Tahrir Square (rhetoric of a revolution)

For the Eid Al Adha (Islamic religious festival) I travelled down to Cairo...here are my first impressions of the post-revolutionary city through street graffiti around Tahrir Square

Mubarak is the cow...

Cow) بقرة حاحا

English Translation

All the sobbing weepers wept

At the fate of the fighting cow

And that cow is milch; she exudes a gallon’s milk

But she is robbed; by the members of her own house

And the house has its owners and eleven doors

And underground tunnels and a sea of wolves

The ogres of the house stand by day

But on a known set date; the Romans did the deed

They pushed the locks; the guards fled

The outsiders came and sucked the milk

And the cow yells and screams “O My Children”

But the children of shame, were fast asleep

The cow was oppressed, by oppression, overwhelmed

She fell into the well; the bystanders asked

“Well, why did she fall?”

She fell from fear

“From where does this fear come?”

It comes from blindness

She fell because of hunger and because of idleness

That dark fighting cow

The crying tunes of the weeper wept

At the fate of the fighting cow

Arabic Original

ناح النواح و النواحة

على بقرة حاحا النطاحة

و البقرة حلوب .. تحلب قنطار

لكن مسلوب .. من أهل الدار

و الدار بصحاب .. و حدعشر باب (11 باب )

غير السراديب .. و بحور الديب

و غيلان الدار .. واقفين بنهار

و ف يوم معلوم ... عملوها الروم

زقوا الترباس ... هِربوا الحراس

دخلوا الخواجات .. شفطوا اللبنات

و البقرة تنادي .. و تقول يا ولادي

و ولاد الشوم ... رايحين ف النوم

البقرة انقهرت .. م القهر انصهرت

وقعت بالبير .. سألوا النواطير :

طب وقعت ليه ..؟

وقعت م الخوف

و الخوف يجي ليه .. ؟

من عدم الشوف

و قعت م الجوع و م الراحة

البقرة السمرا النطاحة

ناحت مواويل النواحة

على حاحة و على بقرة حاحا

http://revolutionaryarabicpoetry.blogspot.com/2011/07/cow.html 

Super recent additions...jailed human rights journalist

http://www.protectionline.org/Ala-a-Abdel-Fattah-human-rights.html

Toppled King!

BREAKING NEWS - Change of Government in Jordan

My apologies…this WOULD have been breaking news had my blog not taken the backseat this past week due to Arabic midterms! لحمد لله all done and off to Petra and Wadi Rum to stay in a traditional Bedoine camp...posts to come!

So here’s the deal…for the past couple months there have been protests downtown after Friday prayers. Despite scattered incidence of violence (including a burning car that forced a road closing and canceling of our weekend hiking plans :( ) The protestors have been demonstrating peacefully against government corruption, the high living costs in Amman compared to the wages that people make on average here, and these bogus redrawing of municipality lines. The main consensus was that the government was uncoordinated, incoherent with its policies, couldn’t handle any issue that would come up. As I mentioned in a previous entry, the people of Jordan LOVE their King and the royal family is looked at like beloved celebrities – the criticism of the governing structure is thus all directed at the Parliament.

On October 24^th, appeasing the people’s demands, King Abdullah asked the Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to resign. The task of forming a new Cabinet, to take a fresh approach to the issues facing a Middle Eastern country amidst increased cries for democracy and government accountability, is now entrusted to Awn Khasawneh.

This is an interesting choice, for Khasawneh has no past political career, in fact his most recent work was for the International Criminal Court. The lack of “experience” may actually bode well for him, because he isn’t touched by the corruption rampant in the past government, and his law background gives people hope that he will abide by the rule of law and institute just reforms in the Jordanian political system.

In the King’s Letter designating Khasawneh as the new premier (which was published in the Jordan Times) he stated that: “The primary mission of this government is to implement a political reform process with clear milestones, not just arbitrary timetables. The government must also draft legislation and laws and conduct municipal elections. This demands coordination between the legislative and executive branches, and neither must encroach upon the other. It also necessitates drawing a roadmap to achieve political reform based on clear foundations and criteria. Citizens must be kept abreast of achievements at each stage, as they materialise, for the challenges facing Jordan at this time are both great and complex.”

When I first saw the headlines in the Jordan Times that the government had been dissolved – I expected riots in the streets, or at least some good, old-fashioned stone throwing! However, making it to school in one piece, I learned from my professors that this is a fairly routine transition, actually the second time it’s happened this year! Accordingly, the transition is going fairly smoothly and the Jordanians that I’ve talked to, for the most part, have a positive outlook and believe that progress and reform is soon to come with this legitimate new premier taking the reigns in the government.

I think that the most significant aspect of this government change is that, through organized, peaceful, routine demonstrations, Jordanians were able to voice their concerns and their King seemed to have heard them and responded with a change of policy. Politics driven by the will of the people? Sounds a lot like democracy to me J

International Diplomatic Bazaar

Yesterday we went to a HUGE bazaar featuring arts, crafts, food, jewelry and pretty much anything else you could imagine from around the world. Each embassy in Jordan had their own table and everywhere from Poland to Azerbaijan was represented! Another example of the rich culture in Amman and the international, modern character of the city.

Makluba and the 'Culture of Cool'

Today I had lunch at my friend’s host family’s beautiful house. We had Maklouba – a traditional Jordanian rice and chicken dish served on a HUGE platter that everyone helps themselves from. It was fun to spend time with them and see a different side of Jordanian society (I’ve been meeting mostly young students). They have a live-in maid from the Philippines and live in a nice, gated neighborhood. Because the Ministry of Public Affairs is across the street from them – there is an M16 - toting guard across the street who Lily (my friend from the program) says gives her comfort walking home at night.

During the course of our meal, Fatima (a stylish, impeccably made-up Jordanian woman) began telling me about her 11-year-old daughter’s obsession with “America.” By this she meant that the kid is glued to Disney channel, idolizes Justin Bieber, and faithfully hangs on Oprahs every word.

 “She wants to be President of America, this one.” Fatima jokes.

Her daughter is only in middle school, but is already thinking of going to America to study and is totally keyed-in to her perception of American life. How many American kids her age could name a single Middle Eastern t.v show?

What does it mean to have one society that is so unilaterally focused on the other – taking cues on how to “be cool?”

I would argue that what we are seeing with the Occupy Wall Street protests sweeping across America and abroad, in the wake of the inspirational ‘Arab Spring,’ is actually a sign of the opposite. For seemingly the first time, it’s “cool to be Arab.” They’re not just greedy oil sheiks and one-dimensional terrorists and any other variation of diminishing camel-riding stereotype – they used massive nonviolent movements and social media to bring down powerful dictators.

They are now the ones worthy of emulation.

These shifting political trends must spill over into the cultural realm – still to be seen how they will manifest themselves especially given that most Westerners are starting from a place of ignorance and misperceptions about the Arab World. However, sitting at the dining room table today, I wondered if in ten years time Leen (Fatima’s daughter) will be listening to Jordanian music (as opposed to the Michael Jackson that she plays now!) on her ipod with her new American friends – who controls the “culture of cool?” 

Weekend Adventures hiking/Canyoning in Wadi Mujib

Wadi Mujib is a canyon that enters the dead sea BELOW sea level, making it the lowest-altitude nature reserve in the world...also one of the best places to walk though a river, propel down waterfalls :) 

 

Using the weapons of Non-Violence to break stereotypes

The Middle East?

My favorite class thus far is called the Arab Spring - a political science class in which we look at the various political and social roots of the events that that took place in the Middle East this past year. We each have to choose a research project topic for the semester. While I have not fully formed my paper title, I would like to focus on the application of strategic nonviolent action in the recent uprisings. The vast majority of the theorists that we read the past week either overtly stated r more subtly implied that revolutionary violence is a necessary prerequisite to breaking with repressive past and creating a peaceful future. In Revolutions and War Stephen Walt said that “mass revolutions are almost always bloody and destructive” – making the nonviolent component of the recent civil insurrections especially interesting to me because they seem to dispel this notion.

I also find this a good way to challenge stereotypes of Arabs/Muslims. I remember reading in James Zogby’s Arab Voices: What TheyAre Saying to Us, and Why it Matters that one of the big “supermyths” that Americans hold about Arabs is that they’re passive followers or autocratic leaders on one extreme or crazed terrorists. This, plus the image of the Arab as an irrational “bad guy” perpetrated by popular culture and the media (I watched the documentary Reel Bad Arabs which explores how Hollywood has consistently villafied Arabs) stands to be refuted by these strategic, nonviolent movements. On a side note, I wonder if a shifting American cultural perception of Arabs as more than just the “one-dimensional terrorist” but rather a young revolutionary capable of using modern technology (Facebook) to organize a non-violent movement will shape in any way U.S policy towards these nascent Middle Eastern states?

Bagpipes in Jordan ?

Roman ruins, the remnants of an ancient civilization in the heart of the Middle East….bagpipe music? Apparently the British introduced the instrument to the Jordanian soldiers who fought with them during the second world war….our tour guide said that despite our shock at seeing an Arab man in a kilt – it’s not uncommon for festivals and cultural events here…glad to see there are some more lighthearted lasting effects of western imperialism..

Jerash

Entering the ancient Roman city of Jerash

Relaxing Day at the Dead Sea

This weekend we rented a van and drove to the dead sea spa resort for some much needed R&R and a break from studying epic piles of arabic flashcards and dense articles from revolutionary theorists...

Hey, It's full of nutrients!

 

This past July I hiked up Masada mountain in Israel (at an ungodly hour) and watched the sun rise over the Dead Sea - now I've seen it set from the Jordanian side :)

Call to Prayer

If the American chain restaurants and sprawling malls have you forgetting your studying in the Middle East – the call to prayer, played over a loudspeaker throughout the city five times a day, is a sure reminder. My relationship with the call to prayer is rather shaky at the moment seeing as its woken me up each morning religiously at 4:30 a.m.

Some would say that this is evidence in prime that religion is still the main driving factor in the social and political life in Jordan. Perhaps true, but I wonder how different is the fact that I grew up pledging “allegiance to the flag….one nation under GOD” or that when I was just in London it was hard to find stores open on Sunday (the holy day in the Christian religion.) Maybe religion still permeates all of our cultures in different ways, yet it is definitely more noticeable for a foreigner to pick up on in Jordan.

For now, at least I’m saving my JD’s on an alarm clock…

Being a Woman in Jordan

No you don’t have to cover completely or wear a burka but this is definitely a fairly conservative culture when it comes to gender relations. Girls dress pretty modestly but are still fashionable – its all about the cute patterns on the headscarves, and jewelry, and SHOES. Jordanian woman love their heels and are also perfectly groomed (you can get a mani/pedi for 15 JD which is like $17 and eyebrows done for 3JD.) I also really need to make some Jordanian girl friends who can teach me how to do eye makeup with the heavy black kohl liner.

Beauty aside…

You could see the huge Zara on Wakalat street or the huge shopping malls that are nicer than most I’ve been to in the states and assume that this is a pretty modern culture. However when it comes to women it seems very traditional. For instance girls always ride in the backseat in Taxis  - but quiet your Rosa Parks impulses for a second ladies because this is actually a sign of respect, like a wealthy Jordanian man will ride in the backseat if he has a driver.

98% of Jordanian woman wait until marriage to have sex and it is a very taboo topic. In fact, girls don’t really go out at night socially unless it’s with their male family members or a group of girls. Dating is uncommon unless your engaged.

The harrassment issue as a Western woman isn’t unbearable, but it is pretty bad. You get cat calls walking on the street and definitely stares in the supermaket. If you dress modestly it’s not bad and I pretty much just tune it out. These guys are coming from an extremely sexually repressed culture and value base so I try to look at it from that perspective – they’re not horrible or dirty people but their concept of Western women is constructed from what they see on Friends and Grey’s Anatomy and, lets face it, American t.v shows don’t exactly give us a great rep. (thanks Meredith Grey!!)

What this basically means is you shouldn’t travel alone after dark or take a taxi home after 12. If you go into a café or restaurant and there are all men smoking Shisha LEAVE because they will assume you are a loose woman at best and at worst, ummm very nice how much?

Entering Ancient Ruins

Photo Cred: my rajul Daniel 

Ahlan wa Sahlan to Amman!

Almost a week down and the reality of my being here and the fact that I’m going to be living in the Middle East for the next four months is finally starting to set in. There are seventeen of us American students on the program and we’ll be taking Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies classes at Amideast’s facilities in West Amman (the nicer, more westernized side of the city). We’ve all been staying at a hotel near Amideast until we move-in to our various accommodations for the semester – apartments for some of us and host Jordanian families for others.

I’m living in an apartment with two other American students (both from New York so we’ll undoubtedly be having an ongoing WestCoast/East Coast debates..)

The week has been a whirlwind of jet-lag and adjusting to the dry heat and hearing Arabic spoken everywhere and learning to BREATH amidst the hazardous concoction of high altitude, car exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke, shisha smoke, cigar smoke, smoke…

Amideast 2012

Having traveled to many places in my life I can say with absolute certainty that I have never been to a place like Amman. The city is the chaotic, loud, dusty result of overlapping forces – you have ancient ruins like the Roman amptheatre and the surreal crumbling pillars of the Citadel alongside distinctly Arab stone houses cascading down the hills into the distance. There are the distinct signs of globalization infiltrating the traditional society (McDonalds, Starbucks, Popeyes) next to cafes overflowing with bearded men and hijab-wearing woman sipping coffee and smoking Hookah. Sometimes I feel like I could be walking down the street in San Francisco (Rainbow Street is the hip, cultural epicenter of Amman and has lots of artsy stores and bookshops as well as a fat-free fro yo store and an independent movie theatre) and other times I feel completely out of place in a strange and foreign world. Some observations I’ve made so far are:

- Far from a Mubarak or Gaddafi character, Jordanians LOVE their King…you can actually be arrested for slandering King Abdullah’s name. It’s the Parliament and the prime minister that many Jordanians blame for high inflation and unemployment alongside the high cost of living here. When it comes to the royal family though – celebrity status – you can’t really go anywhere without Abdullah’s grinning picture present.

-Jordan can be confusing because on the one hand it can seem very modern – most all young people speak English perfectly and you can get pretty much any food from sushi to Chinese take-out to nice oven-baked Italian pizza – but then you can’t forget the conservative bedrock of society. It took us thirty minutes and lots of failed attempts walking into restaurants and checking menus before we could find a single place that served alcohol around our hotel!

-Arab time is a real thing….let’s meet up at 8 can turn into 9 can turn into 10…promptness is definitely not valued like in the U.S

-I would NOT get behind the wheel here – the city is organized in a linear progression of numbered circles (for ex. our apartment is near seventh circle and Rainbow street is by the first circle) and that’s basically how people orient. Rather than street names, people mostly give directions by describing nearby landmarks. The fast and reckless driving, especially around the roundabout circles, makes crossing the street, especially for somewhat of a space cadet like me, a bit of an issue. Also, on cars, CRAZY expensive here – apparently there’s a 100% sales tax.

-Jordanians are very centered around TRADITION and FAMILY, which our program diretor explains, is why the culture is having such a hard time grappling with the Arab Spring. They don’t take well to change and, as you can see by the construction going on almost everywhere, Amman is undergoing a lot of growth and progressive changes lately that are shaking up society a bit. I guess they only got their first McDonalds in 1996!

Map of الأردن

For geographically challenged people like me - this is where I'll be spending the next four months! Flying to Amman from Heathrow Airport in London tonight :)

"Protests likely across the Middle East in run-up to September 20 UN vote on Palestinian statehood. Violence possible."

Just received an e-mail with this heading...no worries, right?
On September 20th Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, will address the UN General Assembly and make a bid for Palestinian statehood.


As the e-mail said, leading up to the vote there are probably going to be pro-Palestinian demonstrations throughout the Middle East - especially in countries with large Palestinian populations...


WELL
according to the U.S State Department's website, there are about 1.9 million Palestinian refugees living in JORDAN today and some estimates say that HALF of Jordan's people are of Palestinian origin!


Hopefully the rallies will remain peaceful and help to further the Palestinian cause - hopefully the Jordanian government won't respond to demonstrators in a Syria-like, abuse of power, BS way! As Arabs would say, In Shah Allah ( meaning if God willing or hopefully for us more secular peeps) everything goes well with the protests that they're expecting in the Greater Amman Municipality Square and the Israeli Embassy in downtown Amman, as well as the northern and western border areas with Israel
Definitely will be interesting to follow the events of the upcoming month...from my new apartment in AMMAN (which i move into next week!!!)


Good article about Palestinians' plan to enhance their likelihood of getting the results they want on Sep. 20th
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/10/palestinian-protest-plan-_n_923688.html

Change of Plans

“Because of the uncertainty and fluidity surrounding the political process that is playing out in Egypt, coupled with other issues related to student safety in the run-up to the parliamentary elections that will take place in November, we have decided to cancel the 2011 fall program in Cairo…..”

With this one sentence, which I received in an e-mail from the Amideast powers-that-be in Washington, my aspirations of studying abroad in Egypt during arguably the most exciting time in the country’s history, were dashed. Despite obvious safety concerns, I can’t say I wasn’t crushed. Meanwhile I was faced with the decision of where to spend the upcoming semester instead of Cairo. My options were two other Middle Eastern countries that the US State Department deems at least incrementally more stable at the moment: Morocco or Jordan??

One of my main goals for the next few months is to immerse myself in the Arabic language so as to comfortably ‘get by’ in the Arab world (getting a taxi, haggling without being ripped off, talking to cute Arab guys – you know, just the essentials.) The Moroccan dialect is very distinct and not widely understood elsewhere in the Middle East, so I didn’t think it would be the most strategic place to study Arabic. Other factors drove me to the Hashemite Monarchy of Jordan, however. Located northwest of the massive Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq, Jordan is smack-dab in the heart of the Arab World and thus in prime real estate to play a pivotal role in the region’s political and social landscape. Whether its sheltering Syrian refugees fleeing the brutal crackdown of the Assad regime, or exerting its influence in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Jordan itself has a large internal Palestinian population) or upholding its status as a Western ally (although recent protests and ensuing reforms may alter this historically cozy relationship hmm…) Jordan seems to be a key player in the area. Amman appealed to me as a unique base from which to observe the current changes sweeping across the Arab world .

Now its just a matter of brushing the dust from my Al-Kitaab language book, packing my probably oversized suitcase, and beginning the countdown til I move-in to an apartment in Amman with other American students on September 4^th! Can't Wait!

The Seeds of Change??

While certainly not dramatic enough to rival the cataclysmic events in Tunisia and Egypt - the Arab Spring has definitely come to Jordan. Last January, thousands of Jordanians began holding weekly demonstrations in Amman and other cities to protest government corruption, rising prices, widespread poverty, and high unemployment rates in the Hashemite Monarchy. Responding to his dissatisfied people, King Abdallah replaced the prime minister with supposed reformer Marouf al-Bakhit. Also, in June, Abdallah announced that future cabinet members would be approved by parliament instead of by royal decree, thus satisfying a key demand of the protesters.

Unappeased, the marches have continued as many citizens are calling for political and constitutional reforms. Apparently, most of the protests happen after Friday afternoon prayers, led in large part by leftist and youth groups like the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the country's Muslim Brotherhood affiliate. Amideast sent us an e-mail regarding the protests that described them as mostly peaceful, with some minor violence: “One anti-government protester was killed and dozens more wounded March 26 in central Amman after regime loyalists attacked a protest sit-in. Additionally, on July 15, at least 15 people were injured in Amman after security forces forcefully dispersed protesters attempting to set up a tent encampment.”

Amman is also the center of other political, religious, and social tensions. Jordan's Salafist movement, who rigid and conservative views about Islam and the prominent role it should play in Jordanian society are jumping on the momentum of the secular demonstrations and holding their own marches. Also, in the wake of the violence in Gaza and Pro-Palestinian groups have also been active and staging demonstrations around the Israeli borders.

All to say there is definitely a lot going on. Don’t worry mom, I plan on taking Amideast’s latest e-mail to heart:

“Advice!!!!! Avoid all protests. Use caution around prominent places of worship, which may be gathering points for demonstrators. Allow additional time for travel.”

Perhaps a bit dramatic, but I’m certainly not naïve enough to think a white chick can just jump into the political landscape and start demanding human rights for Jordanians (no matter where my convictions may lie.)

Instead I will be watching intently as these protests progress and asking A LOT of questions. I’m interested to see what the news covers (or maybe leaves out?) How do young Jordanians, whose future jobs, homes, and aspirations hang in the balance, view the changes that their country is moving towards? 

اهلا وسهلا to my blog!!!

The past couple months, questions like, “what’s next for post-revolutionary Egypt?” or “what does Democracy look like for Egypt?” have permeated many Western news hours and talk shows. These media sources often draw on the on the opinions of Egyptian authors, intellectuals, and activists who are over the age of 30. While the views of such individuals undeniably have relevance for Egypt in its nascent stages of democratization, it was not their generation’s hour. Where are the opinions of the youth of Egypt? I don’t want to hear the rantings of a time-worn, white haired Muslim Brotherhood leader. I want to hear from the average student, like myself, who is watching the future of their country take shape and what that will mean for them as a citizen of a newly forming democratic society.

In the next few months I will be attempting to report the opinions, views, interests of those who you would not see interviewed on an Al Jazeera talk show. With broken Arabic (which will improve after a few months of intensive Arabic classes in shah allah?) I will converse with taxi drivers, fruit vendors, students, and others that I meet while living in Cairo and hopefully get a sense of what the common Egyptian citizen thinks about the transformations that their country is undergoing.

I’m not a political analyst – I follow the news, I think, I write, I’m curious, and probably talk too much… اهلا وسهلا to my blog!

Why Egypt?

When I tell Americans that I will be spending the upcoming year studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt I immediately look for the raising of eyebrows. Usually some amalgamation of interest, disbelief, and - from one especially irate hairdresser – “Are you crazy??” follows. Many think I am, at best, naïve and perhaps foolish to venture to a country that has undergone such drastic political and social unrest this year. Yet as I watched (usually via Al Jazeera English live stream on my laptop) scenes from the wave of popular upheavals and protest movements sweep across the Middle East and North African regions, I felt an unparalleled sense of pride in my young Arab counterparts. In a dorm room over 6,000 miles from Tahrir Square, I felt empowered on their behalf and I vehemently wished I could be a part of it.

Yet my fascination with this region of the world spans back further than this eventful, transformative year.  My freshman year at The George Washington University I began taking Arabic as a foreign language. The cultural elements of my studies opened my eyes to the fact that the Middle East was a region of the world that I was extremely ignorant about. This came as a particular shock to me as I have grown up traveling – my parents work internationally – and considered myself knowledgeable about world affairs. I realized that the ideas I had about the Arab World were largely shrouded in romanticized myth and permeated by media depictions of terrorists from a “backward society.” This lack of understanding bothered me as I learned more, through my international studies classes, and realized the extent of U.S involvement (diplomatically, economically, and certainly militarily) in the region. Aided by the gentle (but not really) coaxing of my Egyptian Arabic professor, I came to believe that studying in the Middle East, and specifically in Cairo – the “heart of the Arab world” – is not only necessary to broaden my perspective of an oft-misrepresented place and people, but a moral imperative for an American striving toward a career in international relations.

After transferring to the University of San Francisco this past Spring, I declared a minor in Middle Eastern Studies and soon found a study abroad program offered through AmidEast. The program gives American students the chance to study and live in the center of Cairo while learning both Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic –a perfect fit for my interests. 

Insert revolution. USF all of a sudden isn’t so sure about sending a white American female to this tumultuous social/political climate.

I, on the other hand, was busy focusing on the unprecedented social, cultural and political rennaissance that Egypt will likely undergo after decades of dictatorship, as factors making next fall an incredible time to be in Cairo. Professor Stephen Zunes, Chair of the Middle Eastern Studies department at USF, compared being in Egypt right now to “living through the Prague Spring” during the down fall of the Soviet Union!

All to say, as someone who felt inspired by the nonviolent acts of civil insurrection that took place this past year, and specifically the role that Egypt’s youth as well as women played in the protests, I can envision no more fertile ground to continue my studies than the banks of the Nile.