The “Dream
Deferred” Essay Contest
on Civil Rights in the Middle East
FAQ & GUIDELINES
Q: Who is eligible?
A: Entrants must be 25 years old or younger as of the contest deadline:
January 31, 2007. Entrants must reside in Arab League member states,
Iran, or the United States. Unfortunately, if you are not a resident of these countries or if you are over the age of 25, you are not not eligible for this essay contest.
Q: How long should entries
be?
A: Essays should be at least 600 words, but no longer than 2,000 words.
Use footnotes when citing other sources. The citations and essay title do not count towards the word limit.
Q: When is the entry
deadline?
A: All entries must be submitted via this website by January 31, 2007.
Q: How many times may I
enter the contest?
A: One entry per person.
Q: Can I keep my entry
anonymous?
A: You may feel at risk if your essay is selected as a
winner. If you do not want your name made public, please note this when
submitting your essay.
Q: When will you announce
the winners?
A: Winners will be notified (and announced on our web
site) by July 2007.
Q: Does my essay have to be
original?
A: Your essay should be original. If you use quotes,
please clearly acknowledge the source. Also, note that all essay
submissions become the property of the contest sponsor and will not be
returned. This does not, however, prevent you from republishing the essay on your own or using the ideas in it for other writing.
Q: Do I have to answer all
three questions?
A: No. Please answer just one of the three questions in
your category.
Q: Do I have to be Muslim
to enter the contest?
A: No. We ensure equal opportunity for all submissions. We will
evaluate and select essays without regard for race, religion, gender,
or sexual orientation of the author, as well as other classifications
protected by applicable international, federal and state laws.
Q: I am an American studying/living outside the US. Can I still enter the contest?
A: Yes, as long as you are under the age of 26. Also, if you are a foreign student currently studying in the US, you are welcome to enter the essay contest.
Q: I grew up in the Middle East but currently live in the US. Should I enter as an American or as a Middle Easterner?
A: If you are living permanently in the US, then answer one of the questions posed to Americans. Your activist work would be done in the US. If you are a Middle Eastern student studying temporarily in the US, you can choose to answer any of the six questions, although we recommend you answer one of the questions posed to Middle Easterners. If you are a citizen or permanent resident of the Middle East temporarily living abroad in another country, you can still enter the contest. Please address one of the questions posed to young Middle Easterners.
Q: I entered the contest last year. Can I enter again?
A: Yes. The only people who cannot enter are last year's prize winners.
If you have a question, email us at essay@hamsaweb.com.
STYLE & CONTENT
Q: What style is most
appropriate?
A: Write an original, persuasive, and interesting
essay. You can write an academic essay or a creative essay. The last
question in each category also allows for you to submit an imaginary
newspaper article from the future. If you write a creative essay, make
sure it addresses the question.
Q: How will essays be
judged?
A: Each essay is read by reviewers. A group of best
essays are then passed on to the panel of judges. Each finalist essay
will be graded for clarity, creativity, and
persuasiveness. These evaluations will determine the contest winners.
Q: What are mistakes to avoid when writing my essay?
A: Do not focus on US government foreign policy. The essay should center around what ordinary citizens can do, particularly on the grassroots level. And do not focus primarily on regional geo-political challenges, like the Iraq War debate or the Arab-Israeli conflict. Your essay should focus on the struggle to protect individual rights within Middle Eastern societies. These include, but are not limited to, freedom of expression, women's equality, minority rights, religious freedom, media freedom, economic liberty, artistic freedom, and freedom of association. You may discuss the impact of US and international diplomacy, but we caution you from making these issues the focus of your essay.
Q: The topic of civil rights in the Middle East is very big. How can I focus my essay?
A: This is a challenge. You are welcome to discuss the larger problem of civil rights abuses across the Middle East, focus on one particular country (Middle Eastern participants are strongly encouraged to address their own society), or focus on a particular kind of civil rights abuse.
Q: Where can I get
background information on the essay questions?
A: Below is a collection of links. These sources are
only suggestions and do not need to be referenced in your essay. Use
them as starting points for exploring various issues addressed in the
essay questions. Also, we suggest you read last year's winning essays.
For more on the difficulties faced
by
- Bahraini blogger Mahmood
Al-Yousef comments on the
risks reformers take.
- Zahra
Kazemi photographed a protest in
- A
report on Egyptian activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim’s imprisonment.
- The arrest of
Tunisian web dissident Zouhair Yahyaoui.
- The plight of Libyan reformer Fathi Eljami.
- Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider banned from leaving the country.
- Omani poet Abdullah Al Ryami blacklisted for promoting civil rights.
- Algerian journalist Mohammed Benchicou jailed for two years for writing biography of the president.
- The UN’s Arab Human
Development Report: 2002,
2003,
and 2004.
- The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
- Omid Database on human rights abuses in Iran.
- The Tharwa Project,
a Damascus-based minority and civil rights initiative.
- The
Ibn Khaldoun Center, a Cairo-based organization promoting
civil society.
- Freedom
House’s 2005 survey of “Freedom in the
World” (with numerical rankings).
- International
Confederation of Trade Unions 2004 Middle East report
- Arab Press
Freedom Watch
- Middle East
Transparent
- Iranian
rock bands prevented from performing publicly (video here).
- Internet censorship in the United
Arab Emirates, Iran,
and Saudi
Arabia.
- Kurds
in Syria stripped of their citizenship.
- Saudi women banned
from driving and restricted
from public libraries.
- Followers of the Baha’i
faith facing government bans in Iran
and Egypt.
- Ethnic
cleansing of indigenous black Africans in Darfur.
- Detaining
independent journalists in Yemen.
- Iranian women banned from soccer stadiums.
- The
“Cedar Revolution” in Lebanon.
- Bahrainis rally on
behalf of arrested bloggers.
- The “Enough is Enough”
online campaign in
- The Egyptian
youth movement protesting
dictatorship.
- Iranian women protest
ban on attending soccer games, gender apartheid.
- Migrant workers in
the United Arab Emirates striking to protest lack of payment.
- A
women’s rights march in Kuwait.
- Middle
East NGOs Gateway
- Young
Iranians blogging about civil rights restrictions.
For writings on the importance of
human liberty, see:
- The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
- The 2003
Alexandria Declaration by the Arab Reform Forum.
- The Liberty
Fund’s online library of classic texts on freedom.
- Essays by the Egyptian writer Tarek Heggy.
- Misbahalhurriyya -
The Lamp of Liberty.
- The 18th Century British quote on
“freedom of speech” comes from Cato’s
Letter #15.
- The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (writings and video game).
- The Iran Freedom Concert at Harvard
- Arrested
Iranian blogger Sina Motallebi on how cyber protests secured
his freedom.
- STAND a student
network working to stop genocide in
- The Free Alaa campaign to liberate a jailed Egyptian blogger-activist (video).
- Campaign to free Nazanin (video)
- The
Committee to Protect Bloggers launches a petition
to help arrested Iranian bloggers.
- Reporters Without
Borders publishes a Handbook
for Bloggers and Cyber Dissidents.
- Global
Voices offers a round-up of bloggers from across the region.
- Spanish activists protest outside Iranian and Egyptian embassies.
- A brief
biography of Martin Luther King and his famous “I
Have a Dream” speech.
- A brief history of the 1956
Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963
Birmingham protests.
- Quotes from King’s 1963 book “Why
We Can’t Wait.”
- Testimony
by a white college student from California who joined the 1961 Freedom Riders.
- A bio of
- Mody Al-Khalaf, a Saudi woman
writer, shares her
dream of equal rights.
- Egyptian blogger Big Pharaoh on remarkable
broadcast, a sweet
dream, and his
dream society.
- Saudi poet Nimah Nawaab expresses “The
Longing.”
© 2008 Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance. All rights reserved.