We want to meet you. We need you to tell us what inspired you to stand up, what led you to fight, and what sustained you until victory. This revolution, more than any other, is in the hands of ordinary citizens who are willing to do extraordinary things.
We hope that as you read what others have to say you will be inspired to share your own thoughts with us. Whether it is a passing observation that means something to you about how your life has changed in these months, or an extended essay on your revolutionary ideals, we want to hear from you. Return to Arab Awakening
Many commentators, notably in Algeria, have drily noted the familiar dissonance between the west's florid paeans to Arab freedoms and emancipation and its continuing indifference to the plight of Sahrawis next door. 
In Jordan, the people with the lowest scores are the ones put in positions of tremendous privilege as Imams or Sheikhs of Mosques whom people turn to for guidance on extremely sensitive personal issues like sexuality, faith, and ethics.
Occupation, strangely enough, is quickly becoming a tactic for Palestinian liberation. That's not to say much else has changed.Columnist of the Week
Syria: 'cold war redux'?
Syria's war, Israel's trap
Paul Rogers
The Iranian key to the Syrian crisis
Heiko Wimmen
Has Turkey reached a dead-end in Syria?
Firdevs Robinson
Syria's war, Israel's trap
Paul Rogers
The Iranian key to the Syrian crisis
Heiko Wimmen
Has Turkey reached a dead-end in Syria?
Firdevs Robinson
oD author detained in Dubai
"Mr. Ulrichsen believes that an article he wrote last summer "The U.A.E.: Holding Back the Tide," may have played a part in his blacklisting."
- Chronicle of Higher Education
"Mr. Ulrichsen believes that an article he wrote last summer "The U.A.E.: Holding Back the Tide," may have played a part in his blacklisting."
- Chronicle of Higher Education
Rita from Syria
Rap and the Arab Spring
Interview with Arab rappers Ibn Thabit and Deeb
Interview with Arab rappers Ibn Thabit and Deeb
Mali in crisis
.jpg)
The Mali effect
Stephen Ellis
Mali, and remote-control war
Paul Rogers
Qatar intervening in northern Mali?
Mehdi Lazar
The Mali effect
Stephen Ellis
Mali, and remote-control war
Paul Rogers
Qatar intervening in northern Mali?
Mehdi Lazar
Follow us on twitter
Our Editors
Associate Editor of Arab Awakening is pursuing an M.Phil in Comparative Government at Oxford University
Translation Editor of Arab Awakening is a psychology graduate with an interest in film
Associate Editor of Arab Awakening is pursuing an M.Phil in Comparative Government at Oxford University
Translation Editor of Arab Awakening is a psychology graduate with an interest in film
Support Arab Awakening
If you would like to support the work of the Arab Awakening editors, please get in touch with the Editor: Rosemary Bechler
Partners
We would like to thank the Network for Social Change for their generous support of our work
We would like to thank the Network for Social Change for their generous support of our work
Arab Awakening newsletter
Window on the Middle East
Arab Awakening Columnists
Karim Adel is the manager of the rap group Arabian Knightz and a music professional in Cairo, Egypt.
Maha Elsanosi is a blogger and freelance writer based in Khartoum, Sudan. She is a correspondent for Global Voices and an editor and columnist for 500 Words Magazine.
Kamal Benkoussa is a financial economist and a regular contributor on Algerian political, economic and social issues. He founded the Algerian Awakening Movement in 2012.
Jamal Elabiad is a Moroccan writer and teacher. He believes that shedding ink is better than shedding blood.
Rhiannon Smith works to foster economic development as a trainer, researcher and translator in Tripoli, Libya.
Christopher Sisserian is a journalist based in Lebanon where he is currently working on a project with the Heinrich Boell Foundation.
Sacha Robehmed is a graduate of the London School of Economics and a writer in Dubai focused on the arts.
Dina El Sharnouby is an Adjunct Instructor in Sociology/Anthropology at the American University in Cairo who does research on issues related to youth and the revolution.
Refaat Mohamed is a Cairo based marketing and innovation graduate, freelance writer, music and film buff, and a social observer
Ali Gokpinar is a Fulbright grantee and he concentrates on conflict resolution, peace building, and civil war from his home in Turkey.
Meriem Dhaouadi is a youth activist working to promote civil and human rights in Tunis, Tunisia.
Rita from Syria Rita is a Syrian opposition activist, she lives and studies in Damascus.
Munir Atalla is a Jordanian of Palestinian origin and a regular contributor at YourMiddleEast.com and publications like +972 and Palestine Note.
Mohammed Suliman, 22, is a young Palestinian who graduated with a degree in English literature from the Islamic University of Gaza.
Ahmed Medien is a freelance journalist and an economics student at the Mediterranean School of Business in Tunisia.
Sameeha Elwan is an MA student of Culture and Difference at Durham University, and a Palestinian Blogger from the Gaza strip.
Michael Stephens is a researcher on ethnic and social identity at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Qatar.
Hasan AlHasan is a Bahraini currently pursuing a Master in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics.
Soha Farouk is an Egyptian researcher with a special interest in the dynamics of collective action and democratic governance.
Amro Ali is a political analyst, scholar and stand-up comedian in Alexandria, Egypt.
Kacem Jlidi is a Tunisian youth activist and blogger from Kairouan, a semi-rural city in the interior of Tunisia.
Tareq Baconi has an MPhil in international relations from the University of Cambridge and is currently completing his PhD at King's College, London.
Karim Adel is the manager of the rap group Arabian Knightz and a music professional in Cairo, Egypt.
Maha Elsanosi is a blogger and freelance writer based in Khartoum, Sudan. She is a correspondent for Global Voices and an editor and columnist for 500 Words Magazine.
Kamal Benkoussa is a financial economist and a regular contributor on Algerian political, economic and social issues. He founded the Algerian Awakening Movement in 2012.
Jamal Elabiad is a Moroccan writer and teacher. He believes that shedding ink is better than shedding blood.
Rhiannon Smith works to foster economic development as a trainer, researcher and translator in Tripoli, Libya.
Christopher Sisserian is a journalist based in Lebanon where he is currently working on a project with the Heinrich Boell Foundation.
Sacha Robehmed is a graduate of the London School of Economics and a writer in Dubai focused on the arts.
Dina El Sharnouby is an Adjunct Instructor in Sociology/Anthropology at the American University in Cairo who does research on issues related to youth and the revolution.
Refaat Mohamed is a Cairo based marketing and innovation graduate, freelance writer, music and film buff, and a social observer
Ali Gokpinar is a Fulbright grantee and he concentrates on conflict resolution, peace building, and civil war from his home in Turkey.
Meriem Dhaouadi is a youth activist working to promote civil and human rights in Tunis, Tunisia.
Rita from Syria Rita is a Syrian opposition activist, she lives and studies in Damascus.
Munir Atalla is a Jordanian of Palestinian origin and a regular contributor at YourMiddleEast.com and publications like +972 and Palestine Note.
Mohammed Suliman, 22, is a young Palestinian who graduated with a degree in English literature from the Islamic University of Gaza.
Ahmed Medien is a freelance journalist and an economics student at the Mediterranean School of Business in Tunisia.
Sameeha Elwan is an MA student of Culture and Difference at Durham University, and a Palestinian Blogger from the Gaza strip.
Michael Stephens is a researcher on ethnic and social identity at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Qatar.
Hasan AlHasan is a Bahraini currently pursuing a Master in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics.
Soha Farouk is an Egyptian researcher with a special interest in the dynamics of collective action and democratic governance.
Amro Ali is a political analyst, scholar and stand-up comedian in Alexandria, Egypt.
Kacem Jlidi is a Tunisian youth activist and blogger from Kairouan, a semi-rural city in the interior of Tunisia.
Tareq Baconi has an MPhil in international relations from the University of Cambridge and is currently completing his PhD at King's College, London.
This week's window on the Middle East - March 11, 2013
Drafting an Egyptian constitution
Syria's peace: what, how, when?
From Morocco
Iraq war: ten years on
Ten years ago, what openDemocracy authors had to say on Iraq: war or not?
Adonis,
Rukhsana Ahmad, Yasser Alaskary, Meena Alexander, Hugh Beach, John Berger, Phillip Bobbit, Aaron Breitbart, Richard Burge, Nelcya Delanoe, Mitchell Cohen, Timothy Garton Ash, Paul Gilroy, Ralph Giordano, Todd Gitlin, Danny Glover, Günter Grass, Susan Griffin, Shusha Guppy, Denis Halliday, David Hare, David Hayes, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Faleh Jabar, Ghada Karmi, Muqtedar Khan, Satish Kumar, John le Carré , Sonja Linden, Frederico Mayor, Ian McEwan, Patrick Mono, Edwin Morgan, Ahmad Mukhtar, Friedemann Müller, Njabulo S. Ndebele, Ernst Nolte, Bahman Nirumand, Joseph Nye, Ben Okri, Nuha Al-Radi, Anita Roddick, Alexander Rondeli, Jacqueline Rose, Salman Rushdie, José Saramago, Donald Sassoon, Roger Scruton, Bapsi Sidhwa, Hazhir Teimourian, Sulak Sivaraksa, Lindsay Waters, Eyal Weizman, Arnold Wesker, Andreas Whittam-Smith, Judith Williamson
Ten years ago, what openDemocracy authors had to say on Iraq: war or not?
Adonis, Rukhsana Ahmad, Yasser Alaskary, Meena Alexander, Hugh Beach, John Berger, Phillip Bobbit, Aaron Breitbart, Richard Burge, Nelcya Delanoe, Mitchell Cohen, Timothy Garton Ash, Paul Gilroy, Ralph Giordano, Todd Gitlin, Danny Glover, Günter Grass, Susan Griffin, Shusha Guppy, Denis Halliday, David Hare, David Hayes, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Faleh Jabar, Ghada Karmi, Muqtedar Khan, Satish Kumar, John le Carré , Sonja Linden, Frederico Mayor, Ian McEwan, Patrick Mono, Edwin Morgan, Ahmad Mukhtar, Friedemann Müller, Njabulo S. Ndebele, Ernst Nolte, Bahman Nirumand, Joseph Nye, Ben Okri, Nuha Al-Radi, Anita Roddick, Alexander Rondeli, Jacqueline Rose, Salman Rushdie, José Saramago, Donald Sassoon, Roger Scruton, Bapsi Sidhwa, Hazhir Teimourian, Sulak Sivaraksa, Lindsay Waters, Eyal Weizman, Arnold Wesker, Andreas Whittam-Smith, Judith Williamson
