Community Oven Serves up Meals, and Dignity, in Blast-Hit Beiruthttps://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2575521/community-oven-serves-meals-and-dignity-blast-hit-beirut
Community Oven Serves up Meals, and Dignity, in Blast-Hit Beirut
A ceremony to mark the August 4 port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 4, 2020. (Getty Images)
When a huge blast tore through Beirut on Aug. 4, Rawda Mazloum decided to move the giant oven she was using to cook for refugees in the Bekaa Valley to assist residents of the devastated capital.
Today, the stove that has helped feed thousands of refugees and rehabilitate former fighters as part of a community cooking project, sits in a relief center in Beirut and provides hot meals to people left homeless and destitute by the explosion.
“When the blast happened, I decided to prepare quick meals and pastries. We took boxes of water and masks and went to the site of the blast,” said Mazloum, a refugee from Syria who has been in Lebanon since 2014.
“Beirut has given me so much, I feel it’s personal to me. It felt good to be able to offer them something,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Mazloum, 43, had been leading the preparation of meals for about 50 refugee and host community families through the Great Oven project, which encourages marginalized communities to cook together.
The elaborately painted two-ton oven – which requires a crane to be transported – ended up under Mazloum’s stewardship in the eastern Bekaa Valley in March, when the coronavirus dealt another blow to Lebanon’s battered economy.
Launched by Spanish-Irish chef James Gomez Thompson and Lebanese news producer Nour Matraji almost two years ago, the Great Oven initiative set out to help reintegrate former fighters and young militants in the northern city of Tripoli.
Sectarian violence still flares up in and around the city 30 years after the end of Lebanon’s civil war, but the project has brought together old rivals, including former prisoners, to learn new skills and foster community ties.
“We were trying to think of anything creative that they can also develop as a skill,” Matraji said.
“They need to self-sustain… so we came with the oven, we train, we teach. We also link them up with the food donors so we make sure they’re getting a steady flow of free ingredients,” she added.
‘Inherent dignity’
The blast in Beirut port, which killed about 200 people and left 300,000 people homeless, exacerbated Lebanon’s difficulties amid a financial crisis that has sharply devalued its currency and pushed half the population into poverty.
Dozens of other grassroots initiatives have sprung up to help those affected by the explosion, offering aid to rebuild ruined homes and provide emergency shelter and food.
As donor fatigue sets in globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, Thompson said the oven project embraced a more sustainable way of helping people in need.
“(There’s an) inherent dignity in being able to cook for themselves rather than having to constantly depend on handouts and that way they become agents of their own rehabilitation and their own food security,” he said.
Close to where the oven is parked, Thompson and Matraji have set up a makeshift prep kitchen at the Ballroom Blitz, a Beirut nightclub put out of action by the blast.
Where the dancefloor used to be, they prepare meals with dozens of volunteers and some of their project beneficiaries from Tripoli, including a former fighter who is now employed as a full-time chef and artist for the project.
The day’s menu depends on what ingredients arrive in the kitchen from their food donor partners. It could be Thai rice one day, aubergine with pasta another, or their signature mac and cheese.
With four more ovens now in the process of being decorated, the space has morphed into an art hub, with DJs frequently stopping by to play music as the team trains the next cohort of oven painters and cooks.
Until now, the project has been funded by Thompson but will eventually operate through sponsorship, with an endorsement to build and decorate an oven costing about $10,000.
In the meantime, Thompson and Matraji are fundraising to install 10 ovens in the worst-hit areas of the blast radius by the end of the year. Tripoli and Bekaa will also get their ovens back – this time with a view to making them permanent.
Beyond Lebanon, the project is generating interest in Venezuela to help rehabilitate former drug cartel members, Thompson said.
“I could also go to inner city gangs in London, in LA, in New York and say ‘you guys don’t have a community center anymore, well why don’t we build one around a massive oven’,” Thompson said.
“Then we make it beautiful so they take ownership of it and it belongs to them.”
An undated photo from 2023 provided by a whistleblower shows Palestinian prisoners captured in the Gaza Strip at the Sde Teiman detention facility. (AP)
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Palestinians Recount ‘Black Hole’ of Israeli Detention
An undated photo from 2023 provided by a whistleblower shows Palestinian prisoners captured in the Gaza Strip at the Sde Teiman detention facility. (AP)
Denied contact with his lawyer for months, now freed Palestinian prisoner Shady Abu Sedo said he lost all sense of time while he was held in Israeli jails during the war in Gaza.
The 35-year-old resident of the Palestinian territory was arrested in March 2024, five months into the war sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Abu Sedo, a photojournalist, said he was arrested while working at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and detained at Sde Teiman prison, a military facility in Israel used to hold Gazans during the war.
At the time of his arrest the Al-Shifa complex was at the center of the war, with humanitarian organizations accusing Israel of rights violations while Israel accused Hamas of using it and other civilian facilities as command centers.
Abu Sedo was held under Israel's "unlawful combatants" law, which permits the detention of suspected members of "hostile forces" for months on end without charge.
Abu Sedo said he was repeatedly confronted with claims from the Israelis that "they had killed our children, our women and bombed our homes".
"So, when I saw (my children), honestly, it was a shock," he told AFP by telephone after his release to Gaza on October 13 under the US-brokered ceasefire.
The truce, which came into effect on October 10, saw 20 living hostages returned by Hamas to Israel in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
"Imagine, 100 days from five in the morning until 11 at night, sitting on your knees, handcuffed, blindfolded, forbidden to speak or talk," Abu Sedo said.
"You don't know the time, you don't know the days, you don't know where you are."
"After 100 days of torture, they took me for interrogation to confirm my identity. They tortured me without knowing who I was," he said, describing eye and ear injuries.
Then came a transfer to Ofer military prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where he said conditions were "beyond imagination".
During his incarceration, Abu Sedo was able to speak with his lawyer only twice.
He said he hadn't been charged and that his detention had been "automatically extended" without explanation.
The Israeli military declined to comment on his case.
The Israel prison service says all inmates "are held according to legal procedures, and their rights including access to medical care and adequate living conditions are upheld".
According to the Red Cross, the term "unlawful combatant" refers to someone who "belongs to an armed group, in a context where either the individual or the group do not fulfil the conditions for combatant status."
The term emerged in the United States after the September 11, 200 It was introduced into Israeli law in 2002 and denies protections typically granted to detainees and prisoners of war.
Israel then amended the law at the start of the Gaza war.
Under the revised legislation, prisoners can be detained for 45 days without administrative process, compared with 96 hours previously.
Prisoners can be held for 75 days without a court hearing, up from 14 days, and this can be extended to 180 days.
In July 2024, Amnesty International demanded the law be repealed.
It said the legislation served to "arbitrarily round up Palestinian civilians from Gaza and toss them into a virtual black hole for prolonged periods without producing any evidence that they pose a security threat". 1, attacks, when the administration of George W. Bush used it to justify the detention of terrorism suspects.
In late October, Israel issued an order banning the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting prisoners held as "unlawful combatants".
In practice, that will make law the status quo that has prevailed since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
The ICRC says it has not been allowed to visit detainees in jail since then, save for pre-release interviews conducted under ceasefire and prisoner exchange deals.
Several rights groups have denounced what they say is a form of incommunicado detention for Palestinian prisoners, hampering the legal defense of detainees.
Israel holds around 1,000 "unlawful combatants" in military and civilian prisons, according to several NGOs.
For these detainees, "the lawyer is their only connection to the outside world," said Naji Abbas of Physicians for Human Rights.
The rights group says that 18 doctors and dozens of other health professionals from Gaza are still languishing without charge in Israeli prisons.
"It takes months to get an appointment. We visit them but we have a lot of difficulties," said Abbas, adding that such visits often lasted less than half an hour.
Several NGOs have appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to grant the Red Cross access to "unlawful combatants", but no date has been set for the decision.
El-Mahboub Abdul Salam to Asharq Al-Awsat: Al-Turabi Viewed Carlos as a Poisonous Present from Jordanhttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5206773-el-mahboub-abdul-salam-asharq-al-awsat-al-turabi-viewed-carlos-poisonous-present
El-Mahboub Abdul Salam to Asharq Al-Awsat: Al-Turabi Viewed Carlos as a Poisonous Present from Jordan
Carlos' wanted photos as released by Interpol. (AFP)
An attractive foreigner once entered a store in Khartoum. The owner never once imagined who it could possibly be. The foreigner noticed the portrait of a senior military figure hanging on the wall. The lady explained that she was his widow and had he been alive, he would have been the president of Sudan.
Zeinab Mustafa was talking about her late husband El-Hadi al-Mamoun al-Mardi who established the Islamic movement in the army and served as a minister after the coup on June 30, 1989. He later died of an illness.
Zeinab did not realize the danger of the visitor and that international intelligence agencies were searching for him. France was seeking his arrest because back in 1975 he killed two members of its security force there and fled. The owner and the foreigner became more acquainted. He explained that he was in Sudan on an important political visit and wanted to meet President Omar al-Bashir or Dr. Hassan al-Turabi. He gave her a book by David Yallop called “Until The Ends of the Earth.” He requested that it be sent to al-Turabi's office.
Zeinab took the book and met with Dr. El-Mahboub Abdul Salam, head of al-Turabi's office. He sent the book to al-Turabi, who asked if Yallop was in Sudan. He replied, “No, it was Carlos.” He was shocked. It was none other than the Venezuelan Ilich Ramírez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, who was guided by Palestinian plane hijacker mastermind Dr. Wadie Haddad to carry out the kidnapping of the OPEC ministers in Vienna in 1975.
Abdul Salam knows Carlos’ story in Sudan from start to finish. He was tasked with interpreting the discussions that took place between French and Sudanese intelligence that culminated in Carlos being turned over to France on August 15, 1994, where he now lies in prison.
A photo of Carlos seen in Sudan in 1994 and released by France during his trial. (AFP)
Throughout the 1980s, Carlos roamed all over eastern Europe to evade capture. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, eastern Europe was no longer an option. Baghdad was out of the question, so he landed in Syria, where Hafez al-Assad's regime used him for operations in France and Lebanon. He was later asked to leave the country as Assad sought to polish his image before the West.
Carlos then turned to Moammar al-Gaddafi in Libya. The leader eventually prioritized his relationship with Sabri al-Banna, also known as Abu Nidal, over the burdensome Carlos. Carlos turned to Jordan, which after a while turned him away, so he found himself seeking refuge in Sudan.
Following up on Carlos’ case is an exercise in patience. For two decades, French intelligence agent Philippe Rondot sought his arrest before he eventually succeeded. My profession has allowed me to interview al-Turabi and Carlos. The former told me that Carlos arrived in Sudan “from a country somewhere close to your part of the world” - meaning Jordan. Carlos told me that al-Turabi and Bashir had struck a deal with France for his arrest. Today, I am interviewing Abdul Salam to ask him about Carlos.
“I know all about Carlos’ story in Sudan because I was the interpreter for the Sudanese and French security agencies,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. He had arrived in Sudan from Jordan in 1993. He entered through the airport using a southern Yemen passport and spent a year in Sudan.
“I had informed Rondot that the passport was fake, but he didn’t believe me, saying it was indeed issued by the Yemeni foreign ministry. Meanwhile, I insisted that Abdullah Barakat – the name on the passport – was not his real name. Sudan discovered that Carlos was on its soil. He indeed was a ‘poisonous gift’ from Jordan as al-Turabi once said. We spent nearly a year persuading him to leave Sudan,” recalled Abdul Salam.
Asked if he had ever met Carlos, he confirmed that he did twice in the final moments before he was flown out of the country.
Asked how come it had taken Sudanese agencies so long to realize that the infamous Carlos was in the country, Abdul Salam explained that his operations were connected to the Palestinians, so he was on the radar of countries that were involved with them, such as Jordan, Syria and Libya. Sudan was not, so he arrived in the country undetected.
Al-Turabi probably found out early on that Carlos was in Sudan, perhaps after his arrival, said Abdul Salam. “He visited our office and requested to meet al-Turabi. The guards at the door were not aware who he was,” he said. Ultimately, he never met with al-Turabi even after he realized that Carlos was in Sudan.
Abdul Salam could not confirm or deny whether Carlos met with Osama bin Laden while they were in Sudan, saying he did not have any information about the issue.
When I interviewed Carlos, he informed me that al-Turabi and Bashir “sold me out.” Abdul Salam said: “He believed that the Islamic regime in Sudan was the same as the one in Iran in that it was hostile to the West and that its leaders would be eager to meet with him and learn from his experience. The regime in Sudan was not like that.”
Carlos presented himself as a Muslim and he tried to offer his services to the regime, revealed Abdul Salam.
Turning to Rondot, Abdul Salam described him as an “extraordinary” man. “It is said that he was born in Tunisia. He was of the ‘black feet’ (pieds-noirs) French colonizers in north Africa. He would occasionally visit during Ramadan and fast the entire month even though he was not Muslim. He once told me that he had spent 30 years on missions. He held a doctorate in sociology and his father was a major sociologist. He had close ties to the Muslim and Arab worlds. He had ties with all Arab intelligence.”
Rondot described Iraqi intelligence as being derived from ideas, while Algerian intelligence only saw what it wanted to see, meaning it was subjective, said Abdul Salam.
Rondot spent some 20 years pursuing Carlos. Abdul Salam told Asharq Al-Awsat that the process to turn over Carlos to France started around four months after he arrived in Sudan, which was in August 1993. “In October, Rondot came to Khartoum following a visit by Sudan’s chief of intelligence to France. Negotiations over Carlos took a long time.”
On how come he was chosen to act as interpreter, Abdul Salam said Sudanese intelligence does boast French speakers, but they wanted to keep the number of people involved in the case limited. Al-Turabi was aware of it and made sure that Sudan respected its agreements with Interpol regarding the arrest of wanted people.
At one point, recalled Abdul Salam, discussions were made over the possibility of returning Carlos to Jordan. Sudan was under international sanctions, and it was best that Carlos be returned to the country he came from. France contacted Jordanian authorities to that end, but they turned down its request.
Asked if Sudanese intelligence had questioned Carlos, Abdul Salam responded: “He was fully aware that the operations that he carried out in the 1970s and 80s were no longer possible. All efforts were focused on how to get him out of Sudan.”
“He was a burdensome guest. Some guests are difficult, but none more so than Carlos who captured the world’s attention and was wanted by a major power like France,” said Abdul Salam. “Several offers were made to him to leave for Uganda, Kenya or eastern Europe. He would say that it was dangerous for him to flee by ship or plane because it was impossible for him to reach Iran, Russia or eastern Europe without passing through regions that were dangerous to him. These discussions were held between him and Sudanese security agencies. It wasn’t that he was maneuvering, but that he was afraid.”
Eventually, Sudan decided that it was time to turn him over to France in line with agreements with Interpol and “preparations for his arrest began immediately,” added Abdul Salam. French intelligence agents soon arrived in Khartoum and French and Sudanese Interpol agencies agreed that the announcement of his arrest would be made six hours after his arrest.
“What ensued is an odd story. Carlos needed to have minor surgery that required follow-up and that’s what happened. The hospital director was unaware of who the patient was. The hospital was informed that the patient needed to be taken out of the facility. The staff were told that he was an Israeli and that he had AIDS. It is said that he was drugged so that he could be handed over to French agents without incident.”
“Throughout that day I was with the chief of intelligence. The tension was in the air until we learned that the handover was a success. I was there to act as interpreter between the Sudanese and French Interpol and saw Carlos as he was being boarded on the plane and that was the end of it.”
French intelligence agent Philippe Rondot. (AFP)
Asked whether Sudan received anything in return for aiding in the arrest, Abdul Salam said Paris provided modern training to its security agencies and also provided them with modern cameras and recording equipment.
Rondot later recalled in his memoir that Carlos awoke on the plane when he heard people speaking French around him.
Asharq Al-Awsat asked Abdul Salam about another “burdensome” guest called Osama bin Laden. He acknowledged that he first appeared in Sudan as an “investor”. Later, following his implication in the failed attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s life in 1995, Sudan decided that it was time to “get rid of this guest.”
Upon his departure from Sudan, he warned: “My exit will not protect you from the West and imperialism. You will continue to be targeted,” recalled Abdul Salam. Bin Laden had set up training camps for al-Qaeda members in Sudan, but their activities were “very limited.”
Abdul Salam said that Sudan “is now definitely paying the price” of harboring figures like Carlos and bin Laden. The militias that are now active in the country are definitely products of that point in time.
Carlos’ recollection of the ‘trap’ set up by al-Turabi and Bashir
Years ago, Asharq Al-Awsat asked Carlos at his French prison whether he had made a mistake in heading to Sudan. “Given that I was arrested there, the answer would be yes. I could have headed to various places on condition that I behave.”
“Sudanese authorities were aware that I was there. One of its ministers was on the flight that flew me from Amman to Sudan. He knew who I was,” he added.
He confirmed that Sudan had asked him to leave the country for “security reasons. I did not refuse to leave Sudan, but I refused to cooperate with a trap that was set up by al-Turabi and Bashir. I was alerted to their plan by some sympathizers within the regime in Khartoum.”
Moreover, he revealed that the “United States was the mastermind behind the trap that was overseen by some Gulf figures. The French only took part in the final stage of the operation.”
What’s at Stake in Iraq’s Parliamentary Election?https://english.aawsat.com/features/5206290-what%E2%80%99s-stake-iraq%E2%80%99s-parliamentary-election
A young Iraqi worker walks past election campaigning posters ahead of the parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, 07 November 2025. (EPA)
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What’s at Stake in Iraq’s Parliamentary Election?
A young Iraqi worker walks past election campaigning posters ahead of the parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, 07 November 2025. (EPA)
Iraqis will elect a new parliament on November 11, in a key test for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and for a system seen by the country's young population as merely enriching those already in power.
WHAT IS THE MOOD AMONG IRAQIS?
Many ordinary voters are disillusioned with Iraq's 20-year-old experiment with democracy, saying it has brought only corruption, unemployment and poor public services, while parties, politicians and armed groups divide the spoils of their country's vast oil wealth and distribute jobs to loyalists.
Iraq began voting for its politicians in 2005, after the 2003 US invasion which toppled logtime ruler Saddam Hussein.
Early elections were marred by sectarian violence and boycotted by Sunni Muslims as Saddam's ouster allowed for the political dominance of the majority Shiites, whom he had suppressed during his long rule.
Sectarianism has largely subsided, especially among younger Iraqis, but remains embedded in a political system that shares out government posts among Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and other ethnic and religious groups.
WHO IS RUNNING?
Roughly 40% of the registered candidates are under 40, highlighting attempts by the new generation to challenge the political domination of older power networks.
Sudani, who took office in 2022 and is seeking a second term, leads the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, which groups several Shiite parties and is campaigning on improving services, fighting corruption and consolidating state authority.
He has been a rare strong prime minister who has pushed through reconstruction projects and fostered cordial ties with both Iran and the US, Iraq's main foreign allies.
The State of Law Coalition, led by former premier Nouri al-Maliki whose sectarian policies critics say helped the rise of ISIS in 2014, remains influential and competes with Sudani's camp for dominance within the Shiite establishment.
A collection of parties with ties to Iran and with their own armed groups are running on separate lists.
The main Sunni political force is former parliamentary Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi's Taqaddum (Progress) Party. It draws support from Iraq's mainly Sunni west and north. It calls for rebuilding state institutions and empowering Sunni communities after years of conflict and marginalization.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of veteran leader Masoud Barzani dominates the semi-autonomous government of Iraq's northern Kurdistan Region. It seeks a greater share of the oil revenues that shore up the national budget.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani, rivals the KDP. It traditionally advocates closer ties with Baghdad and has often allied with Shiite factions. It aims to defend its traditional strongholds.
The influential populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement is boycotting the vote, ostensibly over corruption, leaving the field open to others. Sadr's movement still controls large parts of the state through key civil service appointments.
HOW WILL THE VOTE AFFECT IRAQ?
Turnout will be a key measure of Iraqis' confidence in their political system, amid public frustration over endemic graft and poor services.
Low turnout would signal continued disillusionment, while a stronger showing could give reform-minded and younger candidates limited leverage in parliament.
The election is not expected to drastically alter Iraq's political landscape. Negotiations to select a prime minister are often protracted, ending in a compromise among the richest, best-armed and most powerful parties.
Under Iraq's sectarian power-sharing system, the prime minister will be Shiite, the speaker of parliament Sunni, and the president a Kurd.
But Iraq's next government will face intense pressure to deliver tangible improvements in everyday life and prevent public discontent over corruption spilling into unrest.
HOW WILL IT AFFECT THE REGION?
Iraq's next prime minister will need to navigate the delicate balance between US and Iranian influence, and manage dozens of armed groups that are closer to Tehran and answerable more to their own leaders than to the state, all while facing growing pressure from Washington to dismantle those militias.
Iraq has so far avoided the worst of the regional upheaval caused by the Gaza war, but will face US and Israeli wrath if it fails to contain militants aligned with Iran.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Preliminary results are expected within days of the vote, but talks to form a government could take months.
After results are certified by Iraq's Electoral Commission and Supreme Court, the new 329-member parliament meets to elect a speaker, deputies and then a president, who tasks the largest bloc with forming a government.
The nominee has 30 days to win approval for a cabinet - a feat never guaranteed in Iraq.
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