Does it?

I couldn’t resist sharing this interesting quote I found:

The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn’t angry enough.

Bede Jarrett

Speak your mind on freedom in the Middle East

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And
then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Langston Hughes, 1951

If you’re 25 years old or younger, living in one of the Arab League countries, Iran, or the US, then you can participate in the HAMSA essay contest “A Dream Deferred”, and share your thoughts on civil rights in the Middle East. The panel of judges includes Gloria Steinem (founder of Ms. Magazine), the Cato Institute’s Tom Palmer, Azar Nafisi (author of Reading Lolita in Tehran), as well as noted Middle Eastern bloggers Ammar Abdulhamid of Syria and Mahmoud Al-Yousif from Bahrain.

HAMSA (Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance) is a collaborative initiative between two organizations that bridge America and the Middle East, the American Islamic Congress, and the Tharwa Project.

Find out more about the contest, and unleash your writing powers. Deadline is March 31.

Today I Celebrate You

Dear Mom and Dad,

On this day 23 years ago, you became a mother and father for the first time. I have been very immersed in my self-centered reflections in the past week leading to today; looking back at the year that passed, feeling amazed by all the things I got to experience and all the changes that are taking place in my life… graduating university, starting a job, taking up projects and pursuing ideas and ambitions… pausing, pondering, asking too many questions about life and the future… trying to find my place in the world, re-thinking all the things I used to take for granted, challenging illogical norms… growing up, with lots of excitement and anticipation.

But then, it hit me. I wouldn’t be here today having all these thoughts had it not been for you. 23 years ago, on a day similar to today (except with tons of snow) your personal world that revolved around yourselves made a major shift, and suddenly had a whole new center. When you took up parenting, it was no part-time job, not even a full-time job… it became a 24/7 life style, consuming your thoughts, time, work, and energy. Everything you did from that day on became about your children. You redefined the world ’sacrifice’… it just humbles in the face of what you gave.

My friends and I were sitting today, celebrating my birthday, and talking about our new jobs, about what we want, and about the different pressures guys and girls undergo when they start working. One of the points brought up was that very few guys these days can decide to get married without help from their parents… and it got me thinking. Did anyone help our parents in their time?? Did our fathers have their daddies buy them an apartment, or get them a car as a graduation present?? I stand truly fascinated by how most of Jordan’s comfortable middle class is the result of self-made men and women. My dad’s generation is remarkable in every sense… that generation of men who grew up in the fifties and sixties, who came from rural backgrounds, who studied hard and went abroad to get a good education and change their lives. That generation is remarkable, because they carried their parents on one side, and their kids on the other… they wanted to pull their parents along with them, and provide them with a better life, and at the same time build a secure comfortable future for their kids. If only we look at ourselves, at how lucky we are, at all the things provided to us… In this society, fathers don’t just worry up to the point they give you a decent secondary education; they get you through college, and even after you get a job, if you’re a guy, then they worry about helping you get settled, perhaps even buy you a house.

It’s not just those things! Mom, Dad… I look at myself, I look at how I grew up to seek knowledge, to have independent critical thinking, to value family, to feel this sense of belonging, to be surrounded by so much love… and I know it’s all because of you. I think of my amazing sisters and brother, I rejoice over countless beautiful memories, funny games and crazy projects and weird ideas… I realize what a rich childhood I’ve had, and how so patient and amazing you two were to give us all this space for our imagination and our energy.

Mom, you embodied to me what the notion of ’super woman’ is. I was always so proud of my doctor mother, especially when you came to parents’ meetings in your military uniform, and all the girls would go like “is your mom a police officer?” Yet, not once did I feel that I have a working mom whose presence is missed at home. I have no idea how you did it, how you went to work, and yet found time to come to our every important school occasion, to keep a constant supply of homemade ‘mama recipes’ of cakes and cookies, to supervise our studies, to talk, to listen, to be chauffeur, teacher, chef, shopping companion, and friend…

Dad, I cannot begin to tell you how inspired I am by you… by your integrity, honesty, and dedication. I remember in sixth grade, we had a writing assignment, and you may not know it, but I chose to write about you… the opening line was “my dad is like a mountain”, and I feel it now as I felt it then. I used to love listening to you talking to other grown-ups, and I was subconsciously taking it all in, thinking, reflecting, and learning. Your sense of right, your strong initiative, your drive to instigate positive change wherever you are, and above all, your integrity… are things that I always look up to. Now, as I start a new phase in my life, I feel blessed by how you are always there to give advice when needed, yet giving me the space to make my own choices and decisions, and to define my own path.

I could go on and on. Actually, I didn’t say half the things I had in mind. But I just want to wrap it up and tell you two… as I blow 23 candles this year, I celebrate you. This day is your day; it’s because of you, about you, and for you. It’s your ‘parenthood’ day… and I can never thank you enough for that.

Love,

Lina

Arabic; a Critical Language

Still on the topic of the spotlight on Arabic, I picked up this interesting article via Athena entitled “Arabic speakers still scarce“…

Hoping to make a difference in the world (and perhaps sensing the prospect of likely employment), U.S. students are flocking to newly formed Arabic classes on high school and college campuses.

Enrolling is the easy part.

First, the students learn that Arabic text reads from right to left but that numbers flow from left to right. Letters change form, depending on where they are placed in a word. Some sounds have no English equivalent.

And then the really hard part sinks in.

Classical Arabic, which is what’s generally taught in U.S. classrooms, is the equivalent of Medieval English. It’s fine for literature and diplomacy but virtually useless on the streets of Cairo. And Egyptian colloquial Arabic differs from other colloquial Arabic tongues.

It’s no wonder the dropout rate is so high

Now here’s the interesting part:

The military, the FBI and the CIA all have sharply increased recruiting of people who speak the languages used on those tapes, but the supply falls far short of the need, particularly for the most-skilled linguists.

At the State Department, for instance, only 10 of 34,000 employees are rated fully fluent in Arabic.

And yet more interesting

In his recent budget, President Bush proposed an initiative to address the shortfall by jump-starting training in such critical languages as Arabic, Farsi, Hindi and Urdu.

The $114 million program would fund experiments in language instruction and study-abroad opportunities for up to 3,000 high school students. It would pay for 300 teachers to come to the USA and study-abroad opportunities for high-school language teachers. It also would create a corps of 1,000 experts in critical languages to assist the federal government or teach in K-12 schools.

It saddens me to think of the motive behind this recent emphasis on teaching Arabic abroad, but I still think we can take advantage of that from a different angle. Athena points out that “there are only a few study abroad options in the Arab world… and too few scholarships for students who want to do so.” And in commenting on the ten state department employees who are fluent in Arabic, she says “At the least, I hope those ten are of Arab heritage, because understanding cultural aspects is just as important as language translation.“

Indeed it is. And this is where we cannot count on the US government to ensure this education. Our universities, academic institutes, NGOs, and embassies abroad should all start thinking of offering scholarships and interesting exchange programs for students in Europe and America to come here and better understand our culture. Private sector companies can offer internships (Just like the wonderful example Ahmad Humeid gave us of Syntax). I know UJ has an interesting program of Arabic for Foreign Speakers that draws a lot of students, and I know some other universities have similar programs, but the number of such initiatives and their impact are still not comparable to exchange programs in the opposite direction. As an example, I’ve always admired what the French Cultural Center in Jordan does to encourage education of French language here, and how young students are motivated to excel by being offered trips and exchanges and scholarships in France. So here’s a suggestion for our ambassador in Washington to work on, and our ambassadors in Europe. I hope somebody picks up the message.

The Internal Elections of the Brotherhood

Yasser Abu Hilaleh has a very interesting column in today’s Al-Ghad, about the Muslim Brotherhood and their internal elections. He points out some facts about the mechanisms and secret rules of the group that people are probably not aware of, and he says that their practice lacks one of the basic principles of democracy, which is transparency.

I want to apologize to non-arab readers, because I don’t think I can offer a proper translation, but I want to point out a few points that drew my attention…

Two of the largest segments of the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters; Women and Youth, are not eligible for voting (in the internal elections). University students, who are very active and involved, do not meet the criteria of being a “working brother”. Neither do women.

A “Working Brother” is expected to pay membership dues that amount to 5% of his income; something that becomes increasingly difficult within the current economic conditions.

I find this interesting, because during the one student council elections at the University that the brotherhood did not boycott in the past few years, they had four candidates running for the faculty of engineering, one of whom was a female. They also have female candidates in the parliamentary elections. But women are not allowed to vote internally!!! hmmm…

Abu Hilaleh says that “the Muslim Brotherhood are the only strong political organization in Jordan, not because of its continued growth, but because of the collapse of all other streams and parties…”

He wraps up his article by pointing out the inseparable relationship between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, and how that might impact the internal elections.

It’s worth pointing out that Abu Hilaleh himself was actively involved with the brotherhood in his university days.

Read the entire article

Arabic in the Spotlight

Am I correct in assuming that in the past few years, namely post 9-11 and then the ‘war on terror’, more and more people around the world are interested in learning the Arabic language? I wasn’t surprised when a friend of mine who studies in the US told me that the number of students signing up for Arabic courses there has been exponentially increasing, and I wasn’t surprised to learn that a large number of students from all over the world come to the University of Jordan to take its Language Center’s “Arabic for Foreign Speakers” courses. But I still find it all very interesting, partly because, I can’t think of a more difficult language to learn

I guess another reason this observation gets me thinking, is what we can do, now that all eyes are turning to this part of the world more than ever, and that many people are eager to learn and understand things from a perspective different than what has always been presented to them. Satellite TV has changed the role of Arab media in the past decade, and is still pushing boundaries… but I guess now is also the time for us to publish more books, make more movies, and engage more in thought-provoking and culturally enriching dialogue.

I came across this very interesting and well-written post by Mili, a 22-year-old scandinavian studying Arabic (also co-founder of the blog Scandarabia with our friend and fellow Jordanian blogger Rami). She shares valuable insights, particularly on the diversity of the enrolled students and their different reasons for being there. Check it out.

One of my favorite bloggers, Nancy, a 39-year-old ESL teacher in the US, has been studying Arabic for quite a while now, and her posts about the class and the language discoveries are always such a treat. Check out this post, and see how fascinatingly inseparable culture and language are.

High School Memories

Did I ever mention that I spent fourteen years at the same school?! Sisters of Nazareth College in Jabal Hussein… from KG1 all the way to 12th grade! I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but you can only imagine to what extent that place had become home, and the people there family.

At the end of 9th grade I took the entrance exam for the Jubilee school, just for the sake of taking the exam and with no intention whatsoever of moving. When I got accepted, however, I started considering it seriously… and after a lot of painful thinking, I made the decision to leave my school and make the move. That same night I took the decision, my school principle – dear Sister Hilu – phoned home. She said that she heard about my intentions and that she wished to talk to me and my parents. I will never forget that meeting, she played on the emotional chord… saying things like “we’ve raised you for 11 years, and you want to leave us right before the end!”

Needless to say, her attempts worked, and I just decided that I really want to graduate from the school I grew up in. I don’t know what direction my life would have taken had I changed schools… the new people I would’ve met, the new opportunities I might’ve gotten. But in all honesty, I have no regrets, because my last three years of high school were the most amazing, rich and fun. I had the most wonderful classmates. The things we did in those years, our pranks and games, our crazy class ‘projects’ and ideas… too many memories. Here’s one for you; In 10th grade, we attempted to organize a strike against our Arabic teacher (the story is too long to be told here and I’m in no mood to make it short)… we believed strongly in the justness of our cause, and I was telling my classmates things like: “Even if we all flunk the test because of this strike, and even if we kicked out of the school – which we won’t because they can’t kick out an entire class – you will be very proud to tell your children in the future that you got this ‘zero’ grade because you stood up for what you believe in.” Yes I know, romanticizing over revolutionary ideas… but for a 16-year-old who was under the influence of Abdel Nasser and too much fascination with history, this was the closest we could get to doing something ‘daring’ and standing up in the face of ‘oppression’

Ah how I loved history class in 10th grade, even though the book was too meager and all the important history was cooked up quickly and presented in that all too common spoon feeding manner… we had the best teacher, Ustaz Manhal Haddadin, who was a walking encyclopedia and who recounted stories of history in a way that would get us all transfixed and hanging on every line, waiting for how it would all unfold.

I can also never forget my French teacher during the last three years of high school – Mme Dahdaleh. Up until this day, she remains one of the most cultured, well-traveled, and well-read people I have met. Her French class was the most enjoyable… and her appreciation of arts, poetry, history and literature made the learning experience richer and more beautiful.

Ok this is no attempt to mention all the teachers who had a great impact on me, but I cannot start this and not talk about my Chemistry teacher for three years – Ustaz Bshara. Have you ever had a teacher who did not try to pretend to be cool and to be a ‘friend’ of the students, but who was exactly that? A teacher who somehow understood each one of us all too well, to whom I feel I could go at this very moment and open up. Just to give you an idea how much I loved his class and his method of teaching; I got to the point of considering Chemistry as a university major. Ok ok I knew I wasn’t going to do it, because I’m not exactly your ideal scientific lab researcher… but I sure felt like I was going to miss out on something fascinating by not doing so.

Hmmm… so what got me to start talking about all of this high school issue in the first place?

Oh…Right. Last week’s reunion at Canvas my dear friend Tamara had taken the initiative of sending text messages to everyone and planning the whole thing. On that rainy Friday afternoon, 35 girls got together in that beautiful place in Jabal Weibdeh, some of whom hadn’t seen each other in four years, and we turned the place into one big fat Greek wedding

It felt weird, to be talking about graduating from university, and about our jobs, and what next! Ah, life… it’s just one little weird fella.

I’ll leave you with some pics while I head out to work.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

On Freedom and the Jordanian Press Association

Cartoons and Denmark aside, I have been deeply disturbed recently by the arrest of Chief Editors of the two weekly tabloids, Shihan and Al-Mihwar for re-publishing the cartoons (completely disregarding the context in which they were published).

I was reading Natasha’s latest post on the issue, where she linked to the Jordan Times article covering it. What drew my attention in that article, besides the statement from the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists and the updates, was what the Jordanian Press Association is doing about it. Ironically, the Press Association has referred Momani and Khalidi to a disciplinary committee for publishing the cartoons, while at the same time objecting to their arrest by the authorities. Emad Abdul Rahman, a JPA council member, told the Jordan Times that “the editors cannot be punished twice. We have referred them to a disciplinary committee, therefore the government should leave the matter to us.” How more hypocritical can they get?? So basically while the JPA stands up against government intervention or punishment of journalists for something they publish, it retains this right for itself!!! And then they wonder why a national reform plan would call for abolishing compulsory membership in the Association?!!

While people would say it’s no longer relevant to talk about the National Agenda, and while I keep asking myself “What went wrong with this great organized effort that brought together top intellect and vision??” I still ventured to take a look at the official website and to read through some of the chapters that interest me… in this case here, it was Chapter Four, on Political Development and Participation. Under the title “In the area of Press Freedom” the first point states:

“Jordanians have the right to own media outlets, as individuals or through institutions, associations, political parties, or private and public companies without any obstacles, and within the laws of specialized regulating bodies.” (I’m not sure if it translates into “regulating” or “organizing”, but either way…) is it just me or isn’t that an oxymoron??

On to the article of interest, article 12 under the Press Freedom title calls for abolishing compulsory membership in the Jordanian Press Association, because that violates article 20 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, which states:

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Just to give you an additional hint of why no journalist should have to be part of this association, and be subjected to its ‘bylaws’, here’s more on what they’re up to these days:

Officials from the Jordan Press Association (JPA) said they would meet next week to study claims that two other local newspapers, Al Ghad Arabic daily and the Star weekly, had published cartoons deemed offensive.

“We will look into this matter in our meeting next week and if it is true, we will take necessary measures according to our bylaws,” said Emad Abdul Rahman, a JPA council member.

It’s almost 1:00 AM right now, and I’m just angry!! The more I think about it the angrier I get, so I think it’s best to get some sleep instead…

Meanwhile, here are some very well-written related posts:

Naseem’s Abolishing the Jordanian Press Association

Natasha’s RSF: Jordanian authorities ‘acrimonious’ since cartoon controversy began

Khalaf’s Slippery Slope

Feeling so Egyptian Tonight :)

Congrats to Egypt’s football team for winning the African Nation’s Cup after beating Ivory Coast with the penalty-kick shoot-outs! Absolutely wonderful, you’d just wish you were among the crowds in the stadium or at least on the streets of Cairo… we’re so proud of you guys

Here are some shots from the TV screen, so forgive the poor quality…

Good Morning from Snow-Covered Amman!

I had hit snooze for the 6th or 7th time, and was trying to get myself out of bed to go to the gym, when I suddenly realized that the voices coming from the family room of my sisters and parents together were not exactly our typical early morning buzz in the house. It didn’t take long for me to hear Laith’s voice running around happily “It’s snowing it’s snowing! There’s no school today!”

I got up, and there they were, Lara who was dressed and ready to go to her morning round at the University Hospital, Laith glued to the window, Sally huddled next to the gaz heater, dad dressed up in warm clothes after having been outside to wipe the snow off the satellite dish, and mom sitting in front of the TV waiting for some official announcement from the Ministry of Education. JTV were playing Wael Kfoury’s ancient song – guess what – “Talj o ra3d o bard o ree7″. No comment!

How did I feel? Well, funny, because I started thinking about all the things I had planned for today, all of which include commuting from one point to another in our lovely Amman, and suddenly I wondered “Where is the child in me? Why am I not happy about the snow??” All I could think was uurrggghh! Are we going to repeat the same story every year?? Wondering why the day of snow becomes a national holiday and why the country is never prepared to handle it and keep the normal flow of everyday life going…

Well, an amusing thing about snow this year though, is that the minute I woke up, my mom and sisters were like “go take pictures and blog about it, come on!” LoL

So there you go…

7:30 in Rabieh, Amman