Inside The Middle East
SHOW #52
HOSTED BY HALA GORANI FROM AMMAN, JORDAN
SAUDI HARD ROCK
In a tiny blacked-out garage in a back street of Saudi Arabia, there's a revolution taking place: rock-and-roll. Heavy metal is coming of age. Leading the way is the band, "Wasted Land." They say they are reaching out through the internet, streaming their vibe across borders that just a few years ago would have been impenetrable. In a kingdom which prohibits public gigs, the internet put Wasted Land in a position to grab the attention of mainstream media. There are now some thirty underground bands emerging from the conservative kingdom. Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson spent time sampling the Saudi metal in Jeddah.
EGYPT ISLAND LAND GRAB
Life is quiet and simple on Qorsaya Island. Only a ferry-ride away from the city streets of Cairo, most of the island's five-thousand residents make their living farming or fishing. The island has been home to generations of families. But residents say their idyllic existence was disrupted late last year, when the Egyptian military arrived to occupy a piece of land owned by ten people. In the middle of the Nile, Qorsaya sits on prime real estate. It's real estate inhabitants feel is being readied for sale by a government that wants to cash in. With the military now living on the island, and as bulldozers blaze away daily, paranoia is on the rise. Aneesh Raman spoke to concerned villagers who say they are now living amidst an undercurrent of fear.
THE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN GAZA
In January, The American International School in Gaza withstood its second assault of the year. The pre-dawn rocket attack took place only hours before a meeting in Ramallah between U.S. President George W. Bush and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The previously unknown group who claimed responsibility said the school was targeted because it was "the last symbol of the U.S. and its allies in the Gaza Strip." The American International School principal says their mission is purely educational - not related to any form of political activity. Ben Wedeman reports on the school's efforts to stay operational while under threat of violence.
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