Among the victims of president Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Middle Eastern countries is Kinan Azmeh, a noted Syrian clarinettist and composer. Presently, Azmeh is stuck in Beirut, even though he has an EB-1 “alien with extraordinary abilities” visa and has lived in New York for the past 16 years. The US government’s prohibition for Azmeh (and for thousands of others) to return to his own home is a cruel and unnecessary measure that does a disservice to culture and the arts.

The title above is not my own. It comes from billboards posted along major thoroughfares as part of a campaign to stir people’s enthusiasm and urge them to rally behind their leaders to confront the challenges facing the country.

Women worldwide, including Egyptian, do not forget the first International Women’s Year that the UN General Assembly launched in 1975. That year, the first global conference on women’s rights to freedom and equality was held in Mexico, a developing country.

The phone call between the two presidents, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Donald Trump, and most importantly, the awaited visit by Al-Sisi to Washington both have several reasons that can be categorised into two segments.

Several months ago a student asked me about the Jewish attitude towards refugees. With the executive orders last Friday, that question is now an urgent one. We can look to a brief passage in our scriptures to find an answer.

At a time in which the Egyptian people are wondering where the Egyptian government is, what is the parliament doing to control the markets, and who will save them from these crazy prices? While no one is answering these questions, and no one is thinking of the people amidst all our current crises, we were surprised that there are statements being made about a cabinet reshuffle. This is an outdated trick used to distract people with an irrelevant issue.

I don’t think there’s one Egyptian who hasn’t paid some price over the last six years in the conflicts and crises the country experienced following the January 25 revolution, though the price certainly differed from one person to the next

“I don’t fill the electric kettle to the brim anymore; I boil only enough water for my cup of tea,” “I do better; I stopped using the electric kettle altogether and shifted back to the stove teapot,” “Every lamp that needs to be replaced I replace with an LED one,” “I’m pulling out my old clothes—they are worth revisiting,” “The sugar crisis hasn’t affected me one bit; I don’t add sugar to either my coffee or tea,” and “I refused to buy Mawlid (birth of Prophet Mohamed) sweets this year; it was so expensive, it wasn’t worth it.”

It is worthy to recall a well known story. During the first third of the 20th century, prominent liberal intellectual Ahmad Lutfi El-Sayyed was running for a parliamentary seat and was a candidate in a rural area where he had strong family ties. His competitor, facing this formidable opponent, tried to discredit him and said he was a democrat, believing in democracy, a new anti-religion doctrine inherently atheist. During his electoral meetings — a key event in the pre-television era — people asked him: “Are you a democrat?” He kept on replying, “Yes, and I’m proud of it.” He lost the election as people were shocked at a prestigious public figure who acknowledged being an atheist.

During the previous decade, several Arab countries faced big challenges such as severe deterioration in economic conditions, education, health, etc. On the other hand, rates of inflation, unemployment, and corruption increased. The increase of ethnic and sectarian disputes, the gap between the ruling elite and the people, political and security constraints, and interference in the parliamentary election procedures led to political and social division.

Sometimes, I try to stay away from writing, because I feel that the written word should resonate with decision makers in Egypt in order for the writer and researcher to feel that his/her efforts were not in vain and can actually bear fruit that the society can reap. But the important thing is that each one of us does what he/she has to do sincerely and frankly in a homeland that is suffering and fighting on all fronts for more than three years.

Mawlana was the title of medieval religious leaders in Central Asia. It was also a reference to the Sufi poet and scholar Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. It can literally be translated into “Our Master”, “Our Teacher”, or “Our Preacher”. Beyond these meanings, however, what particularly interests me are the paradoxes that accompany the “our” part of the film’s title. The film narrates the story of Mawlana, Sheikh Hatem Al-Shenawy, whose piety is fragmented and dispersed among the interests of politicians, businesspeople, and family members. These political, economic, and social forces directly and indirectly claim an ownership of Sheikh Hatem’s spirituality by intervening in different ways into his opinions about the “adequate” shape of piety.

With the onset of the new year, rising complaints about price hikes, and increasing media and parliamentary criticism of government performance, the time seems ripe for a Cabinet shuffle In fact, the rumor mill is already grinding: it will be minimal change, limited to a handful of weak-performing ministers. Or actually, it will bring sweeping change, possibly even a new prime minister. Or in fact, there won’t be any change—it’s just a way of reminding ministers they’re being constantly monitored so they don’t get too comfortable.

On Dec. 11, a bomb ripped through the chapel in the St. Mark’s Cathedral complex, the seat of Egypt’s ancient Coptic Orthodox Church. It killed 27 people and wounded another 49, one of the deadliest attacks on the country’s Christian minority in recent memory.

Offer me a carbonated soft drink, and you can stay here” was a shocking phrase that I heard from a member of former president Hosni Mubarak’s security apparatus as I was waiting for a friend to pick me up in one of the most crowded streets in Cairo, close to the president’s residence. After hearing this statement, I felt that if I had treated the security guard to a hot meal, I could have gotten into the president’s residence itself. This story, and plenty of others, summarises the degree of corruption and deficiency that has infiltrated the working of every single entity in Egypt, including entities that are often referred to as the “highest authorities”.

In order to be able to discuss sustainable development in Egypt, we must first be in agreement as to what sustainable development means. The scientific and international concept of sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the current needs of humans without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It focuses on the integrated and sustainable economic growth under environmental supervision and social responsibility.

I have many friends who once belonged to the middle class. They did not need state subsidies because they were able to live and afford education, healthcare, transportation, etc. for their children. However, the government’s decisions came against the wish of the people. Those friends turned from belonging to a “saving” class into classes that need different considerations. One of them was working in the pharmaceutical sector. He used to import medicines and invested all his, as well as his wife, sister, and brother-in-law’s savings. His company shut its doors now and he does not know what kind of fate is awaiting him. My friend was responsible for 20 employees, some of which were the sole breadwinners of their families who may receive state subsidies, while my friend was not a burden to the state as he neither received subsidised commodities, enrolled in the state’s education system, nor complained about the high price of fuel. He is now in tatters and started to search for less expensive schools after his children’s school informed him that tuition fees will increase by more than 20%. He is also considering getting a food subsidy card and trying to be more economic in using his car. This is the situation of my friend, but how about those who were working for him? It is to be noted that the lowest salary in his company exceeded than EGP 2,000.

Yesterday, I was clever, I wanted to change the world.Today I am wise,I am changing myself.” -Rumi As if it lacked enough tragedy, 2016 refused to leave us without more; from the savage bombing of the Cairo Coptic church to the intensifying humanitarian disaster in Aleppo, the barbaric terrorist acts in Turkey and Germany just a few days before Christmas and news of the crashed Russian aeroplane in the Black Sea. Is this a reminder of how last year left us less human, or a warning to be careful what you wish for when we embrace the new year?

It isn’t every day the General Federation of the Chambers of Commerce together with the biggest Investors’ Association in Egypt — representing most of the Egyptian private sector — publish an appeal to the president complaining about the policies adopted by the government and the central bank, as they did last week. The call for help is illustrative both of economic mismanagement and the lack mechanisms and channels to resolve differences and manage competing interests society.

2016 was not a good year for Saudi Arabia. Sharply lowered oil prices sparked a domestic financial crisis that is forcing the country to restructure its economy. Saud Arabia’s bitter struggle with Iran for regional hegemony has embroiled it in wars and political conflicts which it has been unable to win, leaving Saudi Arabia no alternative but to admit failure or compromise. If 2016 was bad, 2017 threatens to be worse.

I belong to a generation that used to do well with a monthly allowance of EGP 3 in the 1980s during the first years of preparatory school. Once I enrolled in university, this allowance reached EGP 30, and it was enough for us to enjoy life. This generation had not imagined it would witness a day on which foreign currencies would fiercely attack the Egyptian pound. It witnessed the queues for subsidised “popular clothing” (a governmental campaign that used to sell garments at lower prices to families), and “consumer complexes” (governmental outlets that sell commodities at lower prices). The queues for bread and for food supplies. However, this generation had an easier life back then than today. Employees, no matter how meagre their income, were able to meet their household needs and sometimes even save some money. The homes of our neighbours who had daughters were gradually filled with the bride’s dowry, for if the groom appeared, having purchased some items would alleviate the burden on the couple. That is how we used to live—a dignified life among our people in our industrial societies. We had not known the meaning of subsidising; we used to see our families deal with the price changes of basic commodities wisely and through a slight change in the level and way of spending.