"I always love that moment when you identify a musical genre or a certain sound from a certain place that you didn't know anything about," Jannis Stürtz, founder of the Berlin-based indie label Habibi Funk Records, tells OkayAfrica.

"Ya Ummi" by The White Bird Band marked Stürtz' starting point with Libyan reggae. It was one of the songs Stürtz came across at the abandoned TK7 factory in Sousse, Tunisia, many years ago. Owned by Tunisian guitarist and businessman Hechmi Miliani, the factory had closed after the collapse of the cassette tape industry in the early 2000s, but still housed tens of thousands of unsold tapes that Stürtz was fortunate to sift through.

"[Miliani] told me he hadn't been inside of it for ten years," he remembers. "There were skeletons of dead cats in the entrance halls." Out of the thousands of options, Stürtz chose everything Libyan he could find, paving the way for six Libyan releases in the following years.

The label today, July 4, released Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music from Libyan Tapes, a collection of 15 songs dedicated to the cassette tape scene in Libya from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, featuring a range of genres from disco to reggae to pop. On a sunny Friday afternoon, Fatima Sabouni and Stürtz jump on a call with me from different ends of their Berlin office, telling me about Libya's love for reggae and the long-winded road the label took to bring this compilation to life.

Sabouni's official title at Habibi Funk Records is Product Manager, but amongst many other things, she co-wrote and edited a thoughtful and informative booklet of interviews with the artists that make up the Libya Compilation.

"'Ya Ummi' was the first track we licensed in 2019," says Stürtz. "In 90 percent of the cases, we license from the artist as opposed to old record labels. In this case, we had to make 15 deals, 15 people that needed to get paid, 15 people that we had to find before we actually could do any deal, 15 people who needed to get interviewed and their material digitized." It took six years.

None of the Habibi Funk team members could be on the ground in Libya. Their interlocutor, the man who made this compilation possible, was Yousef Alhoush, son of Najib Alhoush, the band leader of The Free Music. "[Alhoush] maintains this incredible network and found 90 percent of the musicians within 24 hours," says Stürtz.

Bringing this compilation together was a labor of love and patience that required overcoming unique logistical challenges. "The classic scenario would be that Yousef [Alhoush] finds someone who brings the master tape to Tunisia or Cairo, from where we find someone who can bring it to Germany. We get it digitized, and then it travels back the same route or one of the other routes," says Stürtz.

Sometimes Alhoush would go to the airport, hoping that he'd know someone in line for a flight, or that someone in the line would know his father and agree to deliver a master tape. Stürtz would await them at the airport with nothing but a picture. Payments were sent in a similar way.

"If I pay an artist via Western Union, they lose 50 percent of the advance," says Stürtz. "So then you've got to go to another money provider. Sometimes, I would visit a random logistics office in Cairo that has a partner company in Libya and give a random person a stack of money. I don't get a receipt or anything, and I just trust that this person then calls their colleague in Libya, and that colleague in Libya calls the musician we're working with to pay out the money."

Because North African cultures are highly interconnected and built around trust and keeping a good name, these informal ways were successful.

"Reggae became popular in Libya the year after Bob Marley passed away," says Sabouni. "Initially, artists would do covers, but there was a moment where Ibrahim Hesnawi, the father of Libyan reggae, was in the studio and someone told him, 'Why don't you just put a little twist on it and just make it a bit more Libyan.'"

The beat of Libyan shaabi rhythms is quite similar to reggae. Mixed, it became its own syncretic genre. Even today, there are Facebook groups with 60,000 members of different generations, solely dedicated to Libyan reggae. "I think there are a lot of reasons for that, besides the fact that reggae wasn't too far away from the average listener's ear sonically and filled a gap in the industry," says Sabouni.

During one of the interviews for the booklet, Libyan artist Ayed Belkhair, whose song "La Tgheeb Anni Wala Youm" closes out the compilation, explained to Sabouni why darker-skinned Libyans felt drawn to the genre.

"He said: 'When you're darker-skinned in Libya, it means that you have more African heritage in your family. And there was something about the African pride that came with listening to reggae that really resonated with people in Libya, specifically those with more African heritage. It gave us a seat at the table," she recalls.

Most of the compilation's musicians were unable to pursue full-time careers as musicians due to economic and political reasons, but they continue to write and play music to this day. "There was a lot of nostalgia from everyone I spoke to for a time that seemed to be very expansive creatively," says Sabouni. "When I asked if they still make music, they'd say 'yes, music never leaves you.'"

Habibi Funk Records' archive is a treasure trove of music many would not otherwise listen to. The label tends to gravitate towards musicians' earlier or overlooked releases, rather than their most successful albums.

"The longer you are part of the music scene and have success, the more you try to create something that will nurture the success," says Stürtz. "You try to adhere to certain sounds that are popular, follow certain songwriting and composition structures, and sometimes that means whatever you're putting out isn't as timeless anymore."

While all tracks on the compilation are timeless, Shahd's "Erhal Keef Alshams Tgheeb" is Sabouni's favorite. "It's such a great song and gets stuck in your head," she says with a smile. "It's really special that we were able to license a song by a woman."

After a chance encounter with Hesnawi, Shahd was encouraged to delve deeper into reggae and, under his mentorship, released her successful debut album Weinak in 2003. Five albums later, when Shahd's music was nationally recognized and played in shops and taxis, she remained anonymous. Sometimes, her friends recommended her own music to her.

Despite the many, albeit different, challenges these musicians faced, they created outstanding art that is worth re-release, as thoughtful and dedicated as Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music from Libyan Tapes. In 15 tracks, it invites listeners into expansive worlds infused with reggae, funk, pop, disco, and, of course, beautiful Libyan Arabic.

As Palestinians continue to suffer at the hands of Israel's genocidal war against Gaza, civilians from around the world are taking matters into their own hands. In North Africa, the Al-Soumoud Convoy (Arabic for "steadfast resistance") aims to travel from Algeria through Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt to Rafah to deliver aid.

Buses and private cars full of hopeful adults of all ages left Tunis on Monday, June 9, expecting to arrive at the Egyptian border with Gaza after June 12, picking up volunteers along the way. Their courage is admirable, and many around the world are relieved that, finally, someone is taking action.

"At best, we hope the Al-Soumoud convoy helps the global effort to reopen the Rafah crossing to aid and amplify the call to break the siege and end the genocide. It's about breaking the complicity of governments, including pro-Zionist Arab regimes, but also the silence of international institutions," Algerian researcher and activist Raouf Farrah tells OkayAfrica.

Farrah is participating as an individual activist, helping by gathering supplies and transporting materials. "We want this action to reignite popular mobilization across borders and force governments to reckon with their inaction," he continues. "At the very least, the convoy sends a clear message: from Tunis to Algiers to Libya, Egypt, and Morocco, people are rising in solidarity with Gaza."

The majority of North Africans have been in solidarity with Palestinians for decades, but their governments have resorted to performative criticism of Israel's occupation. In Egypt, dozens of pro-Palestinian Egyptians, including minors, have been arrested for practicing solidarity; at least 150 currently remain in pretrial detention facing charges of terrorism.

This makes North Africa a complex and unlikely place for such a show of civilian force post-2011. Especially in Egypt, many doubt that the Al-Soumoud Convoy will be allowed to cross the highly militarized Sinai Peninsula.

The situation is complicated by the Global March to Gaza, comprising delegations from over 50 countries that plan to walk from Al-Arish to Rafah on June 13. The organization is separate but in coordination with the convoy. This is not the first time a delegation has tried to reach Rafah; the Egyptian government thwarted efforts in 2023.

"It is a source of disappointment and embarrassment for all Egyptians that our government is highly unlikely to allow either the Tunisian or global marches to make their way to Rafah. The Egyptian government has since the beginning of the genocidal war in Gaza restricted access by Egyptian citizens and Egyptian and foreign media to come even close to the area, except for highly choreographed assemblies by its ardent supporters and pro-government media," Hossam Bahgat, Executive Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, tells OkayAfrica.

The Al-Soumoud convoy is aware of the difficult political situation on the ground. Farrah shares, "We expect obstacles — from political obstruction to tight control and possibly limited repression, as well as logistical challenges, especially at borders with Egypt. But the will is firm. This convoy is a rejection of indifference and an act of dignity from below."

However, many Egyptians and Palestinians were concerned that the march volunteers lacked understanding of the immediate danger that comes with any sort of political action in Egypt. "We have built access to medical structures for displaced Palestinians with immense care, caution, and trust over more than a year and a half. These networks are fragile. They can disappear overnight if outside actors disrupt the political balance we've been carefully navigating," Lucy Mahfouz, a local aid worker who uses an alias for security reasons, tells OkayAfrica.

She continues, "People live here. Palestinians live here, and they are already being watched, harassed, denied access to care, or worse. What is framed as a symbolic gesture or a media action by international activists could have devastating, long-term consequences for them."

American author and human rights advocate Hannah Claire Smith is determined to join the march. "After 20 months of a live-streamed genocide, it's clear that educating people online about the ongoing atrocities isn't enough," she says. "It's time to escalate our advocacy and demand more from the international community."

Irish podcaster Danielle Cooper also flew to Cairo. "We want to amplify the voice of the global anti-genocide community and put pressure on governments who aren't doing anything," she says. "I'm not anticipating many obstacles; we aim to protest peacefully. The only challenges we may face are trekking through the Sinai desert in the blistering heat, which is a drop in the ocean compared to what the people of Palestine are facing every day."

"We have sent letters from the different international delegations to the Egyptian embassies. Parliamentarians have sent letters on our behalf to the Egyptian government. We have worked on our discourse, content of communication with the press, and chart of ethics, and I feel we have taken all the necessary steps to guarantee permission," says Saif Abukeshek, chair of the international committee of the Global March to Gaza. "We see Egypt as part of the solution, and we count on their support to fulfill our mission and reach the border."

The willingness of these volunteers, who are said to be thousands, to set aside their daily lives and physically show up in this moment of moral urgency should be an inspiration and a reminder for all of us that we must do better. Everyone has a role to play, and nobody will be free until all of us are free.

At the same time, doing better means listening to those on the ground and considering the long-term consequences and practicality of political action. In an ideal world, the convoy and march join forces and walk to Rafah, supported by the Egyptian government, to open a humanitarian corridor and finally end the siege. The reality, however, looks different.

On Wednesday, June 11, the Egyptian government published a statement reaffirming the regulations governing visits by foreign delegations to areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip, including Al-Arish and the Rafah border crossing.

As of today, June 12, Cairo authorities have detained and deported dozens of foreign nationals arriving in Egypt for the Global March to Gaza. There are reports of hotel raids in central Cairo, with several activists arrested. One organiser told news agency AFP that more than 200 foreign citizens had been detained at the Cairo airport since Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Al-Soumoud convoy has not yet been granted permission to traverse Eastern Libya, which is under the control of General Khalifa Haftar, whose government is closely aligned with the Egyptian President.

None of this comes as a surprise to Egyptians.

"At the very least, we hope to show the people of Gaza they are not alone and to force the international community to reckon with its complicity," says Smith. "Even if governments don't act immediately, we believe mass mobilization can shift what's politically possible."

To this, Mahfouz says, "If a regime that has brutally repressed any form of Palestinian solidarity is suddenly letting foreign nationals approach the border and post about it freely, you should ask: who is benefiting from this? Because it is clearly not the Palestinians living here. If anything, this kind of action allows the regime to posture while cracking down even harder on those who stay behind. It risks turning solidarity into a stage, while those living under daily surveillance pay the price."

This story was originally posted June 10, 2025 at 3:52 p.m. and has been updated.

June 12, 10:19 a.m. Updated to include updates of participant deportations by the Egyptian government.