Latest news with #Hossam
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Wait to enter education 'frustrating' for teenage asylum seekers
Nineteen-year old Hani and 20-year-old Hossam both dream of running their own they face more hurdles than many other young people in fulfilling those is because Hani came to Northern Ireland as an asylum seeker from Kurdistan, like Hossam from a result, like other older teenagers who are asylum seekers, there is no automatic access to education and specialised support for them. Hani, Hossam and others have contributed to a report called Stranded Dreams, launched in Belfast City together by Anaka Women's Collective and the Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) organisation, it calls for a specialist education programme for those aged 16-24 who come to Northern Ireland as asylum seekers and refugees. 'When I came here, I lost myself' Hani came to Northern Ireland almost three years ago."The first thing that I asked for was education and study and school," she told BBC News NI."They told me at the age of 16 they cannot take me as a student."I was really disappointed," she Hani speaks very good English now, her initial lack of English meant that she was unable to enter a Further Education (FE) present it falls on some community organisations like Anaka Women's Collective to provide educational classes for older teenagers who are asylum was through Anaka that Hani learned English, but the wait to enter education was frustrating."Young people like us, we want to find ourselves, we want to find our future," Hani said."But when I came here, I lost myself."My steps in front of me, all of them were blurry."We're working on this so the next generation don't face the same challenges I did," she wants a specific programme for young people over 16 to be able to start to has hopes of a career in business and wants to take GCSEs, A-Levels and go to university. 'We need a certain level of English' Hossam, meanwhile, wants to combine a career in business with fashion design and also wants to attend has been out of education since arriving in Belfast as an asylum seeker with his twin brother Wyassum in January came to join their mother, who had come to Northern Ireland as a Sudan, the boys had finished secondary spoke to BBC News NI through a translator, but he desperately wants to learn English."We have been here for a year and a half so far, and we couldn't find any formal education," he told BBC News NI."We studied in Arabic in Sudan and we don't speak English, and we couldn't find a place to study English."Myself and my brother want to go to university, but for us to go to university we need a certain level of English." 'A need for targeted education' Some other parts of the UK have targeted education programmes for asylum seekers if they are over 16, teaching them English and other subjects England for instance, asylum seeking young people are entitled to free education until the end of the academic year in which they turn may be in school but it is more likely to be at their local FE college, especially if they have recently arrived in the Northern Ireland, the Education Minister Paul Givan has announced plans to make it compulsory for young people to stay in education or training until they are could mean education provision would also be provided for young asylum seekers and refugees up until the age of the Stranded Dreams report said there was a need for targeted education for them. Morgan Mattingly from Queen's University of Belfast (QUB), said there was "an intense need" for English language support especially."The statutory responsibility for education currently only exists until the end of the year you turn 16," she said."However, even before you turn 16 there's quite a few barriers that prevent young people from accessing education."When a young person is aged 16 they're turned away outright," she added."Even though they desperately want to be in school, they want to be learning, their options are very limited."Because they can't access education, they can't access higher education and then that has a knock on effect."There needs to be full-time programmes that are specific to these age groups."They have such knowledge and capacity already," she told BBC News NI, adding that English language support while they learn other core subjects is Stranded Dreams report calls for targeted support with English, and Maths, Science and other it calls for the Northern Ireland Executive to have a pilot project in place for the start of the 2026/27 academic year. 'Education is a priority' The Chief Executive of Refugee Education UK Catherine Gladwell said that for young refugees arriving in the UK "education is a priority.""While displaced children and young people have the right to access quality education, many who arrive in the UK late in the education system remain out of education for prolonged periods of time," she said."As the differences between England and Northern Ireland illustrate, there is currently no overarching strategy from the Government to address this issue.""But Refugee Education UK believes it can and should be addressed, benefiting both individual children and young people, and advancing cross party efforts to tackle inequality through educational attainment."A Department of Education spokesperson said that the department is "currently consulting on proposed legislation which will provide for all learners to participate in education, apprenticeship or training until age 18". "We are aware that there are particular cohorts of young people who require additional support including newcomer young people. Over the next few years, we will be working with policy leads across departments as we consider the implications of the legislation prior to and following its enactment."
Al Jazeera
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘On a journey': Family mourns Hossam Shabat, journalist killed by Israel
Amal Shabat is delirious with pain. She is weeping, still unable to grasp that her 23-year-old son has been killed by Israel, exactly as he always said he would die – a 'martyr' who sacrificed himself to make sure the world knew what was happening in Gaza. She tries the words haltingly: 'My son is a martyr, Hossam… My son is a hero.' Hossam Shabat, Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist, was killed by Israel in a targeted strike on his vehicle on Monday. Amal is in Hossam's 'Dar Azaa' (house of condolences), a space opened for people to come pay their respects to the family. Sitting among female relatives, she breaks down and lowers her head on a shoulder to cry. The women do their best to comfort her, telling her Hossam died a hero, loved by everyone. In addition to his journalistic work, Hossam used his movements and connections to bring humanitarian assistance to people in need who could not access it, his family says. 'He's appeared in people's dreams,' Amal's sister tells her. 'He was radiant, like a bridegroom.' In moments of great pain, turning to such omens is believed to bring some relief to the bereaved. Amal and Mahmoud, Hossam's 28-year-old brother, speak to Al Jazeera Mubasher, alternating between resignation and tears. Amal tries to paint a picture of the son she returned to the north of Gaza to be near, only to lose him to an Israeli attack. 'When we were displaced to the south, he walked with us part way, but didn't want to leave here. The whole time we were in Nuseirat [in central Gaza], I would call and beg him to come, but he refused.' Mahmoud says Hossam was determined to document Israel's attacks in the north of Gaza, because he knew that without coverage, the violence would be brushed under the carpet. And that was why Hossam stayed in the north, he says. Eventually, after a ceasefire was declared in late January, the family was able to return to Gaza City to reunite with Hossam. But, Amal says, even then it was hard to spend time with him and she found herself going to wherever he was working. ''What're you doing here, Mother?' he'd ask me when I went to find him,' she says. 'I'd answer that I was just there to see him, to spend a bit of time with him.' Early on in the war, Hossam had started to tell his family that he knew Israel would kill him, but that he felt it was his duty to keep doing what he was doing. 'He knew, he knew that to be a journalist in Gaza, to tell the truth, meant that he would be killed,' Mahmoud says, adding that Hossam had been threatened before and had already escaped being killed once. Watching her son rush towards danger wasn't easy for Amal, she says. 'Whenever someone called him, whenever someone said something happened somewhere, he would fly, he was like a bird. 'Wherever there was destruction, wherever there was death, he would head there. I was scared, I would tell him to stay back, to stay away from the danger. 'But he replied: 'Mother, it is written, even if I were at home, if you hid me in your arms, they would kill me.' ''I'm a martyr, I know it,' he'd say to me. Just think of me as being away on a journey.' And so she would wait for him, she says, waiting to hear every morning whether he was all right or if he had been killed. She soon feared the sound of phones ringing, worrying they would bring bad news. Hossam's colleagues spoke to Al Jazeera's Arabic site about a larger-than-life character, full of love, joy, and always willing to help. 'Hossam touched people's pain, with his camera and his voice. The people in the shelters and tents, he was completely in tune with their suffering and they loved and followed him,' Al Jazeera's Mohamed Quraiqaa said. 'He was always there – during displacements, under Israeli bombardment, and in the face of death.' So much so, his journalist friend Youssef Fares said, that even other journalists would urge him to take it easy, to be more careful as he continued to push right ahead. 'Hossam was very innocent, he had the heart … of a large child. But he was so impulsive that it went too far. 'We would retreat when the bombing got too much, but he would go closer, to cover it. We were scared for him often.' When Mahmoud starts talking, his eyes are red and his voice is subdued. 'Hossam wanted to tell the whole truth. He wanted to transmit that to the world,' he says. 'He would always, always say: 'The coverage will continue. It will continue even if the price is death.'' Mahmoud breaks down, his words choked as he looks to the side, trying not to cry. 'If a massacre happens and nobody documents it, it is as if it never happened,' he says haltingly, his lips trembling. 'Someone had to do it, and Hossam was that hero. No matter how many times we told him he'd done enough, he kept telling us he couldn't stop and even if he did, the [Israeli] occupation would never forgive him for having been a journalist.' Hossam's family worried while they were displaced, so much so that their conversation often turned to trying to figure out what they would do if Hossam were killed while they were away. 'We were actually talking and wondering how…' Mahmoud's words fled in a gasping breath as he tried to stop crying. '… how we would organise a 'Dar Azaa' for Hossam if we had to do it in the tent camp. 'But, in the end, God was kind. Kind enough to allow us to return and be with him for 30, 40 days, although we barely saw him. 'I thanked God that I was here, that I could walk in his funeral procession and bury him … at least that. 'Imagine that – thanking God that you were there when your brother died and were able to bury him.'
Al Jazeera
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera condemns Israel's killing of journalist Hossam Shabat in Gaza
Below is Al Jazeera Media Network's statement on the killing of Hossam Shabat. Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces' assassination of Hossam Shabat, Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent, who was brutally killed today, in an air strike targeting his car in Jabalia. Hossam joined the Network's journalists and correspondents killed during the ongoing war on Gaza, including Samer Abudaqa, Hamza Al-Dahdouh, Ismail Al-Ghoul, and Ahmed Al-Louh. Al Jazeera affirms its commitment to pursue all legal measures to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes against journalists. And stands in unwavering solidarity with all journalists in Gaza and reaffirms its commitment to achieving justice and prosecuting the killers of more than 200 journalists in Gaza since October 2023. The Network extends its condolences to Hossam's family, and calls on all human rights and media organisations to condemn the Israeli occupation's systematic killing of journalists, the evasion of responsibilities under international humanitarian law, and to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. Al Jazeera renews its firm commitment to covering events in the Gaza Strip, despite the ongoing targeting and harassment faced by its correspondents and journalists.
Jordan News
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Jordan News
Hossam Habib Continues to Spark Controversy with New Statements About Sherine and Financial Allegations - Jordan News
Singer Hossam Habib continues to stir controversy with his statements about his relationship with singer Sherine Abdel Wahab, as he made new provocative remarks for the second consecutive day. He confirmed that he was behind the most successful album in her career. اضافة اعلان These statements came after he previously announced that he had been suffering from borderline personality disorder following their separation. Talking about Sherine's album Nisai, Hossam described it as the most successful in her artistic history, noting that it wasn't registered under his name as a producer, despite it achieving 1.3 billion views on social media platforms, according to him. He added, "I didn't receive any financial compensation for producing the album. I had to sell my house and my car to support myself. In the end, I was the biggest loser, and I committed a crime against myself and my family." During a TV interview on the program Habr Serri, Hossam denied the allegations made by Sherine against him, stating that they were completely false. He also refuted rumors that he had taken $50,000 and gold jewelry, pointing out that investigations had proven the accusations were untrue. As for the Mercedes car that was allegedly stolen, Hossam confirmed that it was a gift from Sherine to him. The controversy surrounding the strained relationship between Hossam Habib and Sherine resurfaced after his appearance on Ramy Jalaal's prank show, where he was forced to admit during the episode that he was the cause of Sherine's life being destroyed, bringing their controversial story back into the spotlight once again.
The National
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
The Settlement director Mohamed Rashad: 'The next generation Egyptian cinema is here'
'It's a good time for Egyptian cinema,' says writer-director Mohamed Rashad. 'It's everywhere. It's in Berlin. Some films were in Cannes and Venice. So it's a good time for Egyptian cinema. Especially arthouse cinema.' Rashad is one of several Egyptian filmmakers presenting works at this year's prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, known as Berlinale. His tough-minded workplace drama The Settlement had its premiere this week in the Perspectives strand, a new €50,000 ($52,300) competitive section for international debut fiction features. Alongside this, The Tale of Daye's Family by Karin El-Shenawy screened in the Generation 14-plus line-up; while The Last Day, the debut short by Egyptian filmmaker Mahmoud Ibrahim, featured in Forum Expanded, a strand for more experimental fare. East of Noon, directed by Hala Elkoussy, also opened Berlin Critics' Week, a selection of films that runs parallel to the main festival. That film's star, Fayza Shama, has also been selected as one of the Berlinale Talents, an initiative showcasing actors, directors and more from around the globe. 'I think we have a new generation of filmmakers,' Rashad tells The National when he sits down to discuss his film in the Potsdamer Platz's plush Hyatt Hotel. It's hard to disagree. Take a walk to the EFM, the European Film Market, based nearby and there's even a poster reminding us that Eagles of the Republic by Tarik Saleh is in production. The $10 million political thriller, starring Fares Fares, is the third in Saleh's Cairo trilogy following The Nile Hilton Incident and Boy From Heaven, which had its premiere in Cannes in 2022. Ask Rashad why he feels this new generation of Egyptian filmmakers is suddenly making waves in the world of cinema, and he answers simply: 'They want to express themselves more.' In his case, The Settlement is a film that deals both with the personal and the political. Set in an industrial corner of Alexandria, the primary setting is a steel factory. The twenty-something Hossam (Adham Shukr), a former drug dealer, is offered a job as some sort of twisted compensation after his father perished there in an accident. Joining Hossam is his 12-year-old brother Maro (Ziad Islam), who is also desperate to avenge their father's death. With murder in mind, there path is heading towards self-destruction. 'I'm interested in what's going on in families, the relationships between family members,' says Rashad. 'Not just Hossam and his father, but also Hossam and Maro. He feels like he's a father to him. So this relationship to me is very interesting. What you expect from your father, what your father expects from you.' Rashad's 2016 documentary Little Eagles went along similar lines, detailing his relationship with his father, as he tries to pursue his own dreams of becoming a filmmaker. 'I felt that we're not satisfied with each other,' he explains. 'He wasn't satisfied with me. But at some point, we managed to have a good relationship. Actually my sister, after the screening of the film, was crying and she told me: 'I felt that your relationship with our father got better. And after watching the film I know why.'' While The Settlement deals with issues of family first and foremost, it also has a political dimension to it, says Rashad. The film explores the dangers of capitalism, in a society where the interests 'of the powerful' often override all else. In this case, safety laws in Egyptian factories aren't always adhered to when there are profits to be made. 'It's all about capitalism,' he says. 'Safety costs.' Is his film a critique of Egyptian society? 'For sure, it's a criticism,' he says. The new generation of Egyptian cinema starts here.
