Voices Of The Middle East And North Africa

Last month oppressive summer heats, lack of water and electricity, and pent-up anger against government corruption sparked mass protests in southern oil rich city of Basra. It quickly spread across the south of the country and into Baghdad- People in Iraq have sent a clear message to the government- enough is enough! This week, we bring you the first part of an in-depth conversation about the root causes of the protests in Iraq with Balsam Mustafa, a PhD researcher in Modern Languages & Politics at the University of Birmingham Also this week, artist and author Dr. Cara Judea El Hadeff joins us to talk about her children’s book, Zazu Dreams. It is a tale about the adventures of a Sephardic boy and his imaginary friend, a malamute husky, as they traverse the globe on a humpback whale across time and space, experiencing the marvels and may-hem of the relationship between humans and their environments.