Praxis Points: Ali G's Blog

The Inception of Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions

2012-01-07T19:10:00.009+02:00

This week the US added a new group to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The State Department's list is about fifty groups long, made up mostly of Islamist groups and nationalist groups fighting for things like self-determination and sovereignty (oh the horrors!). Inclusion on the list means that any organization assets under US jurisdiction are frozen, and that any engagement in transactions with the organization becomes criminalized. According to the State Dept website, for a group to be included on this list it must be: a foreign organization, it must threaten US national security, and it must engage in terrorist activity- yes you got it, the terror group must be terrorist!

In a January 5 press release, the US State Department announced intentions to add "Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions" to the list. According to the State Department's release, the AQKB was "established in 2007 from the remnants of other Kurdish terrorist organizations". Curiously enough an online search for "Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions" yields no articles or news stories mentioning a group by this exact name prior to January 5, the date of the US State Department's press release. This begs the question: do the Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions actually exist? Was any group operating under the name AQKB prior to January 5?

The US State Department claims that AQKB has been behind a number of attacks in Iraq against Kurdish targets, including a May 2007 truck bombing in Erbil, a July 2007 attack killing border guards in Penjwan, and a foiled suicide bombing aiming for security officers in Sulaymaniyah. Most press releases from 2007 about the Erbil truck bombing don't hold a specific group accountable, although some speculate that Ansar al-Sunnah would have been capable of carrying out the attack. The internet doesn't yield much information about the foiled attack in Sulaymaniyah, but this article does mention the "the Kurdistan Battalion of Islamic State in Iraq" claiming responsibility for attacking in the border areas of Penjwan.

While I don't doubt, or at least I would hope, that the US government has more intelligence than a nerd at home with a search engine, it does seem that there wasn't a group calling themselves Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions until the US government coined the term. If anything there is more evidence for a group calling themselves the Kurdish Brigades. We see this name appearing in internet forums as early as 2007, with Haji Arif allegedly releasing a letter in 2007 declaring the group's allegiance to Al Qaeda. The fact remains however, that absolutely no evidence exists of a group calling itself the AQKB prior to this month.

The US invention of the name Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions helps perpetuate the fantastical paradigm of the United States versus Al-Qaeda, with al-Qaeda as an incredibly threatening and evil and organized monolithic entity. Through this paradigm the US government justifies increasing expansion of its powers, spying on citizens at home and invading and occupying other countries abroad. How will the US continue to justify occupation, surveillance, and indefinite detention without trial, if not in the name of the fight against terrorism?

Intelligence officials now believe that there are no more than 200 surviving members of Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile the US national security apparatus has grown its ranks into the millions. What will this "self-sustaining industry of so-called terrorism experts" do? Do we allow for the fall of al-Qaeda, or do we descend increasingly into inanities, galvanizing huge swaths of the government apparatus to fight against twitter terrorism and slapping the name Al-Qaeda onto groups that may or may not claim it? A professor at LSE wrote recently that, "the power of Al-Qaeda can only be eradicated when the fantasies around the group are laid to rest." So, what is our course? Are the AQKB real? This is the decade of the war on terror- a war on who and what, exactly?

Remembering the Gaza Massacre

2011-12-31T05:13:00.017+02:00

"In one corner a man stands with his seven year old son in a cardboard box because the hospital ran out of sheets to cover the dead with. This is how he will carry him home and bury him." -Maan News Agency reporting from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on on December 27, 2008

On Saturday December 27, 2008, an Israeli drone bombed the police headquarters in Gaza City killing 40 people, including several dozen police cadets at their graduation ceremony. Israeli forces wounded more than 700 Palestinians on this day, and killed over 229. December 27 was the most deadly day in Palestine since the Nakba. This day marked the beginning of a month-long massacre in which the Israeli army killed over 1400 people. The video below shows the first minutes of a massacre. It shows innocent people dying on the ground, pronouncing their faith in God, making the Shahada, even as they have been so unjustly murdered. The depth of this faith would later move scholars to tears.

Israeli analyst Ron Ben-Yishai said the strike was "shock treatment...aimed at securing a long-term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on terms that are favorable to Israel." US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement, "The United States...holds Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence in Gaza." The US govt held HAMAS responsible for the violence while the Israeli Army deployed F-16 and M-84 warplanes, attack helicopters, Hellfire missiles, 100,000s of American artillery rounds, GPS-guided mortars, Merkava tanks, rocket-propelled grenades, unmanned aerial vehicles, remote-controlled weapons stations, white phosphorus, depleted uranium, and I could go on.

When I first went to Gaza, in March 2008, I looked so many people in the eye. I saw bullets made in America that were pulled out of the bodies of children. I saw that while kids in my neighborhood go hungry, Americans' tax dollars go to destroy schools, places of worship, and innocent lives. I saw the destruction wrought by this violent hegemonic system that connects all of us. Yet when I first went to Gaza I looked so many people in the eye. I feel like my liberation is so tied to this place. I am not altruistic. The small things are coping mechanisms- Oh I went to a march, I did some BDS research.. people are dying and the small things rest my conscience but they shouldn't. I feel so tied up, my identity is so tied up with a people an a country that makes weapons, tells false history, colonizes the world, asserts supremacy. Some people try to cope with records of true history by making it less real, or they go around acting so self-righteous, like they have a duty to help the poor, or the Palestinians, or whoever. If people don't get that they're tied up in it too, then they don't get it at all. I hope I have the courage to speak the truth, to find a way to be in the world that fits with my commitment live for justice.

God bless all the martyrs on the third anniversary of the Gaza Massacre. May we never forget, and may we have the courage to live justly, and work for change in the face of injustice.

The Problem with 'Free Palestine' Stickers

2011-12-15T08:35:00.001+02:00

Something about all these 'Free [insert global south occupied place here]' slogans totally freaks me out! What's with all these hippie granola soccer moms smacking 'free tibet' stickers on their subaru outback bumpers and hipsters sewing 'free palestine' patches onto their ironic purple american apparel hoodies. First of all, last I checked hipsters by definition are not politically engaged! Perhaps the palestine patches are preferable to the hipsters-wearing-keffiyehs phenomenon, a fad which I'm fairly certain has in and of itself caused Yasser Arafat to turn over in the grave and throw down the olive branch. Yet even if we could put aside the problems associated with wearing someone else's national symbol for style and decorating your wardrobe with political slogans just for kicks, I would still have questions!

Free Palestine! Free Tibet! Free Hawaii!

Free Palestine! Free Tibet! Free Hawaii! What does it mean?! Are these phrases meditating on a far-off ideal or are they advocating for some action? Is it a command to the reader like "Hey you! 'Free Tibet'! Now!"? Who would be doing this freeing? I mean, let's face it, American operations to free other people don't have a great track record! Operation Enduring Freedom anyone? The same people who buy 'Free Tibet' stickers to decorate their hip and sustainable nalgene water bottles would probably be totally freaked out by a support-our-troops-ribbon clad pick-up truck sporting 'Free Iran' stickers. The American government invaded Iraq in the name of freedom, and yet now we hear cries of 'Free Iraq', meaning to free Iraq from the violent American colonial occupiers. To hell with good intentions (I don't really think the government had many good intentions in the case of invading Iraq, but i do love Ivan Illich so wanted to throw that phrase in)!

So, perhaps while carefully applying the new 'Free Palestine' sticker to the prius, we can also be thoughtful about whose indigenous struggle we are talking about. What does freedom really look like? Who gets to define freedom? Who should decide how to create freedom? And once you've thought through all of that and thought about how to best take action and actually do something, what is the need for the sticker? To raise awareness for change? Then you might as well be more specific than just "Free Palestine". How about "Zionism is racism", or "Obama stop funding Israeli war crimes" or a simple "Fuck you colonial occupiers"? Seriously! The Free [insert global south occupied place here] slogans are just a little too granola for me. If your purpose is just for image or to be stylin, I bet the Kardashians can provide ample information on how to be stylish without exploiting free-the-third-world slogans in the name of fashion. If that doesn't do it for you, perhaps you would like one of these t-shirts?

From Tahrir Square to Oscar Grant Plaza

2011-10-26T07:43:00.007+02:00

On April 6 2009 I was in Tahrir Square on the Day of Anger. There were police trucks on every side street prepared to round up any person with the courage to come out and stand up against the regime. A brave few were out that day, from the Kefayah Movement and April 6 Youth Movement- the youth who were willing to stand up to the police state before the world was watching, before the revolution. As it happened, I was fired from my job in Egypt for writing an article about the parliamentary elections, and so it was that I found myself in Oakland in January 2011 watching Al Jazeera from my living room. I could have barely imagined in the years prior, yet as the world watched, the people of Egypt believed, and came out to protest en masse, and overthrew a dictator. It reminded me so distinctly of one of my favorite lines of poetry, from Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi:
‎ "إذا الشعب يوما اراد الحياة .. فلا بد ان يستجيب القدر"
"If the people one day really want life, then fate must respond"

Tonight in Oakland, at 14th and Broadway, demonstrators were yelling in Arabic.
"الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام " "The people want an end to the system" I have never had so much tear gas caught in my throat. The police, cops, homeland security, SWAT teams or whoever they were seemed so militarized. When they threw tear gas canisters hundreds of people would run, and as we were running I heard someone yelling "Allahu Akbar". I am not Muslim, but it reassured me in the moment. Everyday at work I see videos from Syria, of people dying at the hands of the Assad regime, thousands of people shot with live ammunition, reciting the Shahada as comrades die around them. So, tonight, I counted my blessings. As I was standing in Oscar Grant Plaza, my friend Ahmad was texting me advice from Egypt: "If you get gassed remember to breathe. Don't rub your eyes. Soak your koffeyyah in vinegar if you can".

So tonight I was thinking back to Tahrir Square in 2009. I was thinking about how I felt so lonely when I got fired from my job. Since then revolutions have been in progress. How amazing is it that tonight in Oakland, I was receiving advice on staying safe at a demonstration from an activist in Cairo? How amazing is it, that tonight in downtown Oakland, American protesters are facing up to a huge policy presence, chanting "ashaab yurid isqat al-nizam". Something about hearing slogans from Tahrir in Oakland tonight felt right. It made me believe that maybe people really can decolonize their minds, and that maybe the 99% all over the world really can draw strength from each other. From Tahrir Square to Oscar Grant Plaza, Thawra Hata Nasr.

‎ "إذا الشعب يوما اراد الحياة .. فلا بد ان يستجيب القدر"

The Egyptian Masses are Heroes Today

2011-01-30T09:00:00.001+02:00

"The American government gives our dictators tear gas, but our American friends gave us Facebook"

2011-01-27T09:28:00.013+02:00

"There will be no revolution in Egypt. Mubarak will get a grip by tomorrow." Change has always got its nay sayers and haters. We have also got our analysts and academics. We've got people sitting around and thinking, unsure of what will happen, waiting to pounce. They're gonna write something about the would-be revolution, say something about the struggle. Today however, I want to send all my love to the people on the ground. I saw video of an old man, literally lying on the ground as if reclaiming his country yelling "Tahya Masr, Tahya Masr, Tahya Masr..." I never saw someone lie on the street with such dignity. I feel as if Egypt is my second home, yet I cannot imagine how much courage it must take to go out and protest in Egypt, to face the police state, and have the audacity to hope for change after so many years of military dictatorship.

Today a friend said, "The American government gives our dictators tear gas, but our American friends gave us Facebook. We are together in the streets. For tear gas wash your face with coke, for electric shocks put plastic under your clothes and wrap it with tape. For bruises put ice. If you're attacked just run. Night protests are good. Buy loud speakers and give them away. You can buy them in Bablouk. Most of the people can't afford them but buy small ones and you can hide them in your bag."

These small details of courage impressed me, and I just hope that later on the world can hear at least some of the story from people like my friend, instead of me, or academics. In Memory of Forgetfulness Mahmoud Darwish laments how Palestinians do not come on stage “except as a subject for others to take up and interpret”. Today I felt America was talking, talking, talking and there was something shocking about it, the ease at which people encapsulate struggle in words, pinning meaning to a fight that someone else has lived their whole life. So often it seems that even when the people speak truth to power, it's still power writing our history books. I know there are stories of people's struggles that in my position of privilege I cannot even know. I'm putting my love and my tears up in the air tonight for you.

In our inherently flawed and mysterious world to persistently seek knowledge and justice is to be a warrior. My love and solidarity with all the people in Egypt and around the world who are fighting for justice. Your courage and hope rock me to the core. Masr wa7shetny, Thawra Hata Nasr, Viva La Revolución.

"All I can say is that I miss you and my sisters, and I think of you all endlessly. I am trying to study hard but I find myself struggling to study at all, so I study struggle instead. And it does not escape me that I am fortunate enough to study it while others live it; so I breathe it, dream it, talk it, write it, love it, spread it, and sip it. But still I cannot say that I live it." - Ismail Khalidi

Lost

2010-12-28T01:56:00.005+02:00

Delta Airlines recently lost Patch in the Cairo Airport. :(
There is a 3000 LE reward if you can find him!
PS. This cat doesn't belong to me, just another Cairo animal lover and I am posting it here to spread the word!

SAND

2010-12-12T18:36:00.007+02:00

For the last 48 hours Cairo has been engulfed in a wicked sandstorm. It is reportedly storming around the country, and while there is no rain here in Cairo, the city has been invaded by a colossal and insidious sand cloud. Can't wait to get to the airport on Wednesday, what with the delays and diversions to look forward to. Today I woke up and looking out the windows all I could see was brown. When I left the apartment to run errands, I got out of the elevator and the bowabs were sitting grumpily with five million scarves wrapped around their heads. Gaffar was adamant that I don't go outside, explaining that the weather was inhumane. I placated him by pulling up the hood of my coat and headed out on my mission, grinding sand in my teeth with dust blurring my vision. On top of the sand storm it is absolutely freezing (for me at least, I am a California girl!). I met my roommate in Maadi and signed my gym membership over to her and then we hit up some Thai food at Bua Khao. It was so freaking delicious and seriously nothing like eating hot curry on a freezing day in a city entirely engulfed by a cloud of sand! We took a cab home and the driver was playing the Quran and there was hella traffic and we drove by all these beautiful mosques and I couldn't kick the feeling that I'm gonna miss it here and want to come back. Aww... getting all sentimental now... so I'm off to look for some eye drops, towels, dusters, and hot shower.. time to battle this sand! [Picture from BBC of 6 October Bridge in downtown Cairo during a sandstorm in 2007. That's the Nile on the right of the photo.]

Learning to Drive Manual in Downtown Cairo

2010-12-09T01:25:00.002+02:00

Since finishing up my job, I have spent a lot of time sleeping, shopping, freaking out about my future, and reading Harry Potter in Arabic. Now that my days are numbered in Egypt, I can already feel how much I am going to miss it. While there are always difficult days, I do love Cairo and my friends here. Tonight I met up with my friends Karim and Sherine in Maadi, which is about twenty minutes south of downtown. We had some coffee and chicken and a very nice evening. Over the past week I have been telling Karim that I want him to teach me how to drive a manual transmission car, since I feel it to be an important life skill currently absent from my life skill repertoire. So tonight on the way back from Maadi, Karim pulls over on the side of the busy multiple-lane corniche road and is like, 'so ready to drive?'. My response was emphatically no, and I said I had to try the first time on an empty road. So Karim says, 'This lane is an empty road, see?'. I look ahead and see a minibus parked with people getting on and off, a couple standing in the middle of the lane trying to cross the road, a cat sleeping on a rubbish pile, and another car trying to park. Rather than protest that this didn't fit my definition of an empty road I told him "Karim you don't understand, last time I tried this I was 16 with my father and we were both screaming." He found that very funny and proceeded to somehow convince me to learn to drive manual on a busy road on the way into downtown Cairo. So, with the Nile to my left and Cairene apartment blocks to my right and traffic all around I gave it my best shot. Within a few minutes of my surprisingly smooth start I was speeding along the corniche, which Karim periodically offering suggestions in a mix of Arabic and English and me freaking out about the minibus weaving behind me or the old man up ahead crossing the street on a bicycle. Karim became completely beside himself, laughing hysterically about how I was driving straight and staying in my lane. I appreciated his amusement, because my family back home insists that I am a crazy driver, but then while driving in Egypt I get laughed at for driving straight. After driving for about ten minutes and going through some stop lights I was getting pretty nervous because the traffic was getting thicker close to downtown, with sudden stops and hectic no rules driving, so we switched back at Karim drove the rest of the way to my house. Now I am back home and feeling very accomplished! Not everyone gets to drive manual transmission for practically the first time alongside the Nile river! Cheers!

America Funds Egyptian Election Charade

2010-11-28T16:28:00.025+02:00

508 parliamentary seats are up for grabs in today's elections in Egypt, with over 5000 candidates from a variety of parties vying for votes. While opposition parties, including Al-Wafd, Al-Tagammu, and the Muslim Brotherhood, have mounted campaigns to challenge the ruling National Democratic Party, the NDP is expected to come out of today's elections on top.

Campaigning has been ongoing throughout the day in spite of instructions from the High Electoral Commission, which supposedly forbade campaigning past midnight last night. In Cairo's Sayyeda Zainab neighborhood NDP supporters passed out leaflets at polling stations, and groups of men drove around on trucks mounted with microphones, festively proclaiming their support for ruling party candidates.

The atmosphere in most of Egypt however, has been anything but festive, with reports of election-related violence emerging from around the country. Al-Ahram newspaper, which is majority-owned by the Egyptian government, reported seven election-related deaths by the early afternoon. Shots were fired in polling station clashes between MB and NDP supporters in the Monufia Governorate, and police reportedly fired tear gas at voters at multiple polling stations in the delta area. Demonstrations grew in Suez, with some reports indicating that as many as 4000 people had seized a building in protest of election procedures. Al-Jazeera correspondents working in Suez reported having their camera equipment stolen, and foreign correspondents in Al-Arish were refused entrance to polling stations. Additional violence erupted in Mansoura in front of a school when thugs brandishing weapons clashed with Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

In Sayyeda Zainab neighborhood, candidates can reportedly buy a vote for as little as 20 Egyptian pounds, while eyewitnesses in Shoubra report votes being bought for as much as 100 pounds. Reports emerged in Qena that a young girl who died twenty years ago was registered to vote for the NDP. Yet in spite of widespread reports of violence, forgery, rigging, and other election irregularities, Al-Ahram reported in the early afternoon that, according to the Head of the High Electoral Commission, the election process was going quite smoothly.

Egyptian election monitors were undoubtedly frustrated by the day's events, as the ruling government forbade any foreign groups to monitor the election. In response to a suggestion from the United States that Egypt accept international election observers, an Egyptian government spokesman rebuffed, “We don’t want any international monitoring agencies to interfere in Egypt’s national affairs. This is the business of Egypt.”

The violence marking today's elections shows that Mubarak has indeed carried on business as usual, assuring the ruling party's victory with the aid of hired thugs, stifled media, and stuffed ballot boxes. If today’s parliamentary elections are any indicator, the upcoming 2011 presidential election will be anything but democratic. Meanwhile, the United States has been largely silent about Egypt's human rights violations, even though Egypt is one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid, receiving just under US$ 2 billion from its American ally annually. All that money falling into Mubarak's hands, yet his "National Democratic Party" is democratic in name only. Egypt is a far cry from supposed "democracy" which America purportedly supports in the Middle East.

The United States’ unfettered support for Mubarak’s regime is yet another instance of American leadership funding human rights violations and crimes against humanity. While the United States wages war in the name of democracy in some areas of the Middle East, here in Egypt Mubarak runs his military dictatorship largely on America’s dime.

Live Election Coverage here: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/756.aspx
(Many of the examples I mentioned were first reported here)
You can also follow on twitter tag #egyelections

I took these pictures on a walk around my neighborhood today. The first shows campaign banners strong in the street in front of Sayyeda Zainab mosque, and the second shows posters supporting candidates from the ironically-named "National Democratic Party." (More pictures on my roommate's blog, here). It's interesting because most of the violence from Egypt today came out of poor areas- yet another example of the squashing of Egypt's impoverished. My roommate and I passed by about five polling stations. All were crowded with lots of men and some police, some had people outside holding signs and passing out leaflets. A pick-up truck was making rounds about the neighborhood playing festive music and blasting slogans supporting NDP candidates over the microphone. I asked some people around the neighborhood what they thought of the election. The man at the corner store was a hopeful supporter of an Al-Ghad party candidate, and a girl at the grocery store told me that she didn't vote and giggled, as if the election was all a bit of a joke. While many aren't voting due to the election boycott, even more people aren't voting simply out of cynicism. The best reaction came from my bowab (the doorman). When I asked the news of the election and who he supported, he said, "The more important question is who does President Mubarak support. I am just a bowab." After finishing this blog, a reporter from Al-Masry Al-Youm happened to call me interested in foreigners' perspectives on the elections. She finished up her interview with question: So how can we make elections fair in Egypt? Perhaps I will ask my bowab...

Views From Our Window

2010-11-23T19:28:00.004+02:00

These pictures were taken out the window of our Sayyeda Zainab apartment (Check out my neighborhood in this recent NY Times article). The first was taken at sunrise looking out at the citadel, and the second was taken out of the same window during eid, looking down at a cow being skinned. Photo credit to my beautiful roommate Lindsey Parietti :)

Career Choices for Middle Eastern Studies Students

2010-11-22T13:16:00.006+02:00

As I frantically apply for jobs and ponder my next steps in life, I greatly appreciated the following blog posting for its delicious cynicism and snarky humor. I relate!

Career Choices for Middle Eastern Studies Students
Question: What can/should I do with myself after I graduate with a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies?

Answer: For many of us, the painful but ultimately self-indulgent and pointless existential crisis triggered by this question is remarkably familiar- we experienced it shortly after graduating from undergrad. After earning a bachelor of arts degree (B.A.) in history or comparative literature with a focus on Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures from [insert liberal arts college/ research university here] we were convinced that others [read: employers] would respect our deep, unwavering commitment to attaining knowledge about this “fascinating” [read: economically stagnant and hopelessly violent] area of the world.

While the common but ultimately irksome response from our friends “Oh you study the Middle East- that’s so interesting. Everybody will want to hire you,” was comforting in the short-term, we soon realized that “everybody” really only included second-tier NGOs and the Central Intelligence Agency. The same existential crisis rears its head in a more potent, virulent form in graduate school when one cannot simply delay his entry into the real world by pursuing further studies (Except for the Phd candidates among us who will never enter the real world- unless you consider the real world to be a faculty conference room at Columbia). We have been told repeatedly that our skills and knowledge are “highly-valued”- but by whom?

Below are a few career suggestions for our master’s students, who have spent two years honing their language skills and area knowledge.

1) Study Abroad Advisor- Yemen
Your in-depth knowledge of the region and slippery command of fusa (Kef Fal Hal?) help you as you lead six groups of 20 wide-eyed twenty-year old American college students through the dangerous, almost-African-in-its -misery part of the Arabian Peninsula. Your position of authority will also afford you the opportunity to rail against American foreign policy while picking up the local habit(us)- chewing khat. Though some of your other friends/ colleagues also work in the region, you remind them that you live in the real Middle East, a place where hope gives way to despair in a titillating cycle of suffering. Besides, given America’s soon to be militarized concern for Yemen, the expat party scene in Sana’a is really unparalleled. Drinking martinis with General Petreaus one day and lambasting him as General Betray-Us the next is more than any other area studies graduate could ever ask for in a “real world” job.

2) Saving the World- Entry Level Project Assistant
Working for a New York-based NGO will give you a chance to network with other self-righteous, pro-Palestinian graduates of liberal arts colleges and perhaps more importantly, grant you the right, nay the obligation, to condescend to bankers, lawyers and other high-status New Yorkers. At private apartment parties, you can either talk about the latest press release you have written about the Israeli bombing in Gaza or mention the situation in Sudan to maximize the amount of rich world guilt you inflict upon your audience.

3) Teach for Lebanon- Founder
After you are rejected by Teach for America (you are sure that they blackballed you because of your pro-Palestinian activism) you decide to start a similar organization focused on educational crisis facing Lebanese schools. You appoint one Maronid, one Shiite, and one Druze as co-CEO’s and spend several months traveling through Saudi Arabia, France, Syria, Iran and the United States pitching your idea to Lebanon’s main patrons. You believe you can harness the productive potential of Lebanon’s human capital, young Lebanese males with gelled hair and a skewed view of their own physical attractiveness, to bring education to the less fortunate in the country. Your plan fails when the American government discovers that the seed money for your organization is going to Hezbollah co-sponsored soup kitchens near the border with Israel.

4) The Agency- Analyst

5) Mamoun’s - Falafel Maker/Maitre D
Though you have spent two years problematizing authenticity (isn’t it, ultimately, a discourse?), you still seek it. Your study abroad Arabic language program in Syria, spring break trip to the West Bank, and brief summer stopover in Istanbul were all unsatisfactory because you did not discover the real Islam(s) nor did you discover the real Middle East. You are disillusioned with the ummah, Palestine, and the godless Turks and decide that true authenciticy lies in the palate. Your elementary school level Spanish is adequate to land you a job as the front man at Mamouns where you spend hours ranting about your marginalized position vis-à-vis the Israeli owned cafes on MacDougal Street. Every once in a while, your customers discuss Middle Eastern politics and you inject yourself into the argument by quoting directly from your thesis titled "Subversion of a Metadiscourse: Ibn al-Khaldun’s poetry: A Revisionist Interpretation".

Regardless of which of these options you pick, there is a bright future waiting for you. You need only to seize the opportunity. Me? I will practicing intoning the following sentence with all due seriousness,

"One job with hot sauce, please."

Originally posted here.

Masjid Ibn Tulun

2010-11-13T17:09:00.006+02:00

Today I headed to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, one of the oldest mosques in the city. My roommate had to work, so I spent the morning with her mom who is visiting. Since I don't get many visitors, it was nice to show someone around. We walked from our apartment to the mosque, climbed around everywhere including up two minarets, and then headed to the Islamic Museum of Art, which is brand new and super awesome. This picture is me at the top of one of the minarets, and you can see the Citadel in the background. More pics here.

Commute

2010-11-10T13:37:00.007+02:00

My commute is pretty crazy. Every weekday morning my alarm goes off at 640am and I leave the house by 715. On the walk to metro, I pass the nut shop, the pharmacy, the bakery, and the pizza shop. Then I turn in the alley where every morning I see the same mama cat cuddled up on top of the car with her two kittens, one orange and one grey. Other felines scamper about in the trash piles scavenging for food. Since Eid Al-Adha is approaching, now there are also herds of sheep in corrals in the alley. Around the next corner there is a shopkeeper who always tells me good morning, and a cart selling fuul and tamayya. Once I wind my way out of the alleys it is just two blocks to the metro. Usually on the street there are some guys throwing the usual 'ya mouzza ya outa ya agnabia ya sexy'- even so early in the morning, I don't know how they have the energy! There is a huge pile of trash next to the metro entrance so it always smells hella bad and I hold my breath and go down and buy my ticket from the window and wait for the train. Usually I get on the metro by 730. It is always very crowded on the women's car (and the men's too I'd assume), mostly with students going to university. Some mornings it is so crowded it feels like your feet can barely touch the floor because there are so many bodies. Sometimes the crowds are so pressing getting on and off that people don't make it off and don't make it on. If you have a shoulder bag sometimes it gets caught in between two people who are getting off, so that your bag is pulled off the metro while you are still on. Sometimes girls get caught in the doors as they are closing and there is a lot of screeching. Usually I try to get a spot on the wall of the train car where I can sit on the floor which is dirty but I am tired in the morning. If you're standing up you usually become part of a constant shuffle of people, as in between each stop everyone has to figure out who is getting off next so that they can get closer to the door. "nazila? nazila? nazila..." I get off metro by 7:50 in Maadi, which is much calmer than the neighborhood by my apartment. The walk to work takes about 15 minutes, passing by a lot of diplomat mansions and some schools. Big, fancy diplomats are driven by in their big, fancy cars. After work, I do the same thing in reverse, stopping by the gym and sometimes the store. When I come out of metro in my neighborhood in the afternoons, the street is crazy. I would say average of one person per square foot, which is pretty crowded. And people walk slow and stop frequently! And cars try to drive down the road! And everyone is yelling! In one block you can buy pomegranates, oranges, cucumbers, lettuce, persimmons, papaya, lemons, limes, squash, kiwi, plums, apples, bananas, limes, tomatoes, potatoes, fresh juice, crab, fish, shrimp, beef, chicken, pizza, baked goods, plastic toys, pants, shirts, glassware, cigarettes, lighters, hairpins, luffas, combs, koshary, tammayah, fuul, and who the heck knows what else! And it is interesting because there are many cities around the world with similar crowd densities in urban areas, yet I think in Egypt foot traffic moves slower than just about anywhere I've ever been. Don't even try to walk American speed and maneuver around that old woman toting shopping bags in front of you. Because you will inevitably run into a man carrying a tea tray or get in the way of a dude on a motorbike or in the least get very stressed out! After one block the commotion lulls slightly and I slip back into the alleyway and make my way home, alhamdullilah!!!! The end.
PS did you know the word luffa comes from arabic?! Also I took the photo above from the internet, and the metro looks pretty nice in that picture at least!

Woof!

2010-11-06T12:25:00.002+02:00

Adopt me! You can find me hanging around Wadi Degla with my family any time of day! More pictures here. :D

Sandwich Sirsar

2010-11-03T17:39:00.003+02:00

A corral of sheep has been moved into our alleyway. One day last week they suddenly appeared there, and have since hanging out there like one big, fuzzy, lumpy, smelly blanket coating the asphalt. I suppose the idea is that they will fatten up there and then be slaughtered and then be eating for the upcoming holiday eid al-adha, in turn fattening up the people of my neighborhood, sayyeda zainab. No offense to the holiday, but I much prefer the corral of sheep and i will not eat any lamb, sheep, cow, or goat this eid!! Not a big fan of meat, and today I already had two experiences digesting things I didn't want to ingest! First at work we ordered from this popular restaurant nearby and I had some eggs in shamy bread like usual except today it tasted weird and I looked in the sandwich and found cockroach (sirsar)! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! People in the office had already been joking about the extra protein in this particular establishment's food products, but it was still a nasty surprise! Then later at the gym I picked up a water bottle that I thought was mine, but it turned out it was full of some sort of cleaning product. So I got a huge gulp of an unknown type of cleaning product that someone left around next to the workout machines in a bottle just like the ones they sell outside the gym. Yum, yum, yum! I am now planning to go to a fancy restaurant and eat chocolate lava cake to make up for this day!

Race for the Cure Egypt

2010-10-24T17:14:00.004+02:00

This blog post is about my participation in the 2nd annual Race for a Cure in Egypt, hosted by the Susan G Komen Foundation in cooperation with the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt, the Suzanne Mubarak International Peace Movement, the National Council for Women and a host of other corporate sponsors, including Samsung, EFG Hermes, and Cilantro. Cilantro is a chain of coffee stores here in Egypt, and one morning purchasing coffee on the way to work I saw a poster for the race and decided to sign up. I paid my 25 pounds and got a number and a hat and a tshirt and a meal ticket. I heard last year there were 10,000 people at the event, which is held at the pyramids, so I was fully prepared for magnificent disorganization and let me tell you I was not disappointed! There were free shuttles from the center of Cairo and those were awesomely organized. I showed up with my roommate at 730am for the bus and was on the road by 731.. woah! The bus was full of pink hijabs topped with race for the cure hats and most people wearing jeans and ballet flats and whatever they normally wear. My roommate and I were looking at everyone wondering what they were wearing, and in turn I'm pretty sure everyone else on the bus was wondering why the two strange foreigners were wearing athletic shorts/leggings combo and running shoes.. how strange of us to wear those to a running race!!!! When we got to the pyramids some tourists took our picture and we made our way en masse through the gates (free pyramid visit woo!) and then for some reason got on another bus which drove us .5 km and then dumped us off again, at which point we were apparently supposed to walk the length of the course to the start- no problem since it was only 1.5 km! The start was full of corporate posters and overpriced snacks and portapotties and a women's changing area etc etc etc.. It seemed very organized. I drank a coke for breakfast, the drink of champions. The camel dudes were offering camel rides and they played some american tunes a la 'i will survive'. Thousands of people were milling around, from old men in galabeyas wearing breast cancer hat to the us marine corps dudes, decked out in short shorts. Now, the race was supposed to start at ten, which I wasn't hopeful about but we meandered to supposed starting area (place in dirt with too small arch over it). Thousands of people began to gather there, although tour buses continued to come up the road (meaning in the course) as well as hundreds of late-comers heading to the race (since the bus drops you at the finish line). US militarymen, as well as cynical americans in their twenties, would use the word clusterfuck to describe such a scene, and indeed it was a bit of a clusterfuck. Around ten am, one of the marines yelled 'go' and started running, starting off a massive false start while a far away microphone yelled 'lisa lisa lisa' (wait wait wait). At this point all my friends decided the clusterfuck was too much and decided to leave and I went to mope a curb and watch. There were people carrying banners, a few serious looking runners mixed in with old people, young people, babies, foreigners... and everyone mingling everywhere... no actual start line, but a start mob. Suddenly while I was sitting I noticed that everyone was running.. and I guess the race had started (I didn't hear a gun or anything, but apparently far off unseen microphone announcer had started a countdown and at about 20 everyone decided to go). I watched multiple people fall over and be trampled and I ran off. The "race" was literally thousands of people dodging tour buses. I saw a foreigner with a jogger trying to maneuver between cars and a bus while tourists on board took pictures of him.. it was too much. All the young guys cut the course, veering off the road across the desert to make the already 1.5 k route shorter.. ahhahh it was so funny! There were also aid stations set up on the "course" even though it was so short.. I did see some ambulances set up also, which were probably much more necessary than the stations passing out water, seeing as thousands of people were let loose to run through a road packed with buses and cars, or choose to veer off course onto rocky/sandy uneven terrain. I finished the run and met up with my friends, who had ended up doing the run/walk anyways, although I guess starting further up than me. It was interesting because so much effort was put into the fanfare and transportation before and after the race event, and I wonder why they didn't put just a little more effort was put into the course. Really though, it was cool and I got a free tshirt and it was one of the only events in Egypt when I saw so many people from different classes coming together for a cause, and hopefully some of those thousands of people learned something about breast cancer and detection and treatment and stuff. It was funny because after the race I was sitting on the curb thinking how hot it was and moaning with my roommate about how we wanted to leave and get food, and then we realized that we were sitting right next to one of the wonders of the world and that put things in perspective! Afterwards did go off and eat a pizza though... nom nom nom! Point of the story is I am excellent at not getting trampled and dodging buses left as obstacles during massive road race, and really enjoyed it at that! [Took picture from BCFE website. It looks very halcyon and organized compared to reality of scene!]

Nature in the House!

2010-10-22T13:13:00.002+02:00

Lately we have been experiencing the phenomenon known as nature in the house! In addition to having black cloud monster slime aka dust all over the furniture, floor, and our skin, we also have quite the menagerie of sort-of pets. I say sort-of pets just to make clear that we did not invite these animals into our apartment- they just came over and made themselves at home! The largest animal formerly belongs to our landlord and it is a large, furry, rodent-dog of some sort. It is also dead and stuffed and hiding in a cupboard and is a great party trick when we have guests over. Despite being a bit frightening looking, rodent-dog is perhaps the least unnerving of our pets, because he is stationary and causes little trouble. The next pet is also a mammal, a large rat, which is allegedly hiding out in my room. I have not seen or heard it, but the cleaning ladies woke me up one morning and were totally freaked out blabbing about how we have a rat. I just shrugged and went back to sleep, but the ladies were quite upset and ran about spreading rat poison all over my room. I am more scared of the rat poison fumes than the rat, who i have seen hide nor hair of. My room's previous occupant however, said there used to be a rat about a foot long which they had to have the bowab come up and kill by repeated clubbing with a broomstick. In case we do hear from our rat friend, we did purchase a broom and a mop last week, so I feel quite prepared in case I need to duel it out with the big rat mama! The next two pets both live in my bathroom, and I would assume don't like each other. I see them on different occasions but have never seen them both at once. These would be Ms. Cockroach and Ms. Gecko, the latter being smaller than the former. I am very much hoping that ms gecko will get her act together and eat the ms. cockroach, but unfortunately ms. cockroach always appears larger and stronger, while ms gecko is smaller and flighty. I have squashed ms. cockroach on more than one occasion, yet she magically reappears, once even via a magical resurrection, rising like a phoenix, body somehow reformed and unsquashed, crawling out of the trash can. The final members of our menagerie include multiple ants, spiders, and flies. The flies love me particularly, waking me from my slumber on weekend mornings when i've slept into the afternoon and it's already become hot and stuffy. So many animals in the house, yet I still miss my in california.. somehow rodent-dog, rat, cockroach, gecko, insects, and spider don't measure up to lovable cat, dogs, and fish back home!

THE BLACK CLOUD!

2010-10-15T11:58:00.005+02:00

Cairo tastes bad! This week we have fully welcomed in the season of the BLACK CLOUD! The sky has become dark, the air burns your throat, the dirt stuffs up your noise, and dirt just piles up on your skin. The black cloud is an annual thing in Cairo- every October and November the pollution increases markedly, a phenomenon which is attributed to farmers in the delta burning rice straw. The Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, a fellow named Maged George, keeps announcing new programs in which farmers can sell their agricultural waste products to companies and factories who then can use the straw to create energy. And yet, still no dice! Cairo is as smoggy as ever this October! Yesterday my roommate and I were discussing how usually pollution doesn't bother us, as of course we pride ourselves on being such worldly and adaptable people :P This week however, my nose has been full of grime at all times and my throat burning with every breath! Walking to the cafe last night we could see the thickness of the air, the 'black cloud' literally visible, hanging off of government building, weaving its way through apartment complex windows, and settling in on top of hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The personified black cloud reminds me of some sort of insidious monster! So, alas, in order to combat the black cloud, I am here to offer some tips!
1. Smoke a lot of Shisha (AKA Hookah, Argile, Hubbly Bubbly...). Shisha is very, very bad for you, filling your lungs with smoke in effect slowly killing you. This is similar to the effect of the black cloud monster! So, in order to get acclimate your lungs it is a good idea to smoke shisha everyday! This will get your lungs used to the smoke, but on the plus side, shisha comes in all manner of fruity flavors, where the black cloud only comes in one... SMOG FLAVOR.
2. On a more serious note, buy an abrasive scrubby thing for your shower. This is the only tool which could ever effectively remove the layers of grime accumulating on your skin! Even better, find your local hamam and they can scrub it off for you!
3. Throw all your white clothes into a bucket of bleach weekly, or else!
4. The black cloud monster will cover your home in a layer of his slime.. aka dust! This is unavoidable, but you can still try and combat it, by cleaning often! Check out your friendly neighborhood home appliance store, and you can ensure you are fully equipped with all manners of dust rags, mops, brooms, and sponges. Happy cleaning!
5. Become a SCUBA diver and head to the beach as much as possible. Can you say oxygen bar?! Caution: Beware of rough transition back to Cairo air. For help with this see number 1!
6. Get out and take full advantage of all the fun Cairo has to offer. Fully embrace the cute black cloud monster, and before you know it you will be friends!
[picture taken from EgyptToday]

Dog, Boat, Saudi Arabia

2010-10-14T13:53:00.004+02:00

Went to Dahab last weekend and took this picture while sprawled out on a lounge chair drinking juice and eating a hamburger. Living the life! The dog, a well-fed stray, was so cute the way it was playing in the water.

Cairo Citadel

2010-10-02T16:13:00.007+02:00

This weekend's outing featured a hot and sweaty trek to the Citadel. We are staring out at the Citadel everyday from our living room but had never been inside the complex so we decided to check it out. The main mosque, Mohamad Ali, wasn't the coolest mosque I've ever seen but worth a gander. The highlight of the day was the National War Museum which is also located inside the Citadel complex. It was super hokey and nationalist and sort of lame and sort of remarkable but definitely worth the trip. Highlights included the first cannon in history, huge dusty dioramas, and the statue of "the best soldiers on earth", who are Egyptian soldiers, obviously!!! After leaving the Citadel we walked though a hella crowded street and drank some juice but passed up some meat stands selling hooves- no thank you! Stopped by another mosque then taxied it home. Photo album here. Happy Weekend!

Egypt Smoking

2010-09-29T23:37:00.016+03:00

Al-Masry Al-Youm carried a story today on the graphic warning images printed on Egypt's cigarette boxes. As a non-smoking expatriate, the pictures-which include such images as rotting teeth, dying people, and the infamous 'limp cigarette'- serve simply as an amusement. The limp cigarette is pictured next to text in Arabic saying "smoking for a long period negatively affects marital relations" ...so you can see what the ministry of health is implying!!! By some statistics at least 40% of Egyptian men smoke tobacco, which is a serious health concern although I'm not sure the graphic images are having the desired deterring effects. My impression is that many people are not ignorant of health risks, rather they are cynical and apathetic... what's another cigarette when the city is already so polluted, what's another cigarette when you can't afford to visit the doctor anyways or can't find a job and the government is corrupt and militant.. Seems to me government transparency and accountability could, in a roundabout way, go a bit further to reduce smoking than the melodramatic images which read as yet another heavy-handed government propaganda campaign. That said, of course smoking is bad! I bet that if more people felt they had the agency to make healthy and empowering life choices then more people would try to stop smoking! It kind of reminds me of hipsters.. the apathetic flip of a cigarette, taking a drag just to show you don't give a f***..... but perhaps egypt needs now a different and less self-destructive type of defiance. The next elections are approaching, but I'm not holding my breath. To see some interviews about the cigarette package images, check out the latest here from Jon Jensen for Global Post.

Phototime!

2010-09-25T18:01:00.001+03:00

Had a lazy Saturday morning then my roommate Callie and I went out to Attaba to do some shopping. Attaba is a big market area with a lot of books and a lot of shoes. Today in the markets in Attaba was one of the first times that Egypt reminded me of Delhi- Attaba is pretty off the hook just with everything going on and how many piles and piles of stuff there is to buy, reminded me of some markets in India. Callie bought some cute sandals and I bought a big pink lighter (check out the picture below!). Now no one will be able to walk off so easily with the lighter we use for the stove!! After Attaba we went to pick up some groceries and I got all the ingredients for a super bomb and healthy sandwich- lettuce, chicken, mushrooms, cheese, tomato, brown bread, light mayonaise- yum yum yum! I want to try and make some bread at home. Does anyone have any recipes? I have been trying to find one that doesn't require bread flour, and doesn't require brown sugar, and possibly doesn't require loaf pan, although I could go buy a loaf pan if necessary. Have brown flour, sugar, honey, yeast, eggs and everything else at home now. We've been doing a lot of cooking at home, which is nice and healthier than all the oily street food. I have a new specialty which I've been making which includes steamed green beans and squash, then tossed in a pan a bit with carmelized cashews and garlic and peanut butter and it is pretty good! Always end up experimenting with whatever is available and been having some good luck with things turning out well! I included some other pictures here, the view from our living room (you can see the citadel to the left of the picture, and also the girl's school just below our window). The other picture is a mirror in the living room which has a dancer painted on, and then finally a picture of my friend Iman from a few weeks ago on our trip to the north coast. Check out the color of the water!! I didn't change the colors of the picture of anything, it just looks like that. Pristine!

Ali the juiceman and Ghafar the bowab

2010-09-23T15:16:00.002+03:00

Glad it is Thursday!! The week was good though as I've been enjoying my new neighborhood. Everyday I've stopped by the juice man, named Ali, across the street for some drink and conversation. He's got everything fresh- guava, sugar cane, banana, orange, tamarind, pomegranate, mango. You can drink it there or he'll put it in a plastic bag tied up with a straw for you. Basically like every other juice stand in Egypt, but now I have a regular place. I have also been appreciating my the bowab at my new apartment who I have decided is basically crazy! Most every apartment building in Egypt will have a bowab, or doorman, who will mostly likely hang out in the entrance wearing a galabaya and be available to fix things and say hi everyday. The bowab at my new aparmtent is named Ghafar and he is old and as I said craaazyyy! He has a very scratchy voice which is hard for me to understand and he is usually trying to tell me something. Last night my roommate and I came down to get some fuul sandwiches and he was mopping the entryway, a normal scene except he had hiked up his galabaya and was wearing just his boxers!!! He enthusiastically said hi and we averted our eyes!!!! The floor was clean when we got back though and Ghafar was sleeping. There are also a lot of shoe stores near my house and the other day we went out and bought nail polish and new shoes so now my feet have been looking very nice. Of course dirty all the time though also, cus we're in Cairo after all. Tonight going out for some fuul in garden city and then maybe to a party at the US embassy. Not too many plans for the weekend, but glad it is here!

This Week in Cairo- the highlights!

2010-09-18T11:19:00.007+03:00

Someone threw an entire dead dog on the top of the dumpster on my street.
Yesterday a teenage girl was screaming outside the public hospital in my neighborhood. Two men and two fat women dragged her inside.
Every time I go to the supermarket in my neighborhood at the checkout they tell me "shukran ya mouzza": Thank you hot girl!
I was part of what basically became a crazy scary mob- twenty women trying to get out one metro door at the same time thirty women trying to get on. It involved kids getting trampled and a lot of shrieking.
The Egyptian government newspaper Al-Ahram altered a photo of government leaders at the peace talks, to put Mubarak out in front. It was photoshopped really badly!!
I moved all my stuff from my old apartment to my new apartment on foot. My friend had borrowed my suitcases so I just threw everything on a sheet and picked it up and walked down the street. I think this made me fit in more than usual.
Eating food in the daytime- no more Ramadan!!!
Climbing up the minaret at the Ibn Talun mosque which is walking distance from my house- amazing old architecture, amazing views!

How I lost 5 kilos on the Snickers Diet during the Month of Ramadan.

2010-09-17T12:44:00.005+03:00

So in all honesty this post could be about 'the exercise diet' but just to pack a punch let's call it the Snickers Diet. Maybe I can be their new spokesman. In Ramadan it is difficult to find food during the day since everyone else is fasting. So I got in the habit of eating a snickers bar everyday for lunch. Snickers bars are crunchy and smooth and delicious, about 250 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein. I ate a snickers everyday for lunch, ate breakfast in the morning, went to the gym after work, and then ate a huge dinner. By huge dinners I mean ramadan breaking fast style feasts, complete with desserts and juices and everything you could possibly stuff yourself with! And still with that and with eating snickers for lunch and exercising I lost 5 kilos. I get off work around 1 or 2 pm, and throughout Ramadan I would stop by the market on the walk to the gym and buy a snickers bar and some water. Then at the gym I usually stayed for two hours- an hour of cardio, 30 minutes of weights, and 30 minutes of lounging by the pool! So this is just to encourage all you chocolate lovers out there- you can eat chocolate and lose weight and get fit and healthy and the same time! Now Ramadan is finally over and I am back to eating healthy meals in the daytime, which is a nice change. Yesterday I moved to a new apartment, just a few blocks from my old apartment in order to live with my old roommate from Cairo who just got back into town. My new room here is the nicest room I've ever lived in and our apartment has just about everything you could ever walk within 3 minutes walking distance- metro stop, pizza place, supermarket, espresso place, juice place, koshary place, fuul place, liquor store, shoe store, nut shop, fruit and vegee stand, pharmacy, and multiple shops to buy snickers bars... everything! Livin it up!

Happy Eid!

2010-09-12T13:01:00.004+03:00

Ramadan is over!!! I went with friends to the North Coast for the vacation. The Mediterranean is the most surprising color of turquoise and I have a nice tan. I brought a 1000+ page Stephen King book with me and it was a very chill vacation. Now I'm back in Cairo and millions of people are strolling around the city, strutting their new Eid clothes and relishing in daytime eating. Last night driving into Cairo it took us 45 minutes to drive just a few kilometers. The traffic was thick along the Nile, and the military out in full force controlling the throngs of people celebrating. This morning I walked to the store to buy some breakfast foods and some guys were giving horse and pony rides in the park by my house. Fire works are going off everywhere- the little boys living above me have a favorite past time of throwing them off their balcony- Safe!

Name That Tragedy

2010-09-06T17:31:00.005+02:00

2010 Haiti Earthquake:
Magnitude: 7.0
Deaths: 200,000+

2010 New Zealand Earthquake:
Magnitude: 7.1
Deaths: 0

Recently we have witnessed yet another reminder that the effects of so-called natural disasters are anything but natural. To all my Facebook friends putting up statuses "Praying for Christchurch" and "God Bless Haiti", I would think seriously about where y'all are directing your energies since the effects of these disasters are entirely manmade. Vulnerability to disaster is produced overtime- the real tragedy occurs long before the earth begins to tremble or the hurricane touches shore or the flood waters rise. I'd argue that Haiti's disaster was in many ways imported from America- through the US governments historical support for regime in return for promised incentives to attract US private investors such as maintenance low minimum wage, through military interventions, or through structural adjustment policies shoved down Haitians throats by US-backed international financial institutions. So how ironic was it really, when the US government gave its condolences and promised aid, how ironic is it to paint ourselves as the savior now?

Check me out.

2010-09-02T00:09:00.007+02:00

Azhar Park over the city, Zamalek by the Nile, :)

What We Build Could Be Anything

2010-09-01T15:37:00.004+02:00

"And maybe knowing isn't the point. Where we're standing right now, in the ruins in the dark, what we build could be anything." -Chuck P, Choke.

I've been spending a lot of time at the gym lately, oftentimes more than an hour on the treadmill, running listening to some old rascal flats and montgomery gentry songs I used to love in high school. On the treadmill you're moving but not going anywhere, so I find myself spending a lot of time imagining the places I could be, out in a desert somewhere or back home on a back road. It's kind of how I feel about my life here now- it is productive, fun, and challenging but I don't feel like I'm going anywhere, as if I still haven't found what I'm looking for. I have a good job and I'm using Arabic everyday and I see my friends and of course as of late, go to the gym. Yet I'm still yearning to learn more and explore more and live more. I signed up for the GRE. I'm taking it November 2, and I'm not sure when or if I'll apply to graduate school but it will be good to have the exam finished in any case. I'm still applying for jobs, more jobs in Cairo, and in Boston, Sacramento, Toronto, and Baghdad. And lately I have a hankering to ride my bike across America. So I'm all over the place! And I want to be this way. It feels like the only way to live your twenties, or at least the only way for me. I received an amazing email today from a friend from Berkeley who is now in India, and it really made my day. She said, "Remember life's golden rule: ONLY ONCE. ... just saying!" For me it reiterates that it's okay to be a bit crazy and rash sometimes, to move across continents for a friend, to quit something, try new things wholeheartedly, to love. Community in Cairo is interesting because the expat community especially is very transient- you get close with people really fast, hang out a lot, then they leave or you leave, and very few people seem that tied down to anything. Yet I also have friends here who I've known longer and love dearly, and I want to know them forever and they too are leaving Cairo soon. It makes me feel even less tied to this city. It makes me question why I'd move so easily to almost anywhere to chase a job, romance, or a dream, all the while going so far from the people back in California, friends and family, who will love me forever. Anyways, it is a crazy time. Somedays the seeming infinity of possibilities, places, and lifestyles feels like a weight on my chest, and other days it feels like the greatest thing in the world. Lately on the treadmill I've been practicing running with my eyes closed. It's strange how not being able to see affects you're balance and you feel like you're going to fall over even though you know you won't because you know where you are and what you're doing. And I have that feeling now, at the same time feeling unsure, but also very solid in my capabilities. The world is my oyster as the saying goes, and I've just been thinking a lot about my values and what I want and what is important. Living up the twenties!

"I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna cross that river, I'm gonna catch tomorrow now..." -Billy Joe Shaver, Live Forever.

So Let's Talk About Power

2010-08-23T18:59:00.010+02:00

"The greatest pyramids in Egypt are made not of stone but of people: they are the vast bureaucracies that constitute society's core, and they function not necessarily to get the 'job' done but to reward the personal loyalty of those at the bottom to those at the top. Once you understand that, much of the rest begins to make sense."

So the so-called 'President' of Egypt Mister Mubarak has been in power for about thirty years now, twenty-nine of them in so-called 'emergency law rule'. The sad part is that over three decades Mister Mubarak apparently did not solve the alleged "emergency" since 'emergency law rule' is still in effect, and he also didn't learn how to share power.

Indeed Mister Mubarak has a lot of power for himself, with the aid of his military and secret service and bands of thugs, and also perhaps more cleverly by "the permeation throughout civil society…of an entire system of values, attitudes, beliefs, morality... supportive of the established order and the class interests that dominate it.." (That's how my main man Antonio Gramsci defined hegemony, as a process that is lived by people and constantly recreated). Gramsci uses this concept to explain why the socialist revolution Marx predicted never occurred, arguing that through cultural hegemony bourgeois ideals captured the consciousness and ideology of the workers, ensuring the persistence of capitalism and the oppressive structures inherent within it. I bring the concept to think about Egypt, to speculate as to how in the hell Mubarak has been able to make his power so permanent, so permanent that it may outlast his own lifetime (Go Army! Go Gamal!)- this type of power takes more than force.

Mubarak is powerful even as he mismanages power. And I'm making a pun here, because I see the latest example of his misuse of power in the current power outages going on throughout the country. It is Ramadan, it his hotter than hell, and the Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younes decided to deal with the problem by shutting of electricity in whole neighborhoods for hours at a time. However, he didn't shut off anything in upper class areas, such as Maadi and Zamalek, where electricity consumption rates are the highest. In addition, natural gas supply to power stations could be increased to generate more electricity, yet the Minister of Petroleum decreased it. The Egyptian Center for Human Rights is now calling for Younes' resignation accusing him of corruption and failure to provide basic services. Yet of course that probably isn't going to happen, because it's a power thing, and I mean that as a pun again.

It is really interesting because now in the scorching summer during Ramadan so people are hungry and then the power is cut and the water is cut.. you'd think something would have to give. Some protesters did take over a street on the way to Fayoum, but the police quickly quieted them. So it is just so interesting, the way Mubarak's power seems at once so tenuous and so strong. And we have this example where the have-nots of Egypt have their power cut off, they can't turn on the lights. And I wonder how long it can go on- it seems like it's going on. And the thing about Gramsci's idea of hegemony is that it is lived by people, constantly recreated. So it gets its permanency that way, but it also makes room for resistance. Elections are coming up in Egypt and Mubarak is old, and it is summer now and the power is out, except I'm sure in Mubarak's palace...

New Guitar, New Song

2010-08-21T16:54:00.007+02:00

Christening my new guitar with a song I wrote. It is very simple I guess.

Metro Blackout

2010-08-19T16:50:00.003+02:00

Today after work I went to the gym for a few hours and then went to meet someone who was selling a guitar and a router and then hopped on metro. It was around 4 pm and at least 100 degrees fahrenheit. I sat down next to an old woman, a woman carrying two babies, and another girl about my age. Everyone was hot and sweaty and mostly everyone (not me!) had been fasting all day. The girl across from me put her hand on her forehead and sighed- a pretty normal thing to do considering the conditions! Then however, she slowly reached out her hand into the air, as if for help, and fell out of her chair. The problem was the people close to her were the lady holding two babies, the old lady, me holding a guitar, a router, and all my gym stuff, and a lady who was facing the other way. So, none of us caught her and and she hit the ground hard. My immediate reaction was to say "Oh my God" in Arabic and I'm not sure if that was offensive to people or not! Then I grabbed her off the ground and everyone on the metro car surrounded us, and she was completely unresponsive for at LEAST two minutes- that is a long time!!! She was Niqabi but since we were on the women's car we decided to pull up her veil, and her face was very pale and her eyes back in her head. I wasn't sure if she just passed out or was having a seizure or something. The good thing was that since she was sitting by me, a foreigner, and the lady with the babies, we both had water, which we put on her face. And she was totally out of it. So I checked her pulse but I couldn't really tell what was up because I was being like what the heck is going on and because I checked on her arm because her neck was covered. So so much for that. But the old lady decided to rub her nose and then like magic or maybe just coincidentally she woke up. Alhamdulillah!!! She didn't really say anything for a few minutes, and she refused to drink any water but we put some more on her face, and then she pulled her niqab back down. The ladies were asking her when she would get off the metro, and it was soon, and we found someone also getting off there, two Christian women who took her on both arms and walked her out. But we could see through the bars of the metro car that as soon as she got off the girl just sat down against a pole. I hope she will be okay. It seemed like a bit more was wrong than just fainting from fasting, but then again it was very hot! The next stop I got off and walked home, and now I will tune my new acoustic guitar, which I bought for the equivalent of 25 USD, and be grateful that the girl actually woke up!

Ramadan Karim

2010-08-18T16:57:00.003+02:00

It is the afternoon now and I'm just sitting on my bed waiting for ifTar, which is the meal you eat at sundown during the month of Ramadan to break your fast. I'm not fasting, but I am still eating a lot less because I don't want to eat at work or at home or at restaurants or on the street because everyone else is fasting!! Last week I went to Iman's house for ifTar and she cooked amaaazing food, maklouba and chicken and basically I was amazed that she could cook so well (See the picture I took above!) The meals in the night are one of the best parts of Ramadan because eating brings people together. Oh, and because there is good food! It is kind of like having Thanksgiving every night for a whole month! In the day time the streets are much emptier than normal, with most restaurants closed. Not related to Ramadan I don't think, but today I was walking home from the metro and I took a different way through some alleys and passed by a building with a small store on the first floor and private residences above. And most of the shutters of the people's homes had buckets attached, and while I passed by one lady lowered her bucket down to the store, with money in it, and they took the money and replaced it with groceries and her change, and then she raised the bucket back up. It was just like in a tree house when we were kids!!! Now I am wishing there was a store below my window so I could do my shopping that way!! :)

Heyyyy

2010-08-17T18:32:00.006+02:00

Hey Everyone, I did not update recently as I've been busy. Life is good though and I recovered from my bout of illness! I joined the gym which is reaaaally nice and I went today and ran for an hour on a machine thing with my own personal tv. I also lifted weights and lay by the pool and genuinely enjoyed myself. Tomorrow after work I'm meeting with a trainer to talk about fitness-y stuff, I don't really know what. I also started freelancing for Cairo 360, a guide to Cairo website, and you can read my first article here. Other than that I've just been spending time with friends a lot and enjoying the community during Ramadan. It is really good I joined the gym in time for Ramadan because at night there is so much food!! Everyone is fasting during the day but as soon as it is night there is feasting!! After fasting is over we still go and sit in the cafe and I really think my Arabic is getting better. Last night I held a conversation for twenty minutes or so, which I felt pretty good about. Practice is always good, so I guess I will just have to keep drinking tea and juice outside at night with friends!! Livin the good life!

Surviving Cairo Summer!!

2010-08-08T22:04:00.003+03:00

So this weekend I had the plan to go to Alexandria for the day to escape from Cairo traffic and heat, and then come back and celebrate my birthday on Saturday with friends. Not so!! As soon as I got home from work on Thursday afternoon I felt sick and it turned out I didn't leave my room for over 48 hours. I had a bit of a fever a stomach problems and it was terrible!! The good thing was I rested a lot and drank a lot of water and my friends stopped by with groceries and medicine which was sooo nice of them! I also received all my birthday cards and a box of cookies from my grandma on Thursday, so I had those with me while bedridden which was uplifting! On Saturday I was feeling finally feeling slightly better so I ventured out for the first time- Cairo is a shocker if you haven't been outside in two days!!! I was met with a burst of hot air and a grumpy cab driver and on the same day my family was canoeing in Tahoe. Pristine blue lake sounds like heaven compared to dirt, grime, traffic, heat, and intestines kicking something wicked from Cairo food!!! My birthday wasn't a total loss however because I ended up meeting just a few friends for a relaxed dinner, and we sat along the Nile in the breeze and ate salad and pizza and chocolate souffle, so not so bad really!! Work started up again today and my stomach is still a bit weird- as I'm usually not afflicted with these ailments I think maybe I have a parasite but I'm taking antinal and streptoquin from the pharmacy here and I'm getting better everyday so I'll just go to the doctor in a week if I'm not better. Not fun! Being sick was a good check in though because I realized that even though Cairo at times can't compare to the beauty of California and being around friends and family there, I am happy I am here and working and finding my way. Today I was back on the streets again, hit up some delicious sandwiches in a nice restaurant in a mall along the corniche (air conditioning for the whole afternoon!!) then went and sat in the cafe at night. Hopefully one day soon I can still get to the beach!

Azhar Park and Abd

2010-08-05T01:51:00.005+03:00

My friend named Vivek who is visiting has been taking pictures, so I'll have to make an album soon. Here are two from this week- me buying ice cream at a place called Abd in downtown Cairo (vanilla and mango are flavors of choice), and me and my friend Evann at the famous Azhar park at sunset. I was pointing at a kite but I don't think you can see it in the picture.

Far Away War

2010-07-30T16:32:00.018+03:00

Far Away War is a short film from Iceland and part of a film project called Gaza Winter, a collection of 13 films by Palestinian filmmakers from across the world meant to draw attention to atrocities committed in Gaza during operation Cast Lead. I like the film because it touches on the way people far away from conflict zones cope and deal with depictions of far away wars. It is one of the most sickening things to me at times, how we can sit in America, turn on the television, watch a war in whatever way a camera man or news agency wants to depict it, voice our opinions about it, maybe feel some sympathy, then jump back into work or school and our lives. Perhaps it's not that we shouldn't do this, but it's still hard to deal with. There is seemingly a disconnect, but the worst part is that even as we go back to school work and the 'normalcy' of our lives and forget the far away war, we pay our taxes to provide the weapons to the far away war, to the Israeli war machine. And if you really knew what it was like, if you really could identify with the person with white phosphorus burning their eyes, with the child who watched family members die around them, with the student studying under siege, if you really had an understanding sympathy for this experience, could you really go back to your life, would sending a donation or telling your friends or writing an op-ed or changing your facebook status or going to a protest or wearing a slogan tshirt... would it be enough? But what can we do? Guilt isn't the answer, and i'd argue neither is losing enjoyment of life's privileges. So how to engage when you have so much privilege, when your whole life and opportunities and good luck were built up in the same country and structures and frameworks that are oppressing others. I have a friend here in Cairo, a very strong person who I have known for a year and a half now. And she's felt more injustices in her youth than most people born with an American passport will in their lifetime, and it makes me want to climb up a mountain and just scream and whoever is out their to cut her a break already. But it doesn't work like that. And when more problems are happening she withdraws from me and into reticence. And indeed how remiss of me is it to try and be supportive and there in her world, when everyday I am counting my blessings that I'm not in her world, that I haven't experienced what she's experienced. Even as we're so close, seeing each other every day and drinking coffee and talking about everything, the wars of the world are further from me, and she is over there and i am over there. But then the trick is that while the experience is far from me, it's not really further from me because my privileges are like theopposite of the wheel of her obstacles but its the same structure. So my thoughts turn to Mario Savio, to Berkeley, to the speech that has become a romanticized emblem of the free speech movement, spoken before the students began the 1964 Sproul Hall sit-in: "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!" And then after a prolonged applause, Savio says, "Now, no more talking. We're going to march in..."

Boycott. Divestment. Sanctions.

2010-07-29T17:13:00.001+03:00

Metro Connections

2010-07-27T14:47:00.003+03:00

A few weeks ago I was riding metro at night to visit a friend in Maadi. I was in the women's car, but the regular car was next to us, and a man began harassing me through the window in the door connecting the cars. I was just ignoring him but it was kind of awkward because the other women in the car could hear. Eventually one woman offered that I come stand near to her, in an area of the car where the man couldn't see me. She said he was crazy and I agreed. Then she told me that he was her husband! I was grateful for the opportunity to talk to her as harassment is very common in Egypt, and men will catcall other women even while they are with their wife or girlfriend, and I always wondered what the women thought of this. Right away the woman, whose name is Maren, asked me what I thought of her husband when he was telling me I'm beautiful and hot and all of that. So i told her that harassment is never nice or attractive, and that I didn't think he should act that way. Then she told me that I was very beautiful, so I told her that she was even more beautiful than me, and that she should be the one and only woman in her husband's life. Then she agreed, and said in a joking way that if he keeps on like this, she'll just get herself a boyfriend! We talked for awhile after that and she was so nice, and then we went our separate ways. This morning just as i got off metro around 730 am, I ran into Maren! We recognized each other instantly and began talking, and she told me her kids are doing great and her family also, but that her husband is not a good man. She wants to get divorced, but said that because she is Christian it would be harder, and that she would have to prove he'd slept with another woman, and that he had gone to another woman's house but she couldn't prove it. And she said there was another man, a good man, who she wants to marry and who wants to marry her, but she can't get divorced as it wouldn't be accepted. I listened, and after walking a few blocks together she turned to walk to her job at the restaurant and I kept going straight to inktank. We exchanged numbers and maybe we're going to meet soon, or I will come to the restaurant. I'm glad we ran into each other again and I hope she can find a way to do what is best for herself about her marriage.

Another Week in Egypt

2010-07-22T16:39:00.004+03:00

Another week has passed! This week has been a lot of fun but also tiring. I worked every day from about 730-130, and then met up with friends all afternoon and night, and then do it again the next day! On Monday we went to a really, really amazing book market packed away downtown near Attaba metro station. I guess it is called the Ezbekiya book market- stall after stall of used books, text books and french books and arabic books and english books and religious books and childrens books and tour books and every type of book! We found a small shop and behind all his wondrous books the shopkeeper man had all these movie posters from the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s. They were really cool and he spent a long time showing us each one and finally I decided to purchase one from 1971 to decorate my wall. It's crazy that the man had the poster for so long and then sold it to me, for the equivalent of about 4 US dollars. Since then I also bought a large world map, so my room is getting decorated nicely little by little. Yesterday I took a half day off of work and settled my visa, and then ended up the rest of the day sitting in cafes with friends. Today on the way home from work I went to the store to buy ingredients to make banana cake. I entered the metro with many shopping bags and a fuul sandwich in my hand and it was crowded! It is funny because usually on the metro people are staring at me, but today everyone was staring at this girl who got on and had on the most make-up I have ever seen! Another woman caught my eye and we were laughing about how much make-up the girl had, and then later it turned out we got off at the same stop and we talked some more about the crazy make-up girl, and how she could wear so much when it is so hot in the summer. It is always nice for me to have a conversation with someone and practice Arabic. I had to improvise a lot with my cake and I'm not sure how it will turn out! No brown sugar and not the right pan and didn't measure the ingredients and put both beaches and bananas... currently it is overflowing the sides of the pan, the edges burning and the inside all gooey still, but somehow I think it will still be delicious! We are thinking of going to a camp near Nuweiba in Sinai for the weekend, and if we end up going we will have a lot of banana cake!!

Sheikh Ali Yousef Street

2010-07-17T14:20:00.007+03:00

I moved to my new apartment in Mounira yesterday, and it is great! I have a big bed, huge cabinets, and a lot of natural light in my room if the shutters are open. I also have a sweet desk and nice roommates and cheap rent so I'm feeling pretty set! In these pictures you can see my room, the pictures I put up, and the view out my window on the street outside. The neighborhood is convenient because it is a fifteen minute walk to downtown and a five minute walk to the metro stop, and just outside the apartment there are many cafes and shops and fruit stands and hole-in-the-wall places to buy tammaya and fuul. After moving yesterday I went to Zamalek to buy some stuff I needed- power strip, converters, laundry detergent, and a lot of groceries. I still want to buy some posters to put on the walls! This morning I went to the mogama to try and square away my visa, but I woke up late and so even after staying there for a few hours and trudging through bureaucratic mess, I still have to go back tomorrow. I was hoping to avoid that because it means I'll be late for work, plus who wants to go to the mogama two days in a row? The rest of the afternoon I'm doing laundry and relaxing in my big bed with my book, and then at six I am off to frisbee. Woo!

TGI Thursday!

2010-07-15T20:14:00.003+03:00

Cairo was beautiful today. The pollution seemed to be clearer and the trees looked green the nile and the sky looked blue. After work I met friends at a restaurant ate hummos, and then and went and sat on my friend's balcony reading. I just finished Open Door by Latifa al-Zayyat and am now about half-way through Alaa Al Aswany's Chicago. I recommend both! Later I walked home from Zamalek to downtown, and it seemed everyone was out and about! I decided that Coca Cola should change its soda tabs to the kind that stays on the bottle, because right here they are using the kind that pulls up and they are littered everywhere! I am going to write Coca Cola Egypt a letter- maybe I can go work for them! I've been enjoying learning about business at my new job which is going well. Glad it is the weekend though as I've been working hard. I get up early everyday, leave the house about 7am, walk to the metro, ride the metro for 15 minutes, then walk another 15 minutes to my workplace. It is a peaceful commute so early in the morning, and the people watching on the metro is good. I ride in the women's car, and the women watch me and I watch them :P Today the lady I was sitting next to got a nose bleed, and she was niqabi, and it was one of those moments where life felt very surreal and I was wondering how did I get here, passing a woman tissues to wipe up a nose bleed underneath a veil. My feeling is that the number of niqabis in Egypt have increased from a few years ago, but it could also just be for the summer since so many families come for vacation from the gulf. I've been introspective lately- there is a lot of time to think while traveling to work and seems endless topics to think about. I feel I could go so many directions in the next few years and who knows what will happen! In the mean time enjoying life, and glad it is finally the weekend. Now I'm off to meet some friends for drinks. TGI Thursday!

ADEW in NY Times

2010-07-14T18:08:00.004+03:00

ADEW was mentioned in the New York Times today, in an article entitled In Egypt, Women Have Burdens, but No Privileges. The article talks about how stigma and sexism against women remains, even as their presence in the workforce increases. Dr. Iman Bibars, chairwoman of the Association for Development and Enhancement of Women, was quoted saying, "Yes, more women are working, but not every work is liberating." Check it out!

Wadi Degla

2010-07-11T19:55:00.003+03:00

Yesterday I went to Wadi Degla, a canyon just outside of Cairo. In the middle of the afternoon it was a lot of sun, and just one day after I'd been toasted at the beach. I really like Wadi Degla because it's a gem of undervalued "nature" really close to Cairo, practically inside it, with quarries and freeways and highways so close by. The canyon is over 50 million years old and you can see fossilized shells and other underwater type stuff as you walk along. So cool! Wadi Degla was declared a protectorate by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency just ten years ago, and now it is frequented by Egyptians driving cars and foreigners mountain biking and climbing and walking. There is also a fair bit of litter, but it's pretty just the same. The canyon goes back more than 30 kilometers I think, so I'm looking forward to going back soon to walk around more, perhaps when it is a bit less hot. I like this picture because you can see the path we walked up. Good place to go and think about life and different paths and all this. Cheers!

Ain Sokhna

2010-07-10T08:19:00.007+03:00

The scene at the beach! Full album here. Check it out!

J-O-B

2010-07-08T17:54:00.006+03:00

So I got a job at inktank working as an Arabic and English news analyst. Inktank is a communications agency that analyzes stuff for corporate clients. My job is to provide two corporate clients with daily analysis of local and international media relevant to their company. So I give them a report that details when, where and how their company was featured in the news, also including relevant industry and regional news, and news about their competitors. I like the work because part of my job uses Arabic- summarizing in English Arabic news sources, and because it exposes me to the business world which I don't know a lot about. At first I wasn't sure about taking this job because up until now I did mostly non-profit work, and this is a switch. However, I feel that knowledge of the business world will help me a lot if I return to non-profit work, and seeing as this is a crazy transition time in life, it seems a good time to try something new. I arranged a schedule with inktank and ADEW so that I can still continue with ADEW part time. This point was important to me, since I feel committed to ADEW and to finishing what I started there. I had my first full-day with inktank today and I liked it and I'm looking forward to stepping into a new field and finding my way. Inktank is cool because it is a young company with a relaxed atmosphere, but it is also growing. They got an award last year for their work and I'm excited to be a part of it! It is also so, so rewarding to be in a job where I am actually using the Arabic that I studied for four years in university! Also, now that I have a salary, I am going to start taking some extra Arabic classes at night. Woo! Today is the start of the weekend and tomorrow I am going on a day trip with friends to the beach in Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea coast. Time to relax! Also, here's a small picture from last week, of me and some friends packed into a taxi heading to a cafe late at night- typical Cairo evening. Love, from Ali.

What a day

2010-07-06T21:04:00.003+03:00

Today I woke up pretty early and went in to my internship. After working a little more on translating the grant, we went to visit more microcredit clients in an area of Cairo called Ein Seera. It was one of those places where you turn off the car and start going onto a progressively skinnier and dustier and bumpier road. We eventually stopped in the market which was buzzing and I basically caused business as usual to come to a halt everyone yelling about how there was a foreigner at the fish stand. One of the clients was selling fish and meat there and I learned about a lot of foods that you better believe me I will never be eating!! After leaving the market we went to a few more clients' shops and homes and heard their life stories and see how they are coming with their business since taking out the microcredit loan. Mostly I just listen and understand about half of what is going on, and Nashwa who also works at ADEW takes down the information. After awhile I took at taxi to metro from Ain Seera because I had a job interview about half an hour away at a communications agency, but I agreed that after my interview I would meet Nashwa because she invited me over to see her horses. The interview was pretty difficult because I had to take a long exam to test my ability in reading Arabic news then summarizing it in English and also reading the whole days news report in English and summarizing it in English. The agency provides news summaries to big business clients who want to know when and where their company was featured in the news, so it is focused on very business-y news. I liked the work though so hopefully they will call me back!! After my interview I called Nashwa and she told me how to get to her house which was nearby. Her apartment was beautiful, overlooking the Nile and in the distance you could see both Saqqara and Giza pyamids (In the picture you can see Saqqara pyramid on the horizon underneath the factory smoke). I got to meet Nashwa's kids, who gave me Arabic lessons and her sister, who says she will also try and find me a job!! We ate dinner, super good, rice and bread and salad and Bamiya, which they said is called lady fingers in English, which is apparently Okra (I just looked it up). I was really really grateful that she invited me over because it was good to meet an Egyptian family and practice Arabic and everything. After dinner Nashwa and me and her son Ahmed drove to the Giza pyramids to where she keeps her horse, named Mish Mish (Apricot) and the sun was setting over the pyramids and it was beautiful. Nashwa invited me to come with her to Tanta this weekend to visit her mother and her sister and go to her niece and nephew's birthday party. I am thinking about accepting..

"Field visits" and translation

2010-07-05T16:59:00.004+03:00

Today at work they asked me and the other intern to translate an entire grant proposal from Arabic to English. We began and it took us so long just to do the first few pages! It is good Arabic practice and I learned new words in Arabic such as the words for 'beneficiary' and 'target group'. I really, really want to improve my Arabic so badly. I am trying to talk with everyone all the time and listen to everyone else talking all the time but it is hard. In the afternoon I went with two other women to "field visits" to speak with beneficiaries of the ADEW microcredit program. It was good to see the places we've been writing about while sitting in the office. We went to an area called Imam (I think), near City of the Dead. Most of the women we spoke with were buying clothes wholesale and then re-selling them and used the micro-credit loan to start this type of business. However one woman had a newspaper shop and another sold soap. One woman couldn't talk with us because she was keeping the whole thing a secret from her husband and whenever they didn't have enough money she'd just give it to him and say she borrowed it from her sister or someone, but really she had earned it. She just didn't want him to know because she didn't want him to take all the money. I didn't really help with anything like asking any questions, but I just listened learned some Arabic, like the word for soap. I feel I could be more useful if my Arabic was better, but at least my formal Arabic is good enough that I can translate a grant proposal!! It is just the colloquial which is harder. Yesterday I registered and took an exam to start some extra colloquial classes at a language center in my neighborhood, so I'm going to start that as soon as I find a job. I have an interview tomorrow afternoon for a job I really want, so keep your fingers crossed!! It is lonely now with just the cat in the apartment, so I will read for awhile and then go meet friends. And hopefully meet new friends! I feel overwhelmed by my list of things to do: make new friends, learn Arabic for reals, get a job, figure out what I'm doing in life...... good times!!! :P Oh and Happy belated fourth of July everyone! Last night to celebrate I went with friends to sit in Borsa and we got hamburgers and watched a woman on the street swallow and spit fire! We were not expecting this lady to come there, but she was and it was very fitting for the fourth!

Ghaaaana!

2010-07-03T14:09:00.014+03:00

Last night downtown Cairo was buzzing, everyone gathered at outdoor cafes to watch the ghana-uruguay game. I met some friends and we got koshary take-away then headed to the favorite cafe in borsa. I, like most of the crowd, was rooting for Ghana and it seemed almost every other moment everyone was on their feet cheering. It was pretty disappointing when Uruguay clinched the win. Afterwards I met another friend at a cafe to drink mint tea in Islamic Cairo, and then made it a late night finishing up at a rooftop bar in downtown, where I met a friend-of-a-friend who works in public relations and publishing, who gave me lots of contacts in case I want to freelance as a writer for an editor for awhile. There are so many opportunities to consider! Today I've been working on some writing samples to send in, doting on the cat, and hoping to go to a book sale downtown in a bit. Cheers!

Hussein Hegazi Street

2010-07-01T09:42:00.016+03:00

I'm staying now in Hussein Hegazi Street in a nice flat until July 14th when I move permanently to my new apartment. I have the flat to myself, besides the cat who I'm watching while the apartment's usual occupant is away in France. The flat is a bit surreal feeling- with large green shutters opening to the balconies, colorful, wispy, and transparent drapes fluttering in the windows, full bookshelves, not-so-comfortable but beautiful, old furniture, and hat stands among other odd trinkets for decoration. When I first entered the flat, the radio was on, playing old Egyptian music, even though no one was home. Now, whenever I'm at home I turn on the radio, listen to Oum Kalthoum, and pretend I'm back in the fifties and sixties in Egypt. I have been getting to know the cat, named Semsema, who apparently likes to drink out of the bathroom sink. She is a very nice cat, the type that nudges you around the ankles to say hello and seemingly appreciates your company. I did laundry for the first time last night, appreciating the Cairo ritual of hanging wet clothes out on the line. My Hoover's Beef Palace Tshirt was a bit conspicuous wafting in the late afternoon Cairo breeze! This morning I went to a job interview at the Cairo office of Management Sciences for Development.
It was a nice place, funded by USAID, and it would be great professional development to work there. I also have an appointment to interview and take a media monitoring exam at a communications agency called inktank next Tuesday. I'm continuing to talk to the folks at ADEW about my interest in continuing as paid-staff, so I'm hoping I will have some work opportunities come through soon!

Work Update

2010-06-29T21:01:00.006+03:00

I continue to go to my internship everyday. Afterwards the walk from Manial to downtown is always nice, along the Nile with a nice breeze, and I always see a big group of small boys swimming. They jump from a bridge one by one, the rest standing on the railing above cheering the jumper on. It looks positively delightful if it weren't for the soup they're jumping into. Everyone at ADEW is very congenial, although there hasn't been a lot of work this week. I'm looking forward to meeting the woman who is in charge of the organization to talk to her about some projects I'd like to work on, such as conducting an impact assessment of ADEW programs. In the meantime, I've been doing some research, working on a concept paper for another grant proposal, and spending my free time practicing Arabic with my coworkers, drinking tea, and applying for more jobs. While I am still getting into the swing of things, I like ADEW, but I want to give myself options. I applied to about five more positions today and got an interview this Thursday for an Executive Assistant position with the Family Justice Project at Management Sciences for Development. It is mostly an administrative position, but it would be an income! I've been meeting some good people too and passing along my resume and telling everyone that I'm looking for full time work. Today I emailed the founder of Women for Women International, who I connected with through my uncle as well as my work on the Gaza Freedom March. I would die and go to heaven if I could get a job with her organization! In any case, feeling pretty positive today about the job search front and I feel lucky to have the opportunity just to be here and do the internship and meet people and practice Arabic. I took a nap this afternoon and am sitting in a cafe now with a friend. Tomorrow I'm moving to Mounira finally, and I am looking into taking night classes in colloquial Arabic through the School of Continuing Education at the American University here. Read this article and appreciated the perspective on the ongoing siege against Gaza. Also, just finished reading Camus' The Stranger and am starting in on Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCan which is apparently good. We'll see! Love to all, from Ali.

Mohandessin

2010-06-26T16:02:00.012+03:00

Since I will be moving to Mounira coming Wednesday, I thought I'd make a post about Mohandessin, the area where I'm currently staying with Iman. I'm including a map here, you can see Mohandessin across the Nile from Zamalek where I lived last year (Mounira, where I am moving to, is just south of Downtown and east of Garden City, and Manial, where I'm working, is the island south of Zamalek below Garden City). When I previously lived in Cairo I didn't come to Mohandiseen much, and it's taken me a week or so to get acquainted with the area, as I don't know much about it. Mohandessin means engineers in Arabic, and I've heard that it is called that because many engineers lived here at one point in time and were given reduced rates for land. There aren't many historic attractions in Mohandessin (read, no pyramids!), but it is a choice upscale destination for Egyptian shoppers and cafe-goers. Iman's apartment is on Sharia Adn, just off of Sharia Shehab (Sharia means street in Arabic!). Shehab street is the more well-known street which a taxi driver will know. Iman's apartment is the type where many people are coming in and out and sleeping over, and so it seems there is always someone new to meet and always opportunities to speak Arabic. I am sharing a room with Iman and one other girl, and between the three of us someone is almost always sleeping!! I sleep at normal times, but because it is so hot, Iman mostly sleeps during the day. It seems crazy at first, but if you have a flexible schedule, being nocturnal definitely makes sense during the summer in Cairo!! Today I walked over to the store to get some bananas and yoghurt and diet coke (no comments about how gross that soda is please, it is so tasty when it is so hot!), and I took some pictures to show the neighborhood.

I rarely rarely take pictures because it feels so awkward to me to already be a person sticking out and then to also have a camera in hand also seems embarrassing and perhaps ethically difficult. However, I do want to spice up my blog postings with some visuals! In the pictures here you can see the view from the balcony of Iman's apartment looking onto Sharia Shehab, the street view of Sharia Shehab (you can see the same green billboard as from the balcony), and a closer look at the storefront.

Liminality and Limbo!

2010-06-25T15:38:00.006+03:00

The weather has gotten a lot nicer here, I guess it is still hot but seems manageable since it was so unbearable before! I finished my first week at ADEW and we sent of a big grant proposal. I like the organization because they do a lot of cool work throughout Cairo, but they are also small enough that I think I can make an important contribution there. I finalized everything with my new apartments today. The plan is that I will cat-sit and house-sit for this really nice lady starting next Wednesday and then on July 14th I will move to my new apartment in Mounira. The lady I will cat-sit for is going to France for the month, and since I need somewhere to stay until July 14th, it will be a nice situation. I have the whole flat to myself, except the company of a nice friendly and fluffy cat named simsima, which I think means sesame in Arabic. When I move to my new apartment I will have two flatmates, both who seem so nice and caring, and one who is fluent in Arabic- so hopefully I will get to practice a lot! My friend Iman and I have been speaking Arabic all the time, and I think I'm improving and I appreciate her patience in speaking with me so much! I don't have too many plans this weekend, besides relaxing and meeting up with friends. It is hard because I am trying to save money, but it is also nice to go out with people and have company sometimes. I have some friends here but it is kind of lonely also at times. I miss the good girl friends I had here before, so I'm really hoping to meet some new people! I still feel a bit in limbo and a liminal state. I am happy to be here and things are falling into place, but I still have left my home and so many people that I care about back in California. Day by day...

Cairo, Again.

2010-06-23T23:33:00.004+03:00

It took me a few days to really begin to like Cairo this time around. When I arrived it was over 111 degrees fahrenheit everyday and I didn't have anything settled and I felt everything in my life was very much in limbo and I was freaking out! However, the other day back playing frisbee with old and new friends on a grass and dirt field in the middle of Cairo and I felt very much at home again. I have started my internship in the donor unit at ADEW and love it, and they told me that they will hire me for a full-time position if I do well over the next month or two. Of course I guess nothing is guaranteed and many of my friends here admonish me for working for no pay, but it really is a good experience either way, and I like it. Today I wrote a section of a grant proposal which we will send to the European Commission in hopes of getting another 200,000 dollars for our programs. On Sunday I'm going to visit all the field offices around Cairo, which I am excited for, and I also get to represent ADEW at a conference in Cairo in July. The office has AC and I really like everyone who works there and so things are all good on the job front. I'm continuing to put my CV out to friends and other contacts just to cover all my bases, but I really am hoping to work at ADEW long-term! Currently I am staying with one of my best friends Iman, which has been great Arabic practice and a lot of fun. However I am eager to get settled into my own place, and I have a lease beginning July 14 in an area just near downtown Cairo and also close to my internship. The rent is really cheap and the flatmates are two working professionals who seem very caring- I feel at home when I visit the flat already. So I feel as if I am settling in here, I'd like to add either teaching English to earn some money or taking some Arabic to my schedule soon, but we'll see. Even as I have my internship and will have English-speaking flatmates soon, I am really, really trying to focus on speaking Arabic as much as possible. I've been doing a much better job of speaking mostly Arabic with Egyptian friends and I hear Arabic a lot at ADEW, so I am hopeful that I will continue to improve. It is really difficult, but I will not give up on Arabic! Overall the days are good and I'm adjusting to the weather and time zone. Today after leaving ADEW I walked along the Nile and met some friends to watch the US-Algeria game, then went on a boat ride on the Nile, then went for some koshari, and then went back to watch the Ghana-Germany game, and now I am finally home just around midnight. Long day but I am ready to do it all again tomorrow :)

Palestine with Nuha

2010-01-12T12:14:00.023+02:00

The night before heading to the West Bank we met up with Nuha's friend from California named Fatima who is doing a Fulbright in Jordan, and she decided to join us on our trip. When we got to the Israeli side the next morning we were pretty nervous. Since the West Bank is under occupation, the crossing is administered by the IDF, so we were greeted by Israeli flags flying high and men with guns. The border took us about six hours, which wasn't too bad actually! After a few hours a guy came up and held up Nuha's US passport and was like, "This means nothing. You are Palestinian." He said she wouldn't be allowed into the West Bank because she'd have to enter with a Palestinian passport since she is Palestinian, and she didn't have one. However, we sweet talked him and he acquiesced. Eventually Nuha got a paper saying she could enter, but she wouldn't be allowed to leave the West Bank until she got a Palestinian passport. Then we had to wait longer because they were very concerned with my Gaza stamps. I felt that the interrogation this time was more draining than when I went in May. After we crossed the border, we took a bus to Jericho and then a service taxi to Eljeeb, a small town near Ramallah where Nuha grew up. She hadn't been back in over ten years, since she left when she was eleven. When we got into town Nuha couldn't remember where her family's houses were, but we asked at the store and since it is so small of course they knew. At this point Nuha was crying and smiling at the same time (see picture), and it was a big moment. Because of the occupation there are so many barriers to 'returning home', but the effort felt worth it at that moment. Once we got inside the family house everyone was crying again, all the women at least... we got out a big box of tissues!! We spent the next few days hanging out with family in Eljeeb and visiting Ramallah. Eljeeb is beautiful and rural, but the olive groves are being encroached upon by walls and you can see the settlements beyond that (see picture). In the night time we'd go from house to house in Eljeeb, drinking tea and coffee and soda with uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins. Nuha's uncle contributes a lot to the town, and has set up libraries with computers and books for students in the town to use. The picture here is me, Nuha, and one of the cousins in the computer lab set up especially for girls. There were also so many kids running around, and they were always eating candy and snack food. One day we went out shopping in Ramallah and Fatima and I bought lots more chocolate as gifts for the family as thanks. We and ate sooo much every day! Each house we visited wanted to feed us, so there were some days when we ate more than four full meals! We ate maklouba (pictured) many times. I was honored by the hospitality I received, and enjoyed seeing Nuha reunited with her family and home. We stayed in her uncle's house across from where she used to go to elementary school, all three girls in one big bed. After a few days we decided to try to go to Jerusalem (Al-Quds in Arabic), and then I'd go back to Egypt from there. However, even though Nuha was born in Quds, she isn't allowed to go there because she is Palestinian and doesn't have the required special permission. Nonetheless, we decided to give it a shot. At the Kalandia checkpoint we waited in a caged line for about an hour (pictured with Fatima in the foreground, also a picture of the wall outside Kalandia). The process really takes away your dignity and it is something Palestinians go through every day-- I don't know how they stand it! Eventually we got to a point where there were IDF soldiers screaming in Hebrew and at first it was unclear what type of identification they wanted from us. I showed my visa and passport picture and got through. For some reason the metal detector kept going off when Fatima went through and they were screaming at her and she started crying. As soon as they realized Nuha didn't have a visa they rejected her (they don't give Palestinians a visa for Israel when they enter West Bank, just a big stamp saying they are Palestinian). Fatima and I made it through but we decided to go back for Nuha and try again at a different checkpoint. We drove about thirty minutes with her cousin, and this time tried by car. When we got to the checkpoint the soldiers had big guns which they held drawn up to the windows. Us three Americans were in back, and Nuha's cousin and his friend in front. The two up front showed their Jerusalem permission cards, and then they came to us in the back. We were so nervous because we didn't know what they would do if they found out we were pulling tricks, just that it would be bad. We casually held up the picture page in our passports and amazingly, after checking in the trunk of the car, the soldiers waved us on!! It was a HUGE relief, and we were all hugging and in disbelief that we made it in! We spent the day in the old city. Fatima and Nuha and cousins wen to Aqsa and I went to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I sat at the Western Wall for awhile, watching the tourists coming to gawk and the devout coming to pray. It felt weird to watch the families come and go-- they seemed so content, as if oblivious to the suffering of so many people living so geographically close to them. Israel really is an apartheid state, and once you've been in the West Bank and Jerusalem you really can't deny it. There are separate entrances into "Israel" for Palestinians and Jews. There are separate schools and rights are NOT equal. Palestinian homes are taken away or demolished to become homes for Israelis, and Palestinian land is eaten up by settlements and walls. I was sitting in the old city and a cafe and two young IDF soldiers (pictured) stood on the corner doing nothing but stopping random Palestinian men walking by and asking them for id.. for no reason, just because they are Palestinian! It just stunk of racist, militarized state that Israel is. Part of the tragedy of it too for me is that I don't think it had to be this way... the holy land could have been a homeland and sanctuary for everyone... Jewish, Muslim, Christian.. whatever.. but instead because of political zionism and this effort to "defend" a Jewish state, now there is apartheid. In the evening we decided to stay in Beit Hanina, an area near to Sheikh Jarrah where house demolitions and evictions continue to happen every day. On the way home Nuha's cousin drove us by a house where Israelis had forcibly evicted a Palestinian family from the home they owned for generations and then moved themselves in. Now Israeli flags are all over the house, and the Palestinian family is living in the street outside, still trying to hope to get their home back. It is so insane to me that the world is allowing this to happen... the American government is an ALLY to Israel. It is really crazy!!! At the Nuha's cousin's home in Beit Hanina, we could actually see Eljeeb across the hills. Yet even though the cousin's wife is from Eljeeb, she hasn't been back in five years since getting married, because she doesn't have permission. But she can see it from her house!! She is my age and has three kids already, one was just two weeks old, and even with the new born she made us dinner. We encouraged her to make her husband help out and to take time for herself and personal endeavors each week. She just smiled! The following morning Nuha's cousin took me to the bus station to go to the Egyptian border, but Nuha couldn't come since the bus station is in the Jewish area and their would be checkpoints. Nuha and Fatima are spending a few more days in the West Bank, visiting Bethlehem and seeing more family in Hebron. Then they'll go back to Jordan and Nuha will continue on to Egypt. My trip back to Cairo took about twelve hours, but Nuha's will be even longer since she can't go through Israel like I did. I got to the Egyptian border around 11am and took a service taxi with a few other travelers from Taba, and arrived in Cairo around 7pm. Now I have a few days to relax here, reflect, and buy some more gifts before returning home. In America, I think one of the most important things we can do to fight for an end of Israeli apartheid is supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS). BDS was important in ending apartheid in South Africa, and it is something Americans can really take ownership of now as a way to support Palestine. If you have any doubts, I encourage you to visit Palestine and see the walls, checkpoints, and settlements for yourself. You will see the injustice, but you will also see that there is hope, and you won't be able to just walk away. LoveLoveLove, Ali.
PS Here is picture of me, Nuha, and Fatima at a restaurant in Ramallah, smiles all around! You can find the rest of my pictures on Picasa.

So much!!

2010-01-10T20:06:00.002+02:00

Aaah I've been so many places with so many stories and I must write a long update when I get back to Egypt. I'm in an internet cafe in Jerusalem now, but spent the past few days in Eljeeb in the West Bank with Nuha and her family there. I'll take the bus tomorrow morning early from Jerusalem to Eilat, cross the border, and then another bus from Taba to Cairo, so hopefully I'll be back in Cairo by tomorrow night! LoveLoveLove, Ali.

Family time in Amman

2010-01-07T11:13:00.005+02:00

Not too much time to update y'all as I'm using the computer at Nuha's family's house in Amman. We have been here since yesterday and have been chilling, talking about Palestinian history and politics,eating amazing food and playing with the little kids. I also see now where Nuha's craziness comes from-- it runs in the family!! We are are the house of her uncle's wife's family, and everyone has been so hospitable to me it is amazing. We've been eating meals everyone together on the floor, good things like hommos, tomotoes, falafel, bread, tea, coffee, sahleb, and more coffee.. for me, because I like coffee! Out of Nuha's cousins here there is one girl, named LuLu and she is a little darling. The boys are cute as well of course, and have relished in playing snake on my phone and tic-tac-toe on my laptop (See picture above!). Today we are hoping to go out shopping in Amman-- Nuha is going to buy hijabs and I'm just going to tag along and try and save money. Tomorrow we will go to the border, so cross your fingers for us! LoveLoveLove,
Ali

Walden Bellow on GFM

2010-01-06T09:16:00.002+02:00

Walden Bellow, famed activist and house of representatives member in the Philippines, wrote a thoughtful piece on the Gaza Freedom March. Check it out!

Petra

2010-01-05T16:37:00.013+02:00

Today we went to Petra for the whole day and took a lot of pictures!! We didn't realize it was an all day walking thing so now we are tired and thirsty and very hungry!! Anyways, it was really really awesome and it was worth it to come to Jordan just for this! Nuha made friends with everyone and got free horse rides. We ended up walking on almost every path.. half way up to the top of the first mountain she announces to me that she has exercise induced asthma and no inhaler with her (haha funny!!!). Then along the way she asked the bedouin women for water at their shops along the path. And since it is Nuha she got it of course, and for free! Going up the second mountain to see the monastery place Nuha rode a donkey. We saw a lot of cool old stuff, it is crazy that they built it all over 2000 years ago and it is soo nice-- seriously it was built by the Nabataeans in BC time and there are water canals carved into the rocks and tombs and palaces and it's very sophisticated and very preserved to today. I bought a few presents for people as well, but Jordan is very expensive- the dinar is almost the same as a Euro I think, so I gotta get outta here soon!! Tonight we walked up the hill from our hotel into the main town and had a GOOD dinner of chicken, hommos, bread, rice, and lamb and then kanafa and awama for dessert. Now we're at home on the computer and Nuha is singing very loudly along to Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift and Goo Goo Dolls. You should hear her voice!! Tomorrow morning we will take the cheapest bus to Amman where Nuha's uncle will meet us. From Amman we are going to try and cross into the West Bank via the Alenby/Hussein crossing and inshallah it will work. If not we are going to do more tourist stuff in Jordan and make our way back Egypt. The photo above is me in front of one of Al Khazneh (treasury) one of the most famous places in Petra. I put the rest of my photos on Picasa.

Traveling!!

2010-01-04T22:44:00.014+02:00

Oh my gosh. So after a day of rest in Cairo, I decided to go to the West Bank with my friends Nuha and Maggie from Berkeley, Alex from New York, and Roger from the Bay Area. We took a night bus leaving at 10pm and arrived in Taba around 5am. We crossed from Egypt to the Israeli side and the interrogations began as soon as they saw Nuha-- she wears hijab and while she has an American passport she was born in Jerusalem and is Palestinian. Most of us have Gaza stamps as well. After about two or three hours they told Nuha she couldn't enter (Racism and political zionism at their finest!!) so I said I'd go back with her. Roger, Alex, and Maggie stayed in the border. After 8 hours of interrogation Roger gave up and turned around to Cairo. After ten hours they told Alex and Maggie that they too would be prohibited from entering Israel. They wouldn't say why but it is probably because they have been to Gaza. It is so sad though, we were a diverse and peaceful group of a Muslim, a Jew, and Christians and we were all prohibited from entering a land 'holy' to all of us!!! So Nuha and I took off around 10am in a minibus from Taba to Nuweiba. The drive was nice along the gulf of aqaba but we were very tired (Pictures above are from the drive-- every few minutes Nuha would squeal about the sweet views and have the driver stop to take our pictures. In the picture with the island castle behind us you can kind of see Saudi in the distance). In Nuweiba we decided to drop the cash to go to Jordan by boat, 80 USD one-way (I have no more money left!!!). They told us to be at the boat by 1pm, but when we got there we waited until 5pm to leave. We were just super tired and nothing to do while waiting besides sit on a hard bench and swat flies. However, once we got on the boat things got much better!! There were comfortable seats and big windows on the boat, and guys came by offering us coffee and chicken sandwiches!! It was a bit spontaneous of us to jump off to Jordan, but we had come so far only to get rejected by Israel. Once we landed in Aqaba we exchanged money and got some visas and found a taxi to take us the two hour drive straight to Petra. Jordan is super nice-- no traffic or trash on the streets like in Egypt, and the moon and stars were beautiful on the drive. The driver we found ended up being super nice and hospitable and took us to a perfect hotel walking distance to Petra for about ten dollars each per night. Along the way who told us all the details about what we should do in Jordan and how much things should cost. We don't have definite plans yet besides that tomorrow morning we will go into Petra, and eventually we want to go to the Dead Sea, and maybe Amman and/or Wadi Rum. We are also thinking of trying the bridge crossing from Jordan to get to the West Bank but we're not sure if it is worth it if we'll just get rejected again. I'm fairly certain that Nuha is slightly insane but she gets away with so many things because she is small and charming. So anyways, I'm very happy to finally have a bed to sleep in tonight, and some adventures over the next week, and who knows what will happen!

Peter B Collins Show and footage from yesterday

2010-01-01T11:31:00.006+02:00

I spoke a bit again on the Peter B Collins Show via phone last night... It is podcast number 81 and I speak at the beginning.

Also check out this footage from PressTV, shot in Cairo yesterday.. "Egyptian police beat Gaza peace activists"

Gaza Freedom March - December 31, 2009

2009-12-31T18:10:00.009+02:00

Today was really great. It started after Maryam and I slept in (soooo nice!!). Then around ten we walked very sneakily to the front of the Egyptian Museum. Everyone was supposed to gather there but it turned out we were among very few who made it close.. there were about twelve of us sitting there. The police dragged the men out on their backs and wouldn't touch us women. They grabbed my hand and tried to pull me but i sat down and grabbed Maryam's arm and we held the Quran and recited from it and they didn't move us. They told us they'd deport us so then we decided to go find the rest of the group. They escorted us to where they were, about three hundred people just off Tahrir Square surrounded by police. Earlier in the day all of them had sat down in the street but in a violent way the police had moved everyone to the sidewalk. We joined the protesting and it was high energy. Then we decided to leave and go get food for everyone. I told the police Maryam had diabetes (she doesn't) and they let us out. We got over 100 tamiyya sandwiches and brought them back. The police wouldn't let us go back, but we did anyways (just keep walkin!!). We handed the sandwiches and water bottles over the riot polices heads. Then we walked around the other side and they told us we couldn't get back in, but we just ducked down, held onto each other and the quran and pushed our way through. Things had calmed down a bit and in the late afternoon the group decided to disperse. However first, Maryam and I decided to have a photo shoot in front of the police. It was fun!! Then on the way home I got my shoes shined and now my boots look very nice-- this is a very rare case that something will actually come back from Egypt looking nicer!!! Now we are drinking tea and reminiscing our wonderful day. Basically we spent the day doing whatever we wanted! Tonight there is a candlelight vigil planned in Tahrir square to bring in the New Year. All in all today was a very fun day to finish out 2009... and the march happened in Gaza!! Check out my friends Nuha and Maggie marching in alongside Palestinians in Gaza (in the left of the picture). They are featured on CNN! There is also video, here.

Onward!

2009-12-30T21:07:00.005+02:00

Unfortunatly the group of Palestinian NGOs and Hamas could not reach an agreement so now the march within Gaza will be mostly Hamas. However, I am actually in pretty good spirits. We are getting a lot of press, drawing international attention to the need to lift the siege. So many people are gathered here in Cairo and under difficult and oppressive circumstances, tomorrow at 10am we will march. We will come together in thousands because the ongoing Egyptian/Israeli/American blockade which is collective punishment against all the people in Gaza must end. We come together as allies-- calling for an end to blockades, occupations, and walls. We call for the people of the world to support right of return and the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement against Israel. The BDS movement against South Africa took thirty years to become strong, and now the BDS movement against Israel is building. So we march tomorrow, and we go home to our countries and lobby our governments. Now is the moment! After tomorrow I am hoping to have festive New Years night, to visit the West Bank, and then hopefully go to Gaza on January 11th. I am learning a lot about the problems in grassroots movements, but also about the passion and hope in them, and the real difference they can make. Hope for the new year, love Ali.

Wow, what a whirlwind!

2009-12-30T12:07:00.007+02:00

Hey Everyone!! Wow, a lot has happened!! Last night in the midst of an awesome protest in front the Press Syndicate, I was pulled off to a closed meeting to discuss Egypt's offer that we send 100 delegates only to Gaza. In many ways the offer is politically useful for Egypt- they get to play the good guy with the US and Israel by saying they didn't let the march in, but they get to play the good guy too with the public saying they let humanitarian aid in. The first thing that was done was to all Haider Eid and the steering committee in Gaza to ask them their thoughts, and they said send the 100 as it is better than nothing. The process to choose the one hundred was going to be a mess no matter what- it was decided that only people who haven't been would go, with media people and Palestinians getting priority. The small group would take in over 20 thousand dollars of aid. I was on the list of 100 to go, 99 people who haven't been plus me as the one person who knows the ropes. I felt that even all the important political considerations aside, if my friends and colleagues in Gaza felt the hundred should go, then I would go. In the morning, things changed a bit. After seeing the Egyptian government's press releases Haider Eid changed his mind saying we should not accept the deal as it is "too little, too late, too divisive and too ill-conceived". Fellow activists came to protest buses leaving, with signed reading "All or none". People decided to get off the bus and were met with cheers. It became a very political and ideological issue... It is always very frustrating when activists begin to fight among themselves!! I waffled a lot and in the end decided to stay. I think it is important that there are strong leaders here in Cairo to lead the majority which are still here in Cairo. I have been in Gaza before and while I was torn because I wanted to see my friends, now the large group really needs to come together again and show the world what's up. We need to spin the government's media statements. I am not part of the "all or none" camp-- I think it is possible to have the best of both worlds. We can be happy that there is a small group going with aid and view this as a small (very small!) victory, while at the same time we can be angry that it is not everyone. 100 is not enough, and even all 1400 of us is not enough-- the siege needs to end!!! I sent my friends on the bus who had never been to Gaza before, and gave them presents to bring to all my friends in Gaza. I am happy that they will go, and learn and make connections as I did, and come back as stronger allies for Palestine. At the same time I am happy that I chose to stay. It is important now that we don't let the media and the public become complacent because 100 went in. It is important that we make everyone realize that aid is not dignity. Everyone feels so cool to donate some teddy bears or pencils for the Palestinians, but what about marching into your congressperson's office to ask them about why the American government supports the siege and gives weapons to Israel? I want to thank everyone out there for their continued support. Gaza Freedom March!! Solidarity action wherever you are, the best you can! Students are calling me nonstop, we will meet and organize for more demonstrations tomorrow. SolidaritySolidaritySolidarity, LoveLoveLove-- Ali

Also, some recent articles:
Al Jazeera
Christian Science Monitor
Electronic Intifada
Foreign Policy Blog
Al Jazeera (more recent)
New York Times

Power to the People

2009-12-28T18:32:00.006+02:00

Today we all went to the front of the United Nations buildings and demonstrated. We held our ground there for six hours. Hedy Epstein, an 85 year old holocaust survivor announced she will start a hunger strike tomorrow along with other grandmothers. Today was a good day though. There was good energy, and through our protests we got meetings with head UN officials. Ann Wright and Walden Bello went up requesting that the UN contact the Egyptians to allow us to proceed, facilitate a small delegation to bring in our aid if the whole group can't, and/or bring in our humanitarian aid in the event that we cannot. The UN official explained the process for delivering aid, and contacted the Egyptians, who were very hardened. The Egyptians just told the UN that their decision has been made and we can't go. The protests were good though as it was first time we were all really gathered together, and while the government told us we couldn't stay and we had to go immediately, we really held our ground. However, around 1pm Nuha was punched in the face by a secret service man. She and some other women were linking arms along the line, someone pulled her backpack and she fell, and a secret service man punched her in the face. Democracy Now has footage so hopefully it will be shown. Nuha went with some friends to the US Embassy to report it. She was upset and I was hugging her and it was just really messed up. Through out the day dealing with the strange Egyptian Secret Service.. trying to get water in and out to the demonstrators.. They just surrounded us to try and isolate us but we managed to get in water and 200 falafel sandwiches, and people were singing and waving flags and it was good. I found the banners my parents made and sent in and they were the most beautiful ones there and I held them up alongside Palestinian flags in front of the UN. We also made 100 red armbands and all the students worse them to show our student solidarity with Gaza in a way reminiscent of the UC protests. Tonight Maryam and I will conduct a meeting with the students to discuss action for tomorrow, and it is likely that the big group will protest in front of the US Embassy. I am continually impressed by the resilience of the people from all walks of life who have converged around the world to face injustice. Power to the people!!!

Sunday Night..

2009-12-27T22:28:00.003+02:00

The government didn't allow us to go on boats so instead we held a demonstration of sorts along the Nile. It was the first large gathering in Cairo. In my experience the Egyptian government usually surrounds demonstrations to isolate them from the public, but if you're an international they won't touch you. That held true for today. In the evening we had more of an informational meeting in front of the Mugama in Midan Tahrir. I was able to speak with some of the students and am impressed by their good spirits. Tomorrow morning Maryam and I will go to an organizing meeting at 930 to decide how to proceed. While some people will met earlier at 7am at the bus garage, this will be a symbolic attempt to leave as most likely the buses won't even be there (the company does not want to disobey the government). Roger is here working on the documentary so he has been doing some interviews with Nuha and I.. I feel so awkward talkin to the camera!! Mostly today I just felt pretty sad about the anniversary of the start of Operation Cast Lead, it really is a tragedy. I really want to see my friends in Gaza, but I also just want to support the best I can from wherever I am.

Cheers!

2009-12-27T14:31:00.004+02:00

Last night Maryam and Nuha (friends from Berkeley/Egypt) got in, so it is great to have them around. Things are a bit hectic though! Last night I met with students to give them some updates, helped Nuha get settled in, went to speak to a group of about forty Germans and update them, then went to pick up Maryam at the airport. We had dinner at Hardees at like 1030 then crashed. This morning many of us put papers and flowers all over Kasr al-Nil bridge crossing the Nile, and it looked really nice. The government took it down within an hour though. Tonight all 1000 of us will meet to put 1400 candles on the Nile commemorating the lives lost in Operation Cast Lead. Tomorrow morning we are hoping to board buses and try and move to Rafah, but the government may stop us. I've been trying to set up twitter from my phone, but I haven't been able to figure out how. Hopefully I will be able to set it up, but if not I might be out of touch for awhile. Wish us luck for tomorrow! There are literally thousands of people in the region working in solidarity with Gaza- Viva Palestina is stuck in Aqaba, Europalestine and us are in Cairo... I think things will get exciting over the next few days. I have also been reading the newspaper everyday to practice for my CASA Arabic fellowship exam which will be in February when I get back. In addition been taking the time to relax-- Maryam, Nuha, a new friend from Japan named Tomo, and I ate a lot of chicken and drank a lot of juice today. Cheers, and thanks for your steadfast support. lovelovelove Ali

Stay Positive!

2009-12-26T15:51:00.004+02:00

For some reason the Arabic Word of the Day on my blog is "nervous breakdown." I hope not to be having one of those anytime soon! Right now I am sitting on a cafe on the Nile drinking tea and relaxing a little bit. Now is a difficult time organizing-wise as things are changing all the time, even within the leadership structure of the march. There will be over a thousand people descending on Cairo, looking (to whom I'm not sure) for leadership. There is the steering committee for the march which worked up until this point, but now there are many experienced organizers with strong personalities jumping on the scene. It is a time where everyone is getting used to each other, and I think things will be more defined and organized tomorrow or the next day. For awhile we are being subdued to keep lines of communication with the government open, but after a few days the plan is to escalate and demonstrate. It is a stressful situation, and sometimes it is difficult because we put it so much energy and it is hard to maintain a sense of efficacy. Many of you donated for me to come here, so I feel pressure to have something to show for it. On the other hand, part of me just wants to run off to Dahab and lie on the beach and do absolutely nothing!! Sometimes I ask myself why I put so much effort into these endeavors, into activism and humanitarianism, when sometimes it seems as though the victories are few and far between. So I focus on the small things.. the care my parents took making beautiful banners for Gaza.. the recent news articles and media attention.. my friends going home to tell their parents about Palestine.. the solidarity actions around the world. When I feel stress in all of this, I start thinking again about the woman I met in the tents in Northern Gaza, her lost home and family, and the stories she told me. I think the bravery of Deema and Iman and Hebaa and everyone else. And then really things seem not so hard. As Alice Walker said when she came to speak to us at Berkeley, "Do what you can, and really that's all you can do."

Please spread far and wide....

2009-12-25T18:24:00.002+02:00

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUBARAK FROM THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH

December 26, 2009
Dear President Mubarak;

We, representing 1,362 individuals from 43 countries arriving in Cairo to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, are pleading to the Egyptians and your reputation for hospitality.
We are peacemakers. We have not come to Egypt to create trouble or cause conflict. On the contrary. We have come because we believe that all people -- including the Palestinians of Gaza -- should have access to the resources they need to live in dignity. We have gathered in Egypt because we believed that you would welcome and support our noble goal and help us reach Gaza through your land.
As individuals who believe in justice and human rights, we have spent our hard-earned, and sometimes scarce, resources to buy plane tickets, book hotel rooms and secure transportation only to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza living under a crushing Israeli blockade.
We are doctors, lawyers, students, academics, poets and musicians. We are young and old. We are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and secular. We represent civil society groups in many countries who coordinated this large project with the civil society in Gaza.
We have raised tens of thousands of dollars for medical aid, school supplies and winter clothing for the children of Gaza. But we realize that in addition to material aid, the Palestinians of Gaza need moral support. We came to offer that support on the difficult anniversary of an invasion that brought them so much suffering.
The idea of the Gaza Freedom March—a nonviolent march to the Israeli Erez crossing-- emerged during one of our trips to Gaza in May, a trip that was kindly facilitated by the Egyptian government. Ever since the idea emerged, we have been talking to your government through your embassies overseas and directly with your Foreign Ministries. Your representatives have been kind and supportive. We were asked to furnish information about all the participants—passports, dates of birth, occupations—which we have done in good faith. We have answered every question, met every request. For months we have been working under the assumption that your government would facilitate our passage, as it has done on so many other occasions. We waited and waited for an answer.
Meanwhile, time was getting short and we had to start organizing. Travel over the Christmas season is not easy in the countries where many of us live. Tickets have to be purchased weeks, if not months, in advance. This is what all 1,362 individuals did. They spent their own funds or raised money from their communities to pay their way. Add to this the priceless time, effort and sacrifice by all these people to be away from their homes and loved ones during their festive season.
In Gaza, civil society groups—students, unions, women, farmers, refugee groups—have been working nonstop for months to organize the march. They have organized workshops, concerts, press conferences, endless meetings—all of this with their own scarce resources. They have been buoyed by the anticipated presence of so many global citizens coming to support their just cause.
If the Egyptian government decides to prevent the Gaza Freedom March, all this work and cost is lost.
And that's not all. It is practically impossible, this late in the game, to stop all these people from travelling to Egypt, even if we wanted to. Moreover, most have no plans in Egypt other than to arrive at a predetermined meeting point to head together to the Gaza border. If these plans are cancelled there will be a lot of unjustified suffering for the Palestinians of Gaza and over a thousand internationals who had nothing in mind but noble intentions.
We plead to you to let the Gaza Freedom March continue so that we can join the Palestinians of Gaza to march together on December 31, 2009.
We are truly hopeful that we will receive a positive response from you and thank you for your assistance.

Tighe Barry, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK, USA
Olivia Zemor, Euro-Palestine, France
David Torres, ECCP, Belgium
Germano Monti, Forum Palestine, Italy
Ziyaad Lunat, Gaza Freedom March, Europe
Ehab Lotayef, Gaza Freedom March, Canada
Alessandra Mecozzi, Action for Peace-Italy
Ann Wright, Gaza Freedom March coordinator
Kawthar Guediri, Collectif National pour une Paix Juste et Durable entre Palestinens et Israeliens, France
Mark Johnson, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Thomas Sommer, Focus on The Global South, India

What Would Jesus do.... in Gaza? Solidarity!!!

2009-12-25T02:56:00.005+02:00

The government announced in closed meetings today that they would not allow the Viva Palestina Convoy nor the Gaza Freedom Marchers to enter Gaza. They reiterated this again publicly on evening television. All of our permits for gatherings in Cairo were denied and officials warn that any demonstrations or protests will be dealt with harshly and quickly. Meanwhile it is Christmas and an article has come out in Newsweek entitled, "What would Jesus do in Gaza?" The writer poses the question about Jesus hypothetically, and then asks what Obama would do in a more realistic way. He writes, "And some of his most cherished ideas about peace, love, and understanding could be put to the test Dec. 31 when activists are hoping to stage a massive Gaza Freedom March. It is precisely the kind of protest Obama himself called for in his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo last June when he said Palestinians must abandon violence, and held up the example of the civil-rights movement in the United States, and of similar struggles by people from South Africa to South Asia, from Eastern Europe to Indonesia." Yet governments continue attempts to crush the march, and even if it does happen, who will take note? It is easy to feel crushed in this moment. The more you act and organize, the more aware you become and the more you realize the magnitude of injustices. In many ways pessimism is grounded in reality, however we must continue to believe that through our action we can change reality. So to celebrate Christmas this year I am pondering the question of what Jesus would do in Gaza, in the holy land. It makes it even sadder really, such a holy place marred with checkpoints, racism, bloodshed, and discrimination... what would Jesus do? Many people donated for me to come here, many in Gaza are hoping to see me, and I am hoping not to let anyone down. We will be meeting again tomorrow at noon to strategize. And let's not forget, the march will go on! There are thousands of Palestinians preparing inside Gaza to march, and utmost it is important for us to be in solidarity with them, however we can, from wherever we are. Cheers for solidarity, and a Merry Christmas to all, lovelovelove, Ali.

Cross your fingers for today!!

2009-12-24T07:09:00.001+02:00

PRESS RELEASE

Gaza Freedom March requests Egyptian government reconsider its entry due to secure border situation
Government of Egypt changes policy to allow humanitarian group Viva Palestina to enter Gaza December 27, 2009

December 23, 2009
Gaza Freedom March congratulates the Government of Egypt on its change of policy to allow international missions into Gaza during December with the decision to allow the Viva Palestina convoy to go into Gaza on December 27, 2009.
Organizers of Gaza Freedom March were told on December 20, 2009 by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials that no international missions would be allowed to enter Gaza during December, including the Gaza Freedom March, because of serious security conditions at the border.
Today, December 23, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told Gaza Freedom March organizers said that the decision had been made to alter its policy because of the “humanitarian assistance” nature of Viva Palestina.
Since the Gaza Freedom March is also bringing in humanitarian assistance items valued at tens of thousands of dollars and the border is now considered safe, Gaza Freedom March will make a formal request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 24, that that Government of Egypt reconsider the request of the Gaza Freedom March for entry of its 1360 delegates from 42 countries into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on December 27.
Marchers and their friends have been flooding Egyptian embassies throughout the world with calls and emails. Embassies throughout Europe, the United States and Canada have told callers that they have been flooded with telephone calls from persons asking that the Gaza Freedom March be allowed into Gaza. Members of the Canadian, German, Swiss, French, Greek and Filipino Parliaments have written letters, as well as the Irish Minister of Defense, asking the Egyptian government to allow the march to proceed.
The Gaza Freedom March has families of three generations, doctors, lawyers, diplomats, 100 students, an interfaith group that includes rabbis, priests and imams, a women’s delegation, a Jewish contingent, a veterans group and Palestinians born overseas who have never seen their families in Gaza.
We have large delegations from the U.S., France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Greece, Australia, South Africa, the Netherlands and Japan. We also have delegations from Sweden, Turkey, India, Ireland, Switzerland, Jordan, Morocco, Denmark, Lebanon, Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Tunisia, Algeria, Philippines, South Korea, Bahrain, Bosnia, Israel, New Zealand, Slovenia, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Mauritius, Romania and Serbia.

For more information see www.gazafreedommarch.org , especially Questions and Answers section, or contact:
In Cairo Ann Wright 019 508 1493 microann@yahoo.com
In the US: Medea Benjamin 415-235-6517 medea@globalexchange.org
In Gaza: Haider Eid 970 599 441 766 haidareid@yahoo.com
In Europe (Portugal): Ziyaad Lunat +351938349206 z.lunat@googlemail.com

Hit the Streets

2009-12-22T16:56:00.006+02:00

First full day in Cairo and things are kickin. Last night met up with some old and new friends for Yemeni food in Dokki, hit up Nomad roof-top for some Sheesha and then I turned in early. An old friend from last year left for the states today so it was good to see him before he left. I also met with a young woman, Dina, who is now teaching in CASA (the arabic fellowship i applied for) so that is a good connection, plus she is a very sweet person. This morning I went to the US Embassy to leave off my passport to get extra pages-- it is full to the brim on every page!! Then I went down Talaat Harb to Lotus Hotel to meet up with Ann and Tighe of CODEPINK. They have been working very hard everyday and now is a very crazy time for the march, not only with regard to relations with the Egyptian government, but also Hamas. They filled me in on some of the back room conversations that have been going on-- diplomatic relations are informal, complex and tricky!! There are many reasons things are going the way they are now, of course related to the new wall which the US Army Corps of Engineers is building in Rafah, and to the Shalit deal, among many other things. I won't get into the details! In any case, let's just say that Ann and Tighe are very busy. I'm beginning to tackle some tasks to help them out. On the list is to reserve a hall someplace in Cairo for 1000 people to convene on the 28 and 29 in the event that we can't get into Gaza, contact civil society organizations within Gaza to arrange an itinerary for 1000 people in the event we do get in, and to receive some of the press inquiries. I have a lead on a hall at AUC, and contacted about twenty Gazan organizations so far. After meeting with Ann and Tighe, I came back over to Dokki to meet up with my new friend Sarah, eat some pizza and hang out. Hoping to meet some people to chill tonight and do more tomorrow. In my spare time I've been reading Midnight by Sister Souljah, a prequel to The Coldest Winter Ever--it's good!! The only other news is that the student delegation story was published on Paltelegraph. Check it out!!
Much Love,
Ali

Salam Alekum

2009-12-21T18:40:00.007+02:00

I am back in Egypt! The traveling was a bit crazy. If anyone is going to an airport anytime soon, make sure to get there like.. four hours early I'm serious!! I was there 2 and a half hours prior to my flight, but waited 2 hours just to check in, so by the time I got there there were no seats left on the plane!! But since I had booked the ticket, they had me go through security anyways and at the gate there were about thirty people in my situation, and at least thirty more on standby. They paid four people to get off the plane, and lucky me I was one of the four who got a seat!! It was snowing in New York so my plane from there sat on the runway with us all in it for two hours. Super fun!!! Then after an eleven hour flight from New York I finally got to Egypt!! I got out of customs and got my bags in a jiffy and my friend Karim picked me up (May God bless him to eternity!!). Then it was just a wow I'm in Egypt moment.. the desert and construction and pollution and traffic!! At one point we were in the thickest traffic coming into downtown- I asked Karim why so much traffic and he's like "they planned it to give you an authentic welcome to Cairo!". Karim and I drove to meet a friend to get a key to the apartment I'm staying in, then we went to meet his friends who got in a car accident, then he finally dropped me off here. I'm chilling for a few minutes then going to meet some old friends and acquaintances for Yemeni food. Haven't eaten anything but airplane food since Saturday, so I'm down for dinner. Then sleep finally and tomorrow hopefully hit the streets to help out with Gaza stuff. No movement from the Egyptian side as they still maintain they won't be letting us through to Gaza (check it out on BBC!!!), but I'm not too worried since they usually say that and things will be interesting either way. Whatever happens, it is very meaningful that so many internationals are gathering to show solidarity so I maintain my optimism. Update from the steering committee posted below. lovelovelove-- Ali

Gaza Freedom March
UPDATE

December 21, 2009

We are determined to break the siege
We all will continue to do whatever we can to make it happen

Using the pretext of escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed us yesterday that the Rafah border will be closed over the coming weeks, into January. We responded that there is always tension at the border because of the siege, that we do not feel threatened, and that if there are any risks, they are risks we are willing to take. We also said that it was too late for over 1,300 delegates coming from over 42 countries to change their plans now. We both agreed to continue our exchanges.

Although we consider this as a setback, it is something we've encountered-and overcome--before. No delegation, large or small, that entered Gaza over the past 12 months has ever received a final OK before arriving at the Rafah border. Most delegations were discouraged from even heading out of Cairo to Rafah. Some had their buses stopped on the way. Some have been told outright that they could not go into Gaza. But after public and political pressure, the Egyptian government changed its position and let them pass.

Our efforts and plans will not be altered at this point. We have set out to break the siege of Gaza and march on December 31 against the Israeli blockade. We are continuing in the same direction.

Egyptian embassies and missions all over the world must hear from us and our supporters (by phone, fax and email)** over the coming crucial days, with a clear message: Let the international delegation enter Gaza and let the Gaza Freedom March proceed.

Contact your local consulate here:
http://www.mfa.gov.eg/MFA_Portal/en-GB/mfa_websits/

Contact the Palestine Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo
Ahmed Azzam, tel +202-25749682 Email: ahmed.azzam@mfa.gov.eg

In the U.S., contact the Egyptian Embassy, 202-895-5400 and ask for Omar Youssef or email omaryoussef@hotmail.com

You signed on to join the the Gaza Freedom March, that was the first step. Now call the Egyptian embassy and ask your elected official to call on your behalf. Contact your local media/press to tell them you are going to Gaza. Then pack your bags and come to Cairo ready to march with our brothers and sisters in Gaza.

We look forward to seeing you all in the coming week.
-The GFM Steering Committee

* * Sample text
I am writing/calling to express my full support for the December 31, 2009 Gaza Freedom March. I urge the Egyptian government to allow the 1,300 international delegates to enter the Gaza Strip through Egypt.
The aim of the march is to call on Israel to lift the siege. The delegates will also take in badly needed medical aid, as well as school supplies and winter jackets for the children of Gaza.
Please, let this historic March proceed.
Thank you.

Fundraising Letter

2009-10-01T19:28:00.002+02:00

To my friends and family,

Since I returned from Egypt and Gaza, I have been having fun and working hard here at Berkeley. I am in my fourth year now, and plan to graduate in the spring with a BA in Near Eastern Languages and Literature and a minor in Global Poverty and Practice. In addition to school I have also been working as the National Student Outreach Coordinator for the Gaza Freedom March. This march is a collaboration between internationals and Palestinians who will come together December 31, 2009 calling for an end to the siege. There are also internationals and Israelis who are organizing for a solidarity march, which will take place concurrently on the other side of the wall. While this may seem like a very political act, and indeed it may be, for me it is about human rights. I cannot stand by and do nothing while my friends in Gaza are denied basic necessities of life due to a blockade that is against international law.

Yesterday I created an individual fundraising page on Facebook which can be accessed at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/360717 . My first donation came from Medea Benjamin, co-founder of San Francisco based NGO Global Exchange, who wrote, "I donated to send Ali to the Gaza Freedom March because she is a terrific organizer and so dedicated to supporting her peers in Gaza. She is an inspiration to those of us in an older generation who want to support a new generation of activists. Go Ali!!!" Even for those who cannot make a donation, kind words such as this go a long way support-wise! I really do appreciate your support. By helping me attend the march, you are showing your respect for human rights and international law, and helping to bring desperately needed material aid to the people of Gaza.

Any donation made to me is tax-deductible as it will go through CODEPINK's account and they have 501c3 status. At the end of my fundraising campaign they will send me a check. If you want more information about the Gaza Freedom March, I encourage you to check out the website at gazafreedommarch.org . You might even think about joining me! : )

Thanks again for your support,

Ali

Our Student Delegation on Press TV

2009-07-17T05:31:00.003+03:00

Sarah Marois in the news!

2009-07-12T22:25:00.002+03:00

My friend and and fellow delegation organizer Sarah Marois made it into the news in multiple papers around her hometown. Please check it out. These articles are so important for continuing the momentum and actions after the delegation to make change.

MAP

2009-07-04T20:47:00.004+03:00

This map is widely circulated among supporters of the Palestinian cause. The map in 1946 is interesting- At that point Palestine was controlled by the British in combination with what is now Jordan...And I'd argue there was more of a coexistence situation going on between Jews and Palestinians, at least prior to 1936 when the Arab revolt began against British rule and mass Jewish immigration. And I guess strong supporters of Israel would add a map to the beginning from Biblical times that shows all of it as Jewish land. Either way, there is a lot of reality in this map about what is in the map, especially what's happened from 1948 to 2000.

Home

2009-07-02T06:23:00.002+03:00

I've been back now for a few weeks. I went to a family reunion, went camping with friends and visited family and friends. I spoke at the Ramallah convention with Miriam and Maryam about Gaza and I've now been hired to a paid position with CODEPINK organizing future delegations to Gaza. I ordered a practice book in the mail and am now studying for the LSAT. Fourth of July is coming, a family bike trip, and another family reunion. I think I'm going to get VIP passes to Ruby Skye in San Francisco for my 21st birthday. Then I'll finish my undergraduate degree in Arabic with a minor in global poverty and who knows after that. It hasn't been shocking to be back or anything, just a little weird sometimes. Today I was running down by the park and the whole town was there for the summer music in the park, such a town all laid out there having a good time, and I can't help but think about the lady in her tent at Salah Din Camp in Gaza and what she is doing now. Because she is still there. Today my dad cried because I showed him this movie and told him I might go back and my ideas for future actions. He told me not to go because I could die. I was thinking about that. I'm not stupid and I'm not going to die for this cause, but I am going to live for it. After what I have witnessed, as a good human being I cannot turn my back. Since I came home I received a cold reception from some people who don't agree with what I've been doing, which is difficult because it seems so morally clear to me. When a father can't ever see his son who lives in the West Bank, that is wrong. When Qassam rockets fall on Israel and a 9 year old boy loses his leg, that is wrong. Buses exploding, children living in houses of rubble, hospitals in ruins, 1.5 million people living off of smuggled goods, students studying for exams with bombs falling and losing university scholarships because they can't leave Gaza.. wrong, wrong, wrong. I believe that noncombatants should be safe. I believe in self-determination and international law and human rights for all people whether they were born in Gaza or Sderot. So I'm not really finished yet.

And remember all the faces in this chart....

2009-07-02T06:00:00.002+03:00

This chart is was released by B'Tselem, an Israeli organization that acts as an information center for human rights in the occupied territories. The end is the start of the last war, which continued into January. Eventually 13 Israelis were killed and about 1400 Palestinians.

From Gaza to Jerusalem

2009-06-09T12:37:00.002+03:00

After returning from Gaza, I met up with Medea Benjamin and some other CodePink activists to protest Obama on the fourth. I got a bad sunburn standing outside Cairo University all day holding a banner. We had three: "Obama, stop funding Israeli war crimes", "Lift the Siege" and "Open the Borders". We were there when the motorcade went by and we were there when everyone came out of the speech, which led to us being featured in the Washington Post, Times Magazine Online, Free Speech Radio News, and probably more. All these journalists and diplomats and fancy people saw us there and it was an interesting experience because for me the banners were personal. Twice to Gaza now, and I have seen the personal face of what the siege means, what war crime means, and what closed borders mean. This last time in Gaza, I visited Salah Din camp, the same camp I visited in March. And I saw the same woman, in the same tent, who is simply so enduringly beautiful and when we walked up she came out and immediately recognized me and we sat together again in her tent and she cried. Salah Din Camp is in North Gaza. About 150 families who lost their homes in the last war live there. They all share one outhouse type bathroom and a lot of the days there is no water. It was an intense experience to see this woman again. I came in March, we talked, I left, I came back. Yet she is still in the same dusty, hot tent, in the same inhumane situation, yet worse, because now the tent is faded, there is no more aid, the camp is more crowded, and it goes on and on. When I saw her there I thought, okay fine.. I've brought forty more people from the delegation I organized here to witness what is going on, but still this woman remains here and things are only worse. So now what? From the money we fundraised we were able to organize a 3000 USD aid distribution to the camp which is great, but still now I am left asking myself, now what? When we left Salah Din that day the woman and I hugged and kissed and all I could say was "I am with you" and that is not enough and we were both crying and I walked away and it was almost sickening. Another day in Gaza we visited with women prisoners who told us their stories of being tortured in Israeli prisons. One of the youngest women stood up and explained how when she was in the prison her family would come and visit her and they were her only lifeline to the world. Then she said, "Gaza is now a prison, and I feel that you are my family, my only connection to the world. Please tell our story, please help." I am so hoping that all the student delegates who were in the room will take that to heart. The prison analogy is not a false analogy. There is not a single car in Gaza, with the exception of UN vehicles, that does not use petrol that came from Egypt through the tunnels. Our delegation waited a whole day at the border and was denied the first day. So we stayed the night in Arish and that night the Egyptian Secret Police came to the hotel at 2am and the conversation was very threatening and in the morning our hotel was surrounded. When we tried to go to border we were stopped by police with riot trucks ready at the first check point. In the early afternoon we managed to get secret service clearance from the Palestine Desk in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but even when our group was allowed into Gaza, our one Palestinian member was not allowed to cross with us, she was not allowed to go home! When we left Iman and her mom, who are both Egyptian Citizens with Egyptian passports, tried to to cross to Egypt with us. They were denied, not allowed to leave Gaza to go to their home country! While we were in Gaza we met with students from Al Azhar university. At the start of our meeting they told us, "You are our first opportunity to meet with peers from outside Gaza. We now have just a few hours to convince you to help us." Many of them had received full scholarships to go and study at international universities but couldn't leave Gaza. The prison analogy isn't one to be taken lightly. I left Gaza with a heavy heart, and wondering what to do next.
After protesting outside Obama's Cairo speech, I headed to Israel with Maryam and Miriam. We are all American citizens, born in America, studying in Egypt on the same study abroad program with the University of California. Maryam is Muslim-American and her parents are from Pakistan. Miriam is Palestinian/Greek-American. When we got to the first check-point at the Israeli border, a little girl IDF soldier asked me, "Are you with them?" I said yes. She radioed something in Hebrew and we all waited. Still outside the border office, we were separated and questioned for the first time. They asked Miriam and Maryam how they got their money and they asked Maryam why she wore the hijab. They asked us how we know each other and almost every question you can think of over and over. They asked me, "What do you know about Maryam Khan?", "What do you know about her parents?". After the first round we made it inside the building, where we waited for seven hours. We were separated and questioned multiple times. They made Maryam show them her ticket back home. They made us move seats a lot because they wanted to mop the floor or open the cupboard behind us, but they had already mopped the floor and the cupboard was empty. Suddenly after seven hours they just came and said, "Thank you for your time" and we entered Israel. In Israel people go running and biking and a lot of the times it reminded me of California because of the trees and the outdoorsy feel. From the border we took a bus to Jerusalem and headed for the old city. We had a great couple of days as tourists. The old city souk is that perfect cobblestone souk from your dreams and the food is great and there is so much history packing a punch in so little a space. Via Delorosa where Jesus carried his cross and Dome of the Rock where Mohamed ascended to heaven and Church of the Holy Sepulchre where people lay their heads down and the Western Wall where Orthodox Jews dance en masse. I think a lot of people thought we were a strange bunch traveling together though: A Muslim, a Christian, and me who everybody thought was Jewish. A group of that mix is a rare thing in Israel since everything is so divided. There are Arab buses and Israeli buses. East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem have totally different feels and even in the Old City there is the Jewish quarter and the Muslim quarter. One night at the Western Wall I met a guy who'd recently immigrated from Michigan and lives in a settlement. He told me that all Arabs are fanatics and that it says in the Bible that all of Israel is for the Jews and since the Jews were there first really it the Arabs who are occupying. An old woman stopped me in the souq and told me to watch my bag since I was in the Muslim quarter and the Arabs only want to steal from me. I told a student that I met that I visited the West Bank and he replied, "What's that I've never heard of it." We took the Arab bus from East Jerusalem to the checkpoint to get into Bethlehem. We got through the checkpoint quickly but we saw a lot of Palestinians being held up. Once we got through we had to wind around wire fences to the other side of the HUGE wall. There was a lot of Graffiti on it, including "Stop Apartheid." We took a taxi from the wall to the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born. The road there used to be two kilometers but since a few years ago when they pushed the wall up closer now it is a longer drive. The church was really cool and I loved Bethlehem. There are very few tourists and everyone was out walking downtown and we ate REALLY good chicken shwarmas before randomly deciding to hop on a bus to Hebron. The drive there was beautiful, by Vineyards and hills and really California-y. We also passed a lot of settlements though. You see them on the hillsides and most of the houses look the same. There are Israeli buses which whisk people from one settlement to another. The settlements were bigger than I thought and there were a lot more than I imagined. We met a man on the bus who took us to his natural medicine shop for tea, and then to the mosque/synagogue where Isaac is buried, and then to his home for tea. Walking to the Mosque we went through the souk. There are Israelis living on the top stories in Hebron and the Arabs on the bottom. The Israelis throw trash down onto the souk below, so the Arabs put up chicken wire over the souk. Then they started throwing toilet water which can go through the chicken wire. We also saw bridges up in the Jewish part so they don't have to come down. In order to get to the Mosque we had to pass an IDF check point. Everyday anyone who wants to pray has to go through that checkpoint. It's so sad that even though the settlements and the checkpoints inside the west bank are against international law, they are continuing and it really is an occupation! My last day in Israel we visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in West Jerusalem. The museum was really well done and in a beautiful area of Israel where you could smell the pine trees. The saddest part of visiting the museum for me was that, after the holocaust the world came together to create the Jewish homeland, and that is a beautiful dream, yet it has manifested itself in some very horrible ways. At the end of the museum there was a part about the idea of Israel from creation of a place for religious freedom and equal rights for everyone and it would have been so great if it had worked out like that. Now it's too late for that and the holy land is divided. I believe, as Obama said in his speech, that a two-state solution may be the best bet at this point. And it's sad. The holy land is so beautiful and diverse and I have seen and met so many different people there and for me as an outsider I get along with all of them and blend in and mix between the groups and I see how people are similar and want similar things.. it's so sad that history took its course this way. After the museum I parted with Miriam and Maryam I used Israel's AWESOME public transportation system to get back to Taba.. bus from the museum to central bus station, bus to Eliat, taxi to the border. This time the border took me about 15 minutes for both Israel and Egypt and I was back in Egypt! Where I realized I didn't have enough money to get home! The last bus from Taba to Cairo is at 430 and I'd missed that one. There is a minibus station though, but the problem was that no one else was crossing the border, so it was just me, and a private minibus is expensive. I only had 300 egyptian pounds and no money in the bank. So I waited for awhile with all the drivers who have no teeth and only speak Arabic and like to drink tea and sit in their Galibayas. And no one came who I could share a minibus with. There were lots of huge tour groups on tour buses and I asked if they were going to Cairo and no one was. I weighed my options and eventually just decided to take a minibus back to Cairo and eat the cost- 80USD to get back to Cairo. It took most of the night.. all through Sinai there are checkpoints and on top of that the minibus had something wrong with it so the driver kept stopping to check the oil and since I'm American a policeman had to ride with us but it was a different one every 100 kilometers... I was so glad when we finally got to Cairo!! A friend of mine met me and paid the rest of the busfare and I am forever grateful to him for saving me!! Today I'm spending my last day in Cairo at my friend Sarah's apartment and... CALIFORNIA HERE I COME.

2009-06-04T18:15:00.002+03:00

Hello Readers!

Well, I've been to Gaza and back, and a lot has happened. Today I stood outside Obama's speech at Cairo University calling for an end to the siege. Tonight I'm going on a bus to Israel and hopefully will be in Jerusalem tomorrow morning. Please stay tuned, my next moment to take a breath I'll write full updates!

Love,
Ali

It's Happening.

2009-05-23T22:01:00.002+03:00

Everything is crazy busy and so much is happening and who knows what will happen but I can post to this twitter website from my phone with updates on our group so check it out. I won't be able to see replies but you can find out what i'm up to: http://twitter.com/studentsforgaza I will be away from internet but I can be reached at my Egyptian phone number.

Be brave, Be bold

2009-05-22T11:52:00.009+03:00

Finished with finals!!!! But barely any relief because Gaza organizing is still in full swing. Yesterday was a very rough day. First of all it was very busy, as the Canadian delegation and the New York delegation arrived. The Canadian delegation is heading to Rafah today, and the New York delegation one day after us. The government told our bus company that we would not be allowed to cross Sinai and if we do we will be stopped. So we all had a brainstorming session and we are forging ahead with fresh alternatives. The good news is that the Canadians made it through Sinai this morning, so wooooo!!! Yesterday I also had to speed over the doctor's syndicate because we had some miscommunication in our group and no one had gone to pick it up. So they called me and said.. we need you to come with 3000 dollars in an hour so I said okay I'll be there and I figured that out (thank you everyone for your donations!!) and I went with Miriam and we picked up a whole lot of medical equipment from this amazing man who'd been in Darfur and Lebanon and Gaza doing medical work and built a whole hospital in Kashmir after the earthquake so we gave him the money and he gave us the medical supplies along with a list of what everything was and where it should go to in Gaza and we spoke Arabic and heard his stories and dumped it all in a taxi and hurried back to the hotel to give the supplies to Sandra who is taking a third of the three thousand dollar's worth to Gaza. Long Sentence! But while all that was happening I hadn't barely taken a breath so I guess it's appropriate. In the early evening we met with the Canadian delegation as it was their send-off evening, and tried to talk some strategy. Sandra (Canadian delegation) got the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent on the phone, but not a lot of help from them. Felice (New York delegation) is going to try to meet with the US ambassador to Egypt on Sunday, and Rosa (from our team) will accompany her. The next few days will be super busy! So yesterday there were obstacles but it is so amazing and the international movement is seriously coming together so strong! Over the next week there will be almost 200 internationals coming to Rafah, calling for an end to the siege! Already there are Egyptian activists camping at the border, and a group of British doctors planning to set up a Cardiac surgery unit in a hospital in Gaza City, was denied entry into Gaza and has now been on hunger strike in Al Arish for four days. Iman in Gaza just sent us the schedule for us in Gaza should we gain entry, and it is amazing and I hope so much that we get through the border but I also know that if we don't we still have an amazing opportunity to call attention to the need to end the siege and end the occupation. My phone number has been given to a new york times reporter and we are sending press releases wherever we can think to send them, because there really is something going on here. Obama's visit could not come at a better time and it will not look good if the government is cracking down harder on Gaza just when Obama is coming to Cairo. In other news, I had a second round interview with Global Exchange NGO for a job that would pay me 2000 dollars to work part-time up until December, doing similar work as I'm doing now- organizing delegations, working for social justice, plus a little paper pushing. I also spoke with Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright in DC on the phone last night- they have an 80 person delegation leaving the 28th, and were very encouraging to us. So we are going forward and working all the contacts we can and as Medea and Ann say, we will be brave and bold. If anyone wants a copy of our press releases to send to any news outlet you can think of, please let me know!

AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

2009-05-18T18:42:00.003+03:00

Well I'm half way through finals week and so much is ending but so much is just beginning as well. And everything is busy! I've had some amazing teachers this semester and I've become a lot more confident in my Arabic. For our media final we are just reading a couple newspaper articles and listening to the evening news and I understand most of it, which is awesome. I'm going to miss my teachers and having so few people in my class! As finals are finishing, people from around the world are flying into Cairo to be a part of the international movement to end the siege. If you look at the list there really are groups from so many different countries and places, and it makes me so happy to see the group I founded on that list. We're meeting with the doctors' syndicate on Wednesday to finalize the details regarding medical equipment. Thank you so much for all the donations! My friends and I have raised over one thousand dollars already, which will we be using to buy medical equipment and supplies from the syndicate at reduced cost. We're actually going to be transporting even more medical equipment- stuff that is desperately needed in Gaza that the syndicate is desperate to get across. I saw the list of things today.. all these fancy machines for making Xrays and laproscopic examinations and chemical analysis and other ones I didn't really know what they were for, but we're going to be transporting each specific machine to specific hospitals in Gaza that have requested them. So cool! I'm not sure yet if they'll let the truck over the border, in which case we'll have to get all the stuff into a Palestinian truck but I'm sure we'll figure it out. Nobody better drop anything though! And we're not even sure that we'll get over the border at all, but I really hope so. We have an invitation from United Nations and the NGO's that we're working with in Gaza and we're submitting all of our names to the Egyptian embassy in DC and Ottowa. Ann, one of the CodePink women in DC, checked in with the Egyptian government as to whether they'll open the border or not and their answer was god willing, inshallah!!! I think that's so funny because Egyptians really do say that for everything! I'm so excited for finals to finish and then I'll be spending the long weekend in Cairo buying food for everybody (we have 40 students coming!) and meeting with the CodePink ladies who are coming in and putting together all the final details, like thinking of activities to do if we do end up camping at the border. Any ideas? In addition to the medical equipment, we're going to bring in about 50 soccer balls and we talked with Adidas and they're giving us a deal on them. And I emailed John Ging's assistant and it is now on is schedule to meet with us in Gaza on the 29th!!! We'll also be working with the Sharek Youth Forum and Qattan Center for the Child and meeting with university students. And Iman (my host sister from Gaza) and her friend Hebaa just founded an organization called Solidarity Bridge and we're sort of their pilot project which I think is really cool. The goal of solidarity bridge is to provide opportunities for youth to break through political boundaries by encouraging cultural exchange. This is so important in Gaza especially since the opportunities for interaction with anywhere else are so limited. So all and all I'm just excited and nervous and amazed that this is all coming together and it's crazy how we don't really know what's going to happen but as it goes here in Egypt.. inshallah...

Thank you!

2009-05-10T23:09:00.003+03:00

Thank you everyone for your donations. I've raised 60 dollars so far.

More importantly, Happy Mothers Day.
Grandma Glenesk, your optimism and warmth forever bring light into my life.
Grandma Anderson, there are no words to express how much I have learned from you, how much I love you, and how much I miss you. You are always with me.
Mom, I am forever grateful for your enduring support for me and all the crazy things that I do. I could not ask for more.

I cannot wait to see you all this summer. I'll be landing in California exactly a month from today!

Some Foucault for the Evening

2009-05-09T22:13:00.001+03:00

"There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than "politicians" think. We have to be there at the birth of ideas, the bursting outward of their force: not in books expressing them, but in events manifesting this force, in struggles carried on around ideas, for or against them. Ideas do not rule the world. But it is because the world has ideas (and because it constantly produces them) that it is not passively ruled by those who are its leaders or those who would like to teach it, once and for all, what it must think."

Fundraising for Medical Supplies

2009-05-08T17:21:00.005+03:00

To my readers,

When my friends and I returned from Gaza in March, we began thinking of what we could to continue working for social justice and positive change. After brainstorming, we Ali Glenesk (UC Berkeley), Rosa Navarro (American University in Cairo), Sarah Marois (University of Tel Aviv), Maryam Khan (UC Davis), and Miriam Zouzounis (UC Santa Barbara), decided to found the Students in Solidarity with Gaza Group, and organize a delegation to Gaza. We will be part of a bigger movement taking place this summer, in which delegations from around the world will be coming to Rafah, as a way to bring international attention to Gaza and the need to lift the siege. We are organizing everything in cooperation with our friends Iman Almaquosi and Heba Jumaa in Gaza, who are working just as hard, if not harder, than us to put this together.

The Students in Solidarity with Gaza delegation is now set to travel May 25-May 31 with just over 30 student participants from around the world. We aim to show our support for the people of Gaza by: meeting and building community with other students, working with grassroots organizations, delivering aid, and representing the face of the international community that does want to help and actively participate in lifting the siege. We are committed to enhancing our own perspectives about the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to bringing real, human stories back to our communities.

One crucial part of these objectives is delivering aid. We are working in cooperation with the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate to deliver Medical Aid. Not only will the syndicate provide us the medical supplies at reduced cost, they also are well connected within Palestine so they know what types of supplies are needed and where they should go in Gaza. People in Gaza have also reiterated to us that medical supplies are still very much needed, and we have a unique opportunity to deliver them personally.

This is where you come in. For the next two weeks I will be undertaking an intensive fundraising campaign with the goal of raising funds to buy medical supplies. Please consider making a donation, using the sidebar button on my blog. If you have any questions or would like a copy of this letter, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Spread the word!

Thanks,
Ali

Only a few more weekends left!

2009-05-01T18:31:00.002+03:00

Having recovered some of my voice today, I decided to take advantage of the day. I stopped by Miriam and Maryams downtown and we discussed our need to get in shape quickly before going home! They had some girls over to clean their house, and I sort of wished they would come to my house, but then I always feel weird when other people are cleaning my house and I'm not, so I guess my house is going to stay dirty. At least until I take the initiative to clean it myself that is. After I left Miriam and Maryam's I took a taxi to Al Hussein, the gate of Khan El Khalili Market. Khan El Khalili is touristy, yet it's still one of the oldest markets in the city and needless to say still economically important. The parts closest to the entrance cater shamelessly to Western perceptions of the East and what shopkeepers think and know tourists want to see... Keffiyehs and cheaply made belly dancing hip scarves and hookahs and those circular leather seat cushions you might see in a Moroccan restaurant.. things like that. I went a bit deeper into the market today and discovered a few niches around corners i handed ventured to turn on before. I bought two simple and cheap scarves and then started walking away from khan towards the park and happened upon a shop with lots of cool bags. There was another lady in there too and the shopkeeper was really nice. After we had been talking about the different bags for about ten minutes he asked me if I was from Palestine (I was wearing my keffiyeh) or maybe from Tunisia. He was surprised when I said California and complimented my Arabic!! Yay!! So I ended up buying a bag there for Bonnie (I hope you like it!!!). My next mission is to find a belly dancing outfit for my friend Maresa! I couldn't really find the park so I started walking back towards downtown. It was a long walk but I was just taking in all the sights... men yelling hella fast, standing on their carts trying to sell cheap nylon tshirts probably from china... white galabeya clad men with huge juice jugs strapped to their bellies, peddling iced cold tamr el-hind juice... talk of women drifting from behind niqabs, people stuffing their new packages into taxis and buses... it's impossible to walk fast because the foot traffic is always stopping for something or other.. perhaps a cart trying to pass the people but held up by the taxi in front of it, a little child dropping their plastic bag of to-go juice... something or other. When I got to downtown I got in a taxi back to Zamalek and called it a successful outing. Tonight I might go back to the park with Miriam and Maryam or hang out with my roommates. I'm ready to go home, but Egypt is definitely an awesome place.

Thanks!

2009-05-01T11:47:00.002+03:00

Thank you to everyone who voted on Energize your community. Magnolia Project won the 10,000 dollars!! In other news I lost my voice yesterday and so last night I slept for 12 hours and I got it back!! Yay!!! I've also recently started to meet up with a girl named Belet from Iraq. A friend of mine who also works with refugees contacted me to see if I wanted to meet her. It's cool because she's my same age, and she doesn't know any english, so I get to practice Arabic a lot, and she gets to learn English from me. I just wish I would have met her before my last month in Cairo!

Our Gaza Solidarity Campaign

2009-04-26T12:42:00.004+03:00

After our experience in Gaza in March, my friends and I founded a group called Students in Solidarity with Gaza, and as part of it we are now organizing an aid campaign. We are fund raising money for medical supplies and sports equipment (frisbees, soccer balls, and hula hoops!) to bring into Gaza this May, and have lined up community partners within Gaza to assist in with distribution of aid. Our decision to focus on sports equipment and medical supplies came after we spoke with Gaza residents and after we researched what is already provided by the UN and what is needed. We now have a unique opportunity, because of the connections we made in March, to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza and deliver much needed aid. I've added a button in my sidebar in case any of my blog readers want to donate to my campaign. If you'd like more information about our campaign and activities, send me an email at aglenesk@berkeley.edu!

I have a future!!

2009-04-22T15:01:00.002+02:00

Today as I was walking back from the gym at school I passed all these workers watering the sand and watering the concrete. They were watering the concrete to clean it, and upon closer inspection it turned out they were watering the sand because they are trying to grow a garden there. Either way they sure are watering a lot in a desert!!! Right now I'm in the library at school and soon I'll be taking the bus back downtown for a meeting with a professor to talk about Gaza, and then off to frisbee! Today I also get to register for my Berkeley classes which I'm excited about. I'm going to take Muslims in America, Legal Studies, a Near Eastern Studies class, and two Arabic classes. The awesome thing is that I scheduled them so I have three days a week free after ten in the morning, so I'll have lots of time for other things. There is this internship in San Francisco that I really want at Global Exchange. I think I have a good chance to get it too since I traveled to Gaza with Medaea, the founder. So I've been researching online ways to fund unpaid internships because I need to earn money, but so far I haven't found anything. I started to search on FastWeb today so hopefully something will come up. Either way, definitely excited for next year. I'll be finishing up my major in Near Eastern Languages and Literature and the Global Poverty Minor and a lot of cool activities in the mix too. Lately I've been reconsidering law school so maybe I'll start studying for the LSAT who knows. I've had an aversion to grad school since it seems like a lot of PhD candidates just stay in academia and I'm more interested in real life and people so maybe with a law degree I could still do that yet be able to enter some of the jobs that require a graduate degree. We'll see. It's also just peer pressure cus seems like all my friends are trying for law school, haha! We'll see, my GPA is good enough the LSAT just seems like it will suck. It's definitely exciting though how I never really had a plan besides try my best but doors have started to open for me just by following what I care about. Woo! Also, everybody get ready: I'm flying into LAX June 10!!! Can't wait!!!

Reading List

2009-04-20T19:45:00.002+02:00

Over break I finished or almost finished reading the following books, which I'd recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the Israel-Palestine Conflict:

Palestine Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter
This book is written for an American audience and is a good overall introduction to the history. It emphasizes the Palestinian perspective so it is controversial in the US. Carter says, "The ultimate purpose of my book is to present facts about the Middle East that are largely unknown in America, to precipitate discussion and to help restart peace talks (now absent for six years) that can lead to permanent peace for Israel and its neighbors. Another hope is that Jews and other Americans who share this same goal might be motivated to express their views, even publicly, and perhaps in concert. I would be glad to help with that effort."

The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz
This book is written by a Harvard law professor in response to common criticisms of Israel. I'm only half way through so far, but this is definitely a good book to read to learn more about the arguments in support of Israel and its actions. The book claims to explain why Israel "while not perfect, is in fact the sole outpost of liberty and democracy in the Middle East- a country that has earned the right to exist within secure boundaries and defend itself."

Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
This book, originally written in Arabic, is fiction based on true stories. It's gained great acclaim in the Arab World and was recently published in English. Khoury based this novel on interviews he conducted in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon (Between November 1947 and October 1950, some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to flee their homes as the British departed and the Israelis took control), and in the novel he recounts their stories. The book is kind of long and can get boring but even just reading parts you get some of the stories out. I'm almost finished with this one.

The People on the Street: A Writer's view of Israel by Linda Grant
This book is written by a Jewish author and is her attempt to try and understand the Israeli situation through recounting her own experiences as an observer and writer living in Israel. Her stories give a personal side to the Israeli perspective. It is a short read and a good one- while it doesn't point to any solutions it does a lot to humanize the situation and show just how complicated it is.

Israel/Palestine: The Black book by Reporters without Borders
This is a compilation of the human rights violations that have occurred on both sides, drawing on reports from group such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. It is a sobering account, and I think it does a pretty good job of being objective. In the introduction it explains they only printed information that was agreed or admitted to by Israel and Palestine.

In other news I'm just back from two short trips, to Alexandria and Ein Sokhna and now it's back to school tomorrow. I also posted some pictures from my trip to Upper Egypt, which you can see here.

Spring Break

2009-04-16T11:45:00.002+02:00

It's spring break! Elyna visited last week and we had an awesome visit to Alexandria. The Mediterranean is so beautiful, the catacombs were amazing, and the capaccinos were delicious. When Lynee left I headed to upper Egypt on a trip with the California study abroad program. We flew to Luxur and visited the Valley of the Kings and a few other temples and then we started cruising down the Nile. It was really hot and ultra-relaxing sort of, and a lot of temples...My favorite one was Carnak I think because of the columns but we really saw so many and I became a bit templed out! I was glad when we got to Aswan. We visited the dam and one day took a bus to Abu Simbel. The bus trip there was super hot. I ended up sitting in the back row bench seat with two study abroad guys and a little Egyptian girl who was traveling with us, Vena Nancy's daughter (Nancy works for the study abroad program). We all ended up lying all on top of each other just sweating, it was so hot. The bus ride to Abu Simbel was three hours and then we stayed there for an hour or two and it was hot there and everything costs too much money to drink or eat because tourists will pay five times or more what the egyptian price is, so we weren't in abu simbel too long, just saw it and then we went back. The best day in Aswan was the last one. I slept in and ate some tameya for brunch from a little hole in the wall place where this guy with no teeth served up freshly fried tameya molded with his crusty hands and sold for one pound a sandwich. Then we started the afternoon's activities. Instead of going on an expensive tour, one of the students had met a guy in town who volunteered to take us out, so everything was way cheaper. We took a boat up the river a bit through all these crazy reed-y, jungle-y, rocky areas and stopped at the foot of some sand dune mountains where all these camels were gathered. Then we got to swam in the Nile!!! We swam across from the sand dunes to this rocky islands where you could jump in the water and it totally got me psyched for summer because I can't wait to swim more! After swimming I decided to go try and write EAP in huge letters in the sand dunes. I left my camera at the bottom of the sand dunes and went up to make the letters. It ended up being to steep though, so I decided to just climb to the top of the mountain. It was mostly sand but it got rocky at the top and from the rocky outcropping at the top, the view was incredible! I climbed up with two of the guys and we could see all the way to the dam and all the little islands in the river it was beautiful. When I ran back down the mountain my camera wasn't where I'd left it. I was looking around the brush and a camel driver comes up and is like.. "cahm-ra?" Then we started speaking in Arabic and it turned out he'd taken my camera to the next village because there were some other tourists there and he'd thought it might belong to them. So he told me to wait and he brought it for me, and then he offered to drive me back to where my group was. I told him no thanks that I didn't have any money but he said no problem. So I got to ride a camel for free along the Nile! The camel (Gemel in Arabic) was running in the sand dunes along the Nile and it was soooo awesome. When I got back we were about to go down the river a bit to a Nubian village, but Nancy's kids wanted to ride Camels there. She said they couldn't go alone so Yared from UCLA and I volunteered to take them. Yared took the two youngest Vena and Fady and I went with Madonna. She was sooo scared and made me ride in the front (even though I'm bigger and should be in the back) and she was screaming and grabbing me and laughing at the same time the hole ride. It was soooo painful for me!!! We were tied to Yared's camel and the little ones were yelling at the camel IGREE IGREE IGREE which means run and then Madona would scream LA LA LA LA which means no. I was so glad when we finally got off that camel!!! Then we walked through the Nubian village which was mostly just the part made for tourists to buy things, but we saw some scarfs being made and some crocodiles in a cage. After that we took the boat to a restaurant on an Island for Nubian food and ate delicious chicken and fosool yabeida (white beans, one of my favorite foods in egypt) and tahina and potatoes and rice and salad and soooo much food. After dinner we rode the boat back to town and walked around the souq and I bought a carved wooden camel and an inlayed box and some scarab beetles to go inside the box for presents for people in California. Late in the evening we all met up at a hotel where we'd left our luggage. I snuck for a swim in the hotel pool, and then we were off to the airport. Awesome trip! Today I am going to work on some travel plans for a trip to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan in May, then I think I'm going to head back to Alexandria. A few of my friends and I are going up there and meeting some friends in Alex (Egyptians who have a lot of money to pay for things, haha!). There is a party on an Island tonight, and then Friday we're going to a rent a boat and go fishing, and then go to a comedy show in the evening. Cheers!

The Magnolia Project

2009-04-16T02:50:00.007+02:00

I've just accepted a position as director of The Magnolia Project next year (It's the organization at Berkeley about New Orleans). Right now, the organization is a finalist for a 10,000 dollar grant. If you could all go an vote for us, that would be awesome: http://www.energizeyourcommunity.com From the home page, click on project gallery and find The Magnolia Project. It's kind of annoying because you have to register, but once you're registered it's easy to vote, and you can vote every day! For more information about the project itself, here is the website. Thanks!

Happy Land Day and Happy Weekend

2009-04-04T11:58:00.002+02:00

These are some pictures from up on the roof of my building yesterday. The weather has turned warm and beautiful finally and Cairo is more beautiful for it. In the top picture you can see people water skiing on the Nile! The other picture is the view looking up towards the tip of Zamalek island. After taking those pictures I went down to a cafe on the corniche and met a friend to talk and then Elyna called me! I didn't realize she'd be in Cairo already, but she was so we got an early dinner and it was so good to see her and I'm so excited because she's coming to Cal next year!!! After dinner with Lynee I went to land day at the university. Land day is a Palestinian holiday in appreciation of the land, which has become over the years a day to mark those who have struggled trying to protect the land and heritage. The event at the university was put on by the Al Quds club student group. They played the Palestinian and Egyptian national anthems at the beginning which was cool because I hadn't actually heard them before, and I remembered the American anthem and realized how long it's been since I've heard it! Looking forward to some stars and stripes fanfare this summer! The Palestinian ambassador also spoke and there was awesome music and dancing (dabka!!) and food afterwards. They also did this one dance which was awesome and symbolic, with one of the dancers in a cage, and other dancers falling around her. She put roses in the barbed wire of the cage and in the end was just like.. shaking it. It was cool. Afterwards there were a lot of people to meet and who I spoke with about Gaza and the student delegation for May. I'm getting so excited for that! Code Pink is planning a 22-day campaign to lift the siege, in which delegations from around the world will travel to Gaza, and, if denied entry, gather at the crossing to call attention to the need to open the borders. The delegation I'm planning will be a part of that! After the Land Day event I went over to a friend's house for a while and then went home. This morning has been pretty relaxed. I went to the post office and picked up chocolates from my grandma (mmmm!), and then made pancakes at home with my roommates. Now I'm off to frisbee! Tonight I have a phone interview for director of The Magnolia Project next year (including a 1000 dollar stipend!), so wish me luck!

Life in Cairo goes on

2009-04-02T14:45:00.004+02:00

Thank you to all my readers who read my recent postings in the aftermath of the Gaza trip. The topic is very important to me however controversial. I'm hoping to return in May and am busy now with preparations for that. It was strange for awhile to be in Cairo, only six hours by car from Gaza, yet life is so normal here... Especially after my trip to Gaza, Cairo life seems eerily normal. And it is normal, yet there are still these moments where it hits you however: I'm in Egypt! The other day we were taking the bus home, traffic thick as ever so we decided to walk to walk to the metro amidst carts and people and cars and cars and cars and buses and grime... just a normal day going home from school in Cairo! Strawberry season is wonderful and the strawberries are so delicious and 3 pounds for a whole kilo. They are dusty and dirty and surely have had various people's hands all over them, yet I eat them in the street without washing them and it's like the crunchy, sandy outside layer makes the inside taste even sweeter. I love these moments. The gym has opened up at the university (finally!) and I've been going a lot, lifting weights and running around the new, awesome eleven lane track which is usually empty except for me. I ran a mile for time the other day just for fun and did it in 7 minutes and 10 seconds, which I can't complain about!! Frisbee is still fun of course and we play in the Cairo pollution as the sound of the call to prayer emanates from the mosques and... it's Cairo! The sunsets have been beautiful and moon rises too and life is going pretty well for me. I feel like a lot of opportunities are coming my way almost by accident, because I've just been doing what I care about. I'm finishing up the semester teaching English at St. Andrews and my students are amazing and intelligent. Last class we talked about the relationship between terrorism and refugees and they have so much to say about it yet it's something most Americans wouldn't even consider that much. There is so much knowledge with people in the world who are struggling or are poor or live in a war-zone... there is so much knowledge that they have that isn't known about in America, yet America produces knowledge that is known about in other places. I'm becoming more and more interested in perspectives, and how incredibly different perspectives on certain issues are in the Middle East compared to America, with both Americans and Arabs at times having very strange perceptions of each other. It seems a shame that with all the technology now there can't be some type of communication going on to build community between the west and the Middle East because at the end of the day humans are similar and want to live safely and peacefully and happily. So life continues well for me in Cairo, and I'm excited to come home and bring stories with me to share, and be with my good family and friends, and until then I am very active, getting ready for a trip from Elyna (who I stayed with in India in high school) and after that I am visiting Luxur and Aswan for spring break for almost no cost with the California program! I'm pretty excited about life!

Ahmed Abdullah and the story he told me

2009-03-28T18:00:00.002+02:00

I want to recount for you the story of Ahmed Abdullah, a 62 year old Gazan who came and spoke with me and other delegation members while we were in Gaza. He is from Jabaliya, a 1 square kilometer area inhabited by over 100,000 people, where he works at the rehabilitation center. This is life story as he told it, and the best I can recount it, just the raw form from my notes:

In 1948 he was living peacefully with my family in our village, but then they were forced to leave. On the way to the next village Israel bombed and killed his father, 5 sisters and 2 brothers. Just him and his mom survived. He was one year old. Until now he has shrapnel in his legs from that day. His mother tried to stand but she was injured, so she crawled across the ground to find her children dying. The daughter whispered, “Mother, I need some water,” and then she died. A passerby took his mother to an Egyptian Military hospital, and some of their relatives came there to bury the children, including him because they thought he was dead. But suddenly he cried and was alive. He was left there at the burial site because the others ran to escape more bombs. A deaf woman found him the next day and carried him until she found his aunt, with whom he moved until they got to Gaza. No international help came to Gaza, the people were already poor and there was no food. A friend of Ahmed’s father came to see him, saw his legs, and took him to the hospital where they immediately decided to amputate. His father’s friend refused and took him to a private doctor where he stayed and was rehabilitated (no amputation). His mother was brought to Gaza in this time. She was dying and refused medicines because what else was there to live for- everyone in her family was dead. But then she heard that her little son was alive. Gaza became their home and the UN came and gave them a tent, just a tent but to him it was a castle, because it was the only home he’d ever known. He did well in school and then became a teacher in UNRWA schools and got his first salary. But his mom said, I didn’t raise you for money, I raised you to get my family back again! So he married. He has the same number of kids as his mother had: 5 daughters and 3 sons. He named each of them but their grandmother still calls them by the names of her children, so each of Ahmed’s children has two names. All the kids were educated, and became nurses, teachers, shopkeepers, and pharmacists. The son who became a pharmacist got a job in the West Bank and he hasn’t been able to see him for 11 years. He says, “I am not asking for the moon, all I want is to see my grandchildren in the West Bank, to see my son’s wedding party.”

At this point he thanks us for OUR trouble, He tells us to be strong, we are the greatest. The whole room, including him, is in tears.
After telling his life story, we asked Mr. Abdullah more about his political views. This is what he said:

“Forgiveness is important. It is so hard when the Israelis remind us often of the cruel face of occupation; it becomes harder to forget. It is simple: Israelis want security and the Palestinians want freedom. Implement the United Nations story. Life is too short to spend it on killing. If we are clever enough to produce weapons and send spaceships to space then we are clever enough to feed people. We accept Israel as a state and hope they can accept us as a people, but they don’t. Please, bring our story to the international community and advise the Israelis: You know the taste of persecution, why do you bring this to other people? This area is enough for the Israeli’s and the Palestinians and I hope for one state. But if the Israeli’s don’t want that, then we can be good neighbors. Give me my own state according to UN Resolution 181. Love instead of hate. Why don’t we import tractors instead of tanks, pens instead of bullets, and we can all live as human beings.”

Reflections from my experiences in Gaza and the world

2009-03-19T12:48:00.006+02:00

The events of the holocaust during World War II are almost unspeakable. So much so, that we must speak about them. All through school, I learned over and over again about Hitler’s holocaust, about death camps and gas chambers and Star of David patches. We were told that we the youth must study these atrocities to ensure that they do not happen again. Good. Important. Right. Except that it has happened again. In Rwanda and Sudan and Cambodia. And what about Palestine? I just returned from Gaza. Gaza: where humble homes and hospitals are now rubble. Gaza: where children were shot in the back as they fled, running to grab their mother’s hand. Gaza: where schools and mosques and UN buildings are now twisted messes of iron and concrete that silently scream for someone to listen.
During the last war, I expressed my horror about how thousands of Palestinians, thousands of people, were being killed and injured in Gaza. Some of my colleagues called me an anti-Semite. My roommate asked me if I hated Jews, which was very upsetting for me, as it was the first time in my life that I was accused of harboring a prejudice like that. Yet it brought up an important question: does being against Zionism and its ideal of Jewish statehood make a person anti-Semitic? I cannot personally support the way the ideal of a Jewish state has manifested itself: forgetting from its foundation the presence of Palestinians in Palestine! Ben Ehrenreich put it aptly in his recent article for the LA Times: “The problem is fundamental: Founding a modern state on a single ethnic or religious identity in a territory that is ethnically and religiously diverse leads inexorably either to politics of exclusion (think of the 139-square-mile prison camp that Gaza has become) or to wholesale ethnic cleansing.”
Yet the last half-century of American politics has been dominated by unwavering support for Israel; for a politician to express even a blink of support for Palestine would be political suicide. So now I have had the experience of witnessing the type of destruction that brings tears to people’s eyes just to see it; destruction carried out with American weapons. Binders and toys and old homework assignments rest in the rubble of what was once the American International School in Gaza. A glossy brochure now dusty, showed pictures of children’s smiling faces. I picked up a purple paper clip, a little thing so small and seemingly mundane, so human, yet part of one of the most inhumane landscapes I have ever seen. As we stood there on the hill next to the school, one of the Palestinians I was with spoke, saying, “Look at this, all this, and no one in your administration has said this is wrong.” And indeed, standing there next to that school, there was no doubt in my mind that America’s politics are stained: supporting Israel has become more important than our values for international law and human life.
The Palestinians are the victims of victims. There is a history of oppression against the Jews. This is important. Mark it in our history books. Teach it in our schools. But let there be no illusions. Israel’s attacks on Gaza cannot be considered self-defense; the violence, occupation, and blockade go far beyond that. When 13 Israelis are dead and more than 1000 Palestinians, who is it that needs defending? Let’s teach that in our schools. Let’s publish stories from Palestine in our newspapers, mark the truth in our history books. Let’s take action to change our politics; the situation does not call for apathy. For while in Gaza I bore witness to the atrocities that human beings are capable of committing, I also found the capacity of humans to persist and to hope. Ahmed Abdullah, a resident of the Jabalia Refugee camp who saw every one of his siblings, 5 brothers and 2 sisters, killed at the hands of the Israeli army, carries no bitterness. He only expressed his hope for a state where Jews and Palestinians could live in peace together. Tell me difficult but don’t tell me impossible.

To Gaza

2009-03-12T10:17:00.036+02:00

I just got back from Gaza. I was part of a delegation of women of about 60 under the supervision of the United National Relief and Works Agency. Mom and Dad, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I didn't tell you before because I thought you'd worry. I tried to call you yesterday morning and afternoon your time too, but you didn't answer. In any case, I assure you next time I'll tell you if you want. I felt safe there the whole time, and I went with the full support of the director of the California Education Abroad Program, the Director of the Arabic Language Institute, and all my teachers. I spent a month carefully researching the details and weighing my options and then I decided to go. For more information on my reasoning and feelings towards the trip, here is the letter that I carried to meetings with my teachers as explanation, as well as my application essays to the delegation. It is all a lot to digest right now, for me it was one of the biggest experiences of my life, emotional, intense, amazing. There are no words, yet now I have to write about what I saw, I have to write about it, do something, because it is beyond inexcusable that some part of our American politics has become more important than our values and respect for human life and international law. What I'll try to do then, is first give a summary of what we did and saw. And then work on some more posts over the next few days, telling stories and feelings and specific and important moments. Also, check out more of my pictures here. I know some of this is controversial, and trust me I plan to try and learn as much as I can, from all sides of the issue. But also, please.. there are some things that cannot be controversial, some things are just wrong.. Please, Bear with me as I muddle through this, I know it is long, but I really want everybody to read it, so take it slow. Here is what happened:

Day 1, Friday March 6:
The delegation met early in the morning in downtown Cairo. We were quite the group, about 60 and mostly women. Among us were famous author/activist Alice Walker, activist and co-founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange Medea Benjamin, Ann Wright an activist most famous for her 2003 resignation from the State Department in opposition to the Iraq War, and Cindy and Craig Corrie, founders of the Rachel Corrie Foundation and parents of Rachel Corrie who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003. We were also joined by reporters from Democracy Now, journalists, photographers, senior citizens, writers, bloggers, and then students, among them me. The trip was organized by CodePink, and then by UNRWA once we were in Gaza. At first I was nervous about going on a CodePink trip because they are known to be so crazy and I'm not sure I agree with all their politics, or at least tactics, in America. After my research however, I decided to go, and off we went. We took a bus to Al Arish, a town on the Mediterranean coast just a few miles away from the Rafah border. We really weren't sure if we'd get through the border. Gaza is effectively the largest prison in the world, blockaded by Israel from all sides, except for the Rafah border side, where Egypt enforces the blockade. People had been waiting to get in for weeks and weeks, journalists and aid workers.. tons of people. In the evening we had a meeting and Cindy Corrie spoke and it is just so moving to hear her, everytime she speaks I want to cry. She lost her daughter and now here she is speaking so eloquently and doing so much and helping so many people. She and her Husband are truly amazing. In the meeting we also met with Egyptian activists, and planned to camp at the border in protest the next morning.

Day 2, Saturday March 7:
We woke up early. I woke up at three in the morning, throwing up. My first food poisoning in Egypt, and at all times the day I am supposed to try and go to Gaza! I threw up until about seven, and then shakily boarded vans to the border. The night before Code Pink had met with the Egyptian Red Crescent, and it turned out they facilitated our getting through the border. What is crucial here is that this should NOT be read as a sign of Egypt softening the blockade. Rather, it was a political move. It was better press for Egypt to let us in quietly, than tohave a large group of mostly foreigners protesting at the border. In light of this, we staged a small protest event outside the gates before passing through the border. We sang some songs and held signs. I mostly watched because I felt so sick! Then we began the long process of getting through the Egyptian side. I played my guitar (my uncle's old guitar from the sixties!) as we waited. When we got through to the Palestinian side, all of a sudden everyone was so friendly! The mayor of Rafah greeted us and thanked us and there were television cameras everywhere. We heard bombs though, we heard Israel dropping bombs on the tunnels, just as we sat there getting our passports stamped. When that was finished, we boarded a bus to drive from Rafah to Gaza City where we were met by Jacqueline Paul, UN Operations support officer for UNRWA in Gaza. After a briefing from her, I met my host family. I stayed with a beautiful young woman named Iman (pictured) and her family in the Beit Lahia area of Gaza. Once we got to her house I crashed pretty fast as I was still not feeling very well and so tired from the day!

Day 3, Sunday March 8, International Women's Day:
In the morning I awoke refreshed and Iman made us an AMAZING breakfast. Falafel and Hommus and Khobz (bread) and all this other stuff I forget the name of now. With that, we were off to start the day. Just driving through the streets of Gaza is an experience in itself. Jadaria (graffiti and murals) is everywhere, commemorating the name of someone who died, celebrating the names of a recently married couple, or pushing a political parties agenda. Shops are boarded up, turn the corner and a building is in rubble, the next and children are playing on the sidewalk, and old man selling vegetables. The group met at Al Quds Hotel in Gaza City, before splitting up to go to different CBOS (UNRWA's community based organizations) to celebrate international women's day. I boarded a van to Rafah and went to an amazing organization called Banat Al-Mustaqbul with three other delegates (the name means something like women/daughters of the future). The road to Rafah went along the beach, the beautiful, beautiful topaz coast- you could have been in California. Except if you try to swim, fish, paddle a boat, anything.. anything that takes you more than 100 metres off the beach, you will be shot in cold blood by Israeli's enforcing the seige. Even just to swim close to shore in that beautiful water is difficult- there is white phosphorus in it. It almost seems ironic how Gaza has some of the most beautiful geography and people I have ever met in my entire life, yet the worst human rights violations are happening there, unimaginable violence. It is beyond what any of us can imagine, being privileged by some sick randomness of our birth. Even now after seeing everything, experiencing, I know I cannot even begin to comprehend the violence of which I witnessed only remnants. With these thoughts in mind, we arrived at Banat Al-Mustaqbul. We entered the room and little girls handed us flowers. They were all dressed up for our arrival. Then almost fifty women were waiting seated. Others were cooking, they'd hung banners too. We kissed almost everyone. I quickly learned that instead of one on each cheek like in Egypt, you should do one on the first cheek and then two on the next. I was just so moved, so honored, embarrassed even to be greeted with such reverence and thanks and pomp and circumstance. We were showed to the garden and fed delicious turkey kebabs off the spit and fresh flat bread hot of the stones from the fire. Then we were shown back to where everyone was assembled. We had discussion (pictured) and the arabic was moving so fast, so many stories. Everyone wanted to touch me or talk to me, some were shy but still suddenly all the eyes were on me. "How do you celebrate Women's day in America? What do you think of Fatah? Where is your family? Do you have any brothers? Do you have any sisters? What do you think of our celebration here? What do you think of Palestine? What do you think about what you see here? Do you need any more tea? Want to hear about our unemployment here? Will you promise to come back next year to celebrate women's day again with us? Can we get you anything? Can we help you!?!" Let me tell you, I am not one of those people who is easily moved. I was moved. Can you imagine all those questions? Me just in awe, trying to find some way to respond, and in Arabic! And can you imagine, they were asking how they could help me!!! These women, who lose their sons in the tunnels who go there since there is no work. Who got married at 16 and 18 even though they didn't want to, but they needed the money. Who work and work for their families, to lose them to bullets, to poverty. They served me tea that day. Then they put on a play. The acting was amazing and the audience just watched me to see if I enjoyed it. "Did you like the play? How did you find the play?" Of course it was amazing, I couldn't believe the acting talent first of all.. The play was about a family who was trying to marry off their daughter but then she ended up going for university. It was fast Arabic so I didn't get all the details, but I got the idea, the heart. It was so funny.. they played the men characters too! So Amazing. After the play we ate again, this huge lunch! And then it was over. Everyone when home, whatever that might mean, and we boarded the bus, and I just want to go back, I don't know. In the evening we had a huge dinner and met some members of ISM. They told us about white phosphorus, which will eat all the way to the bone, and cannot be washed off with water- people have to dig it out of their skin with spoons. They told us stories about medical workers in the last conflict which ended January 2009. These are people who just went straight into total war zones, pulling bodies out, arms torn off, legs eaten up by white phosphorus, children shot in the back. They thought maybe they had some measure of protection, but then Medical workers, ambulances and hospitals started to be targeted. But they kept on working. I met these people, and I was speechless. They told stories of a little boy who was killed, then his funeral was bombed. A family was eating chocolate at a storefront to celebrate a birthday, and they found them there, their limbs shredded off. After dinner we went back to Iman's house for the night. Her beautiful house and beautiful families, but no windows- it would shatter in the bombings. No electricity oftentimes- Isreal just shuts it off whenever they feel like it. I didn't fall asleep quickly that night.

Day 4, Monday March 9, Mawlid (The Prophet's Birthday):
In the morning we met at Sharek Youth Forum. The workers there showed us pictures the children had drawn in crayon- tanks and flowers and bodies and families. Then we went for a walk in the Jabalia area. Little lanes and children playing and buildings in ruins. After that we had lunch with John Ging, a former member of the Irish army now peace builder who is head of UNRWA in Gaza. After lunch we broke up into small group discussions with local domestic violence workers to talk about issues of Domestic Violence in Gaza, women's empowerment and all that. All these things were so interesting, but this post is getting so long, I'm trying to be briefer! After those meetings, we walked downtown a bit. We passed a jail that was bombed, inmates dying trapped in their cells. The UN building was bombed, as well as the hospital, and schools. We got ice cream so sweet and sticky; mine was apricot and strawberry. Before dinner we had a meeting with psychologists who talked about the psychological and emotional effects of the war. Another man from Jabalia named Ahmed Abdullah spoke, and I'd like to take a whole post later to write what he told us- his life story. In any case, importantly it was becoming clear at this point, how much Palestinians want peace, of course. I never heard a single anti-semitic comment while I was there, everyone said Israel could exist, they just want dignity for themselves, safety for their families too. After dinner, Iman took us to her friend's wedding. It had been scheduled for the day we arrived, but since Iman had to meet us, her friend postponed the entire wedding so Iman could attend. We walked into a HUGE hall with hundreds and hundreds of women and children. I asked Iman later what all the men were doing during this time and she said, "just sitting" :-) We wove our way through the crowds and tables up to the front stage, where a small group of young girls and woman were dancing, the bride the center piece in a gaudy white dress. We were seated in the front row! And then we were pulled up to dance. And there was me in front of hundreds of people wearing my jeans and dancing with the bride and Iman and clapping and my face actually hurt from smiling. I remember just being on stage being like.. my face hurts from smiling, my face hurts from smiling right now. After leaving the wedding we got tea in a huge hotel cafe on the water. It's crazy how happy we were a lot of the time on the trip, how generous everyone was, and smiling. I remember overhearing one of the girls talking about this... about how yes, gazans seem so happy, but of course there is pain underneath, deep pain. It is just easier to be happy, you have. to.

Day 5, Tuesday March 10:
In the morning I was part of a small group visiting Al Quds hospital to deliver some baskets. Our delegation brought in 1000 baskets filled with mawlid candy, toothpaste, shampoo, and other items. Of course at first the plan was to try and bring in a ton of essential items, but after talking with Gazans the leaders of code pink decided to bring in items especially for woman, so they could be women, wash their hair, and we could show our solidarity and gesture of sisterhood. In the hospital we saw bullet holes in the walls and whole floors rendered unnoperational by the bombings. We visited patients in their beds and distributed the baskets. After that we met with the labor committee in Gaza city to talk about issues of unemployment in Gaza and unions and a lot of things. The discussion was heated and emotional, people talking about their lives. After the meeting we boarded vans again and headed for north gaza. It was emotional. Tents set up on rumble. Mosques blackened, in shambles. This area had been behind the Isreali line. People were trapped there for over 20 days, trapped in bullets and bombings..hell. We drove up to the American International School in Gaza. Looking at it, the sheer destruction, many of our group just started crying. We picked up children's toys, binders and school workbooks amongst the rubble. Their charred stationary: The American International School in Gaza, Candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association for colleges and schools. Well now it is a mountain of twisted war and concrete. The school's doorman was shot. The Israeli's occupied it then destroyed it. It is on high ground, the beautiful mediterranean in the distance. Shattered glass covered the ground. A piece of rocket here and there. Of course it was made in America. America provides all the weapons to Israel that come down on these people, on the AMERICAN international school! This type of destruction, there are just some things that are just wrong... destroying schools and hospitals, shooting children in the back as they are running away, targeting civilians, bombing the homes of people who already have nearly nothing.. While we were staring into the rubble, a Palestinian who was with us said, "No one in your administration has said this is wrong?" And it's true. All the utter destruction, and not one person from our American government has yet said this is wrong, No one has spoken against this, Obama has said nothing! Yet there is no doubt that this is wrong. You know what Hillary Clinton said about the settlements in West Bank on her recent visit there?! She said they were "unhelpful". UNHELPFUL!?!?!?! We all have blood on our hands. Right now. There are people in tents, packed in tents, with beautiful eyes, children whose beautiful eyes saw their entire family murdered, people who are just trying to hold on to some dignity. Who are trapped in an occupied land. We simply cannot sit still and be silent while this continues. From the school we could see Israel in the distance, the town just as perfect as could be. The power plant on their land was smoking, the one that provides all the electricity to gaza, that they control. Across from the school an old man was planting an orchard of orange trees. His trees had been forty years old, and the tanks has destroyed them, run right through them instead of just using the road. And yet he was planting again, little saplings in brown earth, not defeated and hopeful. Yet it will be four or five years before they will even bear fruit again. We left the school and drove up to a village of tents. I was welcomed inside one with a couple others from our group. The women told us their story. How leaflets were dropped from the sky warning them to leave their houses, then they ran from the house but then instead of bombing the houses the planes aimed for the running people instead. They told us about hot balloons dropped, filled with some type of hot poison. They lost everything. They live in a tent that says rotary international outside sleeping with ten other people. One of the women is just sticking in my mind still, she was so beautiful and holding her baby and she just seemed so peaceful while telling us how they were running amongst the bodies of their family dead on the ground, about how her daughter can't sleep at night and is scared now whenever she sees anyone with a gun. They all thanked us, asking if us to please please go back to our countries and let the world know the truth. Some of Galloway's crew, which had finally gotten in the night before, arrived while we were there to distribute some aid. We gave some blankets which is of course not enough, it's pittance, it's nothing, and left. In the afternoon we met with a group from PARC, an agricultural organization. They talked a lot about problems in the agricultural sector, including the dead zones and how if farmers try and go there to plow their fields, they are shot dead. We met a woman from the Simboni family, a big family but not so much anymore.. 29 people her family died, and 60 were injured. They all were trapped in a big house, for 17 days, family members dying before their eyes. The woman was holding a little girl on her lap. One of our group asked, "So we are to understand that this girl saw everything?" And the reply was yes. This little girl who was before our eyes, had seen family after family member murdered before her eyes. After that a small group of us, just four or so, went to a meeting with woman journalists. We met the only woman photojournalist in gaza, who was just amazing, so young and brave and dreaming big, pushing her way into field, taking pictures of things that no human being should even have to witness. After that before dinner we met with a member of Hamas which I could go on and on and I just want to know more about Hamas, who won the Democratic elections but then the world said no they wouldn't accept it, and this lady from Hamas, which America calls a terrorist organization, but actually started as a way to to provide social services, she was just saying how Hamas wants peace and diplomacy. In dinner that night we reflected in a big group on the trip, delegates stood up crying just saying everything, and then we went home. Iman bought us a huge cake and we ate it sitting on the floor, I played guitar and man Bob Dylan gets new meaning after being in Gaza: "How many years can a mountain exist
Before its washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before theyre allowed to be free?
Yes and how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesnt see?"

Day 6, Wednesday March 10:
In the morning we met early to head back to Cairo. Goodbyes were hard. After all, while we were so lucky to be able to come and then go, all our new friends from Gaza can't. They are trapped there as I write, in their own homeland. I wrote Iman two letters, one in English and one in Arabic, and I gave her one of my bracelets. There were hugs all around. And then we were off. At the Palestinian border station, they offered to carry all our bags for us. They gave us water, and pins of the Palestinian flags. They dragged in more chairs for us, from outside. One member of our delegation, Abdullah, a Palestinian studying in Cairo, had come to Gaza with our delegation after not seeing his family for three years. His dad was at the gate, and they hugged and then he waved as we drove into the station, him waving goodbye to his son who he wouldn't be able to see until who knows when. We got through the Palestinian pretty quickly but we knew Egypt would take awhile. As soon as we got there it was much more militaristic of course, people yelling and counting and doing the same thing over and over. We waited for hours. Eventually we got through, except for Abdullah. They were not going to let him out of Gaza, saying his passport was expired. The delegation waited as negotiations continued. I met George Galloway, whose caravan was also leaving. After many hours, it was clear that Abdullah wouldn't be allowed back into Egypt. They promised if he got the right paperwork from Ramallah, they would let him back in a week. But who knows. It's Egypt. It is a military dictatorship, they can do what they want. Some people were saying that we can't protest what happened to Abdullah because he didn't have his paperwork in order, but here's the thing: He tried. He already applied for a passport from Ramallah. He has a good passport issued in Gaza, but because that is from Hamas, it is not recognized. He tried to get a visa from Egypt, three times, and he couldn't. My visa was expired, and I just went to the Mugama and got in renewed, in one hour, easy. I am American. And he is Palestinian, that's it. We have friends at AUC who are Palestinian, and they get a student visa, but the moment they graduate they have to go back. That's it. Our friend Abdullah, he took a risk coming back to Gaza, he knew that he might not get out again. He made a choice between safely continuing his studies in Egypt, and seeing his family who he hadn't seen in three years. And the point is, that is a choice no human being should have to make. When our delegation eventually drove off into the desert, away from the border crossing, that is when I cried for the first time. We drove through the night and back into Cairo, a bustling city, and here I am now just six hours away from it all. It seems further. Even you all in America, don't think you are so far away. We cannot be silent.