Sorrentino’s new film, Parthenope, offers us yet another opportunity to delve deeper into the poetic vision of the Neapolitan director.

“Professor, what is anthropology?” asks Parthenope, the protagonist portrayed brilliantly by Celeste Della Porta, to the only man capable of truly capturing her attention and sparking her curiosity.

“Anthropology is seeing,” replies an extraordinary Silvio Orlando, playing university professor Devoto Marotta, after a moment of hesitation. Marotta is an iconic character, resistant to smiling and a healthy bearer of knowledge on the verge of extinction.

In this single phrase lies the essence of Sorrentino’s cinema—a cinema that is, above all, about characters. It is about faces that fill the frame, captured by a directorial style attuned to the portrait and its narrative power. Faces that stand out in the beauty of their imperfection.

Behind the caustic professor’s answer lies the key to decoding Sorrentino’s message: the director offers us his vision of the world, inviting us to observe the reality of the human condition in its extraordinary beauty and, simultaneously, in its misery.

“I will never judge you, and you will never judge me,” is the pact Prof. Marotta proposes to Parthenope. And she accepts it.

Because this is the challenge Sorrentino presents to us: to explore the infinite facets of human existence without passing judgment. The suspension of judgment is the key to truly understanding reality, setting aside the emotions that cloud, direct, and condition our perception.

Seeing. It is a complex exercise, forming the essence of cultural anthropology, and one we are not accustomed to practicing.

This is the great merit of Sorrentino’s cinematography: a gaze upon humanity free from ideologies and judgments. Because it is only in this way, and only in this way, that we can understand and accept others.

One unforgettable scene exemplifying this is from The Great Beauty, the 2014 Oscar-winning film. In it, the protagonist Jep Gambardella, played by Toni Servillo, ends a powerful monologue dismantling the façade of lies upheld by his friend Stefania, a representative of self-referential and hypocritical humanity:

“Stefà, mother and woman, you’re 53 years old and have a life as wrecked as the rest of us. So instead of lecturing us, looking at us with disdain, you should look at us with affection. We’re all on the edge of despair. The only remedy is to look each other in the face, keep each other company, poke a little fun at ourselves, don’t you think?”

Through Jep Gambardella’s words, Sorrentino encourages us to reflect on a reflection that should lead to understanding and action: we are all the same, with our beauty and our vulnerabilities. We are different, yet the same.

Learning to see the world helps us see ourselves, understand ourselves, and, in turn, understand others.

Go watch the film I Shall Not Hate by the talented Franco-American documentarian Tal Barda, and if you can, also read the book of the same name.

Izzeldin Abuelaish has endured the unimaginable. He has sought justice, but until now, in vain.

From his story of blood and pain emerges a personal crusade for reconciliation and the coexistence of two peoples, today more distant than ever.

Israel and Palestine. Two worlds, two different cultures, separated by the poison of hatred, which blinds and sows death in a schizophrenic and insane crescendo that erases every rule of national and international law.

And yet for years, in the name of these two peoples, Izzeldin Abuelaish has been fighting a deeply personal, but universal, war that overshadows and undermines the tragic war currently raging, demonstrating its illogicality and total uselessness.

It is a struggle profoundly different from the one fought with bombings and drones. It has different rules of engagement, different communication codes. It has an equally devastating impact but causes no death.

Izzeldin Abuelaish’s war is a war for peace. The word “war,” in reference to Dr. Abuelaish’s story and his global campaign against all forms of hatred and discrimination, is emptied of its sinister semantic weight and evokes the power of a benevolent force that spreads to deliver a message of love.

War can be a tool for achieving peace. But if the goal is Peace, and it is pursued through war, in between there are deaths, destruction, domination, desolation, and suffering.

Izzeldin Abuelaish fights for the salvation of his people, but he possesses no weapons that cause harm. His voice is the only weapon he has, and it becomes the tool to keep memory alive, to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes. It spreads like a virus, generating an indelible feeling of hope.

Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian doctor who, for years (he was the first Palestinian to do so), worked in an Israeli hospital. On one cursed night in 2009, an Israeli tank, positioned menacingly beneath his home in Gaza, bombed his daughters’ bedroom, killing three of them.

It was an enormous tragedy, reported live by Abuelaish himself during an Israeli news program, becoming one of the most dramatic iconic moments of the Israeli-Palestinian war.

Despite the overwhelming grief, Dr. Abuelaish immediately began to speak of peace and coexistence—defying every logic and expectation that would have seen him blinded by hatred and seeking revenge.

He sued the Israeli state only to obtain an apology (simply but symbolically, “Sorry”), but the outcome of his legal action is easy to predict. Yet he does not give up, he does not allow hatred to poison his thoughts, and he becomes an activist for peace and coexistence between the two peoples. He begins to make his voice heard and to spread his message of hope.

In memory of his daughters—Bessan, then 21, Mayar, 15, and Aya, 13—and his niece Noor, 17, Dr. Abuelaish founded the Daughters for Life Foundation, a charity that supports young women of Middle Eastern nationalities, regardless of their origin or religious affiliation, to access higher education.

Since that fateful 2009, the echo of his cry for peace has not faded; it is as strong and relevant as ever.

Speaking today about the coexistence of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples is a revolutionary act. It may be dismissed as a sterile exercise in romanticism, detached from an objective and realistic view of the endless conflict that has torn apart these two historic enemies for decades.

The term evokes a utopian scenario in which, finally, the two peoples recognize each other’s existence and dignity and live peacefully in mutual respect.

Coexistence is the presence of two distinct entities that do not renounce their identity but act to make their diversity an opportunity for harmony and cultural growth through the acceptance of the other and mutual enrichment.

Coexistence does not mean inclusion. It has a deeper value because it does not imply the existence of a subject that includes and decides how and when to include, according to a discriminatory logic that perpetuates ancient dynamics of domination and oppression.

What an extraordinary word, coexistence. It is universal, transversal, flexible, applicable to any context in which diversity and individual differences exist.

It is a way of seeing the world, resistant to the logic of domination, hatred, and revenge, which unexpectedly, in this tragic story, belongs to someone who, considering the wrongs he has suffered, should have very different terms in his vocabulary.

Such a strong and powerful message should receive legal recognition by a court, but law, as we know, is often subservient to reasons of state. This is a sad awareness, but it should not lead to surrender.

This is the story of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish as told in the film I Shall Not Hate. The documentary opens the doors of Gaza for us and lets us breathe in the smell of death. But despite everything, thanks to the tenacity of its extraordinary protagonist, it manages to instill hope for a different future.

This film should be shown in schools, universities, and public squares. It should be made accessible and understandable to everyone.

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish’s voice must become our voice. The voice of everyone. It’s never too late.

Georgia gained independence in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union but carried deep political and ethnic divisions. The main tensions have revolved around the separatist territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia

At the dawn of independence from the Soviet Union, tensions between Georgians and Ossetians increased. In 1990, the Supreme Council of Georgia annulled South Ossetia’s autonomous status, causing discontent among the Ossetian population, which declared independence from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, the following year.

What had been sporadic provocations until then erupted into a conflict in 1991 between Georgian troops and Ossetian rebels, who were supported and equipped by Russia. Many villages in the region were burned, including Georgian homes and schools in Tskhinvali, the de facto capital of South Ossetia. The conflict reached a stalemate in 1992 when Georgian President Shevardnadze (a former Soviet leader) agreed to a ceasefire, establishing a peacekeeping force composed of Russian, Georgian, and Ossetian soldiers

In 2004, nationalist Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia, winning over 90% of the votes in the elections. His government marked a radical shift for the country, steering it towards closer integration with Europe and the United States, and distancing it from Russia’s orbit. The flags of Georgia and the European Union began flying side by side and continue to do so today. Following this new Atlanticist direction, Tbilisi, the capital, also moved closer to NATO, even seeking membership. However, this policy of rapprochement with the West provoked a reaction from Moscow, which was concerned about the possibility of further NATO expansion eastward.

As part of this pro-Western agenda, Saakashvili also sought to fully reintegrate South Ossetia and Abkhazia under Georgian authority, exacerbating tensions with Russia.

Starting in April 2008, provocations between pro-Russian Ossetian separatists and the Georgian army significantly increased. Despite an attempt at a ceasefire promoted by President Saakashvili, the Ossetians continued their attacks on Georgian settlements. To restore order, Georgian defense forces were sent to the region, and within hours, they took control of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia

On August 7, 2008, Russian troops advanced across the Georgian border into the Tskhinvali region in South Ossetia and western Georgia. During the fighting, hundreds of people lost their lives. This conflict forced 30,000 people to flee their homes, and they are still prevented from returning today. Russia justified the invasion as an operation to protect the Ossetian population, launching a large-scale invasion, advancing deep into Georgian territory, and also occupying the cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, and Poti.

South Ossetia, even during the Soviet era, held the status of an autonomous region within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

The population is primarily Ossetian, and most are Christian Orthodox. Originally from an Iranian ethnic group, they speak a dialect called ‘Ironian,’ which belongs to a branch of the Iranian language

The Ossetian dance, at Tbilisoba

South Ossetia today continues to operate as a de facto independent state, supported by Moscow, though not recognized by Tbilisi or the international community. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights accused the Russian Federation of human rights violations in the occupied regions.

Meanwhile, on the Black Sea in western Georgia, another region was seeking independence: Abkhazia. Most of the population is Christian Orthodox, but there is a minority of Sunni Muslims. The Abkhazians are closely related ethnically to the Circassians. The Abkhaz language is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken in Abkhazia (approximately 100,000 speakers) and parts of Turkey (approximately 50,000 speakers).

Abkhazian dance performance

In 1991, during the turmoil in South Ossetia, Abkhazian separatists also mobilized against the capital, Tbilisi, with support from Russia. The rebels took control of Sukhumi, later declaring it the capital of the Autonomous Republic, but Georgian Defense Forces quickly regained control of the city.

In September 1992, under Russian mediation, a ceasefire was signed. However, alongside legions of pro-Russian paramilitaries, the Abkhazians violated the truce and attacked Gagra, killing 1,000-1,500 defenseless civilians and burying them in a mass grave. With support from the Russian navy, they retook the capital of Sukhumi. The conflict ended with the consolidation of Abkhazian control over the region, which continues to be supported by Russia despite the lack of international recognition.

On August 12, 2008, under the mediation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a ceasefire was reached. The agreement called for the withdrawal of Russian and Georgian troops from the conflict areas and free access for humanitarian aid. However, it was never fully implemented, and Russian troops remained stationed in the separatist regions, which Moscow officially recognized as independent republics. Despite the tenacity of Georgian defenses, the Russian army managed to gain control of most of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, consolidating the ‘de facto’ separation of these regions from Georgia.

This recognition is condemned by the European Union and the international community, where Russia, with its military presence, continues to violate the human rights of these communities in Georgia..
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In June 2014, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power. Since then, Egypt’s government has shifted from considering climate issues as a nonissue to organizing the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November 2022.

However, the reality is that the Egyptian government does not prioritize climate change, including its political, social, and economic dimensions, as an essential policy. Instead, it uses climate issues as a potential means to secure foreign funding.

Egypt’s most significant pledged reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is from the oil and gas sector, targeting a 65 percent reduction by 2030. Yet, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), between 2000 and 2021, the use of gas rose by over 300 percent, while oil use increased by 61 percent.

In February 2024, Egypt’s fiscal policy prioritized expansion and growth over the wellbeing of its people, including environmental and climate concerns.

Describing its economic growth model as “colonial,” Egypt allows foreign oil companies to operate due to the need for immediate foreign currency and the country’s tight economic situation caused by external debt.

Sisi’s administration continued the National Solid Waste Management Program, an Egyptian-German collaborative project aimed at enhancing and strengthening Egypt’s solid waste management. The program focuses on improving Egypt’s public service governance.

The government’s reports in 2019 unified data on waste volume in each of the country’s 27 governorates, as well as data on existing waste management equipment and their conditions.

This was a positive step, but aside from pilot projects in Assiut, Kafr Al Sheikh, and Qena, these masterplans were never implemented nationwide.

Since 2017, the government has discussed plastic pollution at a very surface level, despite it being estimated at 3.6 million tons annually. The government has been reluctant to enforce any form of regulation, only supporting some cleanup efforts, such as removing waste from the Nile, and creating a few alternatives. That’s it!

The government has not been willing to delve deeper into the plastic pollution issue and continues to follow outdated waste management practices across the country, including open-air landfills, improper garbage segregation, and burning.

Half of Egypt’s waste management sector is controlled by informal workers—laborers not officially hired by the government or a private, taxable entity.

These informal workers dominate waste management in large urban areas, such as Cairo’s Zabbaleen (Garbage City), where there is a lack of health and safety standards, especially affecting women and child laborers.

Informal workers provide a wide range of services, creating thousands of jobs for disadvantaged community members. As a result, Egypt’s informal waste management sector is considered irreplaceable.

This influence extends to other sectors, such as urban planning. However, instead of improving the quality of life in slum areas, the government is focusing on building the New Administrative Capital.

Egypt aims for a 7 percent reduction in GHGs by 2030 from the waste management sector. However, officials have not addressed how they plan to manage emissions in crowded areas or how to start creating low-emission zones.

The country’s ambition to become a regional gas hub and a major exporter of liquefied natural gas has been suspended, as a shortage of gas to supply its power plants has led to severe power cuts across Egypt.

Meanwhile, real estate expansion is causing significant environmental harm, according to urban researchers. This expansion is driven by investment purposes rather than addressing housing needs, resulting in a surplus of units and the creation of “ghost” cities.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics reported 12.8 million uninhabited units in Egypt.

Such profit-driven urban expansion includes areas like the New Administrative Capital, New Alamein, New Sphinx, New 6th of October, and Al-Shurouk, among other “fourth-generation cities.”

The number of uninhabited units is enough to house a third of Egypt’s population, which is roughly equivalent to the number of Egypt’s poor.

The Egyptian government’s focus on real estate investment exacerbates environmental issues rather than addressing them.

The extraction, transportation, and manufacturing of construction materials such as cement, steel, and chemicals are highly taxing on natural resources and the environment. Construction and demolition processes consume large amounts of energy and water, generating emissions and waste.

In addition to profit-driven urban expansion, Sisi’s regime has faced criticism for continuously cutting down trees from the country’s already limited green spaces, an act publicly described as a “green massacre.” According to Global Forest Watch, Egypt saw a reduction of approximately 5,060,000 square meters of green spaces and tree cover between 2013 and 2023.

The per capita share of green spaces has decreased from 17 square meters to just 9 square meters per person. Warming rates in Egypt’s urban areas have significantly increased due to tree cutting and road expansion.

Air pollution was responsible for 90,000 premature deaths in Egypt in 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Egypt does not yet have a clear emissions reduction target and has not implemented any basic rules for the long-term 2050 National Climate Change Strategy.

The governance of the country needs to take urgent and serious action.

The Forum, which brought together over 1,400 participants in the French capital, was dedicated to the decarbonisation and climate resilience of buildings. According to the latest Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, released this week by UNEP and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), the building and construction sector represents over a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The report indicates that in 2022, the sector accounted for 37 per cent of global operational energy and process-related CO2 emissions.

In the Declaration de Chaillot, the signing ministers recall that with the acceleration of climate change, buildings will increasingly be exposed to climate-related risks, particularly affecting developing countries and cities. Moreover, by 2050, 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and global demand for raw materials is expected to double by 2060.

The signatory ministers of the Declaration de Chaillot emphasize the still inadequate volume of renovations and constructions of sustainable buildings, widening the gap between the sector’s trajectory and the goal of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming below 1.5°C by 2100. They also denounce the continued investment in systems and buildings with excessive carbon intensity and the overexploitation of natural resources for construction material production, which contributes to biodiversity and environmental degradation.

In the face of the climate emergency, a swift transition of the buildings sector is a direct requirement to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement. However, it is essential to construct this transition with all stakeholders, with a shared vision of cooperation and coordination, considering the specificities of each state.

The ministers committed to:

• Implementing roadmaps, regulatory frameworks, and mandatory building and energy codes to move towards carbon-neutral buildings;
• Implementing an appropriate financial framework with financial and fiscal incentives, and regulatory tools to increase the share of resilient, near-zero emission, and affordable buildings;
• Promoting the adoption of labels, standards, and certifications;
• Leading by example by adopting ambitious policies regarding public procurement;
• Promoting the production, development, and use of low-carbon, durable, and cost-effective construction materials;
• Promoting collaborative value chains, as well as research and development of innovative solutions;
• Improving skills by strengthening local know-how, considering mitigation and adaptation strategies;
• Developing multi-level governance, coordination among different stakeholders, and a more participatory approach to ensure coordination of implementation;
• And developing tools and regulatory frameworks to collect and share data and best practices.

To ensure the implementation of these commitments, the ministers pledge to utilise all international forums such as the G7, G20, G77, and climate COPs to further incorporate the specific issues of construction and buildings. They announce the establishment of an “Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate” coordinated by the GlobalABC to facilitate and monitor the implementation of the goals and means of the Declaration.

The Declaration de Chaillot represents a decisive step in the operational implementation of the Paris Agreement. For the first time, government representatives have agreed on a common declaration to engage an entire value chain of the sector in the transition. The participation of over 1800 stakeholders from this value chain at the first-ever Buildings and Climate Global Forum in Paris on 7 and 8 March is the first tangible translation of this unprecedented mobilisation.

“For the very first time, 70 governments from all continents commit to a concrete, operational roadmap with a monitoring mechanism to address the challenges of decarbonisation, resilience, and transition in the buildings and climate sector,” said Mr. Christophe Béchu, France’s Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion.   “Along with all stakeholders in the value chain, they pledge to strengthen frameworks, mobilise financing, and share solutions from around the world to implement the Paris Agreement, for a sector that accounts for 21% of greenhouse gas emissions and 55% of global wealth. This is a significant moment for diplomacy and climate action.”

“The Declaration de Chaillot will boost cooperation and strengthen the implementation of local, national, and international climate action in the buildings and construction sector to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. The next round of National Determined Contributions (NDCs), to be submitted by early 2025, will offer a great opportunity to move from ambition to action and accelerate the transformation we need,” said Ligia Noronha, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of UNEP, New York Office.

“As Minister of State for Cities, I would like to express our support for the Declaration of Chaillot. Although the commitments listed in this important Declaration go beyond the scope of the Ministry of Cities, we are committed to doing our part and supporting the Brazilian government in whatever is within our purview so that they can be achieved,” said Jader Barbalho Filho, Brazil’s Minister of Cities. “To go further, we are examining the possibility of holding a ministerial meeting during COP-30 to continue the discussions initiated in this Forum. And finally, we would like to announce that we will be suggesting and supporting a specific working Group to address the decarbonization of the buildings and real estate sector within the G20 framework.”

Countries Declaration

United Arab Emirates – H. E. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure:

“Decarbonizing buildings and ensuring their resilience to climate change risks are key priorities on the world’s agenda. The UAE endorses the Ministerial Declaration that will be an effective tool for achieving these priorities.”

Gabon – H.E. Mr Ludovic Megne Ndong, Minister of Housing, Town Planning and Land Registry:

“As a pioneer in Equatorial Africa on climate and sustainable development issues, Gabon intends to seize the opportunity of the first World Forum on Building and Climate and the Chaillot Declaration to be the driving force behind sustainable design practices, technological innovations and solutions in this sector, and to highlight the breakthrough for buildings as a complementary initiative in the service of the international collaboration needed to decarbonise and make buildings resilient on a global scale.”

United Kingdom – Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance:

“The UK has a record to be proud of when it comes to net zero, having become the first major economy to halve its emissions.

But we know climate change doesn’t respect national borders, so we need to work together with our international partners and friends to meet this challenge head on.

Signing the Déclaracion de Chaillot today is another important step, helping to ensure our nation’s buildings are fit for a low-carbon future, while also supporting the goals of the new Buildings Breakthrough.”

Türkiye – Ms Fatma Varank, Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change:

“The declaration will contribute to provide green transformation and construction sector to achieve climate goal by believing all out strategy is required to combat climate change.”

UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28 – Razan Al Mubarak:

“Business, industry, and city leaders are already taking action to unlock the climate solutions of the buildings sector. We welcome the enabling role this forum plays in further unlocking collaboration at an international level, through initiatives like the Buildings Breakthrough.”

About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. 

About the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC)

Founded at COP21, hosted by UNEP and with 291 members, including 42 countries, the GlobalABC is the leading global platform for all built environment stakeholders committed to a common vision: A zero-emission, efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector.

With a population of approximately 68 million, France has one of the largest populations in Europe. Among its inhabitants, over 7 million are of Arab descent. The South of France has a longstanding relationship with Arab communities, dating back centuries.

According to the 2022, population census in France, approximately 40% of children aged between 0 and 4 are either immigrants or have immigrant backgrounds.

During the medieval era, the South of France had extensive connections with the Islamic world thanks to its close proximity to North Africa and the Mediterranean. This allowed for trade, cultural interchange, and migration between the two regions. Diplomacy, warfare, and commerce all played important roles in these interactions. The area was once a part of Al-Andalus, a vast territory that included present-day Spain and portions of southern France.

Arab traders, academics frequented the region, influencing its cultural, linguistic, and architectural landscape.

More recently, during the colonial era, the relationship between France and North Africa greatly affected the Arab population in Southern France. With French colonial control over Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, there was a significant increase in the movement of workers from these regions to France, particularly after World War II. This led to the establishment of Arab communities in cities like Marseille, eventually contributing to the diverse cultural landscape of the region. According to the 2022 population census in France, approximately 40% of children aged between 0 and 4 are either immigrants or have immigrant backgrounds.

While traveling in the southern region of France,  is noticeable  the variations in the Arab population as one travels along the coast. 

Currently, Avignon serves as a key point for individuals with Arab heritage. In January 2016, a probe was carried out in the Reine-Jeanne district of Avignon, revealing a notable population of Salafist Muslims  that consider themselves the purest, most authentic form of Islam but also the most radical one.

.The inquiry uncovered a radical Islamic group, in which imams played a significant role in the process of radicalization. The region is home to ten mosques, including two of Turkish origin, one Algerian, and seven Salafist mosques, with imams who have mainly been trained in Morocco.

Marseille is home to a large Arab population, making up a considerable portion of the city’s residents, is also the third largest city in the country. 

While exploring this ancient city, one cannot help but observe the hints of Arab influence, with its street markets, stores selling North African goods, and bustling yet charming chaos that evokes feelings of nostalgia for North Africa. 

Exploring Noailles, an Arab concentrated area of Marseille, is reminiscent of traveling through the Mediterranean and beyond. The winding streets lack clear navigation, occasionally lead to quaint plazas, and frequently branch off into bustling alleyways filled with people. After French, Arabic is Noailles’ lingua franca. 

The Arab community in downtown Marseille is significant and diverse. This community has transformed the city’s landscape.

The Open Society Foundations report, “Muslims in Marseille,” highlights the city’s deep divisions and the vast inequities faced by Muslim residents, made up of a majority of Arabs from North African nations, in education, employment, and housing.

When heading East towards Italy, you can reach the coastal town of Nice that has the second highest number of extreme Muslims, closely behind the unstable Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. In fact, when considering its relatively small size, Nice, with just over 343,000 residents, is the most radicalized area in France.

The North African population residing in Nice encounters many difficulties, such as prejudice and exclusion, leading to a feeling of detachment and separation among certain youths. As a result of gentrification in specific neighborhoods, some Muslim groups have been pushed to live in isolated suburbs. This trend further fuels religious divides and can potentially foster radicalization.

The French Riviera is also renowned for its luxurious and glamorous atmosphere, and this reputation is warranted and the French business world is greatly impacted by a powerful group of billionaires with Arab heritage. As reported by Forbes Middle East, the total net worth of the top five richest French billionaires with Arab roots is $37.1 billion. This group includes noteworthy individuals like Joseph Safra, the wealthiest banker in the world, whose lineage traces back to a Lebanese-Syrian family. In fact, all of these billionaires began their journey in southern French cities. The Saadé family, which boasts three French billionaires with Arab heritage, started their business empire in Marseille. Their father, Jacques Rodolphe Saadé, relocated to France during the Lebanese Civil War. 

To summarize, the Arab community in France has a long history that can be traced back for centuries. Today, their presence is evident in cities like Marseille, Avignon, and Nice, adding to the cultural diversity.

Regardless these challenges, the Arab community has made significant contributions to Marseille’s cultural scene, particularly musically, with the city being a breeding ground for emerging French hip-hop talent.

Despite facing difficulties such as economic and religious differences, the Arab population has greatly enriched the region’s culture.

Clarifying the meaning of terms is a good starting point to introduce a current and meaningful topic such as gender identity and sexual orientation.

If we attempt to explain it through the analysis of one of the most successful Netflix series of recent years, understanding is certainly facilitated.

And the law?

The law can help us frame the phenomenon, but it’s not necessarily the best tool to understand it. It depends on the worldview and understanding of the human gender prevailing in a specific country and historical period, which shapes the thoughts and actions of legislators and interpreters.

It’s important to keep this truth in mind because while the law is a wonderful invention, it unfortunately reflects the influence of the “dominant culture,” which may not always foresee and promote the recognition and protection of the multiple forms of human gender.

Let’s begin with the semantic aspect.

If the term “gender” identifies the condition of being male or female assigned to an individual at birth based on their external genitalia, “gender identity” expresses a person’s sense of belonging to a gender, which can be female, male, or non-binary. It represents the perception that each individual has of themselves as male or female or sometimes as belonging to categories other than male or female.

Gender dysphoria refers to the emotional and cognitive discomfort related to the gender assigned to us and consists of a condition of misalignment between sex (or gender assigned at birth) and gender identity: it concerns all individuals who feel they belong to a gender different from the one assigned to them at birth or who do not feel they fully belong to either the female or male gender, or whose gender identity is fluid, oscillating between male and female over time.

Gender identity is a “spectrum” that connects the two extremes of male and female gender, within which we find Cisgender (indicating individuals who identify with the gender corresponding to their biological sex), Transgender (indicating a person who does not conform to expectations, roles, and attitudes associated with the gender assigned at birth), Transsexual (a transgender person who – not identifying with their biological sex – has begun a treatment process to modify their body towards the preferred gender), Non-binary (a term adopted by those who do not recognize the binary construction of gender, meaning the idea that there are only female and male genders; this definition includes both genderqueer people, who identify with a personal mix of the two genders, and genderfluid people, whose gender identity is fluid and oscillates between male and female), Agender (people who refuse to identify with a gender). From a biological perspective, there is also the condition of intersex, which concerns those individuals whose sex chromosomes, hormones, or genital organs are not exclusively male or female.

While gender identity concerns self-perception, sexual orientation relates to how one relates to others and indicates physical or romantic attraction to a person. Sexual orientation does not coincide with gender: they are two different things that can intersect in many ways.

There are many types of sexual orientation, and all (it needs to be emphasized, even shouted if necessary) deserve protection.

There are Heterosexuals (those who identify with a gender and are exclusively attracted to people of the opposite gender), Homosexuals (attracted to people of their same gender; this definition includes lesbian women and gay men), Bisexuals (who are attracted to both male and female genders), Pansexuals (who feel attraction regardless of the other person’s gender, thus including those with a fluid or non-binary identity), Asexuals (who do not feel sexual attraction towards people of either gender but are capable of experiencing deep emotions and establishing important relationships).

Sexual orientation is not a static condition but a fluid one that can change – more or less – over the years, even in adulthood. Many psychological and scientific studies show that having a fluid sexual orientation is not uncommon. Sexual fluidity is manifested in both males and females because the ability to change one’s sexual tendencies is innate in humans.

This diverse framework of one of the most intimate and discriminated spheres gives us a beautiful picture of the heterogeneity of the human gender, its inclinations, and its infinite ways of conceiving and practicing sexual pleasure.

Libido. Every discussion about sexuality, gender identity, sexual orientation should actually begin with this term. Because it’s around the theme of sexual pleasure that a curtain of taboos and prejudices often falls, preventing us from grasping its true essence: the inherently subjective nature of pleasure as an expression of the diversity of those who practice it.

Sexual education is rarely included in school curricula, and when it is taught, it often reduces to a generic warning about the risks of unprotected sex and the consequences of unwanted pregnancies.

The topic of libido is left to private experience, yet it would be an extraordinary form of education about diversity. Pleasure is subjective and, when sought and practiced lawfully, is something inherently normal. Explaining its matrix and implications could help combat stereotypes and prejudices, promoting greater understanding and tolerance in society.

If we want to find a parallel with the cinematic and television world (always useful considering the didactic value of cinema and television), we cannot fail to mention the British series “Sex Education,” which aired on Netflix for 4 seasons from 2019 to 2023.

It is a true television gem that has forever changed the way of narrating the sexuality of teenagers, giving us a finally realistic and inclusive representation of the different gender identities and sexual experiences of young people dealing with the anatomical and emotional aspects related to sex. Characters like Otis, Eric, Ola, and Lily offer a glimpse into the complexity of gender identity and the challenges that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people face in their daily lives.

The series reminds us of the importance of inclusive sexual education that takes into account all diversities. It is an anthem to freedom that uses the topic of sex as a means to talk about identity, friendship, respect, vulnerability, resilience, self-esteem. It should be screened in schools.

But let’s not digress and come to the law. Why talk about law after introducing topics such as gender identity, orientation, and sexual education?

Because the law is (and must be) a promoter of a culture opposed to any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It must contribute to creating conditions where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people can fully enjoy their rights.

For years, the UN and the Council of Europe have been urging member states to adopt measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

In resolution 1728 (2010), adopted on April 29, 2010, concerning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe invites States “to ensure, in legislation and practice, the rights [of transgender people] (…) to obtain official documents reflecting the chosen gender identity, without the prior requirement of undergoing sterilization or other medical procedures such as sex conversion surgery or hormone therapy.”

At this point, we need to ask a question. Do these enunciations of principles and values that translate into virtuous and proactive legislative recommendations find fertile ground in the legislative production of individual states?

The answer is not always, not in all states, especially in those where the rights of individuals and families have a religious matrix that reflects on the recognition and protection of fundamental human rights.

The answer is not always, not in all states, especially in those where the law concerning individuals and families has a religious foundation that influences the recognition and protection of fundamental human rights.

An example of this is Iraq. In April 2024, the Iraqi Parliament passed a law criminalizing homosexual relationships and gender transitions, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison. The law also prohibits “any organization that promotes homosexuality in Iraq,” with a seven-year prison sentence for “promoting” homosexual relationships. It prohibits “the change of biological sex based on individual desires or inclinations” and imposes a penalty of one to three years in prison for anyone or any doctor involved in this transition.

At the European level, there is a cultural and legal evolution towards recognizing the right to gender identity as a fundamental component of personal identity.

In June 2018, the European Court of Justice recognized the validity of same-sex marriage in all member countries “under the free movement of persons” (this ruling does not concern the approval of same-sex marriage in individual member states but the validity that such an institution, if celebrated in the European Union, must be recognized in a state without such regulation).

In more and more European countries, such as Germany, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Norway, and Switzerland, officially changing gender will only require a simple self-declaration, and surgical interventions will no longer be necessary. In Italy, gender change has been recognized since 1982, but “surgical correction” of gender is required. However, thanks to two rulings of the Court of Cassation and one of the Constitutional Court, today it is sufficient to accompany the request for a gender change with the opinion of an expert who evaluates the psychological conditions and motivation behind such requests.

Despite these significant steps forward for the full recognition of LGBT rights, there are unfortunately still worrying regressions resulting from a conservative and reactionary politics.

In Italy, a bill (DDL Zan) that would have established protections against discrimination for LGBT people was recently rejected.

In the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people continue to be victims of attacks and hate crimes.

There is still much to be done.

The hope is that the law will take on an increasingly proactive role in achieving and enforcing virtuous objectives and in making rights and freedoms a consolidated reality in a given social and cultural context.

1st photo: Netflix series “Sex Education”

Noam Shuster-Eliassi was a rising star among Israeli-Palestinian peace activists. She has spoken at conferences around the world, urging his generation of Israelis to chart a more progressive path. In the past she had considered the idea of entering diplomacy or politics.

She speaks fluent Arabic, Hebrew and English. The historical awareness, education, and linguistic fluency he acquired have given Shuster the ability to challenge today, through satirical comedy, systemic power imbalances between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel’s European Jewish elite and Middle Eastern Jews.

  Shuster-Eliassi’s comedy isn’t just about politics. But it’s about identity: her identity, which is the most multifaceted thing you can imagine. She calls herself “half” and is half Ashkenazi and half Mizrachi (Ashkenazi Jews are of European origin; Mizrachi Jews are of Middle Eastern or North African origin). Raised in Israel’s Arab-Jewish intentional community, ” Neve Shalom – Wahat al Salam- Oasis of Peace”.

Shuster-Eliassi often tells the story of her family’s first Saturday in the new community, when her grandmother Mizrachi came to visit: “My grandmother couldn’t understand why my mother had intentionally moved to live with the Arabs. The grandmother said: “Come into the house and close the door tightly, there are Arabs outside! ‘”

In 2017, her career took a sudden turn, how? she started telling jokes.

These lines allowed Shuster-Eliassi to explore the nuances of identity and their interplay in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a way that peacebuilding never has. She believes that comedy can open the hearts and minds of Israelis, Palestinians, Jews and Arabs in the diaspora to an alternative reality.

The turning point came in 2018 with a set at the 1001 Laughs a

Palestine Comedy festival, founded a few years earlier by Palestinian-American comedian Amer Zahr. It was a risky booking: she was the first Jewish Israeli to perform at the festival and her name wasn’t even on the promotional material. On stage in occupied East Jerusalem, Shuster broke the ice with her opening line: “Don’t worry, I’m only here for seven minutes, not 70 years,” referring to Israel’s presence in the region.

“I was crying afterwards, the laughter and reception I received was overwhelming,” she says.

1001 Laughs Palestine Comedy festival

“I really want the audience to leave my shows with something that is beyond my capabilities,” she says: “There is no future for Israel and for the Jews without the involvement of the Palestinians.

This unleashed a wave of support and secured television slots on Israeli news channels. She was awarded New Jewish Comedian of the Year in 2019 at the JW3 Jewish Comedy festival in London. Then the pandemic turned everything into a “cancellation party”,

When she caught Covid she was sent by the Lebanese-Canadian director Amber Fares, to a quarantine accommodation (immediately nicknamed Hotel Corona) which became part of an experiment in coexistence with Israeli Jews and Palestinians. During this period, a strong bond is created between the cohabitants. “It was a radical getting along,” Shuster says. “In every decision made, the choices made by the people of Hotel Corona have been oriented towards unity rather than separation.”

Shuster’s quarantine trip presented logistical challenges for the film’s director, who says Shuster’s appeal lies in her ability to use her Jewish-Israeli comedic persona to spark debates that might otherwise be shut down. “Noam is a perfect example of a political ally, and that’s really important,” she says. “It transcends this conflict and can be applied to other movements, such as BLM (Black Lives Matter).

During the recent escalation of violence, many Israeli voices opposed to Israel’s bombing of Gaza have been marginalized and subjected to verbal abuse. But it’s in those moments of political isolation, Shuster says, that she feels most compelled to speak out. As she says in Reckoning with Laughter: “There is nothing radical about calling for equality between Jews and Arabs.

Well, then let’s finally open these doors!

Armenians died after the Ottoman genocide, caused by the Turks who killed one and a half million people. In 1915, they began to flee to various directions and countries, including Lebanon, where they settled in large numbers and it became a homeland to them.

In Lebanon, their numbers rapidly surged after they arrived, as refugees, settled in villages in the Bekaa Valley and the Metn region. In the 1925 the government of the cedars, granted the Lebanese citizenship to the Armenian. Since the beginning the Armenians did not engage in Lebanese political life. During the Lebanese Civil War, Armenians in Lebanon entrenched themselves in their neighborhoods and refused to take up arms, aligning neither with the Muslim supporters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization nor with the major Christian parties like the Kataeb and the Lebanese Forces. Whenever any of the warring factions approached them, they either expelled or eliminated them, allowing them to maintain their neutrality until the end of the civil war in 1990.

Lebanese of Armenian origin founded a thriving neighborhood in Beirut that still exists today, commonly called Bourj Hammoud.

Armenians entered the Lebanese way of life through the economy and the first factor is due to the fact that Armenians were an organized nation of people . Armenians founded colleges and universities, preserving the Armenian language. The secondary factor is their knowledge of professions.

Haigazian University in Beirut is named in honor of Dr. Armenag Haigazian an Armenian theologian, scientist, linguist and musician

Their presence in the refugee camps in Aleppo, for example, taught them different crafts and professions, and when they arrived in Lebanon most of them were craftsmen, and from here they quickly made their way into the economy, and the Lebanese industry flourished when they turned their craft into an industry.

The Bourj Hammoud area, situated in the north of Beirut, is considered the capital of the Armenians in Lebanon it remained, along with some of the surrounding areas, witness to a unique experience in the world of economy, finance, trade, and industry. When you go to these areas, you see the overwhelming Armenian presence through the names of the streets, the shops, and institutions, in addition to school, university, clubs. Lebanese environment was conducive to work and productivity, with low taxes and few laws that hinder work. And these people were able, despite the language barrier, to “develop themselves and acquire extensive and advanced scientific knowledge.”

Over time, especially in the last ten years, the characteristics of the region have begun to change.

What became clear was not the decline of the Armenian presence in and of itself, but what subsequent crises had done to them, closing dozens of businesses, hence the migration of young people to countries abroad, especially with the exacerbation of the political conflict and economic crisis in Lebanon after 2019 and with the Beirut port explosion in 2020 was accompanied by the emergence of many communities of different nationalities in that region to the detriment of the Armenian presence.

Arax Street in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut 

April 24, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Lebanon

Today, unfortunately, all of Lebanon is suffering from the crisis and the entire Lebanese people are experiencing this situation, including the Lebanese of Armenian origin.

Lebanon has not conducted a population census since the 1930s, but media estimates currently place the Armenian population at around 150.000.

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The Hazaras in Afghanistan speak Persian, predominantly practice Shiite Islam and constitute approximately 8 million people, making up approximately 20 percent of the Afghan population. For much of its history they have been “the other” in the “Afghan nation,” which is based on Sunni Islam, ethnic identity and the Pashto language.

The Hazaras live mainly in Afghanistan but also in Pakistan and Iran, where some have found refuge, but many others have emigrated, mostly forcibly due to persecution, to Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Northern Europe (Denmark and Sweden) .

In the last twenty years, when the 2004 Afghan Constitution guaranteed, at least in theory, freedom and equal rights to all citizens, the Hazaras have sought education as a fundamental resource to emerge.

However, both the Taliban and other Islamic extremist groups have continued to target them and the Afghan government has failed to guarantee the safety of their community.

With the Taliban returning to power in 2021, Hazaras faced further persecution.

The Taliban, strengthened by their “victory” and not discouraged by the international community, have intensified the persecution against them.

Recently, they have begun to arbitrarily detain Hazara women and girls for “not wearing the correct hijab,” although much evidence and testimony suggests that these detentions are motivated less by “enforcement of the hijab” and more by the intention to marginalize and persecute the Hazaras even more.

Images from detention centers show Taliban “policewomen” arresting women with their heads completely covered who have been detained by the Taliban for almost a month.

Hazara women and girls, in their own ways, resisted the infliction of terror and fear by the Taliban who closed schools, but Hazara girls went to educational centers where many sought to learn a foreign language and seek a education abroad. Then, when the Taliban realized they couldn’t stop the girls, they started arbitrarily detaining them, accusing them of not wearing proper clothing. But hijab and Islam are excuses.”

Taliban detention was terrible for many of them who were forced to fast during the day, pray at night and were sometimes punished for falling asleep. The Taliban despise women and girls, especially Hazara ones because, in their eyes, they are born with four unforgivable sins:

Hazara, women, Shiites and those seeking education.

Their community’s rights are further threatened by the Taliban’s religious homogenization policies, which particularly target the religious freedom of Shia Hazaras.

In early 2023, the Taliban eliminated Shiite theology taught in universities in Hazara-dominated provinces such as Bamiyan from the curricula. They later ordered private universities to purge their libraries of non-Sunni Islamic texts, including Shia and other religious books.

Since the return of the Taliban, hundreds of Hazaras have been killed or injured in attacks claimed by ISIS across the country. The Taliban, as the “de facto authority”, did not hesitate to tolerate these attacks.

In 2023, Pashtun residents of Urozgan-e Khas district in Urozgan province reportedly destroyed the properties of their Hazara neighbors, cut down their fruit trees, set fire to their houses and set fire to their crops of grain. According to locals, these acts of violence and abuse were carried out in coordination with the Taliban.

In a global appeal regarding the plight of the Hazara community, thousands of Afghan citizens have mobilized a global march to call for an end to “Hazara genocide” and “gender apartheid”.

It is necessary for the world community to increasingly understand the plight of the Hazara and act to counter incitement to violence and persecution against this community.