Discussing Arab blogging and why we do it at DW Radio

Today I participated at a program about blogging in the Arab world with DW Radio in Germany, which runs some programs in Arabic. Topics included what blogs offer for Arab youth, what kind of blogs are in different countries and how they are perceived abroad, why people blog in the first place, what challenges we face amongst other topics.

When asked whether or not blogging is a waste of time, I expressed that in the Arab world it’s far from it. In fact this is the only way for us to truly communicate with one another considering the amount of censorship we have to deal with and also lack of tool to communicate with people of neighboring countries.

Mideast Youth is a perfect example to revolve the conversation around because it exemplifies how we’re bringing together youth from all over the Middle East to discuss the issues that affect us all. This is especially true when it comes to minorities whose presence you can witness here on the site, as a way for everyone to not just understand them but also a way for us to involve them in our everyday lives, even though they are still isolated in many ways. We are using the power of blogging to change that.

We also discussed internet censorship and how people risk their lives blogging about certain controversial topics, with more bloggers being arrested than journalists sometimes. Young people are generally frustrated with lack of opportunities and freedoms and I explained how sometimes this leads to young people turning to negative influences, like drugs, as one of the ways to cope with this societal oppression. Blogging is dangerous but only because thinking and self expression is considered dangerous.

Thanks to DW Radio for giving us the opportunity to discuss Mideast Youth and what blogging means to many of us here.

Bookmark this article

•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     
•     

E-mail this article to a friend

* Required Field

Your Name: *

Your E-Mail: *

Your Remark:

Friend's Name: *

Separate multiple entries with a comma. Maximum 5 entries.

Friend's E-Mail: *

Separate multiple entries with a comma. Maximum 5 entries.

Image Verification: *

 Loading ...

Close