Why rural Britain’s influence is set to outlive the Brexit vote (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2016/07/02/Why-rural-Britain-s-influence-is-set-to-outlive-the-Brexit-vote.html

Reliving the community spirit of rural Ramadan (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/06/11/Reliving-the-community-spirit-of-rural-Ramadan-1242.html

Can the Druze community’s rural past secure its future? (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

Veteran journalist and writer Eyad Abu Shakra delivered a lesson in history at an Al Arabiya roundtable session recently. The London-based thinker’s geo-political analysis of the Druze community gave us a glimpse of the past and the present of this rather miniscule minority, which has been an integral part of the Middle East for ages

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/05/21/Can-the-Druze-community-s-rural-past-secure-its-future-.html

Loss of Syrian cities is gain for European villages (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

As cities of Syria are bombed into submission some of its refugees have been finding solace in unlikely faraway places – villages of Europe. In the middle of anti-immigrant protests, even violence, routinely emerging from an edgy Europe, we have largely missed the unique instances of serene countryside opening their doors to hapless immigrants.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/05/07/Loss-of-Syrian-cities-is-gain-for-European-villages.html

Egypt must preserve its lifeline by tackling the water crisis now (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

The Nile has been a lifeline for Egypt at least since the time of the pharaohs. Yet, despite the world’s largest river travelling for over 4,000 miles in the vicinity, water is now considered “scarce” in the country with the highest population in the Arab world.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/04/30/Egypt-must-preserve-its-lifeline-by-tackling-the-water-crisis-now.html

If rural China sneezes, won’t the world catch a cold? (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

Let us imagine a boat with 100 people onboard. It has men and women scattered all over, just about maintaining the delicate balance necessary to sail through choppy waters. Then a few individuals – egged on by the captain and lured by material comfort on the other side – choose to make a move. As the number swells up on one side, the ship starts to rock, jeopardizing its own survival.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2016/04/23/If-rural-China-sneezes-won-t-the-world-catch-cold-.html

An Algerian village’s tryst with colonialism and development (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

A village called Shabat, perched on the hills across the Mediterranean Sea in western Algeria, has witnessed remarkable transformation over and over again. For centuries, the region surrounding Shabat contained agricultural wealth that became subject of greed for outside powers – from the Romans to the Spaniards, and the Ottomans – until the French arrived in the last century.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/04/16/An-Algerian-village-s-tryst-with-colonialism-and-development.html

Making broadband central to rural development programs (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies is a non-profit organization that seeks to improve economic and social conditions for communities in the countryside around the world. The NGO, established in 2001, makes innovative use of the media and communications to present compelling portraits of rural lives and cultures.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2016/04/09/Making-broadband-central-to-rural-development-programs.html

Chomsky and the idea of power, imperialism and globalism (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

The book Masters of Mankind by Noam Chomsky is a must-read for various reasons. This collection of essays, ranging from 1969 to 2013, highlights the real nature of power as it has evolved during the last 4-5 decades. More importantly, in the book, Chomsky shatters the myths of those who protect the power and privileges “of the few” against the interests and needs “of the many”.

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Ehtesham Shahid is Managing Editor at Al Arabiya English. For close to two decades he has worked as editor, correspondent, and business writer for leading publications, news wires and research organizations in India and the Gulf region. He loves to occasionally dabble with teaching and is collecting material for a book on unique tales of rural conflict and transformation. His twitter handle is @e2sham.

When growth sows the seeds of inequality (Ehtesham Shahid, Al Arabiya)

This tale of rural-urban demographic struggle comes from faraway China. And it tells us, besides many other things, how uncontrolled growth can also sow the seeds of inequality.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2016/03/12/When-growth-sows-the-seeds-of-inequality.html