By Layan Damanhouri
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – We have another war to fight on the southern border, a Kuwaiti guest speaker said to a crowd attending the Hakaya Misk Festival this week. The festival is a cultural and educational event showcasing various forms of storytelling.
“The cyber attacks the Kingdom is facing on social media is also a war,” said Dr. Fahd Alshelaimi who visited the southern border recently and met with the soldiers of the Coalition Forces led by Saudi Arabia.
Asked about his initiative, he said he read on social media about what was going on in the southern border and wanted to see for himself.
“I realized what is being said on social media contains a lot of rumors and hoaxes,” he told Saudi Gazette.
“There are those who are willing to die to defend their country and have sacrificed a lot. We need to show support for their families here in any way possible,” he added.
While documenting his trip on Snapchat and Twitter, thousands interacted with him. Alshelaimi spoke with soldiers and showed his followers their messages of hope and pride. Poetry is one form of encouragement by the soldiers to endure the war.
Some 90,000 tweets “attack” the Kingdom regularly, according to a journalist moderating the session.
“There are many messages on social media with hidden traps that many youth are not aware of. What many do not know is that it is a crime to retweet such lies on social media without making sure their credibility first,” commented Alshelaimi, warning parents to watch over their children when using their smartphones.
“The war is one of the major stories of the country today,” he added. “If the Kingdom hadn’t gone to war, its regions wouldn’t be safe
In its fifth edition, Hakaya Misk provided a platform for talented youth to learn how to create content as well as share their work. The event, taking place outdoors at the Jeddah Historical District, leads visitors to different forms of storytelling by offering workshops in writing, drawing, filmmaking in addition to theater performances and segments of oral storytellers mimicking the old city’s dwellers in the past. Local artists also participated in open galleries featuring original artwork.
The Balad district was chosen as the event’s venue because of its historic area providing a cultural atmosphere where many people like to spend Ramadan nights, according to Misk officials.
The five-day festival ends on Tuesday.
