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The ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara

Escaping hell on earth

They have lost everything; they are deeply traumatised – and yet they refuse to give up hope. In “The Beekeeper of Aleppo“, bestselling author Christy Lefteri focuses on the plight of thousands and thousands of refugees. Dagmar Wolf read the book

Shaping collective memories

Bahia Shehab and Haytham Nawar's award-winning "A History of Arab Graphic Design" (2020) took ten years to produce. In interview with Marcia Lynx Qualey, Shehab talks about the project and the difficulties in compiling an Arab graphic design textbook

Through the black door

In his epic fourth novel, award-winning Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid presents a love story couched within the modern phenomenon of mass migration. Moving from bleak dystopia at the outset to cautious optimism, it is a welcome foil to the gloom and doom prophecies of modern times. Susannah Tarbush read the book

Dreams in times of crisis

Bestselling author Leila Slimani's latest novel tells the story of her grandmother’s arduous life in rural Morocco during the immediate post-war period. Married to a Moroccan officer, the French woman struggles with the differences between their cultures, while both encounter growing hostility from the French settlers, and from the nationalists agitating for Moroccan independence. Volker Kaminski read the book

Everyday racism in Germany

Bullied, insulted, subtly shamed – people with a visible migration background report about their experiences with racism in Germany in a new book. By Philipp Jedicke

A universal mother figure

A survivor of a neo-Nazi hate crime, Mevlude Genc's boundless compassion served as an inspiration to an entire generation. Sertan Sanderson explores how her death is a loss for Germany and Turkey

A pair of troubled nations

On 14 August 2022, Pakistan marked the 75th year of its founding. One day later, neighbouring India celebrated its own independence with much pomp. Despite the historical and cultural similarities, the sense of estrangement between the two countries could hardly be deeper, writes Mohammad Luqman

India's anti-BJP groundswell

In November 2021, the Modi government assured India's protesting farmers that it would withdraw three pieces of controversial agricultural legislation. Upcoming state election results, due in February and March in protest strongholds Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, have rarely been so eagerly awaited. By Dominik Muller