Hunger Strike

Ok, so it’s been awhile…I know. I am sorry. But in my defense there has been a lot going on. Also, for some reason I have all of these topics I want to talk about but I cannot find the right words to explain them. But, alas, I feel as though I should at least attempt to fill you in. So here is the first in a series of blog entries inshallah to come your way...


I was walking home from the bus stop one day when I noticed a curious number of people outside the Algerian embassy. I thought to myself, “self, that is weird, perhaps something really cool is happening in Algeria and everyone got really excited about getting visas today or Algeria is giving away candy bars.” Logical right? I wish. Algeria was not giving away candy bars. Sad. Anyway, the next day on my way to the post office I glanced over to notice a bunch of people sitting next to the fence/wall surrounding the embassy. This is when my amazing logic told me something else was happening. So I promptly went home and asked my very politically informed roommates what they knew. Nothing. They had seen it too, at least I wasn’t hallucinating. However, there was absolutely no knowledge of what was going on.

During the next week signs went up – Arabic signs that is…all we could make out was students. Ok so they were students. But doing what? Everyday I walked past I thought about stopping and asking but it as always dark or I got intimidated by the number of people and my lack of Arabic skills. I started googling Algerian embassy protest searching in newspapers and all I got were that students were protesting outside the embassy. Thank you Al Ahram Weekly. Finally about 15 days into the protest there were signs in English. Still not all that telling but piece by piece we were able to work out that Algeria had decided to reject all of the diplomas students had received/were receiving from the Institute of Arabic Studies and Research, which meant that their college careers were meaningless if they went back to Algeria. Whoa. Talk about bad news. I cannot imagine having all the headache of homework, hours of your life spent in school and stress over exams all of a sudden meaning nothing. And why? Because the education wasn’t up to par? Because it wasn’t applicable in Algeria? No. Because of a political feud between two countries and allegations of corruption. Young people with a future, trying to make a country better are being punished for something that they had nothing to do with. Let’s eradicate poverty, what is the best way to do that? Through education. Yes I think it is a spectacular idea Algeria to negate and discourage student’s efforts. Iye…. So what of the students then?

They decided to do something about it. They sat outside the Algerian embassy, slept outside the Algerian embassy and some decided to fast until Algeria would accept their diplomas. They had a poster on which they counted the number of days in the protest. We watched each day as we walked home from the bus 20, 23, 26 and then all of a sudden, one day they were gone. Everything was gone. Their signs, their blankets, cleaned up just like that. It was eerily like a ghost town as I rounded the corner that day. Normally flooded by upwards of 500 students the sidewalk was completely empty. There was a sense of loneliness. I hoped that the students had won their fight rather than have been chased away by the police trucks that had been guarding the block for the last month and yet I missed them. A protest that had started quietly and been enacted quietly also left quietly. Not once did I hear people shouting or making demands. They just demurely insisted on receiving the recognition they deserved. It was an amazing display of peaceful protest. Producing what I later found out were positive results. After mediation by the embassy between the students and the Ministry of Education, Algeria apparently decided to recognize the diplomas.

So the story does not have an exiting battle or climatic ending but I feel like it is a display of the power of persistence, standing up for what you believe in and acting rationally. These students knew what they deserved and rather than act out to get attention they merely called for their rights to be recognized. There was only one news article* published about the month long protest in one newspaper, Daily News Egypt, the independent English newspaper. But apparently what they lacked in public attention, they made up in behind the scenes negotiation, which ended up working out for both them and my social movements class. So just keep in mind, next time you are complaining about that test, to be thankful you do not have to go on a hunger strike for 26 days for your diploma…

* http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=20231

About midway through the protest. No English yet but a tent emerges.

That Scene

I feel like if my life were a movie it would be at the point where they do that slow motion/fast forward thing. You know when it zooms in on someone doing something like blinking and they slowly turn their head and the scene changes and it is later in their life, still in slow motion and they are laughing with friends around the dinner table and then it changes again and someone died , then all of a sudden they are slow motion walking down the street, etc. Add Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek* in the background and voi-la, my life as a major motion picture.

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhVfeOAgmAw&feature=related

I am afraid to buy my ticket home.* I want to be home but I also don’t want to leave. A ticket makes the return a reality and it is a bit nerve racking to leave this little home I have established here. The people, the house, the culture, you know, return to a place where life has gone on without me for a year. It is odd.

*Ultimately, since starting this post, I did purchase my return flight. It was scary but I have come to terms with it. I am jaunting around Europe a bit (Spain, Germany and Ireland) to visit former foreign exchange students/because it is cheap and then will be back the first week of June.

I miss my parents (yes, both of them) so much that some days I physically miss them. You cannot understand this until you experience it; physically missing someone. It does not hurt, you just feel it. You feel their absence; your whole body wants them back. I would say I spend at least 20% of my day thinking about them, what happened, what I would like to tell them. It never stops.

I am so excited about my choice of major. I have been shadowing in an international elementary school here* and it is amazing. I love being in the classroom. I love the kids. I get to come up with projects sometimes. It is absolutely something I want to do. I understand that it will be a bit stressful and I am fast learning that being a teacher is physically exhausting but I love it. I am also leaning heavily toward elementary school. I enjoy the other levels and would teach them but there is just something about the excitement of first graders that draws me in. Also, teaching in an international venue is becoming very alluring. I like the international community.** I am thinking that starting my career abroad may be the way to go, spend some time in other countries and then living in America ultimately. The only thing that dissuades me from this plan is I love the people back home. I miss them and am not sure I want to live years of my life away from them. Granted visits would happen but do I want to base my closest relationships on visits? It is a tough choice. Hmm…we will see where I end up I guess. I am also still planning on going to some form of culinary school for baking so maybe I will just end up being a famous cookie maker as well. You never know.

* Mostly for rich Egyptians and ex-pat kids which I am not sure I want to teach ultimately but it has been a wonderful experience. For example, the other day, one 2nd grader drew a face and another kid pointed at it and said it looked like Yasser Arafat. What American child living in America would say that?

** They are a generous and open minded people. Kids grow up learn multiple languages and are aware of the world and other people in it. They open their homes and lives to all newcomers because that is what everyone is almost always; you live somewhere for 1-5 years then move. That is unless you are like Kim and Rebecca and stay somewhere for over 15.

The weather: It has been raining in Egypt lately. (I guess this is normal for March) It was 50 degrees and hailed at the beginning of the week and is 86 today. I am not ready to be sweaty again. Plus I guess the sandstorms are going to be coming regularly soon. We had one out on campus, that was enough for me.

The weeks seem to fly by. I will be back home in no time. I look at pictures and miss Wisconsin more that I can say but I know that as soon as I leave here I will feel the same about Cairo and the people that have become like family here. I have concluded that once you branch out and leave home once you will always miss someone. There are people everywhere who I care about and I have finally really realized that there will never be a time when I can be with all of them at the same time. How unfortunate.

Traveling Through Hate

What is it, in a region of the world where people are warm, welcoming, friendly and full of good values built on a foundation of love that causes so much fighting, hatred and violence? Is it religion, politics, money, the simple differences between cultures and social norms or maybe it is because the people here know nothing else. Ask people in each of the different regions, or heck, just ask different people on the same street and they will tell you unlike opinions. As previously stated, I recently had the opportunity to travel through a bit of the Middle East for nearly three weeks. Especially after this journey, it is hard to understand just what makes this region such a hotbed for aggression. I met Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, and people from just about every other area of the world who talked about the war, its faults, America’s aid, and hopes for the future.
Every cab driver from Jordan to Syria had their two cents, along with the other passengers we rode with. I feel like in the states, we tend to shy away from casual conversation that could invoke disagreement. Not the case over here. Everyone has their opinion and they seem to be bursting to share it. Outlooks shared ranged from an old man in Israel (which was paraphrased to me by a friend since the discussion took place completely in Hebrew) which was pro-war and complaining about the state of the youth in his country, to a seemingly well-to-do Palestinian passenger in the cab from Jordan to Syria who began by mading good points about the war not being about religion but about power and ownership but later took a turn to explain how Jews are an octopus taking over America. I wish I would have had a recorder in order to better remember all of the opinions shared and conversations had.
One thing I found especially interesting is the fact that most people realize that the people of a region do not make its policies or have a huge impact on the actions of its government. For example they would meet Nate and I, ask where we were from and upon hearing America they would say we like Americans, Bush, no good, but American people not Bush, we like Americans…we heard this more than once. My personal opinion is that most of them like American’s money but that is beside the point. They would acknowledge this for other nationalities as well. And yet there is all of this hostility and hate wandering around. Do governments impose hate upon people? Do the policies, military action and general propaganda inflict these attitudes in the minds of civilians? While people have the ability to discern the difference between a people and its government during a casual cab ride on a Tuesday afternoon, in the heat of anger this discernment is often lost. A person is judged based on his/her ethnicity and placed in a group with everyone else in that country. Violence begins and retaliation ensues. Retaliation. As long as any sort of action happens, there is almost always retaliation which leads to more and more fighting. It is a cycle that, in this day and age, it seems no one is willing to end. As a result, this region of the country is home to wonderful individuals who are full of generosity and loving hearts but it will continue to breed a culture of hate and house a constant showering of rockets until someone can rise up and say enough. It is about power; who can become the most powerful. It is about ownership; who does this land “belong” to. It is about revenge; you killed my family so I must kill yours. Unfortunately, it is hard to say if this conflict will ever be resolved, if these people, my friends, will ever find peace. If they all just took time to meet the people of “the other side” they would see that they are not that different after all.

Traveling to Jordan, Syria and Israel with Nathan J. Koch

Ok so way too much happened to write about everything on our recent jaunt around the Middle East but I feel like I should share something. As we traveled, I wrote a list of things I did not want to forget so instead of boring you with things you do not care to hear about, I decided to share the list with you and answer any questions/go into more detail about anything you find interesting. Below you will find the cities we stayed in along with the main points from each of those places. Some of the things are obvious and others have back-stories. For now, read, question, and enjoy. Philosophical ponderings based upon the trip to come in the near future...

Neweiba

• Clean Air
• Lounging around
• Finding lodging/Soft Beach
• Cold
• People - Robert, Theus/New Zealanders (Madea), Pavol, Steven, the German
• Going into town

Aqaba

• Ferry
• Polish guy/taxi driver
• Good Food
• Toilet Paper excursion
• Running into Connor and Kristen
• Getting the bus

Wadi Mousa/Petra

• Beautiful View
• Valentine Inn/hike up
• Indiana Jones
• Bedouin Woman
• High Place view
• The Argentineans
• Ari and Aaron

Amman

• Rain
• The house
• Abe, Peter, Mary Beth
• Palestinians
• Gloria Jeans

Syria

• Border taxi incident - crazy woman
• Palestinian man in taxi
• Damascus Old City
• Cheap Food
• Krac Des Chevaliers - The man in the darkness

Nazareth

• All women at the border
• Where Mary was told she was pregnant
• Wandering around

Tel Aviv

• ART!
• Like Madison but 5x the size
• The place where people protest for peace
• Antique Fair
• Art Fair
• Food-frozen yogurt, hummus
• Rachel
• Beautiful people
• Required military service

Jerusalem

• Being in a city that is thousands of years old
• Faiths living together
• The sights - Western Wall, Dome on the Rock, Mount of Olives, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Gethsemini, Mary’s tomb, etc
• Burakas (A Jewish pastry)
• Bethlehem - Church of the Nativity
• Comedy Show
• Birthright trips
• Our Hostel - Like a cave inside the wall, Amazing view from the roof.
• The British guy
• Ice Cream
• The Dead Sea - Feeling weightless, How much it burns on your face

We made a couple of videos on our journey...

Alright, just kidding, they are coming soon. The internet connection in my apartment is not speedy enough to load such things so you must wait until I find motivation to walk myself to an internet cafe.

Also check out our pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mbradsh3

Cheers!

The Common Sense Channel

If I said I haven’t had time to write, I would be lying. I think this time, instead, it has to do with a lack of motivation. I started writing a piece on religion which I will finish later and you will get to enjoy but decided instead that right now, I would rather just write without doing the research. I could choose to focus on the internet outage that cut internet to all of Egypt or the apartment hunting process here which allows you to look, negotiate, sign a contract and move in all in the same day (which I have done). But I feel the best choice at the present moment is the wonders of the AFN. In case you are unfamiliar with the acronym, as I once was, it stands for American Forces Network. I have been house/dog sitting for some friends of mine while they went home for Christmas and they, because of occupation, are subscribed to the AFN.

This network of about 10 channels includes AFN sports, AFN movie, family, prime, pacific, etc. and features news, football, shows like Oprah and America’s Funniest Home Videos, Hannah Montana and 24. The most interesting thing to watch, however, is not the shows themselves but what is in between them. The “commercials” on AFN are not marketing products to military personnel and families but instead send messages and advice to “better” their lives. If you watch one of the channels enough to complete one show you may see messages informing you about foreign adoption and how assistance is available to service members or the importance of making a list of all the supplements you take and how you should share this with your health care provider to make sure they coincide. After all, “planning ahead is the healthy thing to do.” There are messages discouraging alcoholism and abuse and encouraging motorcycle safety and reporting suspicious activity. A woman teaches you about the difference between an expiration date and sell by date so that you do not waste good food. A ridiculous spoof on Indiana Jones talks about the symptoms of heat exhaustion and how to combat them. There are advertisements for church, “it’s your faith, it’s your choice,” because, just like building your physical strength takes going to the gym, building your spiritual faith takes going to God’s gym. Encouraging messages from generals, commanders, families, and celebrities remind you that you are a hero and to stay army strong or how you are one of “the few, the proud, the marines,” or “remember you are part of a team, the navy team, a team that depends on each other everyday.” They provide options for after you leave the military such as “become a teacher and you will be able to pass on what you have learned about honor leadership and commitment, you’ll be a role model and isn’t that what kids need?” Small clips teach about the history of “old glory” and Norman Rockwell. And of course, always remember, if you have a grievance visit your law office, “Rules and regulations are there for your safety.”

It is like a constant common sense cassette playing for your life.

In case you have forgotten what a cassette is, it is made out of plastic and ribbon, sort of like a midget VHS…oh wait, do you remember what a VHS is! Oh no, the children will not understand, help them, guide them, teach them of the past…

Anyway, can you imagine if these ads actually worked (I think they are beginning to sink into my brain, if nothing else, purely out of repetition) what they could do for the “civilian world?” Rather than supporting a consumerist society, the entertainment industry could encourage common sense and practical thinking. All the while boosting self-esteem and encouraging the adherence to orders…wait what? All that sounds delightful minus that last bit. I mean, obeying rules/laws is important for the most part but I feel as though the constant structured thought robs you of any of your own common sense and decision making skills. You are reminded, told, ordered even as to what you should do and how you should think, who you are and what to do in the future. I do find it refreshing to turn on the TV and not be bombarded with 10 minutes of sales pitch after sales pitch in between 2 minutes of actual programming, especially since I get enough marketing out in the street here. But are propaganda and messages any better when viewed in large doses? I could see why a soldier, far from home, in need of guidance could take comfort in this constant encouragement and advice but for the layman they come on a bit strong.

As Joel says, the AFN has given me a small taste of the military and although I respect them greatly, I can definitely say I am happy that I never joined the ranks. I feel as though the constant “guidance” is a little too much for my taste but it does make you proud, even if you have done nothing (like in my case for example). I do recommend, if you happen to be in the area of a military base, to make friends with an AFN user and experience the South Park remakes (to send a message of course) and special made military soap opera. Quality programming. And if that is not enough, don’t you worry because there are always the AFN radio stations. So remember if you are looking for a dose of some first-rate common sense or are a little low on self-esteem, flip on the good ol’ AFN.

More Like a Picture Book

I swear I will be writing soon...I have one started. Finals are fast approaching however and watercoloring things/studying Islamic architecture and Arabic has consumed my life for the moment...until I write, here are some pictures to look at.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mbradsh3

Who likes having to read words anyway...

Eve Started It

Ok so I have done some cool stuff since my last post such as travel to Dahab, snorkle the Red Sea, climb Mount Sinai. and talk for an interview on Egyptian news. If you wish to hear about those I would be happy to fill you in, just shoot me an e-mail. I decided I want to start mixing it up a little and writing about some issues in Egypt or other things that I observe rather than just rambling about what I have been doing. These things are more important than me so, topic numero uno: Sexual Harassment.

Sexual harassment has been a monumental problem in Egypt for ages. I guarantee that any woman residing/traveling in Egypt has experienced some form of harassment. Just google sexual harassment in Egypt and you get story after story of assult and other forms of harassment. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7593765.stm The problem does not discriminate. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, or class you are. As long as you are a woman, you are a target. Whether it be catcalls or lewd comments in Arabic/English or a man leaning into you quite unnecessarily on the metro or a cabbie grabbing your leg or going to work only to be molested. In Egypt men are taught, by way of social acceptance, that these behaviors are ok. An incident is almost always blamed on the victim. She was either too exposed or too covered. She was walking seductively or trying to hide something. She is American so it is ok. She is Muslim so it is ok. She is poor so it is ok. There is always an excuse. Here, if a woman causes a scene as a result of harassment she is normally scorned and looked down upon because, as I mentioned earlier, it is her fault. Men normally side with the man and women look the other way as an act of self-preservation or blame the woman for being too seductive.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7514567.stm

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/818/eg10.htm

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all Egyptian men are perpetrators of these act s. I actually feel that the majority of the younger generation of educated men seem to be against the behavior. Still in a poll of thousands of Egyptians 62% of men polled admitted to committing some form of sexual harassment. 62% admitted to it!

A poster warning women to cover up in order to protect themselves.

The text reads: "You won't be able to stop them (i.e. men), but you can protect yourself. He who created you knows what's best for you!"

It is only recently that the country has even begun to recognize that there is a problem at all. In August, Egypt had its first forum on sexual harassment at a place called the Culture Wheel in Cairo and in October Egypt made it’s first sentence for a sexual assault conviction. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,442481,00.html I couldn’t believe this. Every job I have started and every year in school we watch videos, read texts, sign contracts in an attempt to combat harassment. Sure harassment in America happens too but on a smaller scale and the issue is addressed and is certainly less accepted.

My personal belief is that the root of the problem stems from sexual frustration and the suppression of sexual expression. It seems ridiculous to me that PDA of any kind is frowned upon while sexual harassment is socially accepted. When there is no outlet for physical desires it seems to me that these feelings are transformed into this non-consensual, negative form of sexual expression. I agree with the statement that one girl made in an Arabic Q & A forum. “Sexual stimulation is all relative. If you are in Iran a woman without a hijab will be a cause for outrage and shock. In the West being topless does the same. And in a nudist camp people aren't bothered or aroused by any of it seemingly. By turning so much into a taboo, you appear to be making it so much easier to be 'provoked'.”

And yet, despite the embarrassment and continuous battle, these women are not voiceless. They are speaking up, fighting back, and trying to encourage change. There is a group at my school (The American University in Cairo) called the Bussy Project who’s aim is to tell the stories of victims. Think The Vagina Monologues but geared toward Egyptian issues. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0602/p04s01-wome.html I heard a girl practicing during my drawing class the other day and I am looking forward to watching their first performance. They are bringing these issues into the spotlight (literally) and forcing people to take notice. There are activists trying to bring about change as well. One of these is Dalia Ziada. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUoJa8QlRFw She is a 26 year old young women working on eliminating female circumcision in Egypt. Her efforts have begun to pay off as the practice was banned in Egypt in 2007. Despite this, illegal practices are still prevalent so her work is not finished. Between 95% and 98% of women in Egypt have been circumcised. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting Other women are simply trying to share their stories or the stories of those who cannot speak for themselves. One of the ways they are doing this is through blogs. I have a couple links to some examples of these. One of them actually includes a script for a Bussy project monologue. I highly suggest checking them out.
http://smsevcik.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-visited-egypt-again-in-january.html
http://musingsofamademoiselle.blogspot.com/2006/06/bussy-bussy-look-look.html http://globalvoicesonline.org/2006/11/23/egypt-cairos-women-speak-out-against-violence/

It will be a long, slow process if change starts to happen at all but there is hope for the future. During a discussion with another American student I was called naïve for thinking that eventually things could change, with education, especially of the younger generation. I understand that the change will not be quick or complete but inshallah there could be small steps taken in the right direction. Women should not continue to be blamed for their abuse.