Natalie Amiri – The Middle East Complex: Of people, dreams and destruction.
With ‘The Middle East Complex’, the renowned journalist and author Natalie Amiri presents a highly topical and deeply moving work that shows the Middle East in upheaval – and puts the people at the centre.
In her fearless, knowledgeable style, Natalie Amiri reports from a region that is rarely at peace, but is full of voices that need to be heard.
The starting point of her journey is 7 October 2023 – a day that will go down as a turning point in the history of this region. Shortly after the fall of the Assad regime, Amiri travelled to Syria, where she met cautiously hopeful people.
She moves on to Lebanon, which could take a new political direction after the weakening of Hezbollah, and talks to leading figures in Israel such as Ehud Olmert, who openly shares his gloomy assessment of Israel’s political future. In the occupied West Bank, she meets Basel Adra, co-author of the award-winning film ‘No Other Land’, who is being threatened by radical settlers for his documentary work.
Despite the media lockdown, Natalie Amiri gives a voice to families from Gaza, talks to relatives of slain Israeli hostages, Kurdish fighters in Kobane and the son of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti. The political conversations with personalities such as Carla del Ponte and Margot Friedländer provide a further framework in which questions of humanity, justice and responsibility are negotiated.
Natalie Amiri achieves the seemingly impossible: she mediates between the worlds, listens, makes things visible – and always remains clear in her stance: on the side of the people. ‘The Middle East Complex’ is a book that informs, touches and disturbs – which is precisely why it must be read. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East better – beyond simple narratives.
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