Human stories from the communities at the heart of the region's transformation.
Regional Voices: Beyond the Headlines, a Quiet Shift is Felt. The scent of oud and strong coffee hung heavy in the air of Souq Waqif in Doha this morning. Old Man Hassan, who’s sold dates and spices here for over fifty years, was unusually quiet. “The Father Amir is gone,” he said, his voice a […]
Regional Voices: A fisherman’s nets, tangled with fear and uncertainty. Old Man Youssef casts his net into the turquoise waters off the coast of Oman, a ritual he’s repeated for sixty years. But today, the familiar rhythm feels different. “The sea feels…watched,” he says, his voice raspy from years of salt air and sun. “Before, […]
Regional Voices: A fisherman’s quiet desperation in Oman. Old Man Tariq adjusts the netting on his dhow, the wooden boat worn smooth by decades of sun and salt. We meet him in the port of Musandam, Oman, a quiet corner overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. “The sea… she used to provide,” he says, his voice […]
Regional Voices: Empty hands, broken promises, and silenced hopes. The scent of cardamom and dust hangs heavy in the air as Fatima adjusts the shawl around her shoulders. We meet in a makeshift community centre in Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, a space that, until recently, buzzed with activity. Fatima, a Yazidi woman who survived ISIS captivity, […]
Regional Voices: Women bear the brunt of dwindling aid. Old Manal stirs the sugar into her tea, her hands calloused but steady. We sit in her small shop in Irbid, Jordan, the scent of spices thick in the air. Manal used to run a women’s centre, offering literacy classes and sewing skills to Syrian refugee […]
Regional Voices: Scars run deep, but life finds a way. The scent of rosewater and grief hangs heavy in the air of Mashhad. Old Man Tariq, a rug merchant whose shop overlooks the Imam Reza shrine, remembers a time before the revolution, before the shadow of the Supreme Leader loomed over every aspect of life. […]
Regional Voices: Whispers of fear, loss, and a fragile future. The air in the Kashan bazaar hangs thick with the scent of rosewater and grief. Old Man Hossein, a carpet weaver whose hands move with the muscle memory of decades, barely glances at potential customers. He’s been sitting like this for days, a string of […]
Regional Voices: Fear and exhaustion ripple through Gulf communities. The scent of dates and cardamom hung heavy in the air as old Manar prepared his stall at the Souq al-Mubarakiya in Kuwait City. Usually bustling with shoppers, the market was muted, the laughter less frequent. He meticulously arranged the glistening dates, but his eyes kept […]
Regional Voices: Uncertainty ripples with every political shockwave. The chipped ceramic of the çay glass warmed Ali’s hands as he watched the ferry boats drift across the Bosphorus. He runs a small import-export business in Istanbul, specialising in textiles. Normally, a summer afternoon like this would be for family, for planning a weekend getaway. But […]
Regional Voices: A Baker’s Worry, a Mother’s Resilience Old Man Khalil runs a small bakery just a few streets from the Four Seasons in Damascus. The scent of warm bread, normally a comfort, felt thin today, choked by the dust settling after the explosions. He wasn’t sure where they hit, only that the ground shook, […]
