Half a dozen teenagers rattling spray paint cans and adjusting ventilation masks stand before a large blank canvas at a cultural centre in Bethlehem. The youngsters are part of a posse of graffiti artists whose work can be found on the stone facades across the West Bank town.
Today, however, the group has not come to break any laws. They have been invited to paint a mural to inaugurate the opening of Gaza Graffiti, a photo exhibition currently travelling the West Bank that will soon make its way to nine other towns across Palestine, and later to Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
The exhibition features 60 vivid, colourful photographs taken by Mia Grondahl, a veteran Swedish photojournalist who has covered the Middle East for almost three decades. Her photographs explore the fascinating and complex world of Gaza's graffiti, both as impressive art and as the voice of a people under occupation.
The photographs, too, are artistic pieces in themselves. Grondahl balances the business of documenting the graffiti's elaborate Arabic calligraphy with a compassionate insight into the artists and communities that produce it.
Graffiti is a serious matter in Gaza. So serious, in fact, that Hamas provides night classes for the artists to improve their technique. The phenomenon's roots go back to times when Israeli soldiers patrolled Gaza's streets before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. All media of mass communication - newspapers, television, radio - were strictly controlled by Israeli military censors. Political parties countered this by developing alternative media, including graffiti, to get their messages out. Teams of graffiti artists risked their lives to sneak out at night and write slogans on the most prominent walls of Gaza's towns and refugee camps. While at one level the graffiti commemorated deaths or announced strike days in protest at the occupation, it was also a way for the resistance to challenge the hegemony of the occupation.
After the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza in 1994, the Israeli army withdrew from most Palestinian populated centres, which allowed graffiti artists to work more openly. The result was better art, but probably less relevant politically. The authority had set up its own media networks and used those to promote its policy of negotiations with Israel.
Graffiti nonetheless had become such a part of Gaza's media landscape that it mutated into a means of addressing internal Palestinian political debates. Hamas and other groups opposed to the Oslo peace process, for example, used graffiti to undermine support for the authority's policies, particularly its joint security co-operation with Israel.
When negotiations with Israel eventually collapsed and the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, broke out in late 2000, graffiti re-emerged on the front lines of the new struggle. This confrontation, however, was far more militaristic in nature than the rock-throwing demonstrations between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers of the first intifada (1987-1992). The steady stream of Palestinian deaths and the enraged public sentiment provided ample material for artists to translate into slogans of defiance and elaborate murals of resistance.
It was during this time that Grondahl began to pay closer attention to Gaza's graffiti and to document it for the purpose of writing what would later become Gaza Graffiti: Messages of Love and Politics, a medium-sized photography book published by the American University of Cairo Press at the end of 2009. In addition to Grondahl's images, the book also contains investigative essays on the different kinds of graffiti (murals, portraits, calligraphy, congratulations) in Gaza, and their political and social significance.
"Graffiti has always been a barometer of the political situation in Gaza," writes Grondahl. Unlike in western countries where "tagging" tends to be a distinct expression of the artist's individuality, graffiti in Gaza impressed Grondahl for its sense of accountability to a community and its broader ideals and dreams.
"It's strongly connected as a real part of the resistance movement," notes Grondahl. "It shows that 'we are unified, we stay together, we want to survive, we are fighting back'. I think graffiti has that unifying sense about it."
Not all of Gaza's graffiti, however, are about angry or defiant politics. A chapter of her book and part of the exhibition are dedicated to the graffiti of celebrations, such as a wedding or the return of community members from the Haj. Kissing lovebirds, big red hearts or floral bouquets brighten the drab, congested alleys of Gaza's cramped residential districts. They are as much a part of the graffiti culture as the three-metre-high faces of the fallen on Gaza's central throughways, or the 10m-long calligraphic script boasting of the accomplishments of the political factions' armed wings.
For Grondahl, this demonstrates how "Gaza's graffiti is so integrated into the society. You're not out there tagging just for yourself. You are tagging for the party you belong to, the block you belong to, for a friend who is getting married, or a friend who was killed. It's an expression of the whole range covering life to death."
The ability of Grondahl's work to explore her subject matter unpatronisingly gains heightened relevance in the context of the Gaza Strip's almost complete isolation from the outside world. Israel has incrementally increased restrictions on movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza since the early 1990s, ultimately completely besieging the territory after Hamas came to full power there in mid-2007. In this regard, her work helps viewers explore a world that they have little if any access to - a lack of exposure that time and again contributes to misrepresentations and misunderstandings of Gaza and its people.
Palestinians in the West Bank can equally appreciate these questions of access because for almost 20 years they, too, have been cut off from Gaza.
Ayed Arafa, 26, a muralist from Deheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem, says he visited the exhibition out of a desire to understand the Gaza graffiti scene better and compare it with the one he is deeply involved with today in Bethlehem. "We don't get a chance to go to Gaza to meet their artists and to work on projects together, so this was an opportunity to connect somehow," he says.
"Their work is different because their situation is different, though we both suffer from the same occupation. Their graffiti pays closer attention to detail and colours, experiments more with perspective, and takes risks with more challenging designs."
Arafa also points to how the increasingly divergent histories of Gaza and the West Bank are reflected artistically.
"Their isolation is so hermetic but we are more open to outside influences, including artistic ones, which also affects our work. You also get the impression that the level of politicisation and party affiliation in Gaza is deeper than it is in the West Bank, which breeds a more vibrant and competitive artistic culture overall."
Muhanned el Azzeh, 27, another local graffiti artist from a nearby refugee camp, expressed appreciation at the opportunity to see the exhibition, taking note of its important role in documenting part of modern Palestinian cultural heritage and political history. "During the 1980s there were thousands of pieces of graffiti put up on walls, but none of that exists any more, and none of what was said in those messages has been recorded. But this is our history - the history of our daily struggles. We need to preserve it both as political expressions and as artistic works."
Grondahl hopes the book and exhibition can contribute to changing the perspective of how many in the West view Palestinians and their struggle.
"Most of what is written about Palestine is the same old stuff that we have heard again and again: the settlers, the Judaisation of Jerusalem, the refugees etc. The terrible thing is that people get tired of hearing it, and it's difficult for journalists to find new angles to tell the story. Gaza graffiti tells them something else - things they didn't know about Palestine. I realised that I could reach new people that way, particularly young folks, and that it was a new way to alert an interest in what goes on here."
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Wonka
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
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Torque: 475Nm
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Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Paatal Lok season two
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Euro 2020 qualifier
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Name: Peter Dicce
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Dark Souls: Remastered
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