Ruqaya Izzidien's debut novel, The Watermelon Boys, opens with an unsettling passage about the ways in which we are all captives of the past. "We are our history; we are the crimes of our ancestors," she writes. "And we wait, mouths agape, to hear tales of hope, as though good could triumph in such a world." Needless to say, what follows is a barbaric tale.
It's set during and after the British-led Mesopotamian campaign in the First World War. Izzidien explores an oft-misunderstood period of modern history, and forces the reader to confront the impact of European intervention in the Middle East, the consequences of which are still being played out today.
"The crimes of that era, even if they have been forgotten by Britain, haven't been forgotten by Iraqis," Izzidien, 31, says. "We need to address the fact that, whether we like it or not, British actions in Iraq during the First World War were used as an instrumental tool for ISIS recruitment.
“We can’t pretend that these wounds haven’t been passed down to the grandchildren and the great grandchildren of the people who lived through that time.”
What is surprising, then, is just how much joy seeps through this dispiriting fog. The Watermelon Boys can, at times, be immensely uplifting. It might recount a series of brutal conflicts and betrayals, but it is, ultimately, a novel defined by love and moral conviction. "It was never actually supposed to be a book about war," Izzidien says. "It's more about a family trying to do the right thing against the backdrop of war."
Beginning in 1915, and interweaving the dual storylines of a family in Baghdad and a young Welsh soldier, Carwyn, who is sent to fight in the Middle East, Izzidien’s novel sets out to reassess the Mesopotamian campaign and the subsequent Iraqi revolt, which erupted when Britain reneged on its promise to support Arab independence in return for support in the war against the Ottomans.
Izzidien tells these stories from the perspective of the Iraqis and challenges the accepted European narrative, in which the British tend to be portrayed as the protagonists and the conquerors. That this feels like a bold thing to do is instructive. We are so used to history being told through a single, fixed – and almost exclusively European – lens that even acknowledging an alternative version strikes us as radical. Yusuf, the young son of Ahmad, the novel's central character, says at one point: "The Ottomans are fighting the English, but all that really means is Arabs on one side are fighting Arabs on the other." Later, in a passage about the Siege of Kut, Izzidien writes: "The world had been so absorbed in the Siege of Kut and the thousands of British men trapped in the town by the Turks, forced to eat their horses and their dogs, that he [Carwyn] had not thought about the residents who were caught up in it, too."
Izzidien’s great triumph is to illustrate how nuanced and knotty history can be – and why it matters that we recognise this. “In British schools, we are only taught about the crimes of others or about British history that is so far back, we don’t have to feel guilty about it,” she says. “This is how we end up with these ridiculous, rose-tinted views of the Empire.”
Literature has a part to play in this, too. When Izzidien, who grew up in Wales but is of mixed Iraqi and English heritage, began researching The Watermelon Boys, she noticed that very few novels about the war in Mesopotamia presented Arabs as anything but "exotic context for the British protagonists". "The focus was on the British," she says. "No-one was addressing what impact this occupation had on Iraqis."
This narrow range of voices is something that afflicts all European literature. “There’s nothing wrong with writing about a different culture, but if you’re writing from without, you need to actually make the effort to understand the culture you’re writing about,” Izzidien says. “You cannot simply write about white people in the Arab world as if they are in some kind of vacuum, as if they have no effect on the people around them. People of this region have stories, they have three dimensions to them.”
After studying modern languages at Durham University, Izzidien, who now lives in Morocco, began working as a journalist in the Middle East, where she regularly reported from Gaza. These experiences helped shape the latter half of The Watermelon Boys. Izzidien draws comparisons between what happened in Iraq during the First World War and what is happening today in the Middle East. It is a piece of historical fiction – "as accurate as a novel can get" – but it is unafraid to look forward as well.
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At one point, Izzidien laments the sacrifices made by the characters in her novel who desperately sought independence for Iraq. But she could just as easily – and very deliberately – have been writing about those who were killed during the Arab Spring in 2010. It is a passage that warrants quoting in full: “It is always the young, the brilliant, the most idealistic – the ones who most deserve the world they strive for – who die in the sacrifice,” Izzidien writes. “And the rest are doomed to live in a circle of remorse. Never quite fulfilling their potential, never quite transcending, never quite able to achieve their liberty with the absence of these souls. Always, always on the cusp of what could have been. Oh, God, what we could have been.”
“I was there after the revolution in Egypt and that’s where that passage comes from,” she says. “People who were fighting an idealistic fight and deeply believed in a better future for Egypt, their lives were taken away within seconds. They were the ones who really deserved to witness the fruits of their labour.”
Equally discomfiting is the postscript to the novel, which is a quote from an American officer who served in Iraq in 2003, some 88 years after the events that take place in The Watermelon Boys. "You have to understand the Arab mind," it reads. "The only thing they understand is force – force, pride and saving face."
Izzidien recites this to me, then adds: "We've not really come very far in all these years. What has changed in terms of how the western world views Iraq?" And so we return to the first paragraph of The Watermelon Boys, and think of the next generation, which waits, "mouths agape, to hear tales of hope, as though good could triumph in such a world".
The Watermelon Boys, published by Hoopoe Fiction, is out now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
SWEET%20TOOTH
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
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OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis