This work explores the essence of Egyptian identity in a time when Egypt is searching for its own self. The work started in 2005 and has since expanded to look at the trials and tribulations of a country in transition - the time of Mubarak, the revolution and its looming future.

"It's a horrible feeling to realize that your country is weak, your voice is weak, your opinion is weak – to realize that if you sell your soul, your body, your pen and your name, you still wouldn't be able to afford a loaf of bread," writes the Egyptian vernacular poet Hesham al-Gakh in his poem “Goha.”

During the 30 years of former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak’s rule, Egypt – historically viewed as a trendsetter across the Middle East – became among the world’s most corrupt nations. Bribery or “Kossa” (Zucchini) as Egyptians call it, became common practice to get anything done – from renewing a driver’s license to getting a job. The Emergency Law, in place for more than 30 years, gave the government license to arrest people without warrant or proven charges and physical torture of detainees at the hands of police officers was rampant in prisons and police stations. This country of more than 82 million – the Arab world’s most populous and traditionally its most revered – had become a nation of lost souls, simmering with political, social and economic upheaval.

read more >>