Byblos, Jbeil..

Did You Know?

Did you know that i used to hate Dawwar Shamali micro bus because i have to expect a hand on my butt?

Did you know that i get ready to sexual harassment as i shot the door?

Did you know that i’ve seen naked guys on my way to school?

Did you know when was the last time I saw guy masterbating infront me as I am taking a taxi? Last month

Did you know that I take taxis to save my butt?

Did you know that dad bought us a car for protection not for transportation?

Did you know that I've seen a 20 CM guy thing in a micro bus?

Did you know that i asked the chauffeur to throw him out?

Did you know that he threw me out instead?

Did you know that i never shut up to sexual harassments?

Did you know that i am blamed for not shutting up?

Did you know that i have certain cloths for certain areas in Syria?

just to avoid "more" harassments?

Did you know that every single part of my body has been touched against my will?

Did you know that last year in Jesr el Ra2is, a soldier touched my thing, and i kept on hitting him?

Did you know that he got four kids?

Did you know that i jailed him for six months?

Did you know that i did it for my country?

Did you know that i am paranoid?

Did you know that i always look who's following me?

Did you know that i 2in2az whenever someone or something touched my back?

Did you know that i cannot walk alone?

Did you know that my mom cannot walk alone?

Did you know that we still walk alone?

Did you know that guys harass western girls because they think that White is superior?

Did you know that guys harrass Syrian girls because they think Syrian girls are inferior?

Did you know that i am not a feminist?

Did you know that i am not normal?

Did you know that i used to be normal?

Did you know that you (men) have no idea what i am talking about?

Did you know that you are not allowed to preach me?

Did you know that this is just a post?

Did you know it's a beautiful day?

Did you know that i am going to tour Tripoli today?

Did you know that i miss home?

And am coming back home.

Tagged

Thank you dear Qabbani for the nice tag :-) am sorry i couldn't respond earlier..

1- If there was a fire at your house and you could save only one thing (item) what would that be?
If it is an item, then my laptop, a living being, my cat!

2- What is the most embarrassing situation you have been in?
man i get one almost everyday, so i'm used to the feeling, but i'd say one time i was attending my friend's wedding, i was wearing a nice sexy pink dress, you know with high heels and all. well, it sucks when you fall down in front the guys!!

3- If you can do over a part of your life, what will you change?
i'd be a pain in the ass!

Define "Romantic"

Lately I am feeling very charged with romantic energy that I want to fulfill in someone, I found that someone and I thought my romantic games with him is satisfying, well till tonight.

O is a Lebanese musician whom I met ever since I got to Lebanon three years now. He used to show interest in me but I was very clear that this feeling isn't mutual.

After the Israeli aggression on Lebanon I got into few NGOs in the South and helped to entertain vainly the Southern Lebanese, and there ran into O again.

He insisted that I accompany him to a music concert. I took advantage of the offer for I could use a lesson in classic Arab music, and he was a good teacher indeed.

After the concert he walked me home and asked to see me on the next day. I lied to him telling him am busy. On the last three days my mobile inbox had been full by the same sender asking me to go out with him for very "important" news. But I kept on ignoring him. Well, till he sent me SMS making me feel guilty about his "news". So I told him I'll see him but only for a short period of time.

He's a very gentle man; he came to pick me up with his friend's car, opened the door for me, took me to the sea (supposedly a romantic place- I like mountains only) we talked and walked for few minutes and then he started to introduce the "news":

- can we go back to the car? I want to show you something!

- Aah..okey!

He opened the door for me, sat in the back seat of the car and grabbed his Oud and played for me a music piece he said he composed for me.

Ok, there were guys who played for me, but never really composed for me, so this is a guy, who chose to be here with me where he could be anywhere else in the world, he spend the last three days composing a piece for me and I ain't liking it??

What do you like Razan? Don't fucken know, but I ain't feeling nothing for this guy.

I ain't no sensitive, I ain't no humane, I am only such when it comes to me.

ANA want to feel, ANA want to care, what's the point of loving me if I aint feeling you?

He played for me twice, I asked him to drive me home, there he asked not to send him SMS as a way to dump him, which I was thinking of doing so.

So I told him:

- I am not available, not for you nor for me.

He shed a tear, more than once, as I am trying to explain to him to let things be.

He told me he won't bother me again unless I want to and I was okey with it.

Am pissed off, am not feeling good, am angry at him and at myself.

But I know one thing, I can only feel available to someone, when am available to me.

So i ain't regretting nothin!

Interview with an American Expat

Interview with an American photographer Daniel Demeter touring Syria at the moment. To view Daniel's work please click here.

So here we go.

- So I see this is the second time for you in Syria, and I think the longest, why so? What draws you to Syria again? And why spending that much time here?

Well, technically, this is my 7^th visit to Syria, if you’re counting each individual entry into the country. I’ve left to Lebanon a few times and came back, traveled Turkey for three months and then returned, and visited the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan) for five months then came back again. In total, I spent about three months here in 2003, three more months in 2004, and I’ve spent nearly 15 months here this visit.

My first trip to Syria came in March of 2003, after visiting Jordan and Egypt. I was initially attracted to the old city of Damascus, how peaceful yet energetic the city was, the beautiful historical architecture of the houses, mosques, madrasas and tombs. I loved that the place hadn’t become absorbed by Western capitalism, and (at the time) there wasn’t even any Pepsi or Coca-Cola. The people were very friendly and helpful. I enjoyed the food. It was very inexpensive. Seemed like a great place.

Then I traveled around the country a bit, and came to see just how incredibly generous and hospitable Syrian people can be. I also began to discover how diverse the country is, both in terms of religious sects and traditions to the ecology, as Syria has a wide variety of nature. I became much more interested in Syrian society, history, politics. Then I traveled to Turkey, and missed Syria most of the time. And basically ever since then I’ve missed it whenever I’ve left, which is something other countries never managed to make me feel that dramatically.

When I traveled to Syria this time, my intentions weren’t exactly to spend this much time here. I had other intentions, maybe too personal for your blog. :P

But, as I was spending time here, and had already visited most of the historical and archaeological sites, I decided to start putting together my own guide to help other visitors and give myself something productive to do with my time. Photography had been a hobby of mine for 10 years, so I decided to put it to a good use and make a photographic catalog of all the main historical sites around the country. Now I believe I’ve put together the best collection of photography of Syria in existence, and am excited about finally getting down to finishing up this project.

- What most attracts you the most about Syria? The people or its history?

History has never been of primary importance to me in selecting my travel destinations, but the great wealth of historical sites in Syria provides something of a basis for exploring the country. I think most travelers will look back on their experiences in Syria more towards the people that they encountered along the way, rather than the ancient ruins. Even though the historical sites are amazing, the people definitely leave a far stronger impression.

- How many countries you visited around the globe? How many Arab ones?

I’ve traveled to 40 countries total. 16 countries were in Asia, 1 in Africa, 20 in Europe, and 3 in North America. 5 of them have been Arab countries.

- Do you think Syria is special in some way?

I haven’t been to any country that didn’t have a unique character to it, even countries I’ve disliked or those that have been excessively westernized. They all have a unique character. I do believe, however, that Syria has done a better job at preserving many elements of it’s history, culture, and tradition than most countries which are under pressure to conform to Western standards. Though do I have my doubts to how long this will last, as I see many younger Syrians becoming absorbed by Western pop culture, fashion, and materialistic goals.

There isn’t any one thing in particular that sets Syria apart from other countries I’ve visited, but a combination and balance of things. I find people in Jordan very friendly and hospitable we well, but Jordan doesn’t have the history or diversity that Syria does. Lebanon has a lot of history, but the people aren’t as friendly or hospitable. It’s basically that Syria has the best of everything in terms of the people and social life, culture, history, cuisine, nature, and comfort, and this combination is what makes it so special to visit, I think.

- What do you think about the Syrian people?

I, and basically every other traveler I’ve met, think very highly of Syrians for their incredible friendliness, hospitality, and generosity. Syrians are definitely among the most wonderful people in the world when it comes to their treatment of guests.

- What do you hate about Syria?

Hate is a strong word, but there are numerous things I dislike.

Lately I’ve become increasingly annoyed with the popular idea among Syrians that Iraqi refugees are responsible for Syria’s economic woes, which has apparently been used by the government to cover up it’s own missteps. Iraqi refugees led to a boom in the Jordanian economy. They’re coming and spending their savings here, putting money into the Syrian economy, into the hands of Syrian businessmen. Syria’s price increases are a result of a government program of privatization and migration to a market economy, and Iraqis are an easy scapegoat for their mistakes. It is a shame so many Syrians believe it and are becoming hostile to Iraqis as a result. As if Iraqis don’t have enough to deal with!

While it varies by region and individual, and probably isn’t as bad as most Arab countries, sectarianism is a major annoyance to me. Christians, assuming I’m ‘one of them’ will often tell me things that are very offensive towards Muslims. Muslims, of course, won’t say anything bad about Christians to me, but they’ll tell me the Druze are evil or are devil worshippers. Racism against Kurds has bothered me at times, too. And sexism is of course a problem here. Granted, most nations have these problems.

Being an agnostic, the close-mindedness towards lack of belief in god can be extremely frustrating as well. Having a rational discussion about religion in Syria can be a huge challenge.

Traffic in the old city is a real annoyance, cars should be forbidden! In addition, many historical sites need to be better maintained and sanitation should certainly be improved.

I don’t really like the customs when it comes to relationships here, I far prefer the western way of dating.

Those are the main things.

- How did you view Syria before you visited it? as an American? And how much did Syria or Syrian people affect - or not - changing that image?

I think few Americans, or even Europeans, have a very distinct image of Syria before visiting it. It doesn’t have the world-renowned monuments like Egypt nor is it really discussed in the media. In fact, part of Syria’s initial appeal to me was how vague my knowledge of it was and how obscure it seemed. I knew little about it and coming from Jordan, probably expected something fairly similar.

So, I think I came with a fairly blank image to begin with, and my experiences in Syria are almost entirely what my image of Syria today is based on.

- What do you think of the tourists who are visiting Syria as well?

It is difficult to generalize. I’ve met people here visiting as tourists who work for the U.N. on Palestinian Rights, and I’ve also met tourists that come here without any concept at all of the politics of the region. I’ve met historians who have studied the region for decades, and I’ve met people who don’t know the difference from the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman one. Regardless, I feel that most tourists do come to Syria with a desire to understand the people and the culture and respect for both. But there is a minority who just think it will be an adventure and something they can brag to their friends back home about.

- Why are they coming to Syria?

Most are coming out of pure curiousity, I think Some have heard really great things about the country from friends, some are really interested in the history, others have been here before and came back for similar reasons to mine. You'll find a few people coming here for specific reasons (photographers, archaeologists, historians, etc.), but most people are interested in a combination of the historical sites and coming to learn more about the country and culture.

- What is the most common bad opinion said among the tourists about Syria?

Reckless, chaotic driving seems to be the top complaint. Second is the amount of garbage littering otherwise beautiful locations. I don’t think most visitors stay long enough to be bothered by anything more than what they can see on the surface. I think one has to live here for awhile to become bothered by the subjects which I had mentioned earlier.

- What do you think about US policy towards ME and Syria?

U.S. foreign policies are decided based upon the interests of businesses and other organizations, which gain political influence through strong financial lobbying in Washington, D.C. Those with the most influence in deciding U.S. policy towards the Middle East are clearly the oil industry, the arms industry, and Israel.

Any claimed ideological goals, such as promoting “democracy” and human rights, are simply propaganda for domestic consumption, as should be evident in the U.S. offering its continued support to Saudia Arabia and Egypt, two of the most oppressive regimes in the region (among others). Few Americans will question U.S. foreign policy if they feel it has honorable goals, which is why the government suggests it’s policies have something to do with spreading democracy. Americans might be a little more annoyed if they knew the government was basically doing the dirty work for companies like Halliburton, DynCorp (a large military subcontractor/private militia), Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Chevron/Texaco, Unocal, and so on.

Of course the U.S. won’t take any position on the Middle East that isn’t in Israel’s interest, as well, due to Israel’s incredibly powerful lobby. Just in the last couple months I’ve watched one potential Democratic candidate for president after another basically swear their allegiance to Israel. This influences the overall policy, and probably takes precedence over business interests most of the time.

- What do you think about the Israeli war on Lebanon?

I think Israel severely misestimated Hezbollah’s capabilities, and their own.

- Do you believe Syria had any negative or affective role in it? What about the other tourists? Did they believe that as well?

Syria helps supply Hezbollah with arms (as does Iran, via Syria), so of course it had some effect. I don’t know if Syria encouraged Hezbollah to attack and kidnap the two Israeli soldiers, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I’m not against either of these things. Whether Syria’s overall policies towards Lebanon today are positive or negative, though, I’m not sure.

Of the tourists I’ve met in Syria and discussed it with, most would agree with me on these facts, though I imagine half of them would have some moral objection to Syria arming Hezbollah or encouraging the attack and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah is still viewed as an ‘extremist’ organization, as labeled in western media, by those tourists who haven’t spent enough time here to widen their perspective.

- What do you think about the current tension between Lebanon and Syria?

As for the tensions between the people, there are many who have every right to be angry at the Syrian government over its past actions in Lebanon, but I feel many Lebanese unfairly use Syria (and Palestinians) as a scapegoat for far more. I’ve been quite bothered by the level of racism towards Syrians in Lebanon. In fact, it is one of the reasons I’ve spent relatively little time in Lebanon in contrast to Syria. On the other hand, many Syrians seem unable to recognize that Syria ever committed any crimes in Lebanon.

In terms of politics, I do believe the Syrian government is a bit stubborn and not very diplomatic, treating Lebanon more like a breakaway province than an independent state. It’s also clear that the current Lebanese government is a pro-western, pro-business government, which has little interest in supporting greater Arab causes such liberating Arab lands occupied by Israel. These differences, plus Syria’s concerns about the Hariri trial and its support for Lebanese opposition groups, seem to make such tension inevitable.

Being someone who recognizes how incredibly disenfranchised the Shiite population of Lebanon is, both politically and economically, and understanding the pro-business agenda of the current government (which I feel will widen the gap between the rich and poor and take Lebanon deeper into debt), leads me to support Lebanon’s opposition, but I don’t imagine Syria’s position is a result of these same concerns.

- Describe your normal day in Syria.

I don’t really have any sort of routine. Finishing up my website project dominates my plans at the moment, and I have a list of historical sites I’m trying to get to before my departure. Almost all of them I have been to before, but I’m trying to improve upon my previous photography. If the weather is good, I’m often up at sunrise taking photos until the mid-morning, then I spend the midday relaxing or doing research, and then back out to do more photography in the late afternoon and sunset. Then I try to meet up with friends in the evenings (well, when I’m in Damascus, Aleppo or Lattakia, anyway)!

- What would you like to tell the Syrian bloggers? What should we focus about on our posts to improve Syria's image in the world?

Well, most foreigners have little concept of what Syria is actually like in terms of everyday life, so I imagine reading about those details would be interesting to many (supposing the blogger has any talent for creative writing, which I already know you do). Western media only mentions Syria when it is in connection with support for Hamas and Hezbollah (both of whom could also improve their images), discussing Syria’s connection with Iran, or Syria’s opposition to Israel. So, the more ignorant are inclined to view Syria as state of Islamic extremism and violence. We all know how far distant from reality that is, but that is the image that needs to be combated. I do my best by taking photographs, which reinforce the beauty and history of the country, and try to capture a sense of how peaceful a society it is.

- Any other final comments?

Don’t think so!

- Thank you for your time :-)

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Help Old Damascus

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to know more of saving Old Damascus campaign please click here.

Azmi Bishara Writes for Al-Akhbar

For those who like his views and arguments I am pleased to tell you that he starts to write on the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar each Monday and Thursday.

Dr. Azmi Bishara writes in Arab 48 site as well and you can find his English articles on my blog here.

Al-Akhbar newspaper has tragically lost its chief editor Joseph Smaha and you can find Dr. Azmi Bishara's farewell note to Smaha here.

John Zogby: I Won't Shut Up!

Here's my review on John Zogby lecture in American University in Beirut. I did not discuss it, not to bore you, but any comments or questions are welcome.

all photos are taken by Sham.


So here I am daring for the first time to sit in one of the front seats having my coffee, camera, pen and white sheets to note as much s I can from a lecture that it is so dear to me. I do love James Zogby, and for him, I'd love his brother.

He comes through the crows, I wasn't proud of the young Lebanese yesterday, all the people were having white hair on the top of their heads. Bas yalla..

I have to say that this guy is HILARIOUS!! He's so funny and his jokes are sharp and friendly (really rare these days). He's sensitive; he answered all questions with the same serious face even though some might have sound repetitive or stupid to him.

Okey, enough said, let's get into the lecture.

He started his lecture by saying : "so good to be home, it is home!"

He made few notes about him being an authentic Arab (YES!!!) when telling us that he knows what the word 7mar means (ass, donkey) : "of course I know 7mar! I grew up in it every single day!"

And that once he was in a meeting and his son called, he talled his son that he's busy but his son whispers at his father saying: "oh sorry! But what's that spice you put in Mujaddara?!" (Mujaddara is an Arab food.)

To begin with, he stated that he's "optimistic" about the Arabs and the Americans' feelings towards each other.

He said that though stereotypes exists in both sides: Arabs are "terrorists, disorganized, liars, American haters" for the American, the Americans are "imperials.." for the Arabs. Nevertheless, and this is what he thinks it's important: "both sides are eager to learn more about each other!".

One of the key points I found about his lecture is how the business of polling works.

He points out that some pollsters mess up things deliberately when asking the wrong question at the wrong time. He gave an example of a poll showed that Americans hated the Arabs in a high point right after 9/11: "do you ask a recently divorced women what do you think of men??" asks Zogby. He argues that questions need to be studied first, for instance, one should ask this women how does she feel about her brother, grandfather….

The same approach applied to Arabs favoring the Americans. If you ask an Arab a direct question: "do you like Americans?" the answer would be no! but if you ask her/him whether she favors American movies, American democracy (huh?), American values..one would be surprised that Arabs favor Americans very much! In fact, he adds, that Arabs favor America but not America's policy TOWARDS the Arab World.

He gave examples that if you ask an Arab: "what do you think of US policy towards Palestine?" the answer would be dramatically different from: "what do you think of US policy towards Austria?". So Arabs do not hate Americans, they hate the PROCESS of American policy towards the Arab World. and the age of those interviewed were between 18-30 whom are to US government potential Al-Qaeda terrorists.

So he warned that "policy could hurt these positive numbers!".

He gave another example; once he polled Arabs asking them these questions:

1- Which is the country you would like to visit the most?
The number one answer would be America.

2- What are your goals in your life?
Number one is family
Second business

3- Who is your hero?
Hasan Nassralla!

4- Why?
Because he stood up to the US!

I think the reasonable irony is self-explainable.

Another important point I think he made is that before the war on Iraq the umber one issue that is always on Arabs' minds is Palestine: "Palestine is the ongoing blood stream that define the Arab character from Mauritania to Qatar!" ( I shed a tear here walla). But unfortunately, Palestine is now the third number within Arabs' consciousness after Iraq and Abu Ghureib accordingly.

Now and after the war on Iraq, Arabs find democracy less possible in the region. (so tell the pollster of Times to shut his mouth).

These were the main key points made by our Arab pollster. The below are notes on comments he made as a response to audience questions.

Smart and important question been asked but the most question that made me, again, shed a tear is of an old guy from the Lebanese South.

The guy told Zogby that: I don't hate anyone, I just want my land back, I want Israel out of the South, I want the US to support the UN resolutions to withdraw from the Lebanese South. If Israel didn't do that, nor US, who would?

There were no Hezbolla before 1982, if Israel withdraw from the South, there would be no Hezbolla now, there would be no violence, no so called "terrorists"!

America created Hezbolla, American created "terrorism"!!

and here Zogby told the guy that his brother James Zoghby dedicated his entire live for this cause, for the Arab cause, and that we won't shut up! "I won't shut up!".

And there were two people clapped in the room, me and a photographer.

Finally, Zogby mentioned few things about the 2008 US presidential elections:

Al Gore is a potential winner for these following reasons Zogby listed:

1-Al-Gore is very popular.
2- he's Iraq pure.
3- American won't vote for a democrat candidate!
4- and he'd easily get one hundred million $ for his campaign.

To know more about Zogby's polling please visit Zogby Internationl and his Blog.

Let Old Damascus Be

Posted by Abu Kareem

"I will try not to cry until late at night; to cry for my memories and the memories of my family and all that pulls me to this magnificent place. I cannot cry during the day because I have several families whose livelihood depends on my business. I need to think about how to feed them and to insure a dignified life for them." Soon to be evicted store owner in old Damascus as told to Razan Zeitouna.

Several websites and blogs have have reported on the story of the plan to bulldoze a last vestige of old Damascus outside the city walls. It is a critical issue that is worth repeating to give it the widest exposure as the anonymous comment on my last post stated. An article in the magazine, The Architectural Review, aptly titled "The Damascus Massacre" which appeared in 2005 details the history of this ongoing dismantlement of the very heart of this ancient city. It is a history of colonial destruction (the 1925 French bombardment) followed by imposed urban planning, misguided modernization and most recently a combination of neglect, mismanagement, corruption and greed. The current project for the old city date back to the 1968 plans of Michel Ecochard, a French architect commissioned by the city. His plans, followed the Western urban planning ideas of the time, emphasizing urban functionality; hence the focus on wide arterial roads to the detriment of everything else.

The 1968 plans have been met with a variable resistance from Damascenes since then , but even when parts of the plan was implemented, it was done carelessly. In fact UNESCO, which designated old Damascus as part of the World Heritage has been unhappy with the course of events in the past few years. The recent plans and the haste with which they seem to have been implemented have aroused protests but also some suspicions. Interestingly even government controlled media outlets have published articles critical of these plans. The plan when implemented will result in the loss of livelihood and displacement of thousands of Damascenes without plans for adequate compensation.

No one can dispute that change is needed in a city whose population is mushrooming. However, intelligent change takes into account the social, historical and architectural character of the city and minimizes the impact of any planned change. Unfortunately, no such intelligent planning can be seen in the completely unregulated and chaotic expansion of the outer areas of Damascus. Given the opaque and corrupt nature of most government institutions in Syria, there is little confidence that what is being planned is absolutely necessary and if so, that it is carefully thought out and executed.

Razan Zeitouna

Subhi Hadidi

Shady Zayat

Abu Kareem

Yazan

Syrian Brit

Fares

Ammar

Decentering Damascus

Andre

Yaman Saleh

Express your views on this poll

(If i have forgotten someone please let me know)

Comment

So that

you can

contact

the living.


(Dedicated to the memory of Mulham)

you're the only one who pierced his ear for me.

بدّا راص منفتح

P.S the clip apparently works for FireFox users only, have no idea why so. am sorry. for Explorer users plz click on the original poster Ana Min Beirut to hear the clip.

This is going to be tough on Syrian girls to hear, so ladies beware. am sure boys will manage ;-)

If you're under 18 you aughtn't listen to this audio.


Posted and recorded by Ana Min Beirut


12 Variations sur le thème "Kiss Ekhta"
ENJOY !!!



powered by ODEO

باركولي

It's

A

M
A
N
.

حزورة

في مدوّن سوري

أصيـــــــــــــــــــل

وانا ماني عم امدح

كتير عم يخطر عبالي

عم قول لرفقاتي التالي

فكرة انو موجود حاليا بسورية

عم تخليني حس انو سورية تمام

لانو زكي

مابيعمل حالو زكي

لانو اصيل

مابحياتو الافتراضيه

زعّل حدا منو

او تمسخر ع حدا

بالوقت ياللي يمكن بحقلّو



مينو هادا المدوّن؟

John Zogby Lecturing in AUB

I 've just got this..i don't know him as much as i know his brother James Zogby. but i am sure Arabism runs in the family :D

i'll post my response to his lecture.

be there Lebanese!

James and John

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud

Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR)

and

The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI)

Cordially invite you to a lecture on

Love, Hate, Envy or Respect? Recent Trends in Arab and American Public Opinion

By John Zogby

Monday, March 19, 2007

West Hall, Auditorium B
6:00 pm

John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International, is one of the most respected pollsters in the United States today. “All hail Zogby, the maverick predictor who beat us all,”proclaimed the Washington Post in November 1996 after Zogby alone called that presidential election with pinpoint accuracy. In the razor-thin 2000 elections, daily national tracking polls conducted by Zogby International in the last few weeks foretold a tightening of the race for president while nearly all other polling firms projected an easy victory for Gov. George W. Bush. Since 1984, Zogby has polled, researched and consulted for a wide spectrum of business, media, government, and political groups including Coca Cola, Microsoft, CISCO Systems, Philip Morris, St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, MCI, Reuters American, and the United States Census Bureau. John Zogby is the author of a forthcoming portrait of the new American consumer, which will be published by Random House in October of 2007. He holds degrees in history from Le Moyne College and Syracuse University. He has taught history for twenty-five years. Zogby is also a Senior Advisor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves as the first-ever Senior Fellow of the Catholic University Life Cycle Institute in Washington, D.C.

I

am

the

example.

Solidarity with Sileas

Posted by Sabbah

Because ‘The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword‘, Sileas, one of my favorite Palestinian blogs by the Izzi was hijacked by Zionist hacker gang and deleted.
Izzi is a gorgeous Palestinian blogger. Her words are smart, sharp and unavoidable, simply because they are true. Of course some Zionists don’t like her and what she do. Izzi inspired me to right the post that pissed off the U.S. Department of State.
Never the less, she will be back soon in a new blog, but if you are interested to know what Izzi talks about, here is a short archive of some of her posts at Palestine Blogs, but they are only excerpts of the full posts. Anyway, they will give you an idea. Not only that, but I just came to know that she will be joining the authors team at Global Voices.
All the best, Izzi.

Bloggers in solidarity with Izzi

Sabbah

A Cry for Justice

Dancing Solo

Decentering Damascus

Which is More Important?

Me mastering art..

or art penetrating me?

Fear

Destroys everything.

Syrian Creativity

بيتي وانا حرّه فيه

Source Bank Byblous.

Are You Syrian? Please Help

(I am preparing a post on Iraqi refugees in Syria, I would like to view how the Syrian feel about it, I've made some interviews with people around me, but i would like hear views from Syrian bloggers)



1- How do you feel about Syria hosting refugees in general? (Palestinians, Lebanese and Iraqis)


2- Is there a particular nationality (or group) you prefer the Syrian government not to host? Why?



3- Why do you think the Syrian government applies hosting refugees' policy?



4- Do you think the Iraqi refugees have anything to do with rising the standards of living in Syria as it happened with the estates?



5- Do you blame the refugees or the government for such economical chaos?



6- Would you like the Iraqi refugees (or another) to leave Syria?



7- What do you think about the Iraqi and the Palestinian refugees in Syria?


8- Do you hold any suspicious thoughts that there might CIA spies among the Iraqi refugees? Or you have never thought about it?



9- Leave any other comments if desired.

"Yacoubian Building" in Syria

Last night I went to see Ya'kubian Building the movie in Sham Cinema. The ticket price is as usual 150 S.P ( 3 $) and though the hall was empty of people, it was noisy of children voices and cellulars' tones.

The building itself was constructed in 1937 by an affluent well to do foreigner (Khawaja) residing in Cairo named Yacoubyan and it’s original inhabitants were groups of different religions and races. source


The 3 million $ film starts with a narrator telling us about the collapse of the Pashas era and the rise of socialist revolution. The five minutes opening scene shows us chronologically the great times Egypt been through during the Pashas era –Farouk Pasha era - and how Egypt got crowded, poor, and backward after the downfall of that glamorous Pasha era. This introduction, in my humble opinion, is double- biased; once when history is narrated to viewers and second when presenting a simplistic binary opposition like "white" Pasha and "black" thawra (revolution)!! The Pasha married a girl from the "roof", that's what Thawra can do ;-)

The scene did not "directly" and "literally" say these exact words, but as the narrator contrasts between new and old Egypt, he refers to was Farouk Pasha in a very selective and suspicious way.

Farouk Pasha is neither "old Egypt" nor enlightened Egypt, and certainly not the Egypt we are proud of. Farouk Pasha's downfall was the downfall of capitalist English Egypt. I am not sure how productive socialist Egypt is, but to describe the capitalist past as "white" and the socialist present as "black" is simply nonsense.

If the scene did not intend to discuss what I've seen, then I certainly think it needs to be reconsidered.


That was my note on the black and white opening scene, I didn't like it at all. I did like however, the rest of the movie. The main characters or protagonists of the movie are the residents of the mentioned building:

1- Zaki bey Eldessouk (Adel Imam) an oldest owner –with his sister Dawlat- in the Ya'kubian Building.
2- Taha El-Shazli (Mohammad Imam- Imam's son) the son of Yacoubian's doorkeeper. Ambitiously tries to join the police department but due to social ranking, he got rejected and coincidentally joined the Muslim Brotherhood. Died when taking revenge from security gent who raped him in prison.
3- Busayna (Hend Sabry- charming Tunisian). Among many, she lives in the roof of the building. A victim of her sexuality in a sexist society. She changes three jobs fleeing sexual harassing bosses. We meet her as Taha's fiancée, but ends up marrying Zaki bey.
4- Hatim El-Rasheedy (Khaled Al Sawy).
5- Hajj Azzam (Nour El Sherif) the type of man I hate the most, acts as a religious man, but ends up trading with drugs. Marries another woman for sexual reasons. Really horrible.
6- Dawlat (Esaad Yunus) Zaki's sister. She plans to get the apartment for herself by filing a suit on her brother as mentally disordered. She managed to throw Zaki outside the apartment.

Minor Characters that do not reside the building:

-Yosra. N English kind lady and a close friend of Zaki. The spiritual relationship between the bourgeoisie 3ala asas!
-Somaya El Khashab. Azzam's second wife.

Movie's Sociopolitical Critique of Egypt:
The movie is meant to grasp few things out of it: Muslim Brotherhood is no good, nor the government. But the film was harsher on the Egyptian government. The Egyptian government imprisoned, tortured and raped a member of Muslim Brotherhood without any legal measurements or trial. The Egyptian government is on the other hand, sets deals with both the current ruling socialist party members, and with the Muslim Brotherhood's as well, to run the Egyptian parliament in a gang-like corrupted way. The "visible" enemy of the Egyptian government might be its "invisible" best friend. A final critique the movie presented on the Egyptian government is that it refuses Ahmad's application to join the police on a minor info that his father works as a doorkeeper. This incident is what made Ahmad joined, coincidentally, the Muslim Brotherhood party, and here he lost his life during a battle with the police who are, ironically, his very rapists. So the Egyptian citizen is torn between two corrupted authorities; the "liberal" and the "radical" who are the two sides of the same coin.

The movie –or the novel's- critique of the Muslim Brotherhood is that it brainwashes young helpless people, and urges them to get involved in violent acts. The movie presents the MB members as armed and of great threat on society's safety.
The movie also had its share of showing the sexist Egyptian society and how a girl is sexually used when applying for a job, and how parents who claim they are protectors of girl's "honor" are the very ones who wouldn't mind "losing" it for money.

Notes on Some Reviews:

Daily Star of Egypt said:

"Young Imam’s performance, which was natural and from the heart, takes us into Taha’s psyche as we see the simple, young man turns from political science student to what could be labeled a “terrorist;”

The movie did not merely portray Taha as terrorist but rather problematizes the term "terrorist": the government is the one who commits the crimes (illegal sentencing, torture and rape) in the movie, it is the terrorist and Taha is whom refused by the government to join the police academy. This very refusal pushed Taha into another "belonging." He only thought of violence when has been rapped. Taha carries the gun not for political reasons, as the term "terrorist" suggests, but for a very personal and religious reasons; a Muslim man finds it a disgrace if he is rapped by a man.
So to depict Taha as a terrorist simply because he has a long beard is exactly what the film is trying to demolish. "Look again!" the movie says, "Look behind the veil, who is the terrorist?"

The film is NOT talking about Islamic fundamentalism, but rather how religion is misused as a political tool to urge the public onto similar interests of that of the Socialist Republic. Religion is politically manipulated by the so-called Sheikhs. This is a highly important note and deliberate either by the director Hamad or by Assawani to differentiate between the radical fundamentalist as that of Bin Laden and Zarqawi, and of religious leaders who use the population, as Mubarak the "liberal" does, to fulfill their own political interests.

"El-Sawy’s performance of a homosexual character is certainly not clichéd or stereotypical"

Actually not really, I ain't no expert in why and how homosexuals get as such, but once a friend of mine who's gay told me that he was born gay, he wasn't rapped nor has issues with his mother, why should and must a gay be rapped to be accept as such??

Here, I would dare to say that Ala Assawani, if he depicted the gay as such, that Hamid's in his childhood saw his mother cheating on his father, and that he was rapped by the house attendant, then Alaa Assawan HAS depicted the character in a cliché-like gay and in an apologist manner: "leave me alone! I am gay for I was rapped!!".
But that's not the case with WHY a gay happen to be as such, whether he was raped or not, we should acknowledge gays' existence as contributors to this universe and in its history.

Who assigns what "straight" and "gay" is??
Alla Assawani fails to be a postmodern writer when goes on "copy pasting" reality in Egypt without deconstructing it. Deconstructing reality means, deconstructing our very reading to it. Assawani is no different than the Syrian government who cuts off the gay scenes. The latter rejects the known taboos, their everlasting bible, but Assawani's attempt to deal and treat with gay issue, he did in a very stereotypical manner, which made him, to me at least, not a professional writer (as a postmodern writer).

Brian Whitaker,The Guardian said:

"The most controversial of all, though, is Hatim Rasheed, a cultured newspaper editor with a taste for Nubian men. He falls in love with a young married policeman who feels guilty about the relationship and eventually murders him."

The reviewer didn't watch the film in a chronological order, he obviously did not bother to sit down for three hours and a half!!
It is so simplistic to describe the relationship between Hatim and the policeman as "love relationship": Hatim was rapped by his attendant when he was a child, plus he had issues with his parents. What trigger Hatim to be a gay- in the film- is Hatim's complex unhealthy abusive childhood. The reason why he cried when the police man left him, is not out of love nor of guilt, but rather of a child's flashbacks. This is clearly shown in the very end of the movie; the character says it all!!
A final note on reviewer, is that Hatim did not die out of guilt! His very "need" to be loved killed him, after the policeman left him, Hatim brought another simple guy, only this time our guy turns out to be a thief and murders Hatim. Hatim's "need" to trust and love exclusively simple man as that of the attendant, kills him. He learned that to be rapped is to be loved. This very detail is cut by our beloved government and our reviewer.

Rachel Aspden
Sunday February 18, 2007
The Observer

"Hagg Azzam, a self-made mllionaire and aspiring politician, falls foul of the extortion and blackmail stemming ultimately, al Aswany hints, from the 'Big Man', President Mubarak himself. "

Azzam's very wealth was not due to his shoes' business nor of his parliament newly position, but because of trading with drugs dear observer!!


I disrespect those reviewers; they do reflect some racist superior perspectives on our creativity. I do come across such reviews when as I search for Arab literature analysis. The reviews are often simplistic, hasty and judgmental as our friend here.

It's amazing that an "amateur" reviewer and a fellow blogger can be more thorough than our professional reviewers:

"In a frank manner the film shows how corruption in the sense of buying oneself into situations and positions or out of them, has permeated every inch of Egyptian society from the Coptic servant to the drug-selling businessman to the government minister. This severe social malice is hampering efficiency, equality and social mobility. However, it’s not only a matter of money, but also an issue of ‘contacts’ and social status. "

Controversial Movie?
So what's the fuss about this movie? Is dealing with "homosexuality"-that is if is really dealt with- along with the Egyptian government and the Muslim Brotherhood corruption are in themselves makes the movie controversial? Is this how "controversy" as a term interpretated in our mentality? To write or shoot a "taboo" topic is in itself controversial?


The controversy lies in our very reading of this movie, it is not about liking or disliking the movie, it is rather about "why and how" we did so. If the movie presents scenes of Muslim Brotherhood, does this mean that it presents "radical Islamism"? The connection here, the reading, is in itself a stereotype of Islam as being viewed as radical. The linkage is a stereotype. Though the Muslim brotherhood is a radical Islamic party, but we are not talking about the party in itself, we are talking about it within-the-movie.

Another example, did the movie discuss homosexuality in the first place to be called "controversial"? as explained above, I think not.

So why did I like the movie? because it DARES to SAY! That's it. It is not a good movie, not as a topic nor as a cinematography. But I encourage realist movies, not entertainment movies, that's why I disapprove Hollywood movies as they numbs the viewer not allowing them to see beyond their societies.

To "present" an image is to say it, but to discuss it is to problematize it. The director certainly did not problematize the problems, he merely presents them.

Syrian Censorship:
the Syrian government cuts off ALL the homosexual scenes presented in the movie. Here one might ask, were the guys kissing each other? Or nude?? Actually, the only people who were kissing each other in the movie, were the "straight" ones!!

I have seen the movie in Beirut and there were no nudity nor kissing, I repeat, none of the like.
So to approve the kissing of a girl and not approve a MERE scene of gay is absolutely absurd!!

What have been cut is that two guys drinking wine. Later we see Hamid lies on his stomach waiting the policeman to get drunk and reaches him at bed. That's it!!

Another essential scene is when Taha is being tortured and raped in Egyptian prison. The viewer does not understand at the end of the movie why this "Muslim terrorist" want to kill the policemen, well he was raped!


I urge the Syrian government to stop censor creativity and cultural thought provoking art. You can prevent us to "view" things, but as Yousef Shahin says: "my thoughts have wings, you can never catch them."