term dictator Ben Ali was ousted ten years ago. But in the first contribution of our series “Reminiscence of the future”, Rim Benrjeb writes about a revolutionary spirit that is in danger of falling asleep, patriarchal and state violence, and the impossibility of discussing all of this with one's own father.

The participation of women in political events was a real battle that they paid for dearly, not only as political players but as women as well - A portrait of Mozn Hassan a feminist and human rights activist.

Amidst the Covid-19 crisis in Egypt, a recent chain of events reveals the systemic violence that the regime of President al-Sisi exerts. To address those developments, what’s behind them and how international actors might respond to them, we are speaking with Amr Magdi, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch.

With a series of digital measures introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Morocco is creating a trade-off between ways to provide rapid support and the parallel development of digital control.

Since September, Tunisians have been reporting experiences of sexual violence online under the hashtag EnaZeda, Tunisian Arabic for "me too". In the meantime, the protest has spread to the streets.

The final report of the Tunisian Truth Commission (IVD) was presented to the public on  March 31, 2019. Yasmin Hajer has followed and researched the  process over the years. In her contribution, she explains how the coming to terms with the past was appropriated by the various political parties and how they tried to influence it.