Joel Sames News ///////

Zahraa Said Kassem with Slim Amanou

On Monday, September 19th, Khaled Said was posthumously awarded the Human Rights Award 2011 together with Slim Amamou from Tunisia in Berlin. Zahraa Kassem, representing her slain brother Khaled Said received the award in his name.

Khaled Said, Egyptian Internet activist, rapper and blogger, was brutally beaten to death by two policemen on 6 June 2010 in Alexandria. His death triggered massive protests and the Facebook page “We are all Khaled Said” became one of the main catalysts of the revolution. Khaled Said, has become a symbolic figure and the face of the revolution in Egypt.

Khaled Said’s portrait is immortalized in Egypt in countless graffiti, street art murals and stencils in cities like Alexandria and Cairo. For Khaled Said’s sister it was very important to do him that honor in Berlin as well. The famous German photo realist and graffiti artist Andreas von Chrzanowski aka Case painted two original pieces of the Berlin Wall and finished the artwork during the award ceremony. Zahraa Kassem wrote on the wall: “Khaled’s rights are Egypt’s rights”. The designer Mohamed Gaber created a “We are all Khaled Said” calligraphy which was painted under the portrait by Case.

Both pieces of the Berlin Wall originate from the area between the Brandenburger Tor and Potsdamer Platz and were transported to the venue. Each piece weighs 3,8 tons.
The deeply symbolic painting will later be prominently placed at the Freedom Park on the banks of the river Spree. In October this year, the portrait will be painted again by Case in Khaled Said’s home town Alexandria.

“We organized this project in three days and none of the thousands of things that could have gone wrong actually did. It is very rare in life that people and events come together like they did here.” Don Karl

This Project was organized by Don Karl, publisher co-author of the book “Arabic Graffiti” & Hip Hop Stuetzpunkt Berlin – in collaboration with The Dudes Factory (Freedom Park).

A photo and video documentation about the painting process will follow soon!