13 May 2011
Institute for Middle East Understanding
www.imeu.net

The IMEU launched a compelling new resource today as Palestinians worldwide commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba — when approximately 725,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their homes before and after Israel declared statehood. #NakbaSurvivor is a collection of short video clips featuring Palestinians sharing searing personal stories or memories of their families’ Nakba experience. The term “Nakba Survivor” is meant to highlight the traumatic role the Nakba plays in the collective memory of Palestinians and to remind us of the ongoing nature of the Nakba.

We encourage you to share this resource widely — through email, Facebook and Twitter.

If you’re moved to do so, you can share a video of your family’s story at www.nakbasurvivor.com or tweet it 140 characters at a time using #NakbaSurvivor.

Salma Shukrallah, Monday 9 May 2011

March to Palestine planned to commemorate the Nakba and demand the right of return to all Palestinian refugees

On 15 May, the annual commemoration of the creation of the state of Israel and the expulsion of Palestinians, known as Nakba, Egyptians plan to march to Palestine under the slogan “Cairo’s liberation will not be complete without the liberation of Al-Quds [Jerusalem].”

Following Egypt’s January 25 Revolution, Egyptians are pushing for some of the country’s foreign relations policies to change, especially those related to Israel and Palestine. Aid or protest convoys to Gaza were frequently stopped or arrested during the Mubarak era by the ousted president’s regime, and now for the first time since the revolution thousands of activists are planning to march to the Rafah border town.

Click here to continue reading “Egyptians to mark Nakba with a march to Palestine” by Salma Shukrallah.

Gar Lipow
12 May 2011

I have cancer, but thanks to modern medicine, in terms of health it may be no big deal. The surgeon will use a scalpel to remove a thin layer of tissue from the floor of the mouth along with a tiny bit of the connection to the tongue. Then a laser will cauterize it, minimizing bleeding, killing microorganisms that stray from my mouth into the wound, and sealing off nerve endings, reducing soreness. The  surgeon has  asked me several times not refer to this as a “slice & sear”. Since the odds are the cancer is encapsulated, they will send me home with pain killers and antibiotics and after a week or two that will probably be that.

But it takes a truckload of advanced technology to make this no big deal. Before anesthesia was first invented in the 19th century, the shock and pain of the operation might have killed me (assuming a pre-anesthesia dentist or doctor could have diagnosed the problem at this early a stage). Today’s anesthetics have much lower odds of killing me that ether would have. Similarly, large scale commercial production of antibiotics was an early 20th century invention. Lasers only became useful for medical procedures beyond eye surgery in the late 20th century.

People like Derrick Jensen who want to eliminate technology want to let me, along with billions of other people, die. Since extreme anti-tech sentiment is small but with an intense following it is worth engaging a bit.

Click here to continue reading “I have cancer—a personal meditation on technology, sustainability, and social context” by Gar Lipow.

Introduction to ‘African Sexualities: A Reader’
Sylvia Tamale
2011-05-11, Issue 529

‘African Sexualities’ is a groundbreaking new volume, forthcoming from Pambazuka Press. As well as using popular culture to help address the ‘what, why, how, when and where’ questions, the book’s contributors provide a critical mapping of African sexualities that informs readers about the plurality and complexities of sexualities on the continent – desires, practices, fantasies, identities, taboos, abuses, violations, stigmas, transgressions and sanctions. At the same time, the contributors pose gender-sensitive and politically aware questions that challenge the reader to interrogate assumptions and hegemonic sexuality discourses, thereby unmapping the intricate and complex terrain of African sexualities.

The following article by ‘African Sexualities’ editor Sylvia Tamale comprises the book’s introduction.

If Sexuality were a human being and she made a grand entrance (l’entrée grande) into the African Union conference centre, the honourable delegates would stand up and bow in honour. But the acknowledgement of and respect for Sexuality would no doubt be tinged with overtones of parody and irony, even sadness, because although Sexuality might represent notions of pleasure and the continuity of humanity itself, the term conjures up discussions about sources of oppression and violence. In fact, once Sexuality got to the podium and opened her mouth, the multiple complexities associated with her presence would echo around the conference room.

Click here to continue reading “If Sexuality were a human being …” by Sylvia Tamale.

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