Created by cartoonist Naji al-Ali in 1969, Handala is a 10-year-old Palestinian refugee with his back to the world. The war in Gaza has renewed interest in this representation of Palestinian struggle.

In elementary school, NPR's Malaka Gharib visited her dad in Cairo each summer. It was hot, there was no AC — but she coped. In this age of global warming, she wonders: How are Egyptians getting by?