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      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA

        The Dinoraf

        by Hessa Al Muhairi

        An egg has hatched, and what comes out of it? A chicken? No. A turtle? No. It’s a dinosaur. But where is his family?  The little dinosaur searches the animal kingdom for someone who looks like him and settles on the giraffe. In this picture book by educator and author Hessa Al Muhairi, with illustrations by Sura Ghazwan, a dinosaur sets out in search of animals like him. He finds plenty of animals, but none that look the same...until he meets the giraffe. This story explores identity and belonging and teaches children about accepting differences in carefully crafted language.

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        Children's & YA
        January 2015

        Hatless

        by Lateefa Buti / Illustrated by Doha Al Khteeb

        Kuwaiti children’s book author Lateefa Buti’s well-crafted and beautifully illustrated children’s book, Hatless, encourages children (ages 6-9) to think independently and challenge rigid traditions and fixed rituals with innovation and creativity.   The main character is a young girl named Hatless who lives in the City of Hats. Here, all of the people are born with hats that cover their heads and faces. The world inside of their hats is dark, silent, and odorless.   Hatless feels trapped underneath her own hat. She wants to take off her hat, but she is afraid, until she realizes that whatever frightening things exist in the world around her are there whether or not she takes off her hat to see them.   So Hatless removes her hat.    As Hatless takes in the beauty of her surroundings, she cannot help but talk about what she sees, hears, and smells. The other inhabitants of the city ostracize her because she has become different from them. It is not long before they ask her to leave the City of Hats.   Rather than giving up or getting angry, Hatless feels sad for her friends and neighbors who are afraid to experience the world outside of their hats. She comes up with an ingenious solution: if given another chance, she will wear a hat as long it is one she makes herself. The people of the City of Hats agree, so Hatless weaves a hat that covers her head and face but does not prevent her from seeing the outside world. She offers to loan the hat to the other inhabitants of the city. One by one, they try it on and are enchanted by the beautiful world around them. Since then, no child has been born wearing a hat. The people celebrate by tossing their old hats in the air.   By bravely embracing these values, Hatless improves her own life and the lives of her fellow citizens.     Buti’s language is eloquent and clear. She strikes a skilled narrative balance between revealing Hatless’s inner thoughts and letting the story unfold through her interactions with other characters. Careful descriptions are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that reward multiple readings of the book.

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        In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat

        by Iman Mersal

        ‘In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat’ is a book that traces the life of an unknown Egyptian writer who died in 1963, four years before the release of her only novel. The book does not follow a traditional style to present the biography of Al-Zayyat, or to restore consideration for a writer who was denied her rights. Mersal refuses to present a single story as if it is the truth and refuses to speak on behalf of the heroine or deal with her as a victim, but rather takes us on a journey to search for the individuality that is often marginalised in Arab societies. The book searches for a young woman whose family burned all her personal documents, including the draft of her second novel, and was completely absent in the collective archives.   The narration derives its uniqueness from its ability to combine different literary genres such as fictional narration, academic research, investigation, readings, interviews, fiction, and fragments of the autobiography of the author of the novel. The book deals with the differences between the individuality of Enayat, who was born into an aristocratic family, graduated from a German school and wrote her narration during the domination of the speeches of the Nasserism period, and that of Mersal, a middle-class woman who formed her consciousness in the 1990s and achieved some of what Enayat dreamed of achieving but remained haunted by her tragedy.   The book deals with important political, social and cultural issues, as we read the history of psychiatry in modern Egypt through the pills that Enayat swallowed to end her life on 3 January 1963, while her divorce summarises the continuing suffering of women with the Personal Status Law. We also see how the disappearance of a small square from her neighbourhood reveals the relationship between modernity and bureaucracy, and how the geography of Cairo changes, obliterated as the result of changes in political regimes. In the library of the German Archaeological Institute, where Enayat worked, we find an unwritten history of World War II and, in her unpublished second novel, we see unknown stories of German scientists fleeing Nazism to Cairo. We also see how Enayat’s neglected tomb reveals the life story of her great-grandfather, Ahmed Rashid Pasha, and the disasters buried in the genealogy tree.

      • Trusted Partner
        January 2013

        The Madmen of Bethlehem

        by Osama Alaysa

        Adopting the story-within-a-story structure of Arabian Nights, author Osama Alaysa weaves together a collection of stories portraying centuries of oppression endured by the Palestinian people.   This remarkable novel eloquently brings together fictional characters alongside real-life historical figures in a complex portrayal of Bethlehem and the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the West Bank. The common thread connecting each tale is madness, in all its manifestations.   Psychological madness, in the sense of clinical mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, finds expression alongside acts of social and political madness. Together, these accounts of individuals and communities provide a gateway into the histories of the city of Bethlehem and Palestine. They paint a picture of the centuries of political oppression that the Palestinian people have endured, from the days of the Ottoman Empire to the years following the Oslo Accords, and all the way to 2012 (when the novel was written).   The novel is divided into three sections, each containing multiple narratives. The first section, “The Book of a Genesis,” describes the physical spaces and origins of Bethlehem and Dheisheh Refugee Camp. These stories span the 19th and 20th centuries, transitioning smoothly from one tale to another to offer an intricate interpretation of the identity of these places.   The second section, “The Book of the People Without a Book”, follows parallel narratives of the lives of the patients in a psychiatric hospital in Bethlehem, the mad men and women roaming the streets of the city, and those imprisoned by the Israeli authorities. All suffer abuse, but they also reaffirm their humanity through the relationships, romantic and otherwise, that they form.   The third and final section, “An Ephemeral Book,” follows individuals—Palestinian and non-Palestinian—who are afflicted by madness following the Oslo Accords in 1993. These stories give voice to the perspectives of the long-marginalized Palestinian population, narrating the loss of land and the accompanying loss of sanity in the decades of despair and violence that followed the Nakba, the 1948 eviction of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes.   The novel’s mad characters—politicians, presidents, doctors, intellectuals, ordinary people and, yes, Dheisheh and Bethlehem themselves—burst out of their narrative threads, flowing from one story into the next. Alaysa’s crisp, lucid prose and deft storytelling chart a clear path through the chaos with dark humor and wit. The result is an important contribution to fiction on the Palestinian crisis that approaches the Palestinians, madness, and Palestinian spaces with compassion and depth.

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        Children's & YA
        January 2011

        The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air

        by Abdo Wazen

        In his first YA novel, cultural journalist and author Abdo Wazen writes about a blind teenager in Lebanon who finds strength and friendship among an unlikely group.   Growing up in a small Lebanese village, Bassim’s blindness limits his engagement with the materials taught in his schools. Despite his family’s love and support, his opportunities seem limited.   So at thirteen years old, Bassim leaves his village to join the Institute for the Blind in a Beirut suburb. There, he comes alive. He learns Braille and discovers talents he didn’t know he had. Bassim is empowered by his newfound abilities to read and write.   Thanks to his newly developed self-confidence, Bassim decides to take a risk and submit a short story to a competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. After winning the competition, he is hired to work at the Institute for the Blind.   At the Institute, Bassim, a Sunni Muslim, forms a strong friendship with George, a Christian. Cooperation and collective support are central to the success of each student at the Institute, a principle that overcomes religious differences. In the book, the Institute comes to symbolize the positive changes that tolerance can bring to the country and society at large.   The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is also a book about Lebanon and its treatment of people with disabilities. It offers insight into the vital role of strong family support in individual success, the internal functioning of institutions like the Institute, as well as the unique religious and cultural environment of Beirut.   Wazen’s lucid language and the linear structure he employs result in a coherent and easy-to-read narrative. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is an important contribution to a literature in which people with disabilities are underrepresented. In addition to offering a story of empowerment and friendship, this book also aims to educate readers about people with disabilities and shed light on the indispensable roles played by institutions like the Institute.

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        Picture books

        The Lilac Girl

        by Ibtisam Barakat (author), Sinan Hallak (illustrator)

        Inspired by the life story of Palestinian artist, Tamam Al-Akhal, The Lilac Girl is the sixth book for younger readers by award-winning author, Ibtisam Barakat.   The Lilac Girl is a beautifully illustrated short story relating the departure of Palestinian artist and educator, Tamam Al-Akhal, from her homeland, Jaffa. It portrays Tamam as a young girl who dreams about returning to her home, which she has been away from for 70 years, since the Palestinian exodus. Tamam discovers that she is talented in drawing, so she uses her imagination to draw her house in her mind. She decides one night to visit it, only to find another girl there, who won’t allow her inside and shuts the door in her face. Engulfed in sadness, Tamam sits outside and starts drawing her house on a piece of paper. As she does so, she notices that the colors of her house have escaped and followed her; the girl attempts to return the colors but in vain. Soon the house becomes pale and dull, like the nondescript hues of bare trees in the winter. Upon Tamam’s departure, she leaves the entire place drenched in the color of lilac.   As a children’s story, The Lilac Girl works on multiple levels, educating with its heart-rending narrative but without preaching, accurately expressing the way Palestinians must have felt by not being allowed to return to their homeland. As the story’s central character, Tamam succeeds on certain levels in defeating the occupying forces and intruders through her yearning, which is made manifest through the power of imaginary artistic expression. In her mind she draws and paints a picture of hope, with colors escaping the physical realm of her former family abode, showing that they belong, not to the invaders, but the rightful occupiers of that dwelling. Far from being the only person to have lost their home and endured tremendous suffering, Tamam’s plight is representative of millions of people both then and now, emphasizing the notion that memories of our homeland live with us for eternity, no matter how far we are from them in a physical sense. The yearning to return home never subsides, never lessens with the passing of time but, with artistic expression, it is possible to find freedom and create beauty out of pain.

      • Trusted Partner
        September 2023

        Primary Health Care in Tanzania through a Health Systems Lens

        A History of the Struggle for Universal Health Coverage

        by Ntuli A. Kapologwe, James Tumaini Kengia, Eric van Praag, Japhet Killewo, Albino Kalolo, Maryam Amour, Mackfallen Anasel, Rutasha Dadi, Faisal Issa, Mwandu Kini Jiyenze, Godfrey Kacholi, Antony Kapesa, Leonard Katalambula, Anosisye M. Kesale, Stephen M. Kibusi, Amani Kikula, Erick Kitali, George Kiwango, Claud Kumalija, Hadija Kweka, Zarina Shamte Madabida, Abel Makubi, Chacha Marwa, Innocent Mboya, Romuald Mbwasi, William Mfuko, Chipole Mpelembe, Gemini J. Mtei, Oresto Michael Munishi, Castory Munishi, Elihuruma M. Nangawe, Harrieth P. Ndumwa, Frida N. Ngalesoni, Jackline E. Ngowi, Belinda J. Njiro, William Reuben, George M. Ruhago, Bakari Salum, Don De Savigny, Aifelo Sichalwe, Nathanael Sirili, Felix Sukums, Bruno F. Sunguya, Idda L. Swai, Marcel Tanner, Desderi Wengaa

        Robust health care systems are paramount for the health, security, and prosperity of people and countries as a whole. This book provides for the first time a chronicle of the struggle for, and eventual success of, universal health coverage (UHC) in Tanzania. Beginning with an introduction to primary health care in the country, from its historical foundations to the major milestones of implementation, this book then considers stewardship of this important aspect of health systems over time. Written in a way to allow the application of lessons learned to other countries' contexts, this book covers: - Policy and governance issues such as leadership, human resources, and financing of health systems; - Practical aspects of health system delivery, including supply chains, community care, new technologies, and the integration of services for particular population groups; - The impact and mitigation of global events on health systems, such as resilience and preparedness in the light of disease outbreaks or climate change, and social, commercial, and political influences. Concluding with a look to the future, forecasting the changes and new solutions needed to adapt to a changing world, this book is a valuable reference for policy makers, global health practitioners, health system managers, researchers, students, and all those with an interest in primary health care and reforms - both in Tanzania and beyond.

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        Fiction
        2022

        The End of the Desert

        by Said Khatibi

        On a nice fall day of 1988, Zakiya Zaghwani was found lying dead at the edge of the desert, giving way to a quest to discover the circumstances surrounding her death. While looking for whoever was involved in the death of the young singer, nearby residents discover bit by bit their involvement in many things other than the crime itself. ///The story takes place in a town near the desert. And as with Khatibi’s previous novels, this one is also marked by a tight plot, revolving around the murder of a singer who works in a hotel. This sets off a series of complex investigations that defy easy conclusions and invite doubt about the involvement of more than one character. /// Through the narrators of the novel, who also happen to be its protagonists, the author delves into the history of colonialism and the Algerian War of Independence and its successors, describing the circumstances of the story whose events unfold throughout the month. As such, the characters suspected of killing the singer are not only accused of a criminal offense, but are also concerned, as it appears, with the great legacy that the War of Independence left, from different aspects.///The novel looks back at a critical period in the modern history of Algeria that witnessed the largest socio-political crisis following its independence in 1988. While the story avoids the immediate circumstances of the war, it rather invokes the events leading up to it and tracks its impact on the social life, while capturing the daily life of vulnerable and marginalized groups. /// Nonetheless, those residents’ vulnerability does not necessarily mean they are innocent. As it appears, they are all involved in a crime that is laden with symbolism and hints at the status of women in a society shackled by a heavy legacy of a violent, wounded masculinity. This approach to addressing social issues reflects a longing to break loose from the stereotypical discourse that sets heroism in a pre-defined mold and reduces the truth to only one of its dimensions.

      • Trusted Partner
        Fiction
        2022

        Al-Qata’i: Ibn Tulun's Trilogy

        by Reem Bassiouney

        The Ibn Tulun Trilogy is a stunning literary work that offers readers a fascinating glimpse into a significant period in the history of Egypt. ///This novel interweaves historical facts with a continuous narrative about Egypt, exploring how it was before and after the arrival of Ahmad Ibn Tulun. His independence and the construction of the city of Al-Qata’i, along with the establishment of a powerful army, are vividly portrayed. As the story progresses, readers learn of Ahmad Ibn Tulun’s death and his son’s reign, as well as the attempts to destroy his legacy and the fate of Al-Qata’i. ///Al-Qata’i is a story that explores the conflict between construction and destruction, the fickleness of fate, and the highs and lows of human existence. It tells of the meeting and parting of loved ones, the struggle between love and hate, oppression and justice, power and helplessness, and the ultimate triumph of victory and the agony of defeat.

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        Biography & True Stories
        January 2014

        Beyond Writing

        by Ibrahim Abdelmeguid

        One of Egypt’s leading literary voices offers a first-hand look at political, social, cultural events of the last 40 years and how they influenced his writing.   Ibrahim Abdelmeguid, called “the quintessential writer about Alexandria” by The National newspaper, looks back over his decades-long writing career this book, which what he calls a “literary autobiography.” In it, he reflects on the social, political, and cultural influences in Egypt and elsewhere that have shaped him as a writer.   He shares his views on major political events, such as the 1967 defeat after the Six-Day War, and explanations of their profound impact on his personal life and works of fiction. Abdelmeguid devotes a portion of his work to discussing the development of his views on Egypt’s second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, over the course of his turbulent tenure in office.   The book is divided into a brief introduction and four chapters. Abdelmeguid guides the reader through his literary career, moving masterfully between the factual and the meditative. He explores how each of his novels and many of his short stories was conceived. He also describes cultural, political, and social contexts in which his writing evolved and was received by literary critics and casual readers.   He spends considerable time describing the creative process behind his Alexandria trilogy— No One Sleeps in Alexandria, Birds of Amber, and Clouds Over Alexandria. The first book, No One Sleeps in Alexandria, is set during World War II. Abdelmeguid visited numerous key sites in Alexandria and surrounding areas and read every newspaper he could get his hands on. The result of his devotion to research is a vibrant portrayal of Alexandria that shines throughout the epic novel. Of particular note is his successful communication of the cultural and religious diversity of the city and the impact of that on the promotion of a culture of tolerance.   Beyond Writing is a rare and important addition to the modern Arabic literary map. Few Arab authors are willing to so transparently share their writing process, preferring to highlight the polished final product while concealing the hard work that brought it into existence. Readers are lucky that it is a writer as prominent, thoughtful, and engaging as Abdelmeguid is willing to draw back the curtain.

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        Fiction
        2017

        Summer Rains

        Winner of the 2018 Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Young Author

        by Ahmad Al Qarmalawi

        Using music as a thread that connects the past to the present, this novel explores what happens when traditional and cultural heritage clash with modernity. The characters face the impact of modernization on heritage and arts versus the need to protect and preserve their traditional culture and must choose between the pursuit of materialism versus spiritual balance. Al Qarmalawi writes about a wide range of music from Sufism to the present era of electronic musical arts, and Summer Rains addresses the current Arab youth crisis, in which young people find themselves torn between fundamentalism and modernity. (An extended English-language report on this book will be available soon.)

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        Your Psychological Complexes Is Your Eternal prison

        by Youssef Al-Hasani

        If you are not ready to face your reality, if you are running away from yourself and avoid facing yourself, then this book is not for you! In this book, you will be shocked by discovering many things and facts that you thought were part of the postulates of life. Also, this book will deal with many bold and realistic matters in our Arab societies that were not discussed in detail in the past, and it will be enough to cause a bout of awareness within you.Get ready for a unique journey that will enable you to see things differently, know your true self, your psychological complexes, and how to have a decent and real life.The book addresses the following points: How are we indoctrinated intellectual legacies? And to what extent does the influence of parents in shaping our id entity and our reactions? A detailed psychological analysis of the most important psychological complexes that exist in the aspects of relationships, work, money, Authority, love, and others. A detailed explanation of the methods of deception and emotional manipulation in relationships. How do we become mature? Why are we afraid of confrontation and expressing our thoughts? How do we overcome our fears? The relationship between the psychological complexes and gender.And many other things.

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        Devouring Himself, Starting with His Feet

        by Abdallah Al-Zioud

        Despite its small size, it managed to take its place among the best modern literature books in recent years. From the title and cover, going through its amazing preface and eloquent language, and to the element of surprise and unexpected ending. Abdallah Al-Zioud was able to make the reading journey of this novel a meaningful journey despite its shortness; a journey introduces readers to new terms that manipulate their imaginations and puts them in the eye of the event through a visual language that conveys the reader from paper to the visual world of the novel. It teaches them some of writing tricks and simplifies what seems complicated at the beginning so that the reader believes in its ordinary before discovering that he has fallen victim to fraud.I can say that the most beautiful thing about this novel is that it was not written in a style and did not follow a context. it rebelled against the ordinary, uniquified in style, and combined simplicity and complexity in a way predicting an amazing ability and counted in its writer favor.

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        Blood and Milk

        by Mohamed Al-Jezawi

        The novel poses the problem of identity, as it is the essence of the psychological and intellectual conflict of the main character (Hassoun), who is disputed by two contradictory identities; He was born in the land of Yemen from a Muslim father and a Jewish mother and carried the inheritance of the two religions and their old and new conflict.Hassoun's internal journey continues with his own human crises and transformations that he witnesses along with his external journey through various societies that he went through in transitional stages of their history. Over two thousand seven hundred years, Hassoun seeks to discover himself and reach his identity by retiring at times, and by experimenting at other times, thus he goes through multiple experiences to get closer to himself.

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        Children's & YA

        I Dream of Being a Concrete Mixer

        by Hussain Al Mutawaa

        An uplifting tale about the power of friendship, finding your place in the world, and realising your dreams while remaining true to who you are. Tumbledown is a little demolition truck growing up in a loving family. His parents go to work every day demolishing buildings with their big wrecking balls. But soft-hearted Tumbledown doesn’t like to destroy. He’d rather build things. He dreams of being a cement mixer. When Tumbledown cries, his wrecking ball swings out and destroys everything it touches. When Tumbledown laughs, his wrecking ball swings out and destroys everything it touches. His soft heart can’t skip a beat without leaving a trail of destruction. At school other students laugh at him, but still he won’t let go of his dream. When Tumbledown makes friends with a feisty troop of metal springs, they hatch a plan to save him from himself. They fan out over his wrecking ball and every time it swings they do their best to absorb the shock. The day comes when the worn-out springs turn to the Wise Old Crane for help. Tumbledown can never be a cement mixer, but maybe there are other ways, better suited to his nature. After some search, the Wise Old Crane finds a new job for Tumbledown at a construction site using his wrecking ball to smooth out the cement on the ground. It’s hard work but Tumbledown is finally happy, and he grows stronger and more skillful with every passing day.

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        ANOTHER ONE CASE

        by Syamirulah Rahim, Zul Azlin, Onn Azli, SN Amran, Fahd Razy, Ahmad Zakimi, Mahyuddin Mohamed, Kamarul Ariffin, Ainul Arina, Rozanizam Zakaria, Khairil Idham Ismail, Rosmawati Hamzah, Norhasidah Abd Razak, Rashdan Mohamed, Noor Hayati Yasmin, Aliyya Ahmad, Adibah Abdullah, Khairy Malik, Hana Hadzrami, Bel Nawhen

        Memory is a double-edged sword that is both a blessing and a curse.   In the halls of a hospital, echoes of human suffering and triumph ring loudest, imprinting indelible marks upon the minds of its workers. Some memories are sweet, a blissful balm to recall; others knives-sharp, wounding the soul.   Death and life, pain and healing, laughter and tears - however we choose to remember them, they remain forever unforgettable.   20 cases, 20 writers.   Regardless of whether we are healthcare workers or patients, our humanity ultimately remains the same.   Just one more case - that unforgettable one.

      • Trusted Partner
        September 2023

        Medicinal Plants used in Traditional Persian Medicine

        by Hartwig Schulz, Seyed Ahmad Emami, Farsad Nadjafi

        Medicinal plants and the natural products within them, still remain the starting point for breakthroughs in the development of safe, pharmacologically active synthetic molecules for use in a wide variety of clinical situations. Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) is one of the most ancient medical doctrines, and is well-documented in terms of information about diseases, diagnoses and treatments, especially by the application of medicinal plants. TPM has been used for centuries worldwide, and many of these methods are still used in Iran today. This book introduces the basics of TPM, and describes the key medicinal plants which are used for the treatment of different diseases. It also creates possible new targets for research activities in drug discovery of natural products. The book is richly illustrated with coloured figures of historic drawings from old Persian pharmacopoeia and photos of plants in their natural habitats. References to Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine and to monastic medicine in Europe are also made. Knowledge about medicinal plants used in TPM still exists in Iran, however, there is a risk that the detailed expertise provided by the older generation will be lost in the near future. It is therefore important that this cultural heritage of humanity is properly preserved. This book provides a valuable, evidence-based resource on TPM for researchers, practitioners and students in medicinal plants, ethnobotany and herbal medicine.

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        Fiction
        November 2020

        The Guys from Mandalay , 1950

        by Khet Zaw

        The Guys of Manday ,1950s is based in the years just after independence . After Myanmar became independent from English , there were several armed conflicts in Ethnic Areas all over the world. Sein Da Myone ( Golden Dagger) was a leader of a robber gang base in Mandalay ,upper Myanmar . Nobody knows the real life of Mr Golden Dagger and he lived under the face of a gentleman . This book is related to The Guys of Rangoon 1930 as well and they have some links in stories.

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