In this August 2025 edition of CAJ International Magazine, we invite readers on a journey that spans continents, ideologies, and imaginations. With 13 diverse articles that move from intimate literary dialogues to seismic political events, this issue offers more than a snapshot of global affairs—it is a cultural atlas of our times.
Our cover story sets the tone: an exclusive interview with Margarita Al, President of the World Organization of Writers (WOW), conducted by CAJ Secretary General Ashraf Dali. As WOW prepares for its second international congress in Moscow under the banner “We Are the People of One Planet,” this feature reaffirms our shared literary destiny—one forged by the commitment to translation, education, and the unifying power of the written word.
This ethos of connection continues in Tunisia, where writer Khaled Suleiman and photographer Hassan Ferhat rediscover the International Cultural Centre of Hammamet. In an exquisite blend of history, architecture, and performance, they show how the Mediterranean has always been a meeting place of civilizations, from Greta Garbo to Winston Churchill.
In India, we hear the muffled melodies of silence in Misna Chanu’s poetry collection “The Silent Whispers”, discussed at the India International Centre. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Oseni Yusuf Salami gives voice to a rural health revolution—where communication, not just medicine, becomes a tool of healing.
In our biography section, Fatima Al Zahraa Hassan surprises us with the unexpected intersection of football, film, and friendship through the story of Omar Sharif and his passion for Hull City FC—a tale of cultural crossover, nostalgia, and sport diplomacy.
From Ghana, Dela Ahiawor confronts the menace of drugs with journalistic urgency, while Donald Tlaka brings a broader political lens to the Liberation Movements Summit hosted by South Africa’s ANC, a gathering that dares to ask what liberation means in the 21st century.
We travel next to Venezuela, where Chinese poet Cao Shui ignites the stage of the World Poetry Festival in Caracas, reminding us that literature is both local and planetary, ancient and emergent.
In Uganda, refugee-led educational initiatives are shaping children’s futures in drought-stricken areas.
Dr. Hanan Awwad, in a lyrical meditation on Cairo, captures the city’s poetic pulse with unmatched tenderness. And from Indonesia, Nia S. Amira celebrates Hiroaki Yumoto and the symbolic resilience of Yuko-chan and her Daruma doll—a lesson in uprightness amid adversity.
The issue closes with meditations on space and memory—Ahmed Saeed Tantawi’s reflection on the world’s most visited pyramids and a sobering report from Angola, where a taxi strike in Luanda erupts into fatal violence, reminding us of the fragility beneath urban life.
Across cultures and crises, this issue of CAJ proves that stories are maps—of struggle, beauty, resistance, and hope. We are honored to share these coordinates with you.
