Published Work

My work has been published in Qatar Today (print magazine), Campus (print magazine), GLAM (print magazine), Qatar Happening (print magazine), Qatar Visitor (online), Content That Works (online & print magazine – Chicago, USA) and many others. I have interviewed well-known figures such as singer, Sami Yusuf; photojournalist, Reza Deghati; Glenn Leonard from The Temptations; calligraffiti artist El Seed; and archeologists, Charles Bonnet and Stephen Wenig; and many more. My documentary, The Unveiled, which I’ve directed and produced with a colleague, won third place in the Women’s Voices Now film festival in California, USA in 2011.

“Women Taking The Lead”

Qatar Today

“Women are becoming the new faces in business today, pushing their way into a man’s world. Qatar Today puts the spotlight on some of the leading businesswomen in the country and in the region. They tell us about the advantages, challenges and prospects of female businesswomen.”

“I am not a revolutionary artist”

Qatar Today

El Seed, the Calligraffiti artist who hates to be labelled, is in Doha for an exciting project. Ola Diab finds out more!

“Photography is the Language of Humanity”

Campus Magazine

World renowned photojournalist, Reza, finds a balance between being a journalist and a humanitarian and still holds on to objectivity.

“The Messenger of Peace: Sami Yusuf”

Campus Magazine

In a world where music has become based on glamour and fame, only a few musicians sing with principle and British Sami Yusuf is not your typical mainstream musician. He’s a man on a mission to bridge gaps. Spiritual revivalist Sami talks about how music can be used as an instrument of peace.

“Children in Qatar endangered by reckless driving”

Qatar Accidents

Walid Sakr and Marie-Antoinette Attiyeh just had a baby girl, Meera Sakr. More than a year ago, the couple’s first daughter, Dana Sakr, was killed in a car accident.

“Driving in Qatar”

Qatar Day via Marhaba Information Guide

Being the world’s richest and fastest developing country in the world, Qatar has recently become the land of opportunity for people from all parts of the world. Since Qatar has been awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will require major construction of hotels, stadiums and other infrastructure, the country has been, and will be, drawing in more foreign workers. Qatar’s road network is expanding at the same rapid pace as the rest of the country’s infrastructure. However, there is a high per-capita fatal accident record compared to most other developed and developing nations. Besides the influx of people seen at the Arrivals terminal, the increase of Qatar’s population is mostly evident on the road, as traffic has increased immensely. According to the Ministry of Interior the number of cars on Doha roads has reached about 876,000 per weekday.

“Student filmmakers left in the lurch at Al Jazeera Docu Fest”

Just Here

The ninth Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival (April 18 to April 21, 2013) brought some of the best films from around the world, but left local student filmmakers in the lurch, writes Ola Diab. This year, ‘The Promising Films Competition’, was removed from the film festival due to ‘budget issues’. There were at least 10 documentaries under this category, mostly produced by Northwestern University in Qatar’s (NU-Q) students. The students, along with their professors, arrived at the Doha Sheraton Hotel in the morning of Thursday April 18 2013 only to find out that their documentaries won’t be screened.

“Dating in Qatar: Definitely Unique”

Qatar Visitor

Whether at work, university or even a shopping center, young Qatari females dress in the most beautifully designed ebayas and designer bags. Their conservative veils and ebayas like any other cultural attire act as barriers leaving many, who are foreign to the local ethos, to wonder what’s behind the black clothing they wrap themselves into.

“Discovering Arab identity: Social Network Sites”

Qatar Visitor

She is living a double life. The line between the two personas is very thick. In one world, she’s Maya Eskandar*, a reserved 17-year-old Syrian born and raised in Qatar. But in the virtual world, she’s known by many names, none of which unveil her real identity.

“It’s Tough When Two Worlds Collide”

Qatar Visitor

She walks fully clad in a black and purple Abaya pushing a baby stroller through a door, while her four-month-old boy is deeply sleeping in it. Following her, a three-year-old girl with black curly hair wears a hot pink dress hugging a pink teddy bear with one arm, while her other hand handles the big pink sunglasses sliding off of her face. “Baba,” the little girl shouts joyfully when she sees her father walking towards her wearing a white ankle-length collarless gown with long sleeves called the dishdasha. And on his head is a muzzar, a white and brown cotton fabric wrapped and folded into a turban. He sits next his wife placing the baby stroller right next to him so he may reach his newborn son as soon as he wakes up.

“No Return to Sudan”

The Peninsula

They’re about to loose their homeland. Some even say it’s not home anymore. If home is a place where someone feels comfort, security, equality and freedom, they are not feeling it. Tension, terror and conflict engulf this home. It’s browbeaten, aggravated and divided. Many face prejudice, frustration and isolation. It’s a crisis⎯social, economic, and political⎯that will soon transform into a catastrophe. And that’s what it is for many of the 35,000 Sudanese who live in Qatar. The political turmoil that’s tearing their homeland apart is estranging them from their country to the point of no return.

“What one can do for Sudan”

500 Words Magazine

John F Kennedy once said, “It’s not what your country can do for you, it’s what you can do for your country.” That’s exactly what we, as Sudanese, should ask ourselves now more than ever. We’re at a point where we cannot expect our country to help us but look at each other and ourselves for help – not to benefit ourselves but our community.

“Exclusive: Sudan World Heritage Sites”

500 Words Magazine

In June 2014, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee met in Qatar for their 38th session to look into proposals to enlist 22 new cultural sites, including four Arab countries, on UNESCO’s World Heritage List – Among the four Arab sites that would be considered at the 11-day summit is Sudan’s Sanganeb Marine Park, which has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List’s ‘Tentative List’ since 2004.

“The Art of Beauty for Sudanese Women”

VOIX Magazine

When it comes to beauty treatments in the Middle East and North Africa region, countries such as Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey take the lead as the most popular destinations for women to maintain and enhance their beauty.

Beauty treatments like the ever-popular Moroccan bath and Turkish bath have become beauty staples for women throughout the region. In Lebanon, beauty is big business, where getting a loan for plastic surgery is not uncommon. In the West and the Middle East, women splurge thousands of dollars on beauty treatments.

Yet in Sudan, women spend more than half the price using age-old Sudanese beauty treatments to keep their beauty alive. Sudanese women worldwide depend on their own traditional treatments for better skin, body and health.

“Muslim Weddings”

Content That Works

Most people know the traditional wedding vow couples take, but for many of the millions of Muslims in the United States, that’s not the case at all. In fact, the whole Muslim wedding experience is completely unconventional.

“Awe-Inspiring Arrangements”

Buffalo Brides via Content That Works

Choosing floral designs for your wedding

Flowers are everywhere at a wedding – lining the aisle, in hands, on lapels. But deciding which colors to mix-and-match and where to place the flowers might not be your area of expertise. However, choosing flowers for your wedding that suit your style and personality doesn’t have to be difficult.

“Shades of Love”

Content That Works

That traditional white wedding dress might be anything but so, as more brides look to non-white variations, from off-white colors like ivory, champagne and diamond white to complete non-white colors like blush, peach or charcoal gray.

“Wellness: Keys to living healthy longer”

Waco Today via Content That Works

Everybody wants a long, healthy and happy life. But what’s the secret? Common knowledge says don’t stress or worry too much, be happy and positive, exercise regularly and maybe even get married, but what does science say?

“Get Hip Smart”

Body & More via Content That Works

Want to reach 60 or even 70 years of age without experiencing hip joint problems? According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, it’s getting harder all the time. More than 193,000 hip replacements are performed each year, and that number is on the rise. Avoidance is possible says Karl Knopf, author of “Healthy Hips Handbook” (Ulysses, 2010). “Identifying a problem early keeps small problems small,” Knopf says. The manual outlines the causes for common hip injuries such as snapping hips, bursitis, iliotibial band fasciitis and Legg-Calve-Perthes, a hip diseases associated with inadequate blood supply to the hips.

“Suez Canal Expansion Finished After One Year”

Gistory

Egypt celebrated on Aug. 6 the completion of a major expansion of the Suez Canal. The project, funded entirely by Egyptian investors, widened a 45-mile long stretch of the canal and added an additional lane. Officials say the expansion could help drive more traffic and revenue to the canal.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led an elaborate opening ceremony attended by numerous heads of state. He said the new canal extension will boost the country’s ailing economy that has struggled to recover from the 2011 uprising of the Arab Spring.

“Sudan’s Longtime President Wins Another Five Years”

Gistory

On April 27 Sudan wrapped up its first elections since South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011. As widely expected, President Omar Al Bashir won re-election with 94 percent of the vote, extending his 25-year rule to another five years in office.