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Local dancers collaborate with choreographer Tomeo Verges for...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:12:00 +0300

Local dancers collaborate with choreographer Tomeo Verges for D-CAF

While sitting in downtown Cairo’s Studio Emad Eddin, Tomeo Verges says laughingly, “I am a butcher’s son. I am a doctor. I am also a choreographer.”

The leading Catalonian choreographer was finalizing three performances which premiered in Egypt through the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival.

“I have spent my life dealing closely with flesh, meat and movement, all of which can be seen within my productions,” explained Verges, while telling the dancers to “take five”— performance code for “take a break.”

“Traffic,” which showed in a shop vitrine on Mahmoud Basiony Street playfully explores the relationship between the individual and the group, with performers mechanically repeating gestures and movements typical of traffic police. The audience were left to wonder if the traffic guards would ever be able to organize the chaos.

“Traffic” featured four local dancers, Mohamed Fouad, Sherine Hegazy, Raafat El Bayoumi and Ahmed El Gendy, all of whom are known to be budding artists within Egypt’s contemporary dance scene, particularly for their work within public spaces.

For his second performance “Only Happiness?” Verges worked with two local performers on a localized adaptation of the performance, which features Sandrine Maisonneuve.

The 35-minute performance is based on a monologue from the play “Interior Murders,” where a woman performs, repeats and transforms a sequence of daily actions into a metronome rhythm. Although caught up in a “social straitjacket,” the woman fights back and forth with an image she imposes on herself, causing an onset of cliches and the emergence of grotesque images, until she reaches utter exhaustion.

“There is no direct message in this piece,” explains Verges. “It is open to the spectator’s interpretation and associations.”

Read more of our interview with leading choreographer Tomeo Verges here.

Photos by: Nadia Ahmed “Make your move” is a dance mentorship...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:32:00 +0300

Photos by: Nadia Ahmed

“Make your move” is a dance mentorship program for young people by SVALHOLM — Danish Cultural Exchange & Performing Arts (Denmark). Auditions were held at Studio Emad Eddin on 31 March and 1 April 2013.

After the selection of 10 dancers, a mentorship program will be carried at Studio Emad Eddin, throughout the month before the contemporary dance competition takes place at the Falaki Theater on 28 April at 8 pm.

The City of the Dead - Part two

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:01:00 +0300

By: Virginie Nguyen

View of the City of the Dead. The Sayeda Nafisa Mosque is visible in the background.

The streets of the City of the Dead are often silent and dusty, in contrast to Cairo’s usual noise, as no cars can enter the area’s narrow passageways.

Young boys playing cards in a courtyard of the City of the Dead.

Siham has been living in the City of the Dead since she was a child. The house belongs to her family, and the tomb of her ancestors is underneath the floor of the living room.

Some people live here because they have nowhere else to go. Although their living here is not a new phenomenon, the City of the Dead is still an example of Cairo’s acute housing crisis.

Fathi Salama is an undertaker’s assistant and has been working in the City of the Dead for 15 years. He lives in a room with two tombs with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. Fathi throws water on the floor to get rid of the dust.

An Egyptian balady cafe near Sayeda Nafisa Mosque, on the way to the City of the Dead.

Don’t miss The City of the Dead - Part one.

Ya Mosahel! Come party with Egypt Independent! Featuring:Like...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:07:00 +0200

Ya Mosahel!

Come party with Egypt Independent!

Featuring:
Like Jelly
Maii Waleed
Ze Khodz
Ramy Essam + Hany Bedair

The City of the Dead - Part one

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:35:00 +0200

By: Virginie Nguyen

The City of the Dead, situated at Cairo’s Arafa necropolis, is a necropolis and cemetery below the Mokattam Hills. Stretching out for 6.4 km, the streets in the City of the Dead are quiet, narrow and often unpaved. There, one can find a dense grid of tomb and mausoleum structures, where some people live and work among the dead. Some reside here to be near ancestors, but most of them live there after being forced to move from central Cairo due to urban renewal demolitions and urbanization pressures. Other residents emigrated in from the agricultural countryside, looking for work.

The necropolis has been around for more than 700 years, but no one is sure of the exact number of people living among the million or so tombs.

In the past, the Arab conquerors chose the area as a burial ground in order to be far away from the city but a deserted location. In the Egyptian society, the cemeteries are not considered as a place for the dead but rather a place where life begins..

Among the cemeteries of the City of the Dead lives a community of Egypt’s urban and poor residents. There are five major cemeteries: the Northern Cemetery, Bab el Nasr Cemetery, the Southern Cemetery, the Cemetery of the Great, and Bab al-Wazir Cemetery.

Egyptians don’t really see cemeteries as a place of the dead, but rather a place where life begins.

Although they are tolerated, the residents living in the City of the Dead are insecure about their status, as they are living there illegally.

A young boy walks around the tomb of an important business man. His parents are the undertakers of the family of the business man. They are living in a small house just next to it.

A young woman praying at Sayeda Nafisa Mosque on Prophet Mohamed’s birthday.

Nowadays, the population of the City of the Dead is growing quickly due to rural migration and a housing crisis that has grown worse since the revolution.

In the past, Cairo rulers chose this area for their tombs in order to be outside the crowded city in a deserted location. This area was used as a burial ground for different dynasties, including the Fatimids, Abbasids, Ayyubids, Mamlukes, and the Ottomans, among others.

Part two here.

Into the fold: Port Said welcomes precious ‘cargo’ PORT SAID —...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:59:08 +0200

Into the fold: Port Said welcomes precious ‘cargo’

PORT SAID — It’s just after 2 am on Monday, and dozens of people are milling around the gates to Port Said’s main docks. Microbus drivers stand in groups outside their vehicles, smoking cigarettes and joking as they wait for the arrivals.

They were expecting a cargo ship sailing from the Turkish port city of Iskanderun to offload hours ago, but its contents are just now clearing customs. After 25 hours onboard, 620 Syrian refugees emerge.

The arrival scene is similar to one at any major transport hub: Hugs are exchanged, luggage is lifted out of weary hands and people step into the cars or buses that will take them to their destinations. The difference is that most of the gestures and comforts here are offered by strangers.

Much of the welcoming party — the free transportation and the hotels, chalets and apartments the refugees head to — has been organized by an association of six Port Said businessmen. Fawzy Shurba, a textile merchant and the group’s leader, says the Egyptian government provides little official assistance, except for a few buses the governorate sends to the port.

Read more about the lives of Syrian refugees in Port Said here.

Winter of Aleppo, a life under bombs

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:17:00 +0200

By: Virginie Nguyen

Aleppo December 2012 — Winter has started, it’s 4.30 pm and the darkness of the street appears among the drops of water and the little light coming from the cars. In the street, noises and screams can be heard from the bakeries. Under the rain, hundreds of people, mainly men and children, are lining up for bread. They have been waiting there for hours and will wait until late at night. The civil war has been going on for 21 months now, and it is the second winter that the population has had to endure. With 60 000 people dead (according to the UN) since the beginning of the uprising, more and more Syrians civilians are leaving their homes to find safer places inside Syria or in the neighboring countries such as Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon. For those inside Syria, living conditions are getting worse due to the lack of electricity, increasing prices of basic needs and the cold … but whatever the difficulties are, life is still going on.

As fighting in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, enters its sixth month, the economy has ground to a halt. There is no electricity, and the prices of basic goods such as bread and cooking oil have skyrocketed. Residents are selling off their possessions to survive. Here is a view of the neighborhood near the Aleppo airport, where heavy fighting was still going on.

People line up and struggle in front of a bakery in Aleppo. For a week, there has a severe shortage of bread. The price of 1 kilogram has become 12 times more expensive than it used to be. Outside the bakery, 1 kilogram of bread will cost 200 Syrian pounds, and at the bakery, it will cost 25 Syrian pounds.

The entrance of the courtyard in the Old Aleppo, which was considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is now completely destroyed.

Two small children share a meal inside an Aleppo school now used as their home. There hasn’t been any electricity for two weeks. Their parents, 23 and 25 years old, left the city of Karm al-Tarrab when their house was destroyed by MiG aircraft when none of them were inside. They decided to live in a school with 11 other families. As it is now winter, they have to struggle to find water, bread and petrol for electricity. Ahmed has found a small job as a plastic collector, but never earns more than 100 Syrian pounds a day.

Each time it rains, water leaks from the roof of a school where six different refugee families are living.

Teenagers observe a rocket coming from a tank of the regular army. The Free Syrian Army brought it to their father, who used to repair weapons and bombs.

Syrian civilians from the village of Azaz, northern Aleppo, cut wood in order to make a fire. For one month, they haven’t had access to electricity.

Ahmed al-Omar is 25 and has two children. Five months ago, he and his wife and two children left the city of Karm al-Tarrab when their house was destroyed by a MiG, when none of them were inside. They decided to live in a school with eleven other families. It is now winter, so they struggle to find water, bread and petrol for electricity. Ahmed has found a small job a plastic collector, but never earns more than 100 Syrian pounds a day.

At a Friday protest in Bustan al-Kaser, Aleppo, young people and children sing songs against President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian regime.

The body of a martyr is carried by members of his family during the Friday protest in Bustan al-Kaser, Aleppo.

On 20 December, a war aircraft targeted and bombed an ambulance in southern Aleppo, killing two people.

Read more about families braving the second harsh winter of Syrian conflict.

Quick on the Draw with Amro Selim Amro Selim is not the first...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:02:59 +0200

Quick on the Draw with Amro Selim

Amro Selim is not the first Egyptian cartoonist, and he certainly does not want to be the last. In addition to his continuous creative outpouring, Selim has almost single-handedly paved the way for a new generation of cartoonists to blossom and rise to the forefront of the scene.

With the re-launch of Al-Dostour newspaper in 2005, Selim, along with the paper’s former editor-in-chief, Ibrahim Eissa, triggered a boom at a time when the state’s security apparatus tried to maintain its strong grip on all media outlets.

Here, Selim talks through the developments of cartooning in Egypt and the fine line cartoonists navigate between revolutionary positions, a controlling political regime and a culturally sensitive public.

Read the rest of our interview with political cartoonist Amro Selim here.

Renaissance Cafe!

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:47:00 +0200

Renaissance Cafe!

Sammy in Space: Episode 1

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:55:00 +0200

Sammy in Space: Episode 1

The End Cafe!

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:55:00 +0200

The End Cafe!

Ten days of rocks and tear gas

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:15:00 +0200

By: Virginie Nguyen

Fighting broke out on the night of 19 November in Cairo during a mass demonstration to commemorate last year’s clashes on Mohamed Mahmoud Street. Protesters were throwing rocks while police fired birdshot and tear gas at them.

A field hospital was organized near Mohamed Mahmoud Street, then in Tahrir Square.

Central Security Forces were on the other side of the wall in Sheikh Rihan Street.

One week after the beginning of the clashes, a massive new concrete wall was erected on Qasr al-Aini Street leading to Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Since 19 November, clashes still have continued near the Interior Ministry and Mohamed Mahmoud Street. Police and protesters threw rocks at each other. Police used tear gas and, reportedly, rubber bullets, while protesters threw Molotov cocktails.

Thousands of protesters marched Monday to commemorate the death of activist Gaber Salah, also known as Jika, who was a member of the April 6 Youth Movement. The funeral procession moved from Omar Makram Mosque to Mohamed Mahmoud Street, then from Tahrir Square to the cemetery where he was buried.
Salah died Sunday after being shot during protests Friday.

Several demonstrations have been organized to protest the decree granting new powers to President Mohamed Morsy. Meanwhile, clashes between the Central Security Forces and young protesters continue near Omar Makram Mosque, close to Tahrir Square.

Protests across Egypt have continued into their ninth day, as Egyptians demonstrate against President Mohamed Morsy’s constitutional declaration, which gives him sweeping new powers.

Clashing with security forces: Who, why and what for?

Beneath the Planet of the Apes Cafe

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:55:00 +0200

Beneath the Planet of the Apes Cafe

Check out our exclusive interview with Lebanese singer Rima...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:08:00 +0200

Check out our exclusive interview with Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich during her stay in Cairo to perform at Geneina Theatre.

Planet of the Apes Cafe

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:55:00 +0200

Planet of the Apes Cafe

The International Anti-Corruption Conference, Brasilia

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:28:00 +0200

By: Virginie Nguyen

Last week, more than 1,900 people from 140 countries gathered in Brasilia, Brazil, to discuss one of the most important current issues: corruption in today’s world. The International Anti-Corruption Conference, or IACC, is held every two years in a different country. Organized by the IACC Council and Transparency International, in partnership with the national hosts, the IACC aims to gather different organizations, political groups and youth movements to find solutions for and encourage awareness against corruption. Many debates, conferences and workshops were organized for discussions about corruption and solutions for it. But next to all that talk, people on the sidelines were also collaborating with the IACC, and had some opinions about corruption, as it was the main topic at the Brasilia Convention Center.

The plenary session room.

At the start of the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Mohad Jawad, welcomes attendees with the melody of his oud. He’s a sound engineer from Bahrain, but sings the sounds of the people. Jawad considers himself an activist for human rights all around the world.
“I’m singing for Bahrain and for humanity,” he says.
Next to his chair and musical instrument, Jawad has installed posters representing martyrs and activists in jail.
He says: “There is a lot of corruption in Bahrain. People are in custody because they dared to protest and write about it. I think that we have to ask [questions] and find a solution in a conference like the IACC. Maybe it won’t be that effective, but it’s better than nothing, and at least it’s a good reason for me to be here and express myself about what’s happening in Bahrain.”
After a talk with his friend and a sip of coffee, Jawad gets back to his oud. And whether it’s raining or not, he will sing for humanity and the people of Bahrain during the next four days.

The entrance hall.

Rafael Batista is 18 years old. He has just finished high school and will soon start his military service. During this four days at IACC, he was working as a cleaner.
Rafael got this job through his aunt, who’s already working for the cleaning and event hall service company. As Rafael is working 12 hours a day for the conference, he doesn’t really have much time to be interested in it.
“I know that it is about corruption, but I don’t know who’s coming and what will be the subjects,” he says. “I’m from Brasilia, and it’s not often that I see as many people from around the world, so I’m already happy about it. I know that corruption is affecting my life, but I don’t really know how to explain it.”

The workshop.

The multimedia space for the IACC website, where several interviews has been done by young journalists from around the world.

Bruna Oliviera has a degree in advertising management. She lives in Brasilia, and until she got the job to work as a receptionist at IACC, she had never heard of an anti-corruption conference.
“Now I know that it is about corruption, but I don’t really know what’s happening here or who is coming,” she says.
Bruna is in charge of welcoming the participants and giving accreditations.
“We have a lot of work, so it’s difficult to get in contact with people or to listen what they are talking about,” she says.
Although she doesn’t have much time to attend sessions, she would like to know more about solutions for corruption. “Corruption is affecting my life a lot. Everyone in Brazil is affected by corrupted politics,” she says.
As Bruna didn’t know about the IACC before being employed to work as a receptionist, she thinks there is a lack of communication about it in Brazil.
“Although Brazilians want changes, they are not really aware about what’s happening about this issue here,” she says.

Georgeo is looking around him, once to his left, then straight, then right. He’s in charge of the security in the building where the conference is organized as many other employees of the security group. Georgeo doesn’t seem to really care about what’s happening during this conference. “I discovered today what was going on, I didn’t know before arriving to work. I feel oppressed by the state; corruption is everywhere. It’s affecting my life, my family, and economic and social life.” Georgeo considers himself an activist, but he’s not officially involved in a syndicate. “I can’t because of my work, but anyway, I don’t believe in it, as syndicates are not representing us anymore. I don’t trust any political organizations anymore.” Georgeo was part of the Workers’ Party, the social democratic party in Brazil that has been in power since 2003, until 1994. “The president is also corrupted. I’m looking for a party that represents Brasil, a party that encourage the citizens to take their own responsibilities against our issues and corruption,” says Georgeo.

Marinangelo Alves Anaujo is arranging the cups and glasses on the buffet of the coffee break station. He has been working as a waiter for 10 years at the restaurant and buffet service company Adriana Buffet. While emptying the coffee machine as the coffee break is just over, Marinangelo explains that he doesn’t know or talk to the people he meet during this meeting. He knows that they are all coming to talk about corruption. “Corruption is affecting everybody. The people from the parliament are taking money from the citizens, and it’s affecting our financial life,” Marinangelo says. The father of three children, two boys and a girl, Marinangelo adds that it is a shame that his 17-year-old kid already knows how corrupted his life is. “I’m worried about the economic future of my children. There is a lot of corruption in Brazil, but at the end, this country still the best place in the world, I will never leave it,” he explains.

Home Alone Cafe

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:55:00 +0200

Home Alone Cafe

Twins Cafe

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:55:00 +0200

Twins Cafe

Double Time Cafe

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:55:00 +0200

Double Time Cafe

The Hmongs of Sa Pa town, Vietnam

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:52:00 +0200

By: Virginie Nguyen

With its 88,000,000 inhabitants, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies of Southeast Asia. As a result of the country’s 3,444 meters of coastline and various islands, tourism has affected the economic situation and lifestyle of Vietnamese since the end of the war. Among the tourist attractions that are highlighted in Lonely Planet and any other tourist guidebook is Sa Pa.

The village of Sa Pa is in the district of the same name, located 380 km from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi in Lao Cai province in the northwest of Vietnam.

Sa Pa village was at first a sanatorium for the French elite and military families during the French colonization of Vietnam from 1858-1945.

Surrounded by rice paddies and beautiful valleys bathed in the yellow-green light of the rainy season, Sa Pa is also a district home to 36 000 people, mostly from minority ethnic groups.

The main ethnic groups living in the scattered villages of Sa Pa District are the Black Hmongs, Tay, Dao, Muong Thai, Giay, Hoa and Xa Pho, distinguishable by different styles of clothing and jewelry.

Going from one village to another by foot or by motorbike, the main ethnic that we meet in the region of Sa Pa is the Black Hmong. Many tourists are attracted to their handmade clothes, the jewelry they wear around their necks and the woolen carriers that they hold their babies.

They often stop to take pictures, and mainly feel obliged to buy handicraft products from them.

But being a Hmong in Vietnam is not as colorful as it appears. Originated from southern China, they started to settle in Vietnam during the 19th century, fleeing from Chinese feudal authorities.

Initially practising shifting cultivation on the slopes of the mountains, they started to be sedentary while establishing hydraulic systems to develop terraced fields and growing crops. However, the Hmong have to face dry season droughts, a lack of rice, illnesses such as malaria and poverty.

The Hmongs’ difficult position is also due to their past. Indeed, the Hmong society is characterized by great solidarity among members of the same family and among villagers.

They value their independence and tend to live at high altitudes, away from other tribes.

Hmong women try to sell their handicrafts in the center of town while men stay at the village to work on the fields and farms. Nevertheless, during the last decade, many of the young girls have tried to find their way into the tourism industry. Hotels started to employ them as tour guides, as nobody else knows the region better.

Step by step, young people are beginning to learn English and become a real asset to the Vietnamese tourism industry.

Although Hmong women are building up Sa Pa, they are often kicked off of the streets by the authorities, who won’t allow commerce without paying charges. Therefore, it seems that the Vietnamese government tends to forget that if Sa Pa is one of Vietnam’s favorite tourist attractions, it is mainly thanks to the Hmong that animate the place, such as with their role as tour guides.