The global cat cafe trend, where people pay to have coffee and hang out with cats, has arrived in Gaza.
In the impoverished Palestinian enclave run by Hamas and crippled by a 17-year blockade, residents seeking to escape the territory's troubles are flocking to the new Meow Cafe – Gaza city's answer to the quirky concept tried successfully around the world.
The cafe's founder Naema Mabed, 52, says she envisioned the spot as a unique escape from the pressures of life in Gaza – with its lack of recreational options, a youth unemployment rate of over 60 per cent and frequent rounds of conflict with Israel since Hamas seized control of the strip in 2007.
At the cozy hangout, Mabed offers a modest drink service and encourages guests to head straight to the cat corner to pet and play with the furry friends. The rules of entry are simple: Visitors must cover their shoes with plastic and wash their hands before cuddling the cats.
“I have spent my life raising cats, and they’re a source of joy and quiet, a release of pressures,” Mabed says as cats roam around her. She describes feline communion as a “global antidepressant.”
Her customers seem to agree. They look exuberant as they play and lounge with the 10 cats in residence, including some named Tom, Dot, Simba and Phoenix. Guests are quiet as they soak in the cats' calming presence.
The cats are not adoptable, says Mabed, who is strongly bonded to her feline friends.
“The feeling, honestly, is that you just come to feel the psychological comfort of the cats,” says Eman Omar, 23, who has paid the entrance fee of 5 Israeli shekels ($1.30) to spend half an hour snuggling with cats. “Everything is beautiful!”
Experts say the cafe does far more than indulge the cat-crazed and give visitors a chance for a good selfie. Psychologist Bahzad Al-Akhras says that in places like Gaza such havens can serve as therapy for those scarred from the strip's devastating wars and other hardships.
“Any place that provides humans a kind of interaction with animals has a positive psychological impact,” Al-Akhras says.
It wasn't easy for Mabed to bring the cat cafe trend to Gaza. Opening up shop in the enclave presented a range of challenges – not only financial. The idea of paying to hang out with cats when stray cats roam free on Gaza city's streets every day struck some residents as ridiculous.
But for cat-lovers who face travel restrictions because of the Israeli-Egyptian blockade and can't try out the wildly popular trend elsewhere, the experience is pure bliss.
“If you’re a cat lover, this is your place,” Omar, the customer, says. “If you don’t love cats, you will feel an urge to love them.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
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Red card Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
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On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
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"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
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Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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