GOODBYE!We, the Media Team, write this as you sit in the heart of the Swedish political landscape, debating the fruits of your labour from the past days of heated discussion. The building is as grand as the ideas projected in your resolutions, but this is also a building which is

full of metaphors for the way in which this country is run, metaphors which we feel reflect much of what we have attempted to achieve in these past week.

First of all, the pursuit of equality is something which is often seen to define Swedish politics. The Swedish parliament in which we sit today has the largest number of female MPs in the world among countries without quotas. While their political system has often resulted in stalemates, this has not deterred the Swedes in their pursuit of an egalitarian

society, the pursuit of which is something we should all applaud.

However, the Swedes are notoriously polite and tend to avoid conflict at all costs. Such neutrality has often a!ected their ability to perform with strength and principal on the

international stage, and their concern for avoiding o!ense could also be seen as a trigger for the rise of the anti-immigration far-right in the country. From this perspective, dealing with the tough issues requires putting politeness aside and showing a determination to

confront things which may be uncomfortable for us all.

One of the things which conferences such as the EMYP should teach us is that unless the di"cult issues are brought up, then we are no closer to really getting to the root of the problem. To steal the metaphor that Louise Dane, an expert who attended the conference

used (read the interview with her in this issue) we are simply talking about, debating and obsessing over the leaves and the branches of the tree (our problem), which may have an impact on the overall shape and appearance of the tree but will not really change what

that tree is.

Oftentimes, though, such an in-depth pursuit of these issues can make you a little serious, unless of course you can accept a little of the absurd humour which accompanies

modern life. For example, the fireplace which you saw during co!ee breaks and lunch was once in use. The smoke from the fire was released from a chimney but, unfortunately and hilariously, the smoke appeared to be coming out of the backside of a statue of Lady

Justice on the parliament roof.

These lessons we have learnt, but we also hope that you have taken away many more besides from the past few days. Most of our inspiration has come from you: your stories, your dreams, your worries and hopes, but also from your dedication to the idea of the

follow-up projects.

Today and in the past days we have debated, the whole week has been about connecting and now the time to act has come. The determination is clearly there and we believe the perseverance necessary to follow through lies within. All there is left to say is thank you

and good luck.

Your Media Team

One of the most important lessons that we take back from this EMYP conference will be the

lessons learnt from the experiences of others. Their struggles, worries, hopes, dreams and passions, in comparison to our own, open our eyes to a reality which we may have never even considered before. But, the lesson learnt from the pespective of others have been learnt in

a land unfamiliar to many of us, this is the land of blonde, polite, egalitarian meatballs. So what lessons have we learnt from our time in Sweden? The Media Team did some thinking and

some questioning to find out.

Things are expensive...but other things are very organised as a result.

They don’t drink much alcohol...but that’s maybe because of the strange hours of daylight.

They’re concerned about equality...but are so polite as to seem cold at the same time.

They are a little awkward...but this makes them weirdly fun.

Fika! (ALL THE TIME)

Their food isn’t the best...but it’s quite cheap to pay a visit to the doctor.

There aren’t as many blond people as we expected...but they are all still quite attractive.

Eating is (comparatively) more expensive than electronics...but at least you can Google pictures of food.

There aren’t as many IKEA’s as we expected...but there are a lot of 7-11’s.

LESSONS FROM SWEDEN

Introduce Euros. Also they don’t have enough toilets around so I would fix

that.

The one thing you could introduce

to Sweden and the SwedeS?

Harissa (Tunisian spicy chili sauce) Sweden definitely needs some

spice.

The Arabic culture of singing and dancing – like at Euro-Med village. I just wish Swedish parties were like this. We need to stop being so sti!. Goddamnit!

Having fun. In Cyprus people are singing and laughing all the time but here I feel like people only want to have fun when there’s time to have fun. They’re so

strict on schedule.

YOUSSEF ‘JO’ BEN SOLTANE

ARGYRO ANGASTINIOTI

iMAN IDRISS

MALIN HellstrOm

What makes you nostalgic

about your country?

Having a family around. I have 3 nephews so I really feel that you’re

at home when there is family around.

Historical places in Istanbul from the Ottoman Empire. That is what pops into my mind first when you ask me – I really like

them.

The smell of lemon blossoms in the spring time, especially the two trees that used to be in my grandmothers

garden.

The ocean. No matter where I am it just makes me feel

calm and comfortable.

SABRINE HAMDI

RUveyda Nur Izgi

Nassos Stylianou

Sandra Goettsche

YOUR STORY Not as easy as A to B

In order to empathise with the di!culties and complexities many of the participants face in their

attempts to travel from their home country, Mark McDaid steps out of his own “free

movement of persons” zone for a short-while and talks to Tarek Bakri about his experience of getting

to Stockholm.

Writing from the perspective of a European citizen with a passport from a self-consciously neutral country means that I am swooshed through passport control with the wave of a hand and a dutiful nod and think no more of it. It really is as easy as A to B, save for the painfully jet-powered advertisement of low cost air travel. However, this does mean that the stories I hear about the journeys of those to Stockholm from outside of our own little ‘free movement of persons’ zone can never be understood fully. This doesn’t mean I can’t try though.One such story is that of Tarek Bakri from Palestine, who left his home in Jerusalem before embarking on an epic 24-hour journey to finally arrive before us all.In order to travel from his

hometown he needs to get a hold of ‘laissez passer’ papers and a temporary Jordanian passport, the bureaucratic and interrogative process which he, understandably, is not particularly drawn to. Instead he set o" on a 5-hour-77km-bus ride from Jerusalem to neighbouring Jordan, where, after another long border check, he went through a similarly long process at airport security. So far, so delayed.However, stepping o" of his first flight in Paris, he was not met with jolly baguettes and Jacques Brel, but by two policemen who took him for a long session of questioning which ended only when he o"ered them to show his invitation to the conference, should he be given access to Wifi. Only then did they acquiesce. From there, a short-ish flight to Stockholm ended a whole day’s journey.That it should be so di!cult

to get from one country to another, Europe’s immigration worries aside, seems ludicrous. This aside, it should be considered a minor miracle that Tarek has made it here at all, and it is a sad fact that his journey has been equalled or topped by many others. One thing we can all do is to applaud the e"orts made to get to this EMYP and if we can show at least a fraction of such determination in the projects which follow, then we can be sure that success will follow too.

It should be considered a minor miracle that Tarek

has made it here at all, and it is a sad

fact that his journey has been equalled or topped by many

others

“

”

YOUR STORY The TALE OF MEMO AND ROXANNE

The Syrian civil war has been ongoing for over two years and has irrevocably changed the lives of

millions around the country. The death toll exceeds over 100,000 and about three million people have

been internally displaced. Ruham Hawash, a participant of the AFET committee talks to Nancy

Salem and Irene Campmany Canes about the personal story of her departure from Syria.

What is particularly striking when listening to Ruham is the calmness and the humour with which she discusses issues that make others around her shudder. Talking to her during the conference, it was evident that she has a plethora of stories, each more interesting and more shocking and depressing than the next. When the media team approached her for an interview, Ruham was reluctant to discuss a lot of the deeply personal issues that have a!ected her over the last couple of years, as she was forced to abandon her beloved home country due to the war. Instead, she wanted to share the story of her cat Memo and her car Roxanne. When she left Syria, Ruham left behind her country, her friends and her family. She had to leave the everyday life that so many take for granted. When you think back, it is not the big things but the little things, the routine, that you miss the most. To Ruham, Memo and

Roxanne are among them.Roxanne may seem like a strange name for a car, but as is always the case with these things, there is a story behind it. “I remember when the car got its name, we were with a group of friends and we were thinking about what would be an ideal name for it,” she says. After rejecting a few options, Ruham decided upon ‘Roxanne’, named after the song by Sting, which talks about prostitution. “Well, yes, that’s true but my car is not a prostitute!” Ruham says, followed by a bellow of laughter. “Giving her such a name means that Roxanne can go out late at night,” As far as Ruham knows, Roxanne is still safe in a carpark. However, that is not the case when it comes to her cat Memo. Ruham has no hesitation in sharing pictures of Memo, who looks much more like

a middle-sized tiger than a cat. The ginger feline was one of the many things that stayed in Syria as Ruham had to leave her home, but stayed with a friend of hers for a while but his current whereabouts are unknown. “When my friend got arrested, Memo had to go stay with another family but since then that house has been shelled and I have no news of Memo,” says Ruham. The reality of the situation on the ground is that, tragically, it is not only the absence of her cat and the safety of her car that Ruham and her follow compatriots have to struggle with. Death and devastation has become part of normality, if such a thing exists in Syria. While the story of Memo and Roxanne tell a miniscule part of the situation, at least the attitude and spirit that people like Ruham show in dealing with this may prove the tiniest sliver of hope for a country plagued by chaos and destruction. If only it was that simple.

looking...

...back

NEW VOICES -

SAME PROBLEMS

“I don’t know if I’m a man, or an ATM /Because the rent, my brother, became super-expensive”

Echoing the daily struggles younger generations face throughout Europe and the MENA region, Mashrou’ Leila’s rhymes could represent the voice of the unemployed and marginalised youth from Spain, Greece or Egypt. In fact, this is the new voice of Beirut. For me, the release of the Lebanese band’s album El Hal Romancy (The Solution is Romantic) in 2011 miraculously coincided with the Israeli wave of social protest that swept through the country in the same summer: marching through the streets of Tel Aviv, I could not imagine a better soundtrack for the upheavals that were shaking up the region. Whether it is the delicate fusion of traditional Arab instruments and ululations with Western bass guitars and beautifully-orchestrated music videos, or whether it is their lyrics calling for an egalitarian society, individual freedom and equality for women, Mashrou’ Leila represents a new style of alternative music that is taking Lebanon and the Middle East by storm. Together with other groups and singers such as Zeid Hamdan, who was arrested for insulting Lebanese president Gen. Michel Suleiman by calling

for his resignation, they try to catch the winds that sweep the region into the future.Listening to Mashrou’ Leila in Tel Aviv is not a trivial a!air: Beirut might be only 200 kilometres away, but it might as well be on the dark side of the moon. Not only are Israelis unable to travel to Lebanon (and vice-versa), but the deliberate physical and imaginary detachment of Israel from its neighbors makes such inter-cultural experiences rare for most Israelis. In fact, considering Israel’s recent war with Lebanon in 2006, and the 20 years of Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, the predominant association of Lebanon in Israel is with violence and destruction. The acclaimed Israeli playwright, Hanoch Levin, sarcastically portrayed the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982, writing “Beirut is in flames, and now it’s our chance to get rid of all our trash; throw conscience and freedom into the blaze, turn everything into ash”.In reality, however, Tel Aviv and Beirut have much more in common than one might expect: both cities on the Mediterranean are caught between religious fundamentalism and neo-liberal administrations, in both cities young people continue to create, enjoy and express themselves under ever-harsher economic and

political circumstances. While Beirut is regularly flooded with rich visitors from the Gulf, who contribute to the skyrocketing prices of real estate and food, Tel Aviv receives its fair share of wealthy Jewish visitors from the US and France that contribute to the gentrification of entire neighborhoods. Uncertainty is, in both cities, the norm rather than the exception. Mashrou’ Leila’s concerts in Amman and Cairo are regularly attended by Israeli fans, who are warmly welcomed by the band. But Mashrou’ Leila’s band members will be the first to admit that music and politics can never be truly separated – despite being chosen as the warm-up band for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert in Beirut last year, the band decided to withdraw their participation after the Red Hot Chili Peppers refused to heed to the Palestinian civil society calls to cancel their gig in Tel Aviv. The group therefore argued that normalisation of relations between Israel and its neighbors should be the result, rather than a condition, of a just peace agreement in the region.Can this future be a reality? And can the younger generation marching in the streets oust the leaders of war, neo-liberal austerity and sectarian violence? Mashrou’ Leila’s line tells us that “the solution is romantic … but it is no mistake”.

Maybe they’re right.

Music and politics can never be truly separated from one another in most regions of the world. But in the MENA region, particularly in the case of Lebanon and

Israel, is especially emotive and laden with politics. Lior Volinz, a participant of the AFET committee shares his thoughts.

Digging deep to get success

Fully grown adults drawing caricatures of one another and placing post-its onto them and rolling around on the floor and shouting Alele Kitaponga has been a common occurrence since Sunday evening. Instead of being involved with the day-to-day working or student lives, we have been active participants of a process where we have had the freedom to debate the real issues a!ecting our regions with other people from across the Euro-Mediterranean that we would otherwise never have had the opportunity to encounter.This is not only an exceptional concept for us alone. As a number of experts in their field visited the EMYP on Wednesday to share their insight and knowledge with the participants, they all expressed their enthusiasm for the work that has been going on in Stockholm these past few days.For Louise Dane, a Swedish law graduate who is currently doing a PhD, and is an expert in child and migration law, the one thing that stood out from the EMYP was the quality

of the participants.“I am so impressed with the incredible level of knowledge and experience of the participants I spoke to in the committee. This is such a diverse and exceptional group,” she said.“I have students that I teach migration law to at university and they know less after months of classes than a lot of the people here.” Louise is no stranger to volunteering projects and in particular, she has contributed to the work of the CISV, a non-politically a"liated global organisation dedicated to educating and inspiring through building intercultural friendship, cooperation and understanding. Through what she calls “learning by doing”, CISV has given her an insight into a range of project work. Using a fascinating metaphor, Louise has some interesting advice for EMYP participants who are looking to build on the work, relationships and ideas that they have come up with during this week’s conference and to plan concrete follow-up projects.“If you look at a project as a tree, then it is easy to just deal

with the branches or the leaves. To really tackle the issue and make a significant impact, you need to deal with the root of the problem and the stem of the problem, for which you have to really dig deep,” she said. From her experience, the recipe for a successful project is not so much down to the quality of the idea, but an issue of motivation.“Projects in general do not fail because they are bad projects, but due to internal factors such as a lack of motivation or a bad structure within the group. The planning needs to cover as many bases as possible and people within a group need to push each other,” she said.“You should also know why you are doing it and what you will gain from it. To have good levels of motivation you need to be getting some personal reward from it.” After her discussions with the participants, Louise hopes that any resulting EMYP follow-up projects can amount to something significant. “I have seen how deep into the topic the participants have been going. They seem to

One can become so immersed in the intense discussions, cultural events and

��6 ����������6 ����� �6 ��6 ��6 �(4+6 ����������6 ���6 �6 �6 ����6 ��6 ������6 ���6a strange and unique concept this is. Nassos Stylianou talks to Louise Dane, about her impressions of the conference and how to implement follow up projects effectively

SFEEHaAfter winning the prize for best culinary discovery at the Euro-Med village, the Syrian delegation has kindly shared with us their top secret family recipe for sfeeha, or meat pies.

Ingredients:

Dough:2.5 dl of Milk7.5 dl of Flour0,5 dl of OilYeastA teaspoon of sugar and of salt

Meat mix:0.5 kg Minced Meat51 Yellow onion51-2 Tomatoes51-2 Green Peppers(Other vegetables can be added if preferred)SaltBlack pepperThyme (other spices/herbs can be added as well) How to: First prepare the dough and let it rise for 530 minutesFlatten the dough and roll it out in to small and round pieces.Finely chop and mix the ingredients for the filling, Place filling on breadBrush the pies with an egg wash Put them in the oven for 57 minutes on 250’C degrees.

G.A SNAPS

SPONSORS