Libyan Street Theatre Project: At London’s GDIF Festival

Without a script but eager to be performing and entertaining for the very first time outside their home country, a group of six Libyan actors and a musician arrived in London last week to prepare and take part in the Greenwich-Docklands International Festival (GDIF). The biggest and longest established of its kind, the GDIF celebrates outdoor theatre and the performing arts and takes place at various venues across the Greenwich-Docklands area.

The unprecedented Libyan participation comes after the group was recently formed as a ‘Libyan Street Theatre Project’ through the great efforts of Muftah Ibrahim Elfagi and with the support and sponsorship by the British Council and the European Union. Elfagi is an actor and the Director of the National Theatre Tripoli since 2011 and has been awarded an MBE in 2009 for services to British-Libyan family reunification.

“Muftah is very much a fine performer, a wonderful character with a wicked sense of humour. He has already been entertaining and joking with people passing by in the Olympic park where we have been rehearsing. The others are also a great mix of personalities that creates an interesting chemistry and lively debate on which stories to use. Muftah has also invited us to Libya and we would love to go and continue our work there.” Damian Wright, Periplum

As a group they have performed only once before in Tripoli in a public park during March 2014 to a happily surprised crowd of up to 1,700 people in an act titled ‘Family Picnic’. This had been created with the British theatre director Nathan Curry, who later invited them to take part in the GDIF.

I met up with the positively energetic group at Cutty Sark, Greenwich and they all introduced themselves to me: Muftah Elfagi (age 60), Zahra Arafa (age 42), Hanan Espaga (age 20), Adel Abulefa (age 23) and Fuad R Gritli (age 28) Ahmed Elmusrati (age 17) and Saif Alwaine (age 17).

Elfagi said: “Acting is a spiritual medicine. Angels take me away and I lose my hurt, pains and sorrows and especially with my love feelings. Under the old regime, there was some censorship working at the National Theatre so we did social or historical plays and took part in Arab festivals in Cairo, Carthage and Damascus. But I am so glad to be here. As actors, we have to tell the truth and this is better after the revolution.”

For the GDIF Global Streets performance, the team have partnered with the innovative London-based performing arts production company Periplum, to work with Artistic Directors Damian Wright and Claire Raftery. The brief was to devise an original show for the Libyans within only a few days of planning and rehearsals that has to also be site-specific for the location at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.

I asked Wright how the Libyan team were responding to the challenge: He said: “So far the process has been intense and exciting and we have grown close to the Libyan group in the past few days. We have been showing them different techniques to make innovative street theatre performance and they have found it hard work, but hopefully this will inspire them when they go back to Libya to take on more ambitious projects.”

The anticipated trilingual show is scheduled to take place this week on the evenings of 25-26 June, 2014. I’ve been told it will not be a continual narrative but more of a composition of the spontaneous and challenging images and sounds inspired by the Libyans’ personal stories and feelings, and, also, being suggestive of the subjects that came up in their exchange with the Periplum team.

Wright: “Together we’ve created original text and original music to be played by the guitarist and drummer Fuad Gritli. He will be drumming on a piece of street furniture. There will also be a metaphorical line that begs the question of how do you make music from a broken instrument? And we do touch upon the subject of conflict, though there is optimism from the group as to Libya’s future despite the difficulties. It was also their preference to keep the work as universal as possible.”

Representing British Council Libya, Awatef Shawish, said: “Through the Libyan Street Theatre Project, a new form of artistic expression enters the Libyan art scene. It aims to raise the profile of street theatre in Libya by forging links with international experts to increase public access to the arts in Libya and provide the opportunity for young Libyan theatre students to work with well-established British outdoor theatre directors.”

As part of training during this short experience in London, the Libyan team have also attended up to thirty of the many incredible and amazing acts taking part at the GDIF. They were particularly impressed by the French company Rara Woulib’s ‘Deblozay: Dance with the Dead‘ and the Belarus Free Theatre’s ‘Red Forest’ at the Young Vic Theatre.

What they have discovered is the power of street theatre and how it can break the boundaries between actors and audience, as well as the use of humour that can be utilised in dramatic ways. Now they wish to take these insights back to Libya in order to further develop and invest in a new type of creative performance industry.

For more on the GDIF: https://festival.org/gdif/

Photos: Muftah Elfagi Image, GDIF Logo, Members Warming Up, Team Photo Before Last Rehearsal

Note: This article was fist published circa June 2014

World In London Project: Behind Libya’s Portrait

Mid-February 2011. A surprise email arrived in my inbox from James O Jenkins, a professional British photographer, asking if I would like to model for a portrait to represent Libya’s participation at the London Olympics as part of the ‘World In London’ photography project. 

At the time I hadn’t even realised that Libya would be taking part in the Olympics as sports and politics have been inter-mixed with dangerous consequences under Qaddafi. The recent kidnapping and later release of Nabil Al-Alam, Libya’s President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), only highlighted the problem. My initial response was therefore hesitant and reluctant.

Most certainly I didn’t wish to represent Libya with any political association with the regime and I knew that Libyan sports had been hijacked by Saadi and Mohammed Qaddafi for quite some time. The former had been the obsessive control freak behind the national football team who forbade any popular support for individual players by banning the calling out of their names. He also pressurised referees to favour his Tripoli Ahli team, whilst the latter was the head of the NOC.

So much for fair play and the spirit of honest competition that typifies athleticism on the world stage. Despite all these challenges, it seems that five courageous Libyans did qualify to take part in the individual sports. They were: Ali Mabrouk El-Zaidi (marathon runner), Sofyan El-Gidi (butterfly swimmer), Ahmed Koeseh (judo), Hala Gezah (100-metre sprint), and Ali El-Kekli (weightlifting).

But then this was a critical time for Libya and the Revolution had kicked off and Jenkins assured me there would be no political message to my participation. So I took the risk to represent Libya in the hope that the country will be free by July 2012. I also did inform him that there were many gorgeous and much younger models that he could choose from, but he insisted on me because he had come across my blog.

He told me: “I was given the list of countries that were available and I don’t really know why I chose Libya. It’s worth noting that I chose it before the start of the revolution and the portrait was not to do with the political troubles there. It is about London and you being Libyan in this city.”

My readers know that if there is anything I am super-passionate about, it really is London. So in the end I wanted to celebrate being a Londoner and a Libyan simultaneously; and, to also feel proud in taking part in this project.

Finally on the first day of the Olympics the Libya portrait was unveiled, along with the other 203 images of the other Londoners who were representing their countries taking part in the Olympics.

The Photographers’ Gallery, which commissioned Jenkins and 200 other photographers – who were picked from London’s most noted, talented and emerging talent – kept the project top-secret for three years. They admit it has been their most ambitious project to date and are now super pleased with the outcome.

The World In London Project’s artistic ambition and desire is to showcase through photography London’s rich cultural diversity and to celebrate its incredible mix of people from all over the world. The exhibition is free for residents and tourists to view. The 204 large-scale portraits will be at two sites for the duration of the Olympics: the external wall of the BT London Live site in Victoria Park, E3, and across the Park House city-block in Oxford Street, W1.

Jenkins and I are very happy with the final Libya portrait and the choice of dress and background. Hopefully it will please everyone for its simplicity and the intended layers of meaning about what it means to be a Libyan. I did also take part in a related project, the ‘Oral Histories’, which will feature a recorded interview to go with my portrait.

In the coming days, I intend to fully support the Libyan athletes and hope they will do us proud. For the future also I hope that more young boys and girls can pursue sports for the joy and thrill of open and fair competition and to see it as a great measure of personal achievement.

For more on the World in London project: https://www.artlyst.com/news/the-photographers-gallery-world-in-london-olympics-exhibition/

For more on James O Jenkins: http://www.jamesojenkins.co.uk/

Note: This article was first published circa July 2012

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations: Why It Matters To Be British!

The Jubilee weekend has brought out a British person inside of me I never knew existed. First I went to the Battersea Park Jubilee Festival for the River Pageant and was super excited to be surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people. All trying to get a glimpse of the lady of the hour, she is celebrating sixty years on the throne. The crowd on the day totalled over a million and I can’t think of any other world superstar, other than HM Queen Elizabeth II, who can manage even half that much.

It took me back to December 1996 when I first pledged to be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors according to law. It was an important day as I got my British passport, but with the only pity being that they didn’t have a citizenship test nor a citizenship ceremony as part of the process, which I would have loved to do.

Since I have felt grateful to the Queen as my new shiny ID gave me access to things and places otherwise not possible with my Libyan nationality. It has enabled me to feel free and confidant in traveling the world without hassle. Not only that, I did study English Law and learned about the UK government system, the British constitution and the role of the Monarchy.

On Sunday in great British fashion nobody was excluded from the festivities. The crowds were a reflection of the diversity of the country, with not just natives but people of all ethnicities come together to celebrate. My guess is we the latter have all been resident in the UK long enough to feel and know that we belong and as we have been granted our rights and protection of civil liberties within the legal framework.

The weekend has reaffirmed that HM the Queen, who has been around longer than any other monarch in modern history, will always be an icon of the archetypical mother of a nation, offering herself as the symbol for all of us to come together, regardless of any divides. Her patience and resilience are admirable qualities; and, even as some believe the royal family should be abolished, this Queen has earned all the respect that she gets.

Not only does she take seriously her duties to serve her country, she never takes more liberties than what is permitted. She has devoted her whole life to her role and has never complained or begged tiredness or sickness in all the years she has been on the throne and working. Now she is 86.

It was truly wonderful to behold all of this, with everybody carrying and waving the Union Jack; or, they were holding items with the design on hats, sunglasses, scarves, afro wigs, pins, hair bands, shoes, suits and candy floss.

After Battersea where I couldn’t get a good view of the River Thames, my friends and I managed to tube it to Waterloo to see the atmosphere by the Southbank. It was electric there too. The Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the NFT were full of people standing on the balconies with lots of families and children too. Even though it got colder and wetter, it was beautiful to see the whole width of the river bank and the bridges jam-packed with spectators.

I was soaked by the end of it, but I am so glad I didn’t stay at home and just proxy view it on TV. This way I got British fever and it won’t escape me for a bit.

Note: This article was first published circa June 2012

Dairo Vargas: Colombian Artist Speaks About Childhood, Art and Barnardo’s

For the thirty-three year old Colombian artist Dairo Vargas, putting a smile on a child’s face is not just the occasional nod to charity, but a lifetime personal commitment. From his early years, his mother encouraged him to give and together they would visit youngsters affected by severe poverty, homelessness, abuse and crime in the capital city of Bogota and other Colombian towns. They would spend hours with the children, play with them and offer them gifts of toys, food and clothes.

As Vargas has gone on to become a graphic designer and painter, he’s kept up the passion to offer his skills and efforts for this delicate cause. Even living in London since 2005, he annually raises money in creative ways to help give to the La Escaltera kindergarten in Agrado which educates some 80 underprivileged children.

He said: “The Christmas parties for the little ones are always a big hit. We would bring them things as little as ice-cream and balloons which they love, to buying them more books and educational equipment for their future development.”

It is a sad and difficult truth that deprived, impoverished and hurt children are to be found everywhere in the world. As synchronicity would have it, last November, when Vargas was attending a Firecracker Event in Yorkshire, he heard a young Barnardo’s girl give a moving speech about her past which prompted him to make direct contact with the charity.

Vargas: “This girl had faced unimaginable things in her life but had so much strength to recover from the abuse she suffered. It’s unbelievable to think what some children have to go through. But now she has her own family and a job. It’s good to know that what happened in her childhood isn’t shaping her future, she is.”

The project with Barnardo’s has turned into the current exhibition – ‘A Thousand Words’ – at the Reading Room Gallery, Soho. Vargas dedicated much of the year to make the seventeen paintings on display and volunteered to teach Art lessons to Barnardo’s students at the High Close School in Berskshire that proved a huge success.

He said: “At first, they were hesitant. But I wanted to reassure them that there is nothing like the perfect image. That doesn’t exist. I wanted them to create their own portraits with confidence in response to my sketches. Art is above all about expression of feelings, emotions and honesty.”

Vargas’s paintings speak volumes on the theme of lost childhood and approach the psychological links between dreams and reality for the children. My favourite is the ‘Chiquita de Rojo’ that is an image of a little girl with a red face and braided hair who seems shy and preoccupied. Half the proceeds of her sale will help give 25 families access to Barnardo’s Advice Phone Line, which helps parents and carers to understand the child’s grief and look at practical ways to support them.

There is also the ‘Dreams’ painting of a black girl surrounded by butterflies. Half the proceeds of her sale will be go to the ‘Leaving Care’ project that provides a range of housing and support for young adults leaving residential, foster or family care. And there is more, including three little sculptures up for a donation amount.

As an artist Vargas has been self-taught although he started early. He confessed that as a fourteen year old that he always found himself doing his brothers’ and friends’ art homework and helping with the school murals. He said: “This was the best practice I ever got. But I was still afraid I wouldn’t get a job as an artist, so I studied graphic design and marketing instead. I even worked with JWT in Bogota for some time.”

But then he wanted to travel and came to London to learn English. Although art wasn’t big on the agenda and the plan was to stay for only nine months, he found himself taking out the colours and acrylics in his suitcase. He started to sketch and painted anything he could find of intrigue and even used cardboard to work with. After with some more money he was able to buy bigger canvasses and this gave him the push to study at Kensington and Chelsea College of Art circa 2008.

Since he has committed to being a full-time artist and works right through the nights, finding lots of inspiration especially from William Turner and a love for depicting natural landscapes and studying light movement. This is his true calling and his work has been exhibited in London, Europe and Colombia. On his website, one can see the broader scope of his art portfolio and developing technique.

For the future Vargas tells me: “I now want to focus more on conceptual images and the abstract world. One of my current projects, The City, is all about the energy of big cities where I look at human movement and activity as well as links to the different buildings and architecture.

“For me, cities are like a positive virus where there is chaos but also beauty and order. They are also more alive than one thinks and London in particular has this incredible feel to it. I love it even with the weather, as I come from a hot country. I hope to stay for as long as I can and then maybe move on to New York, another place I find fascinating and worth exploring.”

For more information on Dairo Vargas: https://dairovargas.com/
To donate to Barnardo’s charity: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/

Note: This article was first published circa November 2011

Dining From Underground! Love the Food!

A new underground dining-movement is taking London by storm and its secret chefs are experimenting with world cuisine in the privacy of their homes. With the desire to cook for others and share their food, they are happy to set up their own tables, cutlery and plates and to create a convivial atmosphere. With a new post-code falling to the trend every week, nobody knows the full count of these secret dining chefs and clubs. Just today, I heard that the movement has reached Turin, Italy.

So who are these guys and what are they up to? As luck would have it, I was invited to a rare feast to celebrate the birthday of an American lady named Shelley who is a secret chef who goes by the name of ‘Nomad Chef’. She took the initiative to get eight secret chefs together in her beautiful home in the Holland Park area, whom she had found online via social media. As fellow foodies, each brought a dish with which to impress so that there was endless fare that I lost count after the eighth course.

United by a deep love of all things culinary, the secret chefs agree that one of the reasons for going underground is that they yearn for good honest conversation, the type of which can only take place around a private dining room table with an intimate atmosphere. Even as many of them have day jobs too, they can’t stop themselves from collecting recipes and wanting to try them out on others and feeling great when they get positive feedback. Shunning restaurants is one of the things they have in common too.

Over dinner I was able to chat with the eight chefs and realised how they derive great pleasure from feeding others; and, they also all agreed that this becomes addictive and unstoppable. Like chefs in normal restaurants, they are on a mission to tap into the rich diversified history of food, cooking different cuisine and experimenting with fusion and adapting menus.

On the night, we were treated to: watermelon with feta cheese and mint salad, Moroccan tortilla with black olives, red peppers and harissa, Swedish fried meat balls with a beetroot and apple salad, Scandinavian seafood and turkey sandwich cake, Chinese pancakes with dill, tofu, egg and yellow bean sauce, Vietnamese pork patties with chili, sugar and lime juice, a lasagne with pancetta, pork sausage, parmesan, rocket and field mushrooms and a Mexican enchilada casserole. Not to be out-shown for dessert we had Mitty’s scrumptious ‘Sweet Justice’ dark chocolate cake that perfectly sealed the banquet.

Mingling With The Secret Chefs

Chatting with our gentle American hostess Shelley, she said the Nomad Chef persona was her way of healing the pain and the darkness of having lost her only son a year ago who was only 32 years old. She had shared with him an infatuation for food and mother and son had spent many days together in the kitchen cooking.

She said that her son had been a successful chef himself and had cooked private dinners for rock stars, actors and anyone who heard about his fusion food. To honour his memory, she got into secret dining and now offers amazing soul food, specialising in vegetarian dishes. With her French partner Bruno helping her in the kitchen, they take painstaking care to ensure their guests enjoy every mouthful and feel welcome.

I next spoke with Nicos who is a super confidant 28 years old who has just arrived from the United States. He boasts that he turned down a sous-chef position to work for Gordon Ramsey and that his Meridian Supper Club, based in Greenwich, offers seasonal, free range and locally sourced food that he buys from Borough’s Market.

Coming to London to change his life and travel, he said: “The restaurant business, which I have been in for fifteen years, is a tough lifestyle. You keep working for others who don’t appreciate the time and energy you put in. I would rather be poor then to give my life to 35K a year and slave for 65 hours a week.”

I then chatted to the petite Ning who is the creator of the Mama Lan Supper Club. A chartered accountant by day, her family’s history in the food business and old recipes used at home took her to the kitchen and cooking for others. Based in Cricklewood, she serves traditional Northern Chinese fare and teaches her guests a little bit about her cultural heritage.

The other secret chefs included the Somalian Ayan and her Swedish friend Pia who host the Claptonian Club in E5. Originally an Art gallery, they have turned the venue into a food venture where they rustle up a choice between East African fusion and Scandinavian recipes. Lastly, I met the hip Nigeria Shay who is a founding member of the Rebel Dining Society in EC1 where secret dinners can summon up to a hundred guests. His mission is to push the boundaries of fine dining and to also brings experimental live music and art performances too.

The Underground Dining Experience

Everyone is welcome to the supper clubs but you need to book in advance and know which cuisine is going to be served. Please note also that a financial contribution is usually made to the host or hostess with the rule to bring your own alcohol. There are on occasions also cooking workshops and demos and special brunches for families with children too.

Note: This article was first published circa May 2010

Ruby Wax Sermon: The School of Life

August 2008 saw the launch of ‘The School of Life’ in London, an adult open-type university led by a group of intellectuals and artists whose goal is to bring modern individuals with a hectic life-style – and presumably with not enough time or a place to think! – together in a safe environment to discuss the essence of life through the core subjects of: Love, Family, Work, Play and Politics.

By drawing upon the wisdom of ancient and modern philosophy, literature, the visual arts and psychotherapy, the aim of their classes, workshops, dinners and other gatherings is to provide good ideas to live by, offer guidance in turbulent times and to re-introduce certain core values to a vastly secular and existentially plagued world.

Although fronted by a small shop in the Bloomsbury area, their unusual style and structure of education seems to have struck a cord in many ready participants’ hearts and minds. The number of their students keeps expanding; and, in order to book a place on one of their courses or to join in a breakfast or dinner meeting can take up to months in advance. Not to mention their intellectual holidays.

So I decided to see what the fuss was all about and managed to get a ticket for a Sunday sermon. This was to be the tenth of the series where the idea is for the School to get an expert to speak for 45 minutes about a hot topic that has a moral or philosophical edge to it. These are conducted at the metaphoric parish and with this particular sermon going to be led by none other than the comedienne turned psychotherapist Ruby Wax on the subject of ‘How to Love Your Ego.’

The Parish Congregation

On the Sunday, I made my way to Conway Hall in Red Lion Square for the sermon to begin at 11.30 am. Although it was pouring with rain outside with windy, there were about 400 (the full capacity at Conway Hall) super keen people ready and chatting in the reception area before being let in. Many were regulars as they greeted each other and fell into conversation, as we waited to be let in. Once inside the hall, I got a good seat near to the front and I noticed also clearly etched at the top of the stage was a quote: “To Thine Own Self Be True”. All I good I thought, just the right motto to live by.

But then bizarrely, a very tall fellow (seven-foot point-four inches man – I asked him!) was wearing a shiny red leotard with small red lycra horns and acting cheeky and coming up to people. I thought how strange this was, but then maybe because it was the Halloween weekend and they were just getting into the spirit of things to break the ice.

But then it got a bit more bizarre and frankly weird. For once we were all seated and welcomed by the host speaker, we were ordered to stand up to sing a hymn. This is not anything from the Bible but the lyrics of the Eighties popular song by The Righteous Brothers – “You’ve lost that loving feeling.” And yes, to my horror, everyone started to sing and sway and getting all worked up. I sang along, of course, but wondered what was the ethical or philosophical significance of this? And what does this song hold for modern man?

Anyhow, once this was out of the way, Ruby Wax finally took to the podium for her speech, but not before the place was screaming down with cheers and claps for her.

Ruby On How to Love your Ego

Ruby said that the title for the subject was not her idea and warned that her speech would not be of the self or group-congratulatory type of the popular – but intellectually derided – American self-help programmes best known for their ego or confidence boosting. Rather, she wanted to discuss the essence of the “I” or better the “ich” in German as the centre of the self and person and one’s core identity.

Ruby expounded on the experience of fame and fortune. In particular, she said that being in the public eye might well provide one with a huge surge to the ego, but that will only lead to a greater fall when the attention dies out. In her own words, she said: “When you are up and flying close to the sun, people will treat you as a star with perks and privileges. But once you are down in the midst of despair, nobody will hear your call.”

She then argued that the reality of fame has an ugly side that is not often spoken about; that the public’s fascination with stars is also laced with a bigger resentment and a secret wish and desire for your demise. Further, that when you are high on fame, it is easy to create a different persona to your real self and get confused; but, that unfortunately, the real you eventually does come out in pathology.

With her signature irony and jokes, she confided about her childhood demons of being bullied at school, being fat and unpopular and then having tough parents. But that one day, “the loser learnt to speak comedy” – and that is how she found herself on the public stage.

Wax of course became widely known in the Nineties when she started to interview celebrities in an up, very close and personal style; and with her witty approach in handling these became a TV favourite to watch. However, as she explains, despite being at the height of all this fame and success, her real self came back to haunt her and she experienced an awful melt-down, became depressed and found herself at the Priory Clinic.

Closer to the end of her speech, she says that, fortunately, it was the shock of this stint in rehab that made her decide to finally deal with her monsters; by questioning her life choices, re-assessing her values; and, significantly, returning to her studies in psychology and neuroscience in order to find out what goes on in the mind. And that through these studies, she has come to learn the importance of understanding and harnessing “detached compassion – not to be confused with love – cause love can be stifling.” And just as it was getting to be very interesting, her forty-five minutes were done and she had to wrap up.

Once Wax got off the stage, the crowds were clapping again with myself included. But before I knew it, the devil in the red leotard returned to the front of the hall in order to begin the chanting of the second hymn – this time the lyrics of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” – to which I chose not to sing along. Personally, I do not believe that Jackson is the right teacher for me on the matter of looking at or studying myself in the mirror!

When the song eventually came to its agonising end, we were invited to drink tea or coffee and have biscuits to mingle and chat with other attendees. Although I could have stayed to talk with some people, I decided to leave because I felt a little out of place and I wanted some time to think to myself.

I admit I enjoyed the talk and was pleasantly surprised by Wax’s down to earth approach. At least it made me think and scratch my head for a whole hour after as I walked back home from Holborn to Maida Vale. Even the following morning, I found myself still troubled with the intricacies of the subject of the “ego” and whether or not I agreed with the gist of what she said. In fact, it was only after I wrote back my notes that I was finally able to make some kind of intelligent sense out of it.

However, this also made me wonder: Would the average man or woman on the street have been able to understand any of this philosophising? Would it give them any guidance in these turbulent times? For even this is speculation as very few can afford to regularly attend these sermons by the proclaimed intellectuals, artists and philosophers of our time.

Sadly I have to sat that I felt a little intimidated by the composition of this parish congregation and its leaders, even if they did try in many ways to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome. But I felt that you already have to be privileged nd of a certain class in order to fit in or to make sense of what they are on about.

I can’t lie that I won’t be seduced to return for another subject dearer to me, as I’m a glutton for punishment. The truth is there are very few places in London – bar universities – where one can address the big philosophic issues of life and being without feeling out of place. Just please don’t ask me to sing along to another Michael Jackson song! And please get rid of the red devil!

I do also have a serious suggestion to make to the School of Life. Could they perhaps begin to offer some of their classes, workshops and events to the less fortunate? Or maybe to introduce a community project to reach those who are truly in desperate need of ideas to live by? For that would definitely turn them into a more benevolent social enterprise and begin to truly personify the wisdom of the ancient and modern thoughts. Can they open their doors to everyone? I dare them to!

For more information: www.theschooloflife.com.

Note; This article was first published circa November 2009

Libyan Voices

Revolution! Catching up with an excited group of Libyan demonstrators in London, they were burning a couple of Green books outside Downing Street. The wild crowd also set aflame the green flag and replaced it by the old one of the monarchy. Last of their grand gestures, they hung and beat a padded doll representing Gaddafi with a symbolic heavy stick.

Hundreds of Libyans, mostly expats, began to sing the old anthem of the nation and chanted: “Tell Moammer and his sons, that there are men in Libya. Tell his daughter Aicha that we don’t want him anymore. Libya, Libya, Libya, the free. We are united brothers, from Benghazi and Tripoli. The people want the end of this regime.”

Afraid for the future, and worried about the escalating violent means that Gaddafi is resorting to quell dissent, this is what some of them had to say. A few agreed to give their full names but others not.

Sara, 38 said: “I now light a candle each night to give me hope, that the massacres in Tripoli will stop. My brothers (some as young as 14 and 20) and sisters of Benghazi have shown us that they are brave and are leading the way against Gaddafi’s madness. I pray that my elderly parents are safe, who are alone and vulnerable.

“Blood in the hospitals is thrown away, so that protestors die, and they hide the bodies so we cannot show the world media, but the fleeing of his daughter and his daughter in law makes me believe, that we will capture him and hang him soon. It has been a long 42 years of darkness and sadness, hoping and praying that there will be light soon.”

Tasnim Ben Sueied, 27 said: “A great thing that the revolution is in progress, because the Libyan people have been suffering under the hands of this oppressor. However, it is difficult to comprehend and I’m shocked at the silence of the world.”

Jalal Shammam, 46 said: “The future is bright for Libya. We have stood up, once and for all, with one voice to get rid of Gaddafi. My sympathy to the mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers of those who have lost their lives.”

Mohamed Mohsin Gheryani, 36 said: “I am feeling great. Libyans are surrounded with each other, on one ground.”

Ingi Soufraki, 49 said: “I want to go home to visit my mother’s grave. My last visit to Libya was in 1978.”

Hulya Soufraki, 47 said: “Stop the condemnation [international community] and start the action against Gaddafi. We want to try him and then he has to be pulled limb by limb.”

Naziha, 32, who is half Libyan and half English, said: “It is really scary but exciting times to be a Libyan. We’re talking to our families and they are ridiculously scared. It is upsetting to be here and frustrating not to be able to do anything. Phones get dead. We’re watching TV. Because of the violence in Tripoli, they cannot leave their homes. There is little food and no water. The UN Security Council has so far given us a lame response. Libyans though want to do this on their own and anew world awaits for them. Sad and horrible that the bloodshed has had to happen.”

Asma Maguz, 40 said: “I’ve been asked by the press about the oil pipes and oil prices. I’ve never seen anything from Libya’s export profits. We just want him out. Then they asked me how did we, as a Libyan nation, let him rule us for 42 years? It has been three generations now. Was it his money? The ability to brainwash us? No, he found a very simple society in Libya, and in particular in Tripoli. We’re a peaceful and forgiving people, almost passive. Even up until recently, they were ready to believe in his son Saif. But he just threatened and so now, people don’t care. They’re not scared. They have seen the worst, including rapes and killings. He and his family need to be caught and brought to justice.”

Fatima Ahdash, 19 said: “I have mixed feelings. Devastated by the genocide. The first time Libyans can speak up in their country. I am very hopeful that he will step down. It has been 42 years. Enough!”

Rami, 24, and born in the UK: “I am proud and ashamed at the same time. The shame is it took this long and we’ve had to reach the lowest point. But inshallah, he will go. I am looking forward to visiting Libya and to not see his face on the billboards the minute after getting off the plane.”

Laman, 67: “Why are they saying false things? This is a nationalist movement of the Libyan people. It has nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, nothing to do with the Taliban, nor Bin Laden. 42 years of him. Never in my life have I seen someone do this to his own people. America is not involved.”

Marwa, 18 and Noura Elgiathis, 17 said: “We want Gaddafi to die. It is the end. Libyans are speaking out: Libya! Libya! It is so great to be able to shout its name and not be afraid. They want to put him in his Green Square and hang him. Let them torture and execute him. This is the beginning of the end.”

Mohammed Zeiani, 22 said: “We need to get together as Libyans. Please ask everyone to help send money and medical aid to our people. They are going through Egypt and Tunisia. Support us please.”

Hawri Ahmed, from Kurdestan, said: “I am not Libyan but I have friends. We’re here to see that Gaddafi is worse than Saddam. It is time for democracy in Libya.”

Osama Alzuwai, 32 said: “I left in 1997. Gaddafi has put us in prison in Benghazi. He tortured us because we refuse to be under his regime and his committees. I ask all of my family in Kufra, in Jdabia and all the people in the desert to send their own to Gaddafi. We just do not want him in power any more. My hopes are for change. From dictatorship to a democratic country and we can be free to say what we want and what we don’t want. For freedom and our basic human rights.”

If you would like to add to this thread, please send an email through the Nahla Ink letter form

Time Out London: Bringing Out The Hippy In Me!

Time Out London is bringing out the hippy in me! This month I started a coveted internship at the popular magazine that will go towards completing my Journalism Diploma. I was fortunate to have met with Rachel Haliburton, the Deputy Editor at TOL, because of the Libyan Revolution taking place back home and when she had originally approached me as a Libyan living in London about my views on the political front. 

As a trainee with TOL, I am now learning the skilled craft of news reporting and how to cover tales from the supply end of information. All the things I unfortunately didn’t learn at No Sweat College – a very sore point for my intake – I am now picking up the technique of how to present stories and grab readers’ attention from the first few words of an article.

It is of course true that the sales of printed and online newspapers and magazines go to prove that people will always be eager to know of the odd behaviour and lives of others, the good and the bad humans do to each other, as well as to laugh or lament the unusual circumstances of still many more.

Working in the friendly news team with Rebecca Taylor and Halliburton, TOL’s preserve is to get the quirkier local London stories that don’t get aired in the national press. The political stance taken is not as leftie as you might imagine, but always balanced to suit.

From the first day, the atmosphere has been friendly, laid back and conducive to creative thought with the open plan office design and the wonderful characters I have met. TOL is free of the work shackles that people may experience in more rigid company structures, so that it allows for the artistic flow and exchange between the writers, editors and the different departments.

For me it has been the news stories that are most intriguing as every time we research and investigate a lead, it opens a whole other world and as I come to learn of individual or group trials and tribulations. Some of these are positive, some negative, others happy or sad, and, at times, just hilarious.

This month, for example, I spoke to Roma Gypsies and Irish travellers who are facing eviction from their caravan homes in Dale Farm and who plan to set up a human resistance camp against bailiffs and the Essex police. I also interviewed the ‘Clapton Improvement Society’ who transformed a public toilet facility into a pop-up cocktail bar without permission from the local Hackney council.

Then, there was the plight of the ‘cruising canal boaters’ on the River Lea who must now fortnightly shift along the waterways if they cannot afford to permanently moor their barges. And the sad but inspiring story of Wilton’s Music Hall that is raising funds to restore its historic but crumbling down building.

The Mayor of London and local borough councils are also very involved in many stories; and, no, they are not always the baddie, just imposing the law, which can of course be an ass.

But the top story I enjoyed was about the ukulele instrument, the unusually little four-stringed guitar that I never knew existed. Though it is becoming very popular with children and school music departments, the Duke of Uke store, which is the only dedicated ukulele shop in the city, has to raise money to afford relocation, as its lease is soon to expire.

And so, life goes on, humans find themselves in strange predicaments and newspapers and magazine deliver the stories to the public. But slowly and surely, I am learning how to be a news reporter and looking forward to everyday and getting up extra early to make my way to the office on Tottenahm Court Road. For those of you who know of my sleeping issues – that I love to sleep and have a lie in – will understand this is a big transformation. Just too bad that my days are numbered and I will hate to leave.

Note: This article was first published circa June 2011

World Drama: Are We All Suffering From Selective News Amnesia?

At my grand big age of 39, I still remember a time when significant world news would come in trickles and take some weeks, months and years to digest before we would hear the next big story or see the next big iconic photo-image that would come to symbolise our experiences of a history shared. Certain transformational events would also come to bond people of specific generational gaps at the level of the collective consciousness.

But, today, even taking into account the ease of instant communication, truly dramatic world events seem to be happening fast that I can hardly keep up. Even as I read my morning paper, I know that something bigger and more significant is going on each morning that is a click away online via Twitter, Facebook and the hundreds of other digital news outlets.

There really is no chance to properly inform myself by the end of the day or make sense of it entirely. Considering that I also need to sleep, I can just about take in the news that directly affects or impacts on me as an Arab woman living in London. I’ve also gotten into the habit of checking the BBC World News page multiple times a day to catch up with what else is involving – or more like implicating! – my people of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

May’s Rollercoaster Events

In one week alone, the Vatican Pope Francis went on an important visit to Holy Jerusalem, embracing – with his now trademark tactile warmth – all three Abrahamic faiths and praying for peace. He did not fear criticism by ensuring to cater his time and efforts to both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and inviting both Presidents to visit him in Rome to attempt a solution. Lo and behold, they have both accepted! I applaud this courage and who knows, maybe he will be able to perform magic and succeed where many others before him have terribly failed.

Involving MENA, also, a new Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi came to power with a 93% vote of a 45% voter turnout. He manifested after the Muslim Brotherhood’s stint in government saw them lose support as they abysmally failed to listen to what the Egyptians wanted. Whether or not Al-Sisi can bring the desperately needed political stability, economic recovery and peace to his country will take a while to show, but the story continues to unfold like a grand old soap-opera.

Moving on to Libya, my country was experiencing more mayhem, chaos and political confusion as Islamist radicals are attempting to hijack our popular revolution. Not only have they infiltrated the weak futile government, they have also been killing and targeting individuals who are against their ideology – for no other reason than having a differing opinion. These terrorists seem eager to take away the Libyan’s freedom of speech which has only recently been acquired.

But wait… With the zero security in the land and the danger of so many groups and militias armed, a new figure enters the stage – in the form of a General Khalifa Haftar – promising to save the day, but also with seeming force and aggression. We, who are without weapons and no political clout, can only observe hopelessly on as our country’s future is being determined as accord feels to be unattainable.

The only conclusion I am left with is that the Arab Spring has turned into an Arab Volcano…

Move Over, The US President Is On TV Making A Promise!

If all this wasn’t enough to keep my short-term memory working, I turned on the TV one night and there was the US President Barak Obama proposing a $5billion budget for a ‘Counter-Terrorism Partnership Fund (CTPF)’ as part of global “efforts to counter violent extremism and terrorist ideology”. Although not grabbing too much air attention, he did mention Syria, Libya, Yemen and Mali – so I wonder how this will eventually translate into practical action and whether or not a World War III will soon be played out in the MENA region.

Not To Mention Europe?!?

Not to be outdone, Europe last week evidenced a historic shift in the EU Parliamentary elections, whereby the 28 member states elected MEPs opposed to the EU project and its foundational rationale! For the UK, UKIP won more seats in the Euro Parliament than any other party; and, like it or not, this signals a potential transformation of the future of the Union that will have great impact on our lives as Euro citizens.

Where On Earth Are We Heading?

With so information no longer coming but ‘striking’ at us left, right and centre, I fear that we are losing the capacity for patience and have developed the very bad habit of acting and manoeuvring too rashly without taking a minute to reflect properly on one thing at a time. By so doing, we are forfeiting the intrinsic value of that one thing at a time.

And, so, we keep heading straight into one form of disaster from another and unto the next and the next, with response from those in power and charge also being demanded too quickly through a new global love for mass and frequent protests, demonstrations and online trending. I believe we have become acclimatised to fast-moving world drama with the only problem being that this drama is real and we are not gaining any necessary closure.

The only time it seems to really hurt is when the news involves us personally or our families, friends and country. Otherwise, we’ve become zombies with selective news amnesia; but, admittedly, if we had to genuinely feel for everyone and every moving story, we’d all be in need of support group therapies. I so truly miss the past and its slow gentle pace.

Note: This article was first published circa June 2014

Najwa Benshatwan: Libyan Female Author ‘Under The Radar’

An ugly shadow side of Libya’s history is that it was a slave market route for centuries under Ottoman rule, way before the Italian occupation and prior to Libya’s declared independence in 1951. Growing up in Libya, children might still hear stories from elders about the black maids who used to work in their household or about distant cousins in Africa who carry their same recognisable surnames.

There would be no elaboration on the reality of the trade that used to buy, sell and barter human beings and rarely admission of how the ancestors may have been involved in the mistreatment of those held captive. Few Libyans have the courage to revisit that period with its many ghosts or to bring up the racism issues that still persist in the culture.

Not up until now that the talented author Najwa Benshatwan has taken the task to heart by writing a novel so powerful, beautiful and so sensitively fashioned in the narrative voice of the slaves. She has creatively wrapped it up into a love story that touches upon the era and the taboo subjects that have never been exposed before.

Shortlisted for this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction, ‘The Slave Pens’ has yet to be translated into English. Already, Benshatwan is being courted to turn it into different languages and to adapt it into a TV series or a film. This new positive intrigue by the literary world has been unexpected – as she has already successfully published two other novels and collections of short stories – but very much welcome.

For the Shubbak Festival 2017, I spoke with Benshatwan via Skype and we conversed in the Libyan dialect. She opened up not just about the book that will undoubtedly transform her artistic destiny; but, also, on the challenges she faced as a budding intellectual during the oppressive Gaddafi regime, how she managed to overcome obstacles put in her way and how she is now content to be in Rome, Italy where she can pursue her work without complications.

Benshatwan: “For a long time, I felt buried in Libya. Born in 1969, I was of the generations that were denied the right to learn European languages at school and it is still a source of anger for me that I don’t’ speak except very basic English. When I was young, my talent as a writer would be denied as my homework at the age of 11 became a source of suspicion amongst teachers, who could not believe that it was my work and not that of an adult.

“Later on when I went on to university in Benghazi, it was my beautiful handwriting in Arabic that was a problem. To trick my examiners not to recognise my paper, I forced myself to write with my left hand so they wouldn’t know it was me. I did also learn braille and sign language for a brief period when I specialised in working with deaf and blind children.

“In terms of my literary ambitions, under Gaddafi there was no intellectual freedom and I was always worried about not just the state control but family and societal controls too. It is only now in ‘The Slave Pens’ that I am much older and more confident that I can safely explore things like love and sex for example.

“So I turned to short story fiction and utilised symbolism when dealing with Libya as the essence and background of my tales. But I was careful to enter only competitions judged abroad and they were one way to gain recognition. But my work came to the scrutiny of the Libyan authorities who tried to lure me to write about the regime and its ideology which I refused to do.

“The situation worsened when I got arrested and charged for writing against the state with the publication my short story ‘His Excellency, the Eminence of the Void’. Afraid and terrified to spend a night in prison with criminals, I travelled all the way to Tripoli where I spent four hours under interrogation knowing that the maximum sentence could be execution.

“Although I was not convicted, they wouldn’t leave me in peace, making my life hell and sending spies at the university where I was teaching and forcing me to attend political events. It was like cat and mouse that I stopped publishing my work and planned to save up enough money to be able to make an escape.

“But things changed with the February Revolution. I had naively believed in the rebel fighters and the struggle so much that I gave them my savings. Then sadly realising that there would be no security in Libya, my next chance to leave came when I got accepted to study in Italy where I have been for the past four years.

“My time in Italy has not been easy. I have been lonely and had to face dire economic circumstances and the psychological turmoil that entails. I had to take all sorts of jobs to survive and it took time to learn Italian before I could complete my doctoral degree at La Piensa University in Rome.

“I wanted to dedicate my thesis to the slavery and human trafficking under the Ottoman period and the Islamic Empire because I was haunted by a black and white picture that I had seen in an Englishman’s traveller book… although I cannot remember the name of the book or the Italian photographer who must have captured the image around early 1900s.

“It was of black women slaves with a boy and a child. When I asked about the scene, I was told that the quarters where they used to live were commonly referred to in the local dialect as ‘pens’ in the way of an animal’s pen. I had the photo scanned and put as my screensaver since 2006.

“For years I couldn’t steal myself away from the characters and my imagination became immersed in contemplating their lives… that is what urged me to write and finish the novel. My hope for it is to be a wake up call for Libyans to learn from past mistakes and acknowledge how black slavery – both past and present – has impacted on our society, from the economic to the social, political, cultural, psychological and mental aspects.

“Overall I am happy to have explored this subject and I am proud to be the first Libyan woman to be shortlisted for the IPAF. I can now finally be able to dedicate more and more of my time to just being a writer.”

Benshatwan is scheduled to participate in the ‘Under The Radar’ talk that is part of the Shubbak Literature programme at the British Library. This interview article was written in collaboration with the Shubbak Festival 2017.

For more information about Shubbak Festival: http://www.shubbak.co.uk/

Note: This article was first published circa July 2017