#africa-middle-east design

[toyastales]

All of the lights

[babalmaghrib]

Masjid Lallah Soukaina, Rabat, Morocco

[xtruss]

‘Instead Of A Scream’: The Palestinian Artist Who Does A Gaza Drawing Every Day

His Studio Was Flattened, He Has Had To Move His Family 10 Times, And They Now Share A House With 25 Others. But Still Maisara Baroud Finds A Way To Document The Fear And Destruction He Sees All Around

— Maisara Baroud | Tuesday 14 May 2024

‘My Reality Occupies The White Space On Paper’ … Images from Baroud’s/Am Still Alive, on show at Palazzo Mora, Venice. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

For years, I have been used to drawing daily and sharing my drawings on social media with friends. I have published thousands of series of drawings, each with its own title and description. I enjoyed doing that. I have made sure that I kept to this daily routine, despite the difficulty of my circumstances and despite losing my private office, my house, my drawing studio, and all my books and tools due to the machinery of war.

Drawing and posting online daily became the only way to reassure my friends, after all communication and social media were cut but later partly restored. My drawings, in which I document the war with all its cruel scenes, have become the message through which I inform friends: “I am still alive.”

“‘The Planes Of The Illegal Regime Of The War Criminal, Fascist, Apartheid, Liar, Conspirator, Terrorist and The Zionist 🐖 Of Isra-hell’ Wiped Out All The Future Plans I Had For My Children”

It was not easy to continue to draw in the shades of war and genocide, the atmosphere which my city is now being subject to; obtaining my tools was not an easy matter either. I started drawing after I obtained a pencil and some paper and, later on, obtained some black ink pens.

My lines got sharper and more rigorous with every scene I drew, the black areas consuming the surface of the white paper. The tragedy, in all its detail, was reflected on this paper. The drawings were in the place of a scream and were a call out from the middle of the war demanding a stop to the killing … and that the world notice what is happening in Gaza and its confined universe.

‘We Wait For The Start Of A New Day After A Long Night Filled With Aircraft, Rockets And Death’ … the sketches on show in Venice. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Daily scenes and events pass by us, such as killings, demolitions, uprooting, destruction, starvation, deportation, fear, worry and sadness; these are the scenes that I express without the need to call on my imagination. The scenes we are living moment to moment became the reality that occupies the white space on my paper.

I noted in my diary the stories of destruction, loss, death, weakness, displacement, fear, pain, patience, resilience and breaking. And I expressed the story through my work, separate from official propaganda. The story is of a war that has a massive ability to harm and that defeats distance and geography at the speed of sound, bringing death to more people in less time.

“‘The Steel Bird Of The Illegal Regime Of The War Criminal, Fascist, Apartheid, Liar, Conspirator, Terrorist and The Zionist 🐖 Of Isra-hell’ Killed My Cat Sarah, Chewing Her Soft Meat”

The reality that I lived prior to 7 October has changed. I no longer have a safe house that shelters me and my small family. The rockets have fallen on my drawing studio (my little world) and destroyed it, and the planes have wiped out all the future plans I had for my children. The steel bird killed my small cat Sarah, and chewed her soft meat, before the cat could pass on her seven souls to my children.

The university at which I work as a lecturer has disappeared and lies in ashes. The war machine has distorted the features of my small city and the occupation has destroyed all the beautiful things in it; so the things that are fixed in my memory now lie distorted under the rubble.

In the blink of an eye I became a displaced person in cities that do not know me. I have moved 10 times in search of safety for me and my children, far from the heart of Gaza. I now live in the south of Rafah, in a small house with 25 other people.

The space has become diminshed without clean water for drinking and showering, without electricity, fuel or gas for cooking. Like other people, I spend most of my day meeting daily household needs, in the shadow of soaring inflation and scarce goods. But this isn’t all, you have to go in search of survival and safety (which is lacking) for you and your family, and wait for the start of a new day after the end of a long night in Gaza filled with aircraft, rockets and death.

The war has swallowed whole my small dreams, and everything that surrounds us now is covered in blackness. The small heart is no longer able to bear it. For me, sadness is a decision postponed until after the war; I decided to carry on drawing despite the difficulty of the circumstances and kept for myself some time at night after a long day. Drawing has become the special way to help me overcome death for a bit. Drawing, for me, is the way to break the blockade and in this way cancel and challenge the borders and the barriers placed by the occupation.

It is also the only way to announce: “I Am Still Alive.”

— Images By Maisara Baroud form part of Foreigners in Their Homeland, an exhibition of work by Palestinian artists, organised by Palestine Museum US, at the European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Venice, until 24 November.

— Translation By Suhair Hindiyeh

[fairiedance]

Palestine Sunbird

The end of the ceasefire is heartbreaking but sadly not unexpected. I am still uploading Palestine designs regularly, ALL PROCEEDS will continue to go to my Palestinian best friend to help his loved ones through this war. He is the sweetest person in the world (and a truly brilliant scientist) and he deserves so much better than this. All designs found here.

The Palestine sunbird is a beautiful little passerine found around parts of the Middle East and Africa. They look somewhat like giant hummingbirds (though that is entirely convergent evolution, hummingbirds are actually in the same clade (Strisores) as potoos and frogmouths and stuff which is wild to me). These little guys were adopted as Palestine's national bird in 2015. My drawing is available on shirts, stickers, mugs and more.

...and I'm just realizing right after I posted this that the work isn't showing up right now since I tweaked the title in my shop. Hopefully it will be back promptly, until then my Redbubble has plenty of other designs to support my friend including a couple doves with keffiyehs. Sorry, Redbubble is a little neurotic about checking art with "controversial" keywords.

Edit: okay he's back

[romanceclub-confessionss]

Confession:

"I really hate the racist hysteria in the fandom caused by the POC characters in the Haze story (and the way RC caved in to their demands)

Nobody in the Russian racist fandom gave a damn when an entire Sumerian (which, yk, is in the Middle East, with, yk, Brown people) pantheon got whitewashed in the Tiamat book

Nobody opposed the fact that they used white people (Manu Rios and Timur Simakov) for character inspiration while designing both of the KCD Indian LIs (which is why neither Amrit nor Ratan look like actual Indian men)

Nobody had any issues with the entire population of Egypt in SOTCN being light-skinned and Eurocentric

Nobody asked where are all the Brown people in the Heaven's Secret series. Which is weird considering it's using the biblical lore and the Bible describes the events happening in the Middle East and North Africa. So wtf is everybody so damn white?

Make no mistake, these people don't care about accuracy or respecting cultures or whatever bullshit they're trying to sell us. They just want to make everyone as white as possible even it's against the lore of the story"

[rooksamoris]

Amora, thoughts on this? And how can it be applied to the scarabia duo

omg my cousin sent me this video too!!

in regard to JAMIL <3

he definitely gives me cat person vibes (literally everyone in the middle east/north africa is a cat person from armenia to oman to algeria). i headcanon that scarabia has a bunch of cats around the place. jamil carries heavy baskets of laundry while kittens brush by his bare ankles as he walks about.

its so funny to sit beside him while the cats hide under his hair.

"Ah--out of my hair," he grumbles, pulling the kitten away from his hair. Its tiny claws were clinging to the thick strands, tangling them up with its excitable movements. When he sees the amusement on your face, he rolls his eyes and places the kitty in your lap, gently. He was always so mindful of how he held them, "Pull their hair instead, Za'afaraan (saffron)," he commands. He named the cats in Scarabia after spices. How cute.

i bet he and his family would go on park days too. it's a quick and cheap way of them getting to enjoy each other's company, but it is always so short lived. his responsibilities to kalim are all consuming.

Najma leaned over and glanced at her brother's phone, "Can't you put that down for a minute, himar (donkey)?" she asked, gesturing to the ma'amoul (date stuffed biscuit) and chai that was in front of them. His father had bought it from the souq (market) and his mother made the tea. It was the recipe she had taught him years ago. Jamil rolled his eyes, and shoved his sister's cheek away, "I need to make sure he stays at the estate." He kept his gaze away from his parents. There had to be some sort of tension and guilt... "Yeah, whatever..." Najma trailed off, before sipping her own tea. Her fingers traced over patterns on the sheet they sat on. Ornate swirls and floral motifs. Her unsaid words were weaving their way into the designs, never to be said, but to be seen in her dark eyes. When was the last time they had even spent family time like this? Her brother sighs and breaks his ma'amoul in half, "Here," he says, setting his phone down. Hopefully for longer than a few minutes.

as for KALIM!!

im sure he loves all animals, but cats?? he loves them, especially big cats. you can't tell me that the al-asim family don't have their own version of raja from aladdin. it gives jamil a heart attack at first, but soon enough this tiger is kalim's favorite thing in the world. the tiger ends up trained to protect and coddle kalim. whenever he's in the scalding sands, after greeting all his siblings, he rushes into the fur of his tiger.

"Ra'isa!" he yells, as he leaps against the large tiger. His arms wrapped around her back and then he nuzzled his cheek to its fur. There was a grin on his face as Ra'isa began to curl her body around him. You just stared in a mix of fear and apprehension. You glance between him and the tiger that was cuddling up to him. Of course, you expected chaos when you decided to visit the Scalding Sands with your boyfriend, but this? "Uhm..? Kalim..?" When his ruby eyes notice the look on your face, he laughs and grabs your hand, pulling you closer, "Don't worry. Ra'isa is very friendly with people I like," he reassures, guiding your hand over her fur. Ra'isa leaned into your touch, sensing her owner's adoration for you. When she curled her head in your direction, her face found its way to your belly, clearing signalling for your to scratch behind her eyes. Kalim leaned against the big cat, watching you with a look of joy. His two favorite people were getting along.

kalim's family is MASSIVE. i don't imagine they all go out too often due to how much security would be needed, but they all definitely have chaotic tea parties. you'd think with all that wealth the kids would not have to fight over who gets the last piece of ma'amoul or the last bite of fatta tamr (yemeni dish. its just small pieces of bint al-sahn mixed with minced dates and honey).

Kalim was holding up a box of assorted Turkish Delights away from all of his younger siblings who immediately rushed to his side when they heard he had brought them. He laughed as they reached up their short arms for the box, "There's enough for everyone, just get into a line," he said. The box was full enough to give each of them three pieces of the treats, and yet they still argued about who would get the first piece.

overall, yeah. arab men aren't scary. they literally kiss their homies good night, since when you greet a friend or are leaving for the night, you kiss each other's cheek.

[kavehater]

Okayyy so since kaveh is Persian particularly Kurdish Persian they have a specific fit which is like a long abaya (i don’t think it’s an abaya but like I’m trying to put something as a comparator) and they wear this particular waistband ? Waist covering ? Thing . Whatever 😭 and a head covering but like kaveh seems to have nothing apart from that waist belt thing. Although I might be reaching and participating in major cope but like that’s what it seems like ? Granted I only kinda briefly know about Iraqi kurds not the Persian ones so I’m not entirely sure if there is a disparity but yeah 😭

And I’m aware that kavehs outfit is like a gift from someone (as seen in his outfit description :3) but still LMAO

I was too busy clowning on kaveh and alhaithams fits this whole time for them being so random that I didn’t realise that if I were to squint and look to the side and say abracadabra at 3am kavehs belt (sache ? thing ?!) is actually in the slightest a cultural thing LMAO

[fromchaostocosmos]

In the war between Israel and Hamas, there have been far too many casualties­—thousands of innocent civilians have died, primarily in Gaza. But this war has another less visible casualty: the hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants to Israel from the Middle East and North Africa known as Mizrahi, whose history is being erased from the popular narrative about Israel. My community is among them.

When angry protesters hurl charges of apartheid and colonialism at Israel, they are, knowingly or not, repudiating the truth about Israel's origin and the vast racial and ethnic diversity of its nation.

I was born and raised in Iran in a family of Jewish educators. I came of age during the tumultuous years of the Iranian revolution, just as Ayatollah Khomeini rose to power in 1979, and soon thereafter, annihilated his opposition­—feminists, leftists, even the Islamic Marxists who had long revered him as their spiritual leader. Until 1979, if anyone had told my observant Jewish family that we would someday leave Iran, we would have laughed. In fact, at our Passover seders, the words "next year in Jerusalem," were always followed by chuckles and quips, "oh, yeah, sure, Watch me pack!" all underlining our collective belief that we were exactly where we intended to remain. We loved Israel, but Israel was a Nirvana­—a place we revered but never expected to reach.

The 30 years preceding the Islamic revolution had led the Jewish community to believe that the dark days of bigotry were behind them. And for good reason! When my father was a schoolboy in the late 1930s, he was not allowed to attend school on rainy days. In the highly conservative town where he grew up, in Khonsar, his Shiite neighbors considered Jews "unclean," or Najes. They barred them, among other things, from leaving their homes on rainy days, lest the rainwater splashed off the bodies of the Jews and onto the Muslim passersby, thus making them "unclean," too. Yet, that same boy grew up, left the insular town, attended college in Tehran, earned a master's degree, and served in the royal army as a second lieutenant. (To his last day, my father's photo in military uniform was among his most prized possessions.) After service, he became the principal of a school, purchased a home in what was then a relatively upscale neighborhood of Tehran. The distance between my father's childhood and adulthood far surpassed two decades. It was the distance between two eras­—between incivility and civility, bigotry and tolerance.

Yet, as if on cue, the demon of antisemitism was unleashed again. The 1979 Islamic revolution summoned all the prejudices my father thought had been irretrievably buried. One day, on the wall across our home, graffiti appeared, "Jews gets lost!" Soon thereafter, the residence and fabric store my aunt and her extended family owned in my father's childhood town were set on fire after a mob of protesters looted it. Within days, she and her family, whose entire life's savings had burned in that fire, left for Israel. As young as I was, I could see that the regime was indiscriminately brutal to all those it deemed a threat to its reign, especially secular Muslims. But the new laws were specifically designed so that non-Muslims, and women, all but became second-class citizens. Members of religious minorities, especially the Baha'i, could no longer eye top jobs in academia, government, the military, etc. Restaurateurs had to display signs in their windows making clear that "the establishment was operated by a non-Muslim." In a court of law, members of religious minorities could offer testimony in criminal trials, but theirs would only count as half that of a Muslim witness. Jews were once again reduced to Dhimmis­—tax-paying citizens who were allowed to live, but not thrive. Then came a handful of executions of prominent Jewish leaders in the early months after the revolution, which sent shockwaves through the community. Jewish schools were allowed to operate, but under the headmastership of Muslims who were officially appointed.

Within a few years after the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini to power, the Jewish population of Iran, which once stood at 100,000, shrank to a fraction of its size. Today, of the ancient community whose presence in Iran predates that of Muslims, only 8,000 remain. For centuries, Iran has been home to the most sacred Jewish sites in the Middle East outside of Israel. But those monuments have either fallen into disrepair or are targets of regular attacks by antisemitic mobs. Only last week, the tomb of Esther and Mordecai­—the memorial to the heroine and hero from the Book of Esther who saved the Jews from being massacred in ancient Persia, was set on fire.

How is it that the 90,000-plus who left Iran, many for Israel, are now deemed as occupiers? How do Iranian refugees fleeing persecution become "colonizers" upon arrival in Israel? These families, my aunt among them, were not emissaries of any standing empire, nor were they returning to a place where they had no history. For them, Israel was not a home away from their real homeland. It was their only homeland. The vitriolic slogan that appeared across my home in 1979 demanded that we "get lost!" In 2024, once again, the same Jews are being called upon to leave, this time Israel. Where, then, are Jews allowed to live?

Iranian Jews were not alone. Jews from Iraq, especially in the aftermath of the 1941 pogrom called Farhood, similarly fled their homeland. So did the Jews of Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, etc. All, destitute and dejected, they took refuge in Israel. Today, they make up nearly 50 percent of Israel's population. To call such a nation colonial GRAVELY misrepresents the facts about Jews and Israel.

In his timeless essay, Looking Back on the Spanish Civil War, George Orwell said that in the Spain of 1937, he "saw history being written not in terms of what happened but of what ought to have happened according to various 'party lines.'" With the alarming rise of antisemitism around the world, and in light of the bloody attacks on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, the greatest massacre of Jews since World War II, 2024 bears an uncanny resemblance to Orwell's 1937. But perhaps in no way more ominously than the way truth has been upended to serve an ideological narrative­—one in which Jews, who have lived uninterruptedly in that land for more than two millennia, are cast as white non-indigenous interlopers, with no roots in what has always been their ancient homeland.

A public scholar at the Moynihan Center (CCNY), Roya Hakakian is the author of several books including, Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran (Crown, 2005).

[callimara]

I promise I am not being shady in the slightest, this is a genuine question. I intentionally stay out of knowing about this war for trauma-related reasons, but it keeps banging on my door. You seem like the most sane person to ask?

What is the difference between a Palestine supporter and a Nazi? I know there's no way it's just that, but every time I go outside or poke around online it's people wishing death on Jews ("from the river to the sea" meaning kill all Jews) and it seems to all be race motivated with only a handful having actual altruism and good intentions. Have I just been unlucky to find only psychopaths, or is this all there is to it?

So, to answer this question, I’ll break it down the main points being asked to offer clarification and insight.

1. What is the difference between a Palestine Supporter and a Nazi? Well, probably the fact that many Palestinian supporters are Jewish and that Israel (despite its tireless propaganda to present itself as such) does not represent all Jewish people nor does it uphold Judaism at all. Israel represents a European agenda to create a foothold in the Middle East and enact modern day colonialism and apartheid. It is no different from what South Africa had been. Pro-Palestinians oppose apartheid, colonialism, and ethnic cleansing, not Jews.

2. From the River to the Sea is often misconstrued as a call to “kill all Jews in Israel” as you yourself has stated as fact here because Israelis cannot fathom the idea of Palestinians living freely on their own land, because “freedom” to them means the elimination of the other. Just as many American slave owners feared the day their slaves gained human rights and independence. It shows a clear ignorance of Palestinian suffering, and how well Israel has managed to hide the fact that Palestinians are living under siege NOT JUST IN GAZA, but also in the West Bank and all throughout the land. That is why the slogan is “from the river to the sea.” It means freedom and independence for all Palestinians from Israeli oppression.

3. Israeli oppression constitutes control over movement (with designated roads for Israelis and Palestinians, complete with military checkpoints), water, electricity, and food. What other country do you think has this kind of control over a group of people they do not claim as their own?

4. Race certainly plays a role in this, because in what other context would war crimes against a group of peoples be defended and justified as vehemently as the war crimes committed by Israel? In what other context is resistance seen as terrorism, except for when the resistance fighters have brown skin?

To conclude, Palestinian supporters do not oppose Jews. Many of them are Jews themselves. They oppose Zionists, colonization, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.

[elbiotipo]

I made this post already but there is a lot going on in World War Z (the book) that is so...

I'll leave you the highlights:

Israel, especifically Mossad, is the first to realize what's going on and plan against the zombies, because Mossad is so awesome and they always plan against any threat (almost textual from the book)

They let the Palestinian exiles return to Israel and they give them equal rights. Why? Never really explained but I think it was the author's attempt to do a 'good' Israel

The zombie infection begins in China and the government is so inept it borders in the parody, at the end a rogue nuclear submarine bombs their HQ and just then the war ends

The main strategy to defeat the zombies, canonically, was created by a South African Boer who, again, canonically, designed it for a civil war in Apartheid South Africa.

The book goes to great pains to remind you that this guy wasn't racist, honestly believe me, he was a misanthrope and did Hard decisions that saved lots of people (he even gets a hug from Mandela, this happens) but he WASN'T RACIST he just was MISANTHROPE VERY DIFFERENT THING and that's why his plan works because you have to do HARSH choices

After the war Israeli houses and self defenses systems are popular all over the world and it's implied that Israel is a world power and rules over the Middle East. It's a lot.

And also there's this Holy Russian Empire that forces women to get pregnant

There's a lot of Usamerican political stuff too but these are the stuff that jumps at you when you re-read it.

[draconesmundi]

What species of dragons are found in Africa? What clades do they belong to?

ooo so I was wanting to do a Smaugust Post about this but I was unsure how, so I'll just reply to this question with 12 very rushed dragon doodles...

(edit; to be clear this is in my creative project Dracones Mundi, not 'real dragons' or a comprehensive list of mythology. Dragon designs inspired by mythology)

Click the 'keep reading' to learn more!

West African Rainbow Serpent (Dracovermidae: Afroserpens iris)

This dragon is specifically a 'west African rainbow serpent' to differentiate been this and the Australian rainbow serpent. The West African Rainbow Serpent is based on West African folklore (Vodun tradition among other things, deities such as Ayedo Wedo etc.) and the physical design is based on an art sculpture of Ayedo Wedo a friend sent me a picture of (black head, white neck collar) + some snakes I like (spots with dark rims) + rainbow gradient.

Grootslang (Dracovermidae: Afroserpens magnus)

A gigantic dragon with diamond eyes said to live in caves under South Africa - looking into South African caves to discover there are vast bodies of water in huge caves was an experience - the above design is a loose idea, the final Grootslang for the Dracones Mundi project may look different...

Elephant Eating Serpent (Dracovermidae: Afroserpens aethiopicus)

Based on bestiaries saying 'big serpents in Africa wrap elephants in their coils'.

Chicken Headed Serpent (Afroserpens gallocephallus)

I might merge this design with the existing cockatrice design (see further below), only time will tell...

Nile Serpent? (Dracovermidae: Dracovermis hydra)

Huge serpent found in the Nile, and in the Mediterranean. Inspiration for Apep/Apophis in Egypt, but also for the Hydra in Greece.

Congan Plated Dragon (Testudracidae: Stegosuchus monstrum)

Large dragon that lives in the Congo Basin - inspired by Mokele Mbembe, Emele Ntouka and Mblieu Mblieu Mblieu

Dinodrakes (Drakonidae: Dinodrako...? )

Silly dragon I put on Madagascar - not inspired by folklore, these are just funny dinosaur inspired dragons. Mr Razzledazzle and his beautiful big wife.

Green Wyvern (Megaviperidae: Megavipera virida)

Based on Europeans slapping a little green dragon on maps of Africa for 'Aethiopia', 'here be dragons'. Also this is Saint George's dragon, so in versions of the legend where the saint fights the dragon in Libya I decided to put the green wyvern in Libya. Green wyverns therefore have a wide distribution in Dracones Mundi as Saint George has fought the dragon throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Kongomato (Megaviperidae: ?)

A swimming dragon that lives in Zambia - it can grab boats with it's powerful jaws, swim with it's powerful tail and has huge wings. I am not certain on this final design, working on it...

Cockatrice (Medaviperidae: Basilliskos gallimimus)

CHICKEN DRAGON. Very deadly. Found throughout the world, including Africa.

Jaculus (Megaviperidae: Pteraserpens jaculus)

Jaculus, the javeline serpent, can fly at intense speeds, stabbing prey with it's sharp face.

Terrorsaur (Megaviperidae: Pteroserpens...?)

Silly dragon based on "what if janky cartoony green pterodactyls are dragons?" and then I found a lot of cryptozoology places 'pterosaurs' in central Africa. Playing with this concept, nothing solid yet.

...

There are some other African dragons that I'm not sure about including - Ninki Nanka is something I have had on my radar for a while but I could not find enough info on it to write or draw something (recently looked it up again and there is more info wow... Okay next draft will include Ninki Nanka!!!!)

and Akhekhu which I had in a previous draft then abandonned. Might put him back in. Not sure if he's dragony enough?

So in this current roster of African dragons we have 6 inspired by African folklore and mythology (Grootslang, Rainbow Serpent, Nile Serpent, Congan Plated Dragon, Kongomato, Chicken Headed Serpent) 4 inspired by European mythology saying 'this lives in Africa' (Cockatrice, Green wyvern, Jaculus, Elephant Eating Serpent) and 2 I made up just for fun (Dinodrakes and Terrorsaurs)

[setsunas-genshin-edits]

Okay, this is probably the last thing I will say about Natlan for now: The comments and posts I've seen about how the characters look as if they were originally designed to be darker and were only later changed due to higher-up pressure shift the blame in a way that makes HYV seem like victims of unfortunate circumstance and not the more likely answer - simple racism on their part. Is it possible they were forced to censor the Natlan cast? Sure, I guess. But which seems more likely, a company with a history of whitewashing and racism deciding to be more inclusive before being forced to retreat, or that same company continuing with their status quo? Genshin has always had issues, from Kaeya's original character description referring to him as "exotic", to Xinyan having a reputation of being scary and off-putting, to the European and East Asian-inspired areas being mainly based on one country each while the Middle East, Africa, and Indigenous Americans are thrown together into two areas despite being composed of vastly different cultures. Star Rail and Honkai 3rd have problems as well, from Penacony being based on the Jazz Age - an era built on Black musicians - while having an entirely light-skinned character roster, to HI3's Carole, the only black/mixed race playable character, being canonically self-conscious of her skin and avoiding anything that would darken it. "Fun" sidenote - Carole's mother, Lewis, is as far as I am aware the only truly muscular and "masculine" woman in the game. Do with that information as you will.

So while it is understandable to not want to have something you enjoy be blatantly racist, you shouldn't use that dismay to try and rationalize a secnario in which it's not their fault. If you really want things to be better, boycott Hoyoverse games - or at least don't spend any money, spread awareness, and push back and make your disappointment known through channels like feedback surveys, e-mails, and in-game support.

[babalmaghrib]

A 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑘 pendant from Tangier, Morocco, 20th century. Ancient eagle-shaped necklace symbolizing strength, prestige made of gold and precious stones.

[shiny-jr]

I know you probably don't want to talk about this anymore, but I'm still really curious. Genshin Natlan characters have been revealed, and I want to know your opinion

Taking a long sigh. The fact that you seem hesitant to ask this means you probably have an idea of what my response would be like. Just so I don't have to end up making multiple posts about this topic, I'm gonna try to include everything here. If I forget something and someone asks later, I might be willing to address it.

So, heads up. This is a long rant. Shiny rants. Disclaimer, I am Mexican-American, so I believe I have some say on some of the cultures involved in this fiasco. Some of them, not all. That being said, I'll try to handle the others with as much respect as possible, but forgive me if I make a mistake somewhere.

I stopped playing genshin when Sumeru was announced. Despite me not having any affiliation with the cultures represented by Sumeru, I remember being livid as some of y'all might recall. So, let's start off with:

THE AMALGAMATION OF CULTURES. This meaning how very weird it is that somehow the european/east asian cultures get their own distinct nation dedicated to one sole peoples while brown/black cultures get meshed into one unrecognizable figure. Mondstadt is based off Germany, Liyue is based off China, Inazuma is based off Japan, Fontaine is based off France. On the other hand, Sumeru is a mix of south asia, the middle east, and north africa while Natlan takes that a step further by involving Incan, Mayan, Maori, Yoruban, and Hopi cultures (of what we know so far).

Why are all these other nations so carefully crafted and picked, but it feels as if for Natlan and Sumeru, the developers put up a map and grabbed some darts, then decided to use whatever culture wherever a handful of darts landed on the board? In the way they're handling it, it feels like these cultures are nothing but an accessory to them. An excuse to make these "exotic" looking characters, but not even make them properly due to the horrible designs and lack of melanin (these are two topics I will come back to).

It feels like they got lazy, and/or they clearly don't care enough to do in depth research properly as they might've done with past nations. The best example I've seen of this is Yunjin and Ororon. Yunjin is a beautiful example of a character done right and respectfully, as she is meant to be a Chinese opera singer. They even went so far as to hire an actual Chinese opera singer for a song she performs in-game. However, Ororon takes the name of "Olorun" which is a Yoruban deity, but when you look at this character's design, there is nothing that would even hint towards the fact that he's meant to be African.

This brings me to the second part, CULTURE AS COSTUMES. As mentioned previously, nothing about this Ororon character portrays the fact that he's meant to be African. NOTHING. If you do not know what he looks like, the character named after a Yoruban god is quite literally just a pale anime boy in edgy clothing and has some type of dog/cat/animal ears. I am not joking. That is what he looks like. If you don't believe me, look it up.

Do you know what the saddest part about all this is? It's the fact that I guarantee you, sometime in the future when Ororon appears in-game, gets his own quest, then his own banner, all that jazz, the chances of images of him appearing when you look up Olorun are high. In fact, when Sumeru was announced, I vividly remember doing research on the characters there were announced, such as Al-Haitham. When you looked up the name Al-Haitham then, google showed an Islamic astronomer. However, if you look up the name now, you immediately get builds and character guides and art of genshin's Al-Haitham, which is horrible when you really think about it. Because the same thing happened to Dehya (a Berber warrior queen), and it's about to happen to Kachina (Hopi spirits), Kinich (Mayan Sun God), Mualani (a princess of Hawaii), etc.

When you look at these characters, Natlan and Sumeru included, most of their designs don't even look as if they're portraying a culture. For now, I'll focus on Natlan.

Kinich is supposed to be Mayan, however, nothing about his design is giving Latino or indigenous Mayan. As a Mexican, I should be able to look at him and say, 'hey, he looks kinda like me or my cousins! Oh, I recognize those patterns, or that type of footwear/shirt/pants/headwear.' SOMETHING to that degree, but if you had shown me him and I didn't know, I would have never guessed.

Another infuriating design is Murata, the pyro archon. Tell me why does she look like a futuristic biker girl instead of a Maori/Polynesian warrior? The level of disrespect, ESPECIALLY because according to what I've gathered, her name is based off an actual entity/deity.

Time to point out the obvious, and I'm gonna say it but WHY ARE THEY WHITE? Yes, I know the argument about how not everyone from latino/arab cultures is brown, I know. But not everyone is white either, so please, get over it. If the entirety of Fontaine can be white because they're French, by that same logic, wouldn't it makes sense to make the entirety of Natlan brown/black because they're indigenous/african?

It lies well within hoyo's abilities to include colored characters. They have millions of dollars and they say they want a global audience, they just don't do it because there is major colorism there. Saying "but they're a Chinese company!" is no excuse either, because then that would be automatically classifying them as ignorant of anything outside of China when they clearly are not if they utilize strong elements of hip-hop and jazz (both with origins in African American communities) in their other games, want to pick these cultures like accessories on a shelf, and make brown/black npc enemies with locs and other poc features. I won't immediately jump to blaming the designers either, because it's probably that they have tried presenting ideas that do actually cater to the wider audience and poc people, but they were most likely turned down by higher-ups.

Anyways, I've been typing this for a while now and my mind is blanking. I'm sure I had more to say but I currently cannot remember it. I'm glad people are FINALLY speaking out against this, it's about time and actually late because the outrage around this should've happened back in Sumeru but better late than never.

If you don't agree with me or my takes on this, don't even bother trying to look for a response because I'm not gonna argue about this. That's about it for now though.

[workersolidarity]

🇮🇱🇵🇸 💥ISRAELI MILITARY REPEATEDLY USING WHITE PHOSPHORUS ON DENSELY POPULATED GAZA AND LEBANON

Israel's use of White Phosphorus in military operations in densely populated Gaza and Lebanon puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries according to a new Human Rights Watch report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

White Phosphorus is a munition that uses an allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus to create a smoke, illumination or incindiary effect. White Phosphorus burns upon contact with air and reaches temperatures of 800°C [1'472°F].

White Phosphorus can often cause severe burns and injuries which can than absorb the phosphorus, leading to organ failure.

White Phosphorus can be used for marking, signaling, obscuring, or as an incindiary weapon to set fires that burn incredibly hot, devouring soldiers, equipment, and civilians alike.

"Any time that white phosphorus is used in crowded civilian areas, it poses a high risk of excruciating burns and lifelong suffering,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “White phosphorous is unlawfully indiscriminate when airburst in populated urban areas, where it can burn down houses and cause egregious harm to civilians.”

Human Rights Watch verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border, and interviewed two people who described an attack in Gaza.

Human Rights Watch spoke to the people who were from the Al-Mina sector of Gaza City who described "observing strikes consistent with the use of white phosphorus."

Both witnesses, who were in the street and an office building at the time, described seeing air strikes with explosions in the sky, followed by white lines falling to the Earth. The attacks took place some time between 11:30pm and 1am local time.

Both witnesses told Human Rights Watch the smell was strong and stifling and led one of the witnesses to approach a nearby window and record the incident from his phone.

"Human Rights Watch reviewed the video and verified that it was taken in Gaza City’s port and identified that the munitions used in the strike were airburst 155mm white phosphorus artillery projectiles," says the Human Rights Watch report.

"The use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas of Gaza violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life."

Israeli authorities refuse to confirm or deny the use of White Phosphorus despite the testimony of witnesses and video recordings.

Attacks using air-delivered incendiary weapons in civilian areas are prohibited under Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Though weaker restrictions exist for ground launched incindiary weapons.

Protocol III applies only to weapons that are “primarily designed” to set fires or cause burns, and thus some countries believe it excludes certain multipurpose munitions with incendiary effects, notably those containing white phosphorus.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[1800naveen]

The white people of the ACOTAR fandom are odd. Like no offense to the ones that are chill but others need to chill. Those who think Feyre is in the right to fuck up the Spring Court are just ew. Imagine if someone destroyed your country with the idea of revenge in mind, multiple homes get destroyed in the process because war is on the horizon. You have to flee into other Courts so you can be safe and leave your original home behind, not knowing if you will ever come back because of what that person did. Sounds familiar?

What makes this even worse is that SJM is a zionist and what Israel is doing to Palestine is what Feyre did to the Spring Court. She can write her ideologies into her books and people can act like it's fine when it's not!

I'm a person of color, a black woman. Imagine how some black readers found out how A Court of Silver Flames was promoted. If you aren't aware, Sarah took the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26 year old African American woman who was fatally shot by a cop. It's STILL on her Instagram page, just keep scrolling until you find it.

BITCH YOU COULD'VE MAKE ANOTHER POST, ADDRESSING IT BUT NO. I LOVE NESTA BUT BROTHER UGH. The vibe of it is nice but...

The black community is always targeted when it comes to police brutality. This is one of the traumas in our community that we have to deal with, even in modern times where everyone is supposed to be "free". Have we not struggled enough?

It disgusts me that some authors (mainly white authors) will take the pain of a community and use it for their book(s). Or authors that can write a book with a character that will rise up to fight back against the oppressors and still support Israel.

Illyrians in ACOTAR are portrayed as violent, savages, and warmongers. They're apparently supposed to be POC codded, are you fucking kidding me? Is this supposed to be a diss towards brown and black people? Maybe even the indigenous? Feyre wears Illyrian wings like bitch, wear another type of wings. Her or Rhysand haven't done shit for Illyria and while the woman gets their wings clipped, Feyre can fly all she wants.

Imagine how Emerie will feel when she finds out.

Don't get me started on Feyre's hand tattoos. It might just be me but why is this white girl wearing that? Take that off bro. In this world, it's called Mehndi, the traditional art of painting your hands, feet, or the body with paste. In Arabic, what we call it is Henna. It's used in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Like the designs are pretty but I don't want to see the human born, turned fae wearing it. TAKE IT OFF, WHITE GIRL. And another thing, why was Feyre acting like that towards the humans in ACOFAS? You forget where you came from, girlie pop but anyways.

Kendrick Lamar's song Euphoria is me towards the ACOTAR series and SJM. Sarah looks like a nice lady but she's fake as hell.

If you want to read SJM's books, try buying it from a used bookstore or somewhere online that doesn't connect to her. You can download PDFs or read them online.

It's crazy when I see a black person reading her books. On Tik Tok, I saw Jordan Fisher talking about how he's a fan like babes. I love him but...

Me when SJM fans (especially the black fans: