بحب عرّفكن على يساري

أعرف باسم شيت بالصورة من موقع الماي سبيس, تبادلنا بضع رسائل كي أحضر اجتماعاتهم في التجمع اليساري من أجل التغيير, لكنني لم أكن متحمّسة, وكم كنت مخطئة.

خلال الندوة القصيرة التي قدمتها عن العمال السوريين قام باسم بمداخله وقد أثار إعجابي بمنطقه الجدلي. اعتقد انه الوحيد الذي قد قام بمداخله حول ندوتي وقد أثار إعجابي, لا بل جعلني أفكر بما أظن. كان قد أضاف بعدا آخر للرؤية حول العنصرية, السورية منها واللبنانية, تجاه العمال السوريين, وقد كنت حقا عطشه لمعرفة المزيد.

تتبعت مقالاته, ووجدت له صفحة بأكملها لمقالات كتبها وقد نالت إعجابي جميعها, أعتقد أن عروبتي يساريّه :)

أرجو أن تنال هذه المقالات إعجابكنّ.

Anti-Crise Festival مهرجان بلا تأزيم

click to see the program
Amal will be there singing, join them!

فيروز أبو جورج

كانت الساعة الخامسة وأربعين دقيقة صباحاً
كانت دمشق تستيقظ بكسل
جالسة على حفة شرفة بيتنا
أنتظر أبو جورج ليقلّني الى بيروت

من زمن لم أرى صباحاً ورديّاً كهذا

سمعت هاتفي الخليوي ينادي فلسطين
هرعت الى الداخل
اخرجت حقائبي ونزلت

"صباح الخير أبو جورج..كيفك اليوم؟
"هلا

جلست بجانب أبو جورج وألقيت التحيّة على سيدتين جالستان في الخلف

داس أبو جورج على محرك البنزين وانطلق

بدأ صباحه
أشعل الراديو
ظلّت اصبع أبو جورج ضاغطة على محرك الابرة
ظلّت يده عالقه
باحثه
وجدها

"على جسر اللوزيّة

غنّت فيروز

مضت دقيقتين
سمعنا صوت رجل يريد أن يسرد لنا آخر الأخبار
تحرّكت يد أبو جورج على الفور
ظلّت اصبعه ثابته
مصممّه على العثور عليها
وجدها

"موعود بعيونك أنا

اشعل سيجاره

مضت دقيقتين آخرين
فتيات يغنّين مسحوق ما
تمتم أبو جورج وعادت اصبعه تبحث

"حبّيتك بالصيف

اهتزّ صوت فيروز
اختفى نهائيّا
ليحل محلّه صوت خشّة خالدة

رمى أبو جورج لفافته
رمى بثقل يده على زر الراديو
فتح النافذه

نظر اليّ
"الى الاشرفيه كذلك؟

Stop Internet Censorship

Add this badge to your blog.

As a Syrian blogger, I call the Arab governments to stop banning sites, arresting bloggers for expressing their thoughts, and convicting sites' owners for published anonymous comments. Freedom of speech is a right for all.

Please spread the word.

Taken from Yazan

Freedom of Speech, Massacred and dragged through the streets of the Middle East

What is happening in the Arab World is scary.

Reading this, made me go into real melancholy.

And the fact that there was absolutely no publicity about it makes it even more painful. Why do we have to be so selective in what we chose to fight for. Why was Kareem on almost every single blog, all through his trial, and sentence. While I struggled to find any mention of Mohamed Rashed al-Shohhi's case. And was it not for Amira slipping me a link to this small roundup from Sami Ben Gharbia on GlobalVoices I would not have even heard about it.

While Egyptian blogger Kareem was on trial because of things he chose to write, Mohamed is sentenced to 1 year in prison and $13,600 fine for an anonymous comment on an online forum he happened to run. [You think there might be a connection with the decision to ban comments on Syrian sites earlier this month?! Hmmm...].

Mohamed is in prison, and he literally did not do ANYTHING.

It is not a blow at freedom of speech. No, this a serious well-planned decision that can only be described as mental-terrorism. This is not aimed to keep him from practicing his right to express himself (Again, the guy did not do anything), rather this is a warning to anyone who might even think of raising a voice. Whether against totalitarianism, corruption or repression... all of them are a common characteristic of our Arab World.

Again, in a very similar case, Kuwaiti blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh was arrested [He was released today] yesterday for an anonymous comment left on his forum.

If you read this, please help spread the word. Let's not be selective in what we chose to rally for.

The latest chunck of news coming from our Middle East does not look good.


Blogspot is still banned in Syria, contrary to earlier reports about the ban being lifted.

By decision from the Ministry of Communication, anonymous comments of Syrian sites are now illegal.

Wordpress is banned in Turkey.

UAE imprisons a webmaster and suspends the website over anonymous comments on his forum.

Kuwait detains a blogger over anonymous comments on his forum.

And, Egypt, Tunisia... Where to start exactly?!

Few Misconceptions about me

I am not revolutionary, I am just expressive.

I am not a swinger, I just keep on searching.

I am no strong woman, I just get angry.

I am not an activist, I am just not neutral.

I don't keep on falling in love, I just write passionately, about everything.

I am not an open person, I just think "private" is common.

You can never know the blogger behind the blog.

What Journalism Cannot See

I took this clip in Baddawi camp. We can see the youth of Nahr el Bared who organized themselves in the schools they are inhabiting at the moment, they called themselves: "Raji3oon" (We Will Return) – to Nahr el Bared.

The guy who is singing is a rapper from Nahr el Bared, and the other guy is a member of Al Kamanjati. He is a French guy.

I was keen to reflect the living soul in those who were displaced by the Lebanese Army, because Journals, articles, and research, do not reflect, deliberately, the good spirit of the wounded. Drama sells, that's how they see Palestine; dramatic!
That's how they are teaching us to defend our rights, promoting tears.

Well Palestine is a deep wound, but this wound will only be remembered through a smile, a song, and hope.

These people are an inspiration to my life, cause they managed to overcome the nostalgia, the anger, the i-am-not-sure-if-I-understand feeling, the loss of their families. The loss of home, Or an "idea" of home.

Hence they sing, they laugh, they still want to live, through this weird yet familiar feeling of pain.

You've shot them twice, once at their demolished camp, second at the host refugee camp.

Once with a rifle, second with a camera.

Look at them wholly.
It's all in them.
Don't sell their private tears.
And oversee the proud laughter.
Sing with them, their Palestinian song.

Live Beirut

I don't know if this post would sound weird, but I was thinking yesterday that I am not having time for my own yet to say a proper goodbye to Lebanon…I still have a lot of work to do for the victims of Nahr el Bared, and help in the Syrian workers movie some are doing. I thought that telling people about the places I love in Lebanon might help in sustaining a living image of Lebanon instead of the wars, and its complex politics common image, a living image is not the night life everyone selfishly talks about; to live, is not to enjoy, but to listen. Hence I decided to talk about the places I love in Lebanon.

In Beirut, you would notice that it's divided, like any capitalist city, into high class places; Jymmaizah, some places in Monot street (Monot street is considered mostly visited by a lower class than Jymmaizah), and what is known as a leftist and activist area. I am not talking about a single place, but rather about a street or neighborhood.

If you are in Jymmayzeh, you'll find most of its places are pubs and some are clubs, which they are the same to me but with different designs. There is an old restaurant in which you can eat Arab food with more or less cheap price called Le Chef. There is also my favorite place ever in Lebanon, Al Azzaz café..it's expensive, but there is this guy who has an amazing voice and sings classic Arab music, the atmosphere is similar to the Syrian atmosphere, but people there dance, go Debkeh, and the owner of the place is one fun capitalist! Make sure you reserve your tables early on Saturdays and Fridays, 9:00 PM is a good time to go. They have the most delicious Arak, it is from the mountain and it's just outstanding-I LOVE Arak!

If you're going to Hamra, there are some westernized places, typically westernized that is, like De Prague , and there are simpler places with atmosphere, like Barometre and Ta2 Marbuta. You want to see the living Barometr? Go on Friday, you'll see the living Lebanon there. And go on Thursdays to Ta2 Marbuta, there's always a band singing. You can play Tawleh in Ta2 Marbuta..or see some playing. And there you'll see the activists in Lebanon, the ones who helped in the late July war, people who work in NGOs, leftists, and the like.

There is a place in Ashrafyeh called Leil Nhar, it opens 24/7 and it’s a new cool place. Oh and I forgot to mention an important thing, in Ta2 Marbuta, De Prague and in Lel Nhar, the internet is free of charge, make sure they give you the password and there you go on blogging ;-)

If you don’t want to eat in a restaurant and want to buy a cheap meal, you can go to Bliss street, there is this series of Bliss restaurants, sandwiches and Shawerma. On the same street, there is a famous place that sells ice cream, it's like Damer in Damascus. You can also ask about Barbar, cheap and delicious meals as well. They sell Mashawi sandwiches.

Ohh, on Fridays as well, there is poetry debate in a place called Jadal, it's an expensive place too, but it’s a cool atmosphere. You can see Lebanese poets over there, debating, and sometimes get narcissistic, it's pretty cool.

And finally, you must visit Dahya and Palestinian camps, they are all in the same area and you can take a long walk through them. If anyone is interested, drop me an email and I'll be happy to give you contacts' numbers and they'll show you around, and you'll be lucky if you got the chance to attend a discussion between Palestinian youth and revolutionary Palestinians who used to make operations in Occupied Palestine and the South. You'd be even luckier to get to live the Palestinian night; revolutionary music, they all sing together, smoke, smile and enjoy the dark night of no-electricity-in-Shatilla/Burj el Barajneh camps.

Keep in mind, the camps and Dahya are not galleries, they are places to be "lived" not "watched", you need to be a good listener, an observer. Many things you won't understand about living in the camp, it has its wonderful aspects, but also its pain. Try to get the music of Kateebeh Khamseh from the guys in Burj el Barajneh, they have two cool songs.

I am a classic woman, I don’t like to try many places, I stick to the places I feel comfortable at.

I think that's what I have to say about Beirut. Ohh, and if you're looking for a cheap place to stay, there is this hostel called "Lubnan el Akhdar", Green Lebanon, each bed costs 7$ or something. It's an old building, cool place.

Do not treat Beirut as a shopping Mall, nor as a whore, Beirut is an understandable city, you love it one moment and hate it in the other, but you get addicted to this very feeling about her, at the fighting soul in her.

Beirut is how you live her, inside.

I DID It

On the 17^th. of August, Golaniya has managed to overcome one of the most psychological complexes in herself. She started bad, then went on fluently with her presentation.

On the 17^th. of August, Golaniya has made the most controversial presentation among the presenters; she was not overly supported, but rather thought provoking.

On the 17^th. of August, Golaniya has achieved another major success in her life, she trusts herself now, her readings, she trusts her mind.

On 17^th. of August, Golaniya won't be needing your pills anymore.

Many thanks to the bloggers and friends who encouraged me and to those who came to the presentation. Damn..i'm really something ;-)

Jurists Association Forms Committee to Defend Syrian Labors in Lebanon

Sunday, August 12, 2007 - 06:20 PM

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Syrian Jurists' Association in Damascus announced Sunday the formation of a committee to defend the Syrian workers' rights in Lebanon.

"In principle, we announce the formation of the Committee based on the nature of dealings between the two countries and movements between the two peoples without obstacles in light of the principles of the Declaration on human Rights approved by International and Arab labor organizations", A statement for the Association said.

It condemned violations against Syrian workers in Lebanon, calling on their families living in Lebanon to report on any breaches in this regard in order to defend and protect them.


Thawra-Mazen

Source

On Facebook

My problem with facebook is not the privacy cliché everyone in Lebanon seems to mention when facebook is put on table. Aside from the fact that some conspiracy theory has made this site driven my 31 million people around the world, my case against it is rather different.

I am not sure about other countries, but in Lebanon it really has proven to me my theory on the "social" bond among the Lebanese activists, leftists; fake.

Ta2 Marbuta is not just a café, it is a must- to–visit place among "activists". People go to Baddawi, Shatila, and then get back to Ta2 Marbuta to chill. The idea of "chilling' must be among these very activists. It is like, I am activist because I am in the right place. I am an activist because I am among activists.

What's more sick to me really, is that while people are sitting next to each other, they log on to facebook and depend on this site to know more about the person who is sitting next to them, who live two blocks away from them.

Facebook has presented a new social school: you connect with people better, when you have facebook.

I think it is not just the privacy thing that is creepy, or the fact that some one out there wants to know your political view in a certain country, but how your social standards are being substituted with virtual advertising standards.

Of course, I am not saying that the "physical" is real and the "virtual" is not, this is a wrong concept. It is rather the "tools" you approach the virtual and the physical, make it real or not.

One of the things that makes me anti –social is that I prefer a walk with a person, sit on their home doorway, better than go to a pub or a café, where there is loud music, and lots of people. You always connect better when you listen on all levels.

So this facebook is really starting to annoy me that I am starting to believe in all this shit, I am starting to view someone's page to "know him better" where I can always call him instead.

I don't want to know him/her, it's better than to "think" I do.

Furthermore, I am finding myself questioning the concept of "activism". What is activism and how can one be an affective activist? Through facebook?

I am questioning activism on blogger, so facebook is hopeless case really. I think it is silly to find Azmi Bishara on facebook, he is not BTW, and he'll never be ;-)

But some famous comrades are there, and some famous bloggers as well. hmmmm, activists?

On another note, I am leaving Lebanon in two weeks, and I thought that I cannot close the account cause then I would lose contact with the people there. But I think before facebook, people actually miss each other, and they go nuts when they receive an email or a phone call. Now having them on facebook, it might lessen this privilege of "not checking on them every now and then". I think I am going to close the account.

I don't want to "know" nobody.

I don't want to "check" on nobody.

This way.

يوميّات سياسية

يقيم التجمع اليساري من أجل التغيير ندوة حول مواضيع عدة راهنة في الشأن اللبناني. كان من المفترض ان تتكلم احدى صحفيات السفير عن العنصرية اللبنانية ضدّ العماّل السوريين, لكن بسبب عدم تأكيد مشاركتها يبدو أنني سأحل مكانها. قد علمت متأخرة عن مشاركتي, بالاضافة الى رهبتي من التكلم أمام الجموع, ترددت في المشاركة في البدء, أعتقد أنني حين سأصعد الى المنصة, سأرتبك, لكن لابأس

هنا برنامج الندوات

الدعوة عامة

Sexy Arabist Bloggeress

She thought you're so beautiful.

She loved your Damascene dialect.

She loved the way you manage things.

You used to look back to check on her while walking

You used to follow her up stairs fleeing your friends

You always sat next to her, playing with her toes.

She thought you're so beautiful.

You told her she's a fighter.

She's sexy when angry.

She's the only activist, bloggeress you met so far.

She thought you had beautiful eyes

Damascene

Hommy eyes

She always waits for your call

She would run through the crowd

Outside

Not to miss a word you say

A breath you take

You thought she's pretty

Interesting

Zarifeh

She's the exotic one might want to explore

To land at her bed

Listen to her anger

Capture her soul

She thought she heard you smile

"I love you ya 7elou"

She heard you take a deep breath

"I can't make any promises"

She found home in your language

She would have fought for herself

To lose a battle

Is to win another

She thought you're so beautiful

She told herself

I can take it

He'll leave me

I am fine with it

I just want him next to me now

I want to listen to him laughing

never stop talking

Eating

Snoring

I just want to be alive now

She called him

She told him

She can't see him anymore

She's not the Arabist he thought she is

Nor the bloggeress

Nor the fighter

She's just a girl

Who's falling for you

For the home in you

You are so beautiful

On her way to Damascus

She met a Damascene guy.

Who is afraid of the Arabic language?

Taken from Yaman

Enough people to drive Debbie Almontaser, aspiring principal of a new Arabic-themed public school in New York, out of her job. Almontaser was loosely “connected” (read: she shared office space) to a group that produced a benign t-shirt with the words “Intifada NYC” on them.

To certain anti-Arab organizations and individuals, “intifada” is something to fear. It is violent, it is terrorizing, and it is, apparently, unacceptable even to mention the word. In recent times the word has been connected to the Palestinian uprisings of the late 1980s and early 2000s, which have taken many different forms: cultural, artistic, literary, musical, political, military, violent, non-violent.

What these people do not understand, however, is that intifada, even while politically charged, is not necessarily a violent concept, nor does it come exclusively out of the ongoing Palestinian struggle against Israeli apartheid. In 1977, for example, Egypt saw what was termed the “bread intifada” in response to measures taken by then President Anwar Sadat to drastically increase the price of basic commodities. It was over a decade later that the term was commonly held to refer to the Palestinian uprising of the late 1980s.

While to those looking on from a distance “intifada” might only refer to the images seen on television, to those on the ground, its meaning has roots in an inspirational attitude and positive outlook that seeks to overturn an oppressive situation. It is the very essence of giving “power to the people,” of allowing the people to act when their interests are threatened. From that perspective, only those who fear change and justice are afraid of intifada, the concept. Fear of this concept, however, means fear of the American revolution, fear of the anti-slavery movement, fear of the civil rights movement, fear of the Vietnam era anti-war movement–in short, fear of everything that has ever helped change America for the better.

Intifada, as a concept, is one that has deep roots in oppressed sectors of American society. It is only when we call it by its Arabic name that we encounter these hysterical xenophobic attitudes. We should not pretend, anyway, that this current controversy is simply about the word “intifada.” In doing so we would be ignoring the fact that the Arabic language itself has become something worth fearing in the United States. Just last year, an Iraqi man was kicked off of a JetBlue flight (remember the name, boycott it) for wearing a t-shirt with the words “We will not be silent” in Arabic. It should not be difficult to see, then, that this is an affront to Arabs and the Arabic language as a whole, rather than the word “intifada” exclusively.

It is here that we step in to protect intifada, the concept, as well as “intifada,” the word. If intifada is something that can inspire youth in this country to organize within their communities in order to force the political system to work for them (for us), then intifada is something that we encourage in every corner of the United States. Furthermore, we will not call it dissent, we will not call it protest, and we will not call it activism–even though it encompasses all of these things. To resist the efforts by the right-wing and the popular media to demonize Arabs, Muslims, and other immigrants, we will call it by no other name: intifada it is, and in every community in this country, it will be.

The best way to achieve our political goals of pushing people to action, as well as our cultural goals of fighting fear of the Arabic language, is to increase both our political and cultural visibility. We have designed the t-shirt below with those goals in mind.

On the front, it reads:

“shake off the system that oppresses you!
(intifada in Arabic)
intifada u.s.a
act now for your community”

On the back, it reads:
“in*ti*fa*da (n)
an arabic word for ’shaking off,’ politically it refers to popular movements that seek to rectify an unjust situation, whether it be for affordable bread or equal political rights. the civil rights movement might have been called an intifada, if it happened on the other side of the world. is that so bad?”

These t-shirts have been designed with our overall project in mind and as such, proceeds will go towards funding our new publication, the a-Rab. To order this t-shirt, please follow this link to the same posting on the a-Rab’s website and follow the instructions at the bottom of the post (there are also larger versions there). If you agree with us, please share this post and this t-shirt with your friends. If you have suggestions for other ways of selling these t-shirts, please feel free to contact us at admin@a-rab.net.

Syrian Music: Itar Shama'

You can upload the album here.

Statement on the Armenian Crisis in Lebanon

الأرمن اللبنانيون مثلكم:

من أجل لبنان غير عنصري

نحن الموقّّعين أدناه نستنكر الخطاب العنصري الذي صدر عن أكثر من مصدر في فريق 14 شباط ضد الأرمن في لبنان. وللتذكير، فإنّ ذلك الفريق هو الذي سبق أن صدع رؤوسنا بشعارات الحرية والديمقراطية بعد أن كال العبارات العنصرية ضدّ "بائعي الكعك" (السوريين)، وغضّ الطرف عن ضرب العمّال السوريين (بناة "إعمارنا الجديد" شاءوا أم أبوا) وعن إحراق خيمهم، وأطلق التصنيفات الطائفية والطبقية عن "النوعية" الفريدة و"الكمية" النافلة.

إنّ الكلام الأخير الذي صدر عن الأستاذ أمين الجميّل (الرئيس الأعلى لحزب ذي باع طويل في العنصرية والطائفية) كان صريحا، وكان مهينا بحقّ كلّ الأرمن اللبنانين، لا بحقّ الطاشناق (الحليف التاريخي لحزب الكتائب) وحده. واللعبة الطائفية والعنصرية، أيّا كان مستخدمها، قد ترتدّ على ممارسها بالسوء، ويجب من ثمّ أن يكون الخطاب السياسي بعيدا عنها في جميع الأحوال، حفاظا على ما تبقّى من "الديمقراطية التوافقية" الهشّة والكاذبة في لبنان.

أما أدعياء "الاعتدال" و"الوساطة" أمثال الأستاذ نسيب لحود، فإنّ دعوتهم المواطنين الأرمن إلى "الحياد" إزاء استحقاقات انتخابية وطنية تنمّ عن عقلية تمييزية هي الأخرى لأنها تستبطن اعتبارهم غير لبنانيين، أو مواطنين من الدرجة الثانية في" أفضل" الأحوال.

وأما كلام الأستاذ غبريال المرّ عن الأرمن فهو كلام يحاكم عليه القانون في غير دولة في أوروبا، التي ما انفكّ أقطاب 14 شباط مسحورين بديمقراطيتها. وكلمة "طارئين" البشعة التي صدرت عنه (وعن الجميّل) هي الكلمة عينها التي استخدمها النازيون ضدّ اليهود قبل "الهولوكوست" ( المحرقة) وأثناءها.

إنّ ما حصل مؤخّرا ليس حدثا عابرا يمكن طمسه باعتذار يقدّمه إلى الأرمن زعيم طائفي وعنصري وطبقي معروف بحربائيته وانتهازيته، وإنما هو فصل من سيرورة طائفية وعنصرية تخترق المجتمع اللبناني من أقصاه إلى أقصاه، وتطاول السوري والفلسطيني والكردي والمصري والسوداني والسيريلانكي والاثيوبي والأريتري والفيليبيني والروسي... وكلّ من لا يستظلّ بظلال "حضارتنا" المتفوّقة. وعليه، فإنّ المنشود أولا هو إدانة شاملة للخطابات والأفعال العنصرية في لبنان. و المطلوب، ثانيا وعلى المستوى الأعمق والأشدّ أثرا، تثقيف لبناني مدرسي عامّ بوضع الأرمن وبجرائم الإبادة التي تعرّضوا لها، وبأوضاع الجاليات والإثنيات والشعوب المقهورة، وبخاصة تلك التي ألجأتها ظروف الاضطهاد والفقر والاحتلال إلى بلدنا.

الموقّعون:

د. سماح إدريس

د. أسعد أبو خليل

د. كيرستن شايد

جولانية

Syrian Music: Anas and Friends

Happy birthday Yazan ;-)
This is the link to this folder, i think you can upload the music.
soon i'll upload Itar Sham3.

ليش بتحلق دقنك؟

خليك هيك

بتوجع

مغادرة باب الهوى

So here I am, in the bus that will take me to Turkey, taking a major step towards my autonomy from myself, my routin, and the common Syrian/family pattern. I knew I am going to be a "tourist" someday, but I never thought it would be that soon. I know that the campaign life has affected my character in a way that made me less a hesitant person, more adventurous and daring.

The Turkish visa costs for 15 days 1500 S.P. (30 $). And the trip to Adana costs 800 S.P. if you wish to go by plane it will cost you 19 000 S. P.

I went by a bus company named HAS which is part of HERSHO's office in Harasta.

I have been nagging about my trip to Turkey for so long frightened at the thought that I am going to spend 30 hours in a bus, I took Azmi Bishara's novel "Love in the Land of Shades", and I took Delueze book "Kafka and Minor Literature" which made me quiet better during the trip.

Since I am a girl and alone, I had the privilege to sit in the front seats of the bus, my seat's number was 1. A little girl sat next to me and she was crying, apparently her father sat next to a man on our right. I asked her if everything is alright, she nodded.

She and I became friends when her little pinky back bag fell down and I picked it up and hanged it to the chair. She smiled at me and told me the story of her life:

- I don't want to leave Syria, we are going to Romania now, and stay there for a whole year! I hate Romania, I don't even know why I have the Romania passport, I should have a Syrian passport, I am Syrian!

- Why are you Romanian?

- My mother is Romanian and my father works there. We always spend the summer at Syria, at Teta's (grandma). But these three months don't last for too long, unlike ugly Romania's everlasting years.

- So you want to be in Syria for your grandma?

- Yes! She loves me very much, she loves me more than my brothers, I hate the Romanian grandma; she loves my brothers more than me!

It was fun at first to hear children's stories, but the story of grandma lasted for 30 hours and I am not sure if I like grandma anymore.

Arriving at the Syrian Turkish borders, we Syrians are to pay 500 S. P for leaving the Syrian lands. (which I am ok with if it goes to good cause-schools, medication, reviving the suburbs for instance).

Then we arrived at the Turkish borders, they made us get out of the bus, open our luggage, and each should stand next to her/his luggage holding the passport.

I think the Turkish officer made me a favor when he overlooked the two bottles of Arak he found in my bag, while he took two boxes of Rabi' tea from another passenger. I felt sorry for the guy, but even in Turkey, girls have secret passports ;-)

Now I am officially in Turkey, we went to Antakya, I met some wonderful people there, they spoke Arabic, and the owner of the rest kept calling me "mama" in a parenting way. They were very caring and protective since I was a lady and alone, I felt as if I was in Syria. I mean, they ARE Syrian! Plus they were pretty conservative; one of the waiters told me to go inside were women sit (if I want he asked). I thanked him insisting to sit next to men outside where it is not as hot as inside. Inside and as I am heading to a bathroom (you pay money for entering a bathroom in Turkey) a lady told me not to speak to strangers especially if I am alone. These incidents kept happening to me by both men and women: "are you here alone? With friends you said? You father is ok with that?" I mean, that was really weird for a country that tries to assimilate to a European state rather than its own context. I honestly liked the fact that it is conservative, but I hate the way people think they have the right to intervene my privacy; it is similar in Syria and other societies where masculine mentality dominates ;-)

The bus arrived in Istanbul at 6 AM, and I had a fight with the company car driver who supposed to put me in a place near the hostel Andre booked us in. when the driver left me alone, I went to ask a police officer, but he doesn't speak English nor Arabic. It took me a while to get the number of the Turkish operator, I called it to ask about the hostel's address, but the operator didn't speak English either. Then I called poor Andre whom was asleep. I wrote down the address. At that stage I was pretty much scared and panicked as a little girl who lost her mommy.

I found the hostel and took a long hot shower- I am still having daily showers after these 60 hours via bus.

At first, I was literally amazed by Istanbul, I mean after the 30 hours trip, no sleep, no good meal, I took a shower and took my camera and started to take pictures. Andre booked us in Sultan Ahmed area. A very very touristy area 7akeem.

Then I started to dislike it, and I kept nagging at Andre: "this is a very westernized city, where are the Turks? All I can see is tourists! Lots of them, I hate tourists!!". I mean, I never knew that I even nag, I have no idea how Andre and Jeff could put up with my constant nagging.

So we spent the first two days wandering "civilization", monuments and stones that is. As my pictures show, I am the kind of tourist who finds human beings exotic and interesting, in fact, I find locals fascinating, as opposed to boring tourists. Andre and Jeff made friends with some of the tourists in the hostels, I always find my way up to the roof instead. It is not a conscious decision really, I just have different definition to the word "interesting". Plus, I know I am anti-social.

We went to many places, which were normally full of tourists, so I was literally chasing Turks: "Marhaba, I am from Syria, can I take a picture of you please?". You always guarantee a picture if you're Syrian ;-)

One of the interesting places we went was Princes Islands, which I found pretty much secular compared to the conservative Istanbul, Antakya and Adana. I asked who are the minorities who live in the Island assuming it is not the majority, an old lady sat next to me in a café there told me that the Christians and the Jews live here with Muslims. In fact, I saw two men wearing the sixth star on their neck, the reason I thought this is a minority area.

Apart form the place and its people, what I really liked about Istanbul, is not Istanbul. But the type of discussion Andre, Jeff and I had during these four or five days. In my stay in Lebanon there was no really a discussion but kind of info-feedback, or a historical political repetitive discussions. In Syria, me and my best friends who are now in Paris and in Dubai used to have these kind of critical discussions towards daily details, Andre and Jeff reminded me of my>>>self!

I've learned a lot about myself during this trip, that even though I don't like touristy places and areas, my eagerness to meet locals makes me a typical tourist.

I learned that I really don't like to socialize.

I learned that I nag a lot.

I learned that I hate monuments.

I learned that essential part of me in Lebanon is missing. And fairly, part of me in Syria doesn't show when I go there.

I learned that i need to be careful of what i take for granted.

I learned that home can be in a person.

الحب

اصغاء
فحسب

التدوين

هو محاولة بائسة للاختفاء

In Order to Overcome the "Us/Them" Division

You need to recognize it first.

I Haven't Been to Turkey

I was almost there.

AL KAMANDJATI ASSOCIATION

I was supposed to write a post on Al-Kamanjati music association, i thought this email would speak them much better than i would. Al-Kamanjati is formed by a Palestinian refugee named Ramzi who founded this association to teach music for the Palestinian refugees in Occupied Palestine and in Lebanon.


July 7th 2007. Al-Kamandjâti heads to Lebanon once again. For the third time we go
to meet Palestinians living outside their homeland, those who were expelled from their
expropriated land in 1948 or 1967 and took refuge in neighbouring countries.


The context in Northern Lebanon is distinctive this year. Nahr el-Bared camp is situated
16 km north of Tripoli, near the coastal road.
The camp was originally established by the League of Red Cross Societies in 1949 to
accommodate Palestine refugees from Lake Huleh in Palestine.


About 31,000 displaced Palestinians were living in Nahr El Bared camp when, in May
2007, around 15,000 of them fled from their homes to seek asylum in the neighbouring
refugee camp of Al Beddawi, some 10km distant. They were fleeing from the violent
hostilities opposing the Lebanese army and the Fatah al-Islam militia whose members,
overwhelmingly non-Palestinian Arabs, had established themselves inside the camp.
By the time we arrived all but a few hundred residents of the camp had fled, to
Beddawi or points further south.



90% of Nahr El Bared camp was destroyed -further information at

http://www.mondialisation.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5947


Ashraf Shouly, a musician friend met during our previous trips to the Lebanon south,
recommended that on this occasion we go straight to the north.
Ashraf is working with the French NGO "Première Urgence", a very active humanitarian
organization dealing with food, water, medicine distributions to the refugees
(http://www.premiere-urgence.org/) For the first time, therefore, we headed north, to
Beddawi camp, where the situation is drastic: Beddawi camp is situated in the hills, 5
km north of Tripoli, and was established by UNRWA in 1955.
Beddawi is vastly overpopulated. Before the May crisis, it hosted some 15,000
registered refugees; now there are around 30,000, if not more. The families from Nahr
al-Bared survive camped out in schools run by UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), cultural centres, and primary schools, to the
tune of 25 people per classroom…



The day after our arrival at the Beirut Airport, we headed to Tripoli. Immediately on
arrival we began to work with around 40 children, all natives of Nahr El Bared. The
musicians -Tom and Raphael, on the violin; Charlayne, on the cello; and Vincent,
Human Beatbox -organized music training workshops in Beddawi camp's Al Khalsa
School. The children touched and tried musical instruments for the first time with
tangible wonder, smiles breaking over their faces as they played their first notes!


As this was a novelty for Al Kamandjâti, a brief note about Beatbox is in order.
Beatbox is a form of vocal music, etymologically related to scat and hip hop culture. It
is primarily concerned with the art of producing beats, rhythm, and musical sounds
using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and, essentially, one's voice.

Vincent is able to produce an infinite variety of sounds with his mouth, to the
guaranteed hilarity of the children everywhere we passed!


There was a crying lack of space in the camp's schools and cultural centres. As the
Nahr El Bared families were occupying the classrooms, we were directly confronted
with the situation and had to fend to organize the music workshops in only one room,
sometimes even outside.


Within a week, we had visited almost all of the camp's centres and schools and
organized about 12 music training workshops and concerts.

As distinct from the refugee camps based in the South, the local organizations
managed to overcome their political discords. The associations in Beddawi working
hand in hand for all the children there, without prejudice to those from Nahr al-Bared.

The journey ended with a quick tour to the Rashidieh camp (in the far south, edging
the borders of Palestine) where we set up our final workshop. Once again the trip was
a very moving experience, full of positive meetings. Our interlocutors invariably
spurred us to begin regular music lessons in Lebanon as soon as possible.

Centres and employees are ready to make rooms available for the teaching lessons
and many children are highly motivated; we merely have to hire several teachers and
set up a pedagogical programme.
To build up this exceptional musical education project, we need your involvement:
collecting donations, giving music instruments, bringing up ideas and sharing skills…


We would like to thank those who contributed to this Al Kamandjâti mission:
In Lebanon:
Beit Al Fan [The House of Art], where we stayed while in Tripoli;
Ashraf Shouli, a young Palestinian from Rashidieh camp, our coordinator;
Mrs Sajeda Husein, the representative of Al Khalsa School, who welcomed us and
organized everything;
Mohammed Khaled and Ahmad, two teenagers who accompanied and guided us
inside the camp, becoming our agents there;
The primary school, Atfal Falastin;
Al Majdal School (UNRWA);
The Ghassan Kanafani School;
Beit Atfal Al-soumoud;
The Scout Association;
Al Amal club;
Al Najda Association;


In Palestine:


A. M. QATTAN Foundation
Thanks to:
Mrs. Christine Russel (God bless her), she enabled our first trips to Lebanon and
enables Al Kamandjâti to exist there; the musicians who made this project possible;
and, of course and above all, all the Palestinian children we worked with, whose
enthusiasm and sensitivity was a wonder to behold !

15, rue du Petit Chaumineau 49 100 Angers / FRANCE
info@alkamandjati.com
www.alkamandjati.com

تدفيش بأعقاب البنادق على حدود المصنع والطابور للسوريّين فقط

المصنع ـ الأخبار

الزحمة عند النقطة الحدودية في المصنع خانقة وتوقع عناصر الأمن في المخالفات القانونية والإنسانية. فمنذ أحداث الشمال ومنذ أن أقفلت سوريا معبري الدبوسية والعبده، يشهد معبر المصنع ضغط العابرين اليه بكثافة وخاصة العمال السوريين. قصدت «الأخبار» نقطة المصنع وسجّلت المعاملة القاسية التي يتّبعها عناصر الأمن مع العابرين، وتحديداً مع العمال السوريين القادمين إلى لبنان.
فزائر المصنع أيام السبت والأحد والاثنين يشهد بالعين المجردة المخالفات القانونية والإنسانية التي يمارسها عناصر الأمن اللبنانيون بحق العابرين، حيث يعمد عناصر الأمن على تجميع العمال أمام مبنى الأمن العام ساعات طويلة تحت أشعة الشمس الحارقة. دون الإسراع في إنجاز معاملات الدخول، لتزداد الزحمة ويقع أرضاً من لا يقدر على مقاومة الشمس وحرارتها ساعات طويلة. و«الويل والثبور» لمن يحاول أن يخرج من الطابور الذي يصل أحياناً الى أكثر من 400 شخص. لا يُسمع سوى الصراخ والشتائم «من الزنار ونازل». ولا ترى غير الركل والتدفيش بأعقاب البنادق.

أنا ما بحبك

أنا بعشقك