Five years ago, the pro-democracy uprisings that came to be called the Arab Spring erupted in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
Iyad El-Baghdadi. Photo: supplied
A young man in the United Arab Emirates, Iyad El-Baghdadi, started writing about, and sharing the unfolding events on social media – and he became an unexpected star in the process. His collection of satirical tweets The Arab Tyrant’s Manual, has been translated into 13 languages.
But this came at a cost. Iyad now lives in Scandinavia, and not by choice.
Before the Arab Spring started, in Tunisia in December 2010, he was following a very different path.
Toby Manhire interviews the stateless Palestinian writer, human rights activist and entrepreneur, and finds out what he was doing before he emerged as a prominent online activist.
