Other worldly beings,
Souls of ancestors,
I call upon you,
To guide the way,
For me and my brothers
In this life of sorrows, woes and blessings,
All at once,
All those feelings at once,
Together,
Contradictory, yet complementary,
Take our hand, lanterns to guide,
Show us the way, the way to fly,
Take us to salvation,
To the dream nation,
Through aviation,
To faraway lands,
Virgin grounds, unscathed soil,
Pure un-breathed air,
Lungs to fill,
Ancestors, you lead the way,
Is bereavement the only option,
To escape this world one day?
Seeking the truth, always.
To stay or to leave?
I ask you again,
Is demise the only option,
To escape this cruel world?
Wars, killings and bloodshed,
Are all we ken
In this world today.
But…
Is that light I see at the end of the tunnel?

As I release myself
Into the forest,
An animal in distress,
A bird that was caged,
For years on end, yes.
Pouring my heart and soul out, enraged.

by Julian Ribera Translated into Arabic by Alhussin Alhassan The Arabic edition was our book of the month selection for February This is an abridged English version of the book published in Tal was born in , Irbid, where he completed his secondary education. At that time there was no university in Jordan, so he was first sent to Egypt, to Al Azhar University to study medicine. He later returned to Jordan and then to Lebanon, [and finally] left to London, where he wanted to study mathematics, but

With the booming of civil society organizations in Lebanon, exploring the governance of such institutions has become essential. However, as a factor limiting these changes, those organizations still go by an archaic law, dating from the Ottoman Empire, which does not carry a section on the internal governance of such institutions, and thus limiting their accountability, transparency and the follow-up of their activities and processes. For the purpose of identifying the components which could con

Click HERE to read the article in Arabic

Deepa and the Mothers of Silence

Written by Zeina Allouche & Translated to English by Yara Zalzal


The quest for finding Deepa Darmasiri was poignant, indeed. What a sad picture it was, seeing her eaten up by all her hesitation, to finally gather the strength to reveal what she lived through. Her startled eyes, which talked about the sad event without even speaking, came in contradiction with her actual reluctance to uncover that old secret of hers. C