CAC High SchoolSomehow last week the world seemed to come unbalanced. Maybe it was the televised destruction of Iraq...no matter how bad the leader is, I find it hard to watch war on television like some mini-series. It definitely was unbalancing to go to my children's old school for an art show in the high school to see that the administration of what was a very good international school has fallen victim to the worst sort of Americans. The sort that think they know the absolute truth and who are totally unafraid of manipulating their environment to achieve their aims. The teachers are afraid to talk to parents or students about anything more interesting than the weather. A mix of local politics and international politics...the same push to support the US president even though what he is doing is so wrong. When did politically correct come to mean staying clearly in line and not deviating from the set path?

My late husband's ex-English teacher, an American who was living in Cairo during the difficult years of the early 70's, passed this letter on to me in memory of my husband. She remembered his open heart that she knew in his mid-20's and that I knew much longer:


"The Halhoul Peace Plan - A Humanist's Plea"

I can end this war - but, I need your help.

If I manage to persuade the Arab League to convince Saddam Hussein to go into exile, will you tell Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and retreat to the 1967 border?

If I succeed in having all Arab states recognize Israel, will you succeed in dismantling all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza?

If I promise an eternally demilitarized Palestine, will you provide international peacekeepers to forever enforce and honor the historic peace between two formerly warring people?

Are these concepts so unachievable, so unattainable? Laughable, even? Are we so jaded, so defeated that we are incapable of a bold, imaginative vision - one that fosters brotherhood rather than one that sows destruction?

Can we turn back time?

In the weeks that led up to this Iraq War, a horrified world watched as the United Nations crumbled, alliances folded, and any hope for an agreement withered under the insurmountable weight of intransigence and belligerency.
Countries were made to choose between only two options - war or diplomacy. Before the debate ended, unilateral conflict triumphed over dialogue, pre-emptive strikes shattered Baghdad, and war dashed any lingering hopes for diplomacy.

To give up now, will only invite future conflicts - larger in scale, more destructive, more divisive. The line has been drawn in the sand - literally and figuratively. Only a monumental perspective shift will save the day for future generations. Unfortunately, at this moment, it seems a lost cause - for there is not a single, peaceful, dissenting voice loud enough to be heard over the "shock and awe" bombardments, the podium propaganda, and the daily reports of the dead and dying.

There does not appear to be one man alive, powerful enough to challenge the status quo, and, announce a humanistic philosophy guided by the principle that in order to gain, we must all lose. Not everyone will be allowed to see the promised land. Through loss will come healing and hope.

For now, we see only hardline proponents whose doctrine of ultimate victory over completely vanquished enemies will lead us to further calamity. More frightening and disappointing are those that sit idly as a few men make decisions that adversely affect the majority - they invite fatalism and despair.

The Middle East crisis was not created yesterday, last month, nor last year. It is not simply about one man and his ruthless regime; it is not about one country and their brutal occupation; and, it is not just one superpower's quest to democratize a region. The Middle East is too complex to be summed up by mini "embedded" sound bites somewhere in Western Iraq.

It's about decades, and decades, and decades of disgusting misguided policy, corrupt governments, greed, ethnocentrism, religious extremism, apartheid, discrimination, tribalism, oil, fear, democracy foes, tin pot dictators, illusion, freedom rights trampled, expression rights thwarted, armies, covert operations, birthday cakes, warfare, colonialism, anti-semitism, double standards, lost opportunities, murder, suicide bombers, settlers, hegemony, unilateralism, crises, hypocrisy, starvation, embargoes, revolutions, hostages, road maps to nowhere, and, always death over humanity.

Caught in this muck are millions of people, not only in the Middle East, but, worldwide, that want nothing more than peace - that want coexistence with their neighbors, that want to love their brothers, that want to express
their shared commitment to a shared humanity - that want life.

Opposing these majority millions are those that have usurped our right to these basic human desires - they have sent us spiraling downwards into an evil future. Whether it's a regime that is oppressing Iraqis or an Operation Iraqi Freedom coalition, both capably add fuel to the flames of hatred, strife and suffering.

These evil men, these dominating few, come in all forms - they are not just American and Iraqi - they are also false preachers of a twisted Judaism, an evil Christianity, a devious Islam; they can be any nationality, they profess all types of political superiority, and, eloquently champion death's cause.

Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it." Today, many leaders could learn from his wisdom - following the recent Camp David war summit, George Bush and Tony Blair defiantly expressed that the war would take as long as it takes to achieve "total victory." But, what if it takes nuclear weapons? What then?

Are they oblivious to the anti-war protesters, the servicemen killed and captured, the young Iraqi child whose intestines were spilling onto the stretcher in an ill-equipped hospital? Is this "total victory?" Are these the costs? Can I not have Eisenhower's promised peace? Must I always be caught between governments and fanatics?

What alarms me most is my own self-transformation. While I am and have always been an ardent supporter of non-violence and peaceful resistance, I begin to understand why terrorists and evil followers of distorted men are born. Given the choices that exist in the world today, weak, powerless, young kids feel worthless, they have no promising future, no promising environment - their government's deviant actions or listless inaction, their
corrupt leaders, and their beaten communities reinforce this view. All it takes is a manipulative whisper in their fragile, naive ear, "fight back, even if you must kill innocent civilians, you will find salvation, you are not meaningless in my eyes."

These past few weeks in Cairo have been frightfully enlightening. Egypt, a country with a peace treaty with Israel and a government closely aligned with the United States, seems a place that could lose control. Not only in
the arab streets, where the largest protests in the nation's history erupted - but, also, and more importantly, on the arab couch, where civilians of all walks of life scream at their television sets - retired army personnel, senior bank executives, students, newlyweds, doctors, lawyers - no supportive cries for America's version of freedom and justice, no pride in their Arab government's strength, no condemnation of Saddam Hussein - only defeatism and a sense that this war is wrong, that Palestinians are occupied, that Israel is the real enemy, and that Arab unity is lacking during these trying times.

How many terrorists will be born?

Earlier this week, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted that the West's Middle East policies contained "double standards" - one policy directed towards the Arabs, another towards the Israelis. No similar statement was forthcoming from the world's only superpower. In fact, Straw's statement went largely unnoticed, except for strong condemnations from the Israeli government. They declared that no double standard exists - only Security Council resolutions must be enforced - not general UN resolutions. Even more troubling was the Israeli assertion that such statements would not forward the peace process, and could harm it. Apparently, the continued Israeli occupation is the only way to further peace and understanding.

So, the people in this region continue to cry out against a perception of injustice - painfully unsure of their future. Meanwhile, Tony Blair emphatically states that, "our primary focus now is and must be the military victory, which we will prosecute with the utmost vigor." Did he not hear Jack Straw?

Again I ask - how many terrorists will be born? How many more children will be lost?

My plan is not super-sophisticated, it is a humanistic plea. It is not 1441 or 242 - it's not meant to be. It's designed to expose those that would create war rather than wage peace, worship land over man, hate over love.

The Iraqi people deserve freedom, the Israeli people deserve security, the Palestinian people deserve a state, the Arab people deserve governments more focused on their needs than on empty rhetoric, and, the American people deserve the days before colored alerts.

So, I challenge the men on my television set - George Bush, Tony Blair, Colin Powell, Jack Straw, Kofi Annan, Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, Amr Moussa, King Abdullah, Yasir Arafat, Abu Mazen, Ariel Sharon, Tommy Franks - who among you is brave enough to carry this plan out, who will save us, and who will expose our true enemies?

Who am I? I am an American citizen, born to Egyptian parents, a father who lived in Canada for over twenty years, a mother living in America's heartland (my name, surely and hopefully unbeknownst to them, means "eternal
grief"). I was on my way to Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories to work towards peace when this war broke out - for now, I am temporarily sidelined. Halhoul, apparently a small Palestinian town close to Hebron - is a place I can not go without risking my life, my best friend is Jewish, I
am a former federal employee, a former civil rights advocate, I am a business owner, a writer, a photographer, a world citizen - 36 years old, discouraged, and sad.

I can end this war - but, I need your help.

The news that the web consultants who work on CNN and MSNBC, Akamai Technologies, cancelled a contract with Al Jazeera for its website is hardly surprising, but rather sad. Around here it's felt that you get the opposing propaganda from CNN and Jazeera, with each at the opposite pole. If you want balanced reporting, you go to Reuters or BBC even, which despite the British involvement in the war, is maintaining a reasonable level of sense. Both CNN and Jazeera, on the other hand, are so busy grinding their axes that you can hardly see from the sparks.

Ha'aretz - Article Ok, so maybe a Canadian living in Egypt and reading Israeli papers (among other things) is a bit odd. But this is one of the advantages of living in a country with terrible television....you read a lot.

Ha'aretz is, as far as I can tell, one of the more unbiassed of the Israeli papers. Or maybe I should say balanced in the sense that whenever I have read it, I have found a wide variety of opinion and coverage in it. Today while talking to a friend about www.refdesk.com, I used it to look up news coverage as an example and I came up with a review of three films on Iraq. I would have expected a viewpoint less critical of the US from an Israeli paper....since their state is essentially supported by the US...but found an interesting attitude. Worth reading.

Matt's Mindless Musings - just because I could There's something really schizophrenic about my life these days. I spend Sunday or Monday working on the business things and weekends doing things I love. I guess that's what a lot of people's lives are like, but I think that until recently I've been lucky to be doing something that I loved. The best it gets if I can't sneak out to the horses during the day is to think about what photographs I'd like to be shooting if I weren't late for some meeting.

The news reminds me more and more of Vietnam. This is a disaster, no matter how it's sliced. The worst possible outcome for the US would be some kind of victory because eventually all the dissatisfied Iraqi's will grind them into dust. You can't run another country from the other side of the world.

Generalising

MSN Hotmail - Message" Unfortunately, the middle-east is very keen to make any disagreement or conflict to be a fight between muslims and/or christians, "infidels" or the "great satan". This is once again evident in the speeches broadcast from Baghdad, where every other word is "God is willing?", every casualty is a "martyr", and "america is intent on killing all muslims". If these religious connotations didn't fall on willing ears, they wouldn't be using them. "

I don't want to argue points of "fact" regarding how many Iraqi's have died under Saddam's leadership or anything like that...Facts are used by both sides to bolster arguments and often it is more a question of how they are used. What concerns me more are assumptions and generalisations. These, I have found, are usually disastrous.

You point out that you have never been in a mosque but you are sure that they are hotbeds of fanatical outcry against the US. I have been in mosques and for all but 45 minutes of a week, they are places of peace, quiet, tranquility and prayer. There are Friday sermons in mosques, just as there are Sunday sermons in churches and Saturday sermons in synagogues. In some mosques (those that make the most interesting news) there may be the sentiments you decry expressed. In most, there are commentaries on how to lead a better life. As for the opposite, I've seen the religious right on TV plenty of times going on about how Islam is a religion of hate. If you believe that, then you have listened and heard them too.

The Arabic language is one that has an unusual feature. It has a benchmark against which the quality of language is judged and that benchmark is the Quran, a book of truly extraordinarily beautiful poetry, no matter what you may think of the content. You are right. Every other phrase in Arabic is "Inshallah", "if God is willing" and this is only to remind us that at the end of the day, we may not actually control the outcomes. I can say that definitely I will come to see you and be hit by a car....shit happens, to quote the stickers in the US. The presence of God in Arab life is meant to be very real. The prayers five times daily (exactly like the Christian prayers in the Middle Ages and those still observed in churches and many religious communities) are meant to bring one's thoughts back to our relationship with God or whatever one believes to be a central force in the universe. Many Muslims are not particularly religious, just as most Christians aren't. I'd even go so far as to say that most are not. However, to speak of God as part of the language is just that, part of the language. Just as many phrases in other languages incorporate religious images, Arabic incorporates a lot. People need to understand that.

Finally, a group of people should never be judged by the rhetoric of their leaders. What comes from the mouths of any leaders is almost always self-serving and designed to have some effect on the listeners. If all Americans were judged by the speeches of George W., you'd probably be unhappy....especially considering how many hysterically funny blunders he makes when speaking.


"My reference to "mullahs" isn't about "mullahs" per se, but any such authority figure, that incites the populace based on fiery religious propaganda. While other religions have their own problems and imperfections I have yet to hear of any church, temple, or synagogue preaching the destruction and full annihiliation of another people. I'm sure they exist, however, I would venture to say there is a larger proportion of them within the Islamic faith."

Again, Bob, take care how you generalise. When you think "mullah" try saying "Pat Robertson" or "Jerry Falwell"
and consider what you are saying. I wouldn't say that Christians are warlike based on their remarks, nor would I generalise that most ministers and priests are like them. The Pope isn't. You are generalising from grossly inadequate and skewed data.

Arabs aren't scary people. Arab men are, on the whole, very polite, decent people...until they are behind the wheel of a car and they turn into New Yorkers. There are nasty, evil people in any country, any culture and in fact, I believe that they inhabit their own culture that is outside of the usual world that we live in. That they inflict their harm on our world is wrong.

Not Watching The War

CNN.com
I think that I'm becoming allergic to televison. After two days of peace while my cable TV box decided not to work, my housekeeper (bless her ingenious soul) managed to get it to work. I can't blame Nagat, since after all her 9 year old son Ahmed comes to my house after school until she finishes work. He gets to watch the tube as a reward for doing his homework while she is here. With a 9 year old, I'd want the TV working too. But it was nice to be able to say honestly that I hadn't been able to watch the news because the set was out of order. It meant that I was going to a bit of extra effort checking my newspapers and wire services online, but that is preferable to having the damn war force-fed to me from CNN or something.

"Watching the war" is becoming an international pastime and this really bothers me. At what point does this become some kind of twisted entertainment like Joe Millionaire or Survivor or something? The news itself is depressing enough. I can neither cheer on British and American troops who I really don't feel have any place in Iraq, despite all the protestations of their leaders. There are all sorts of countries with weapons of mass destruction (Pakistan, India, Israel, North Korea to name a few...or France, Russia to name some others) but Iraq has obviously got some special charm, black and oily I suspect. As I said before, I have no love for the Baathist regime in Iraq and I can't think of anyone who does, but I question the propriety of moving vast quantities of men and materiel halfway round the globe to invade a country that as far as I can see (and I DO read a lot of news coverage from all over) has no real, substantive links to anything that has happened in the US or Britain. The whole scenario absolutely stinks of self interest, and raises the hackles of a veteran of the Viet Nam disaster. As the troops move into Iraq, I watch with dismay the increasing number of civilians and soldiers killed in what is likely to be a messy quagmire.

Today I opted to escape from the modern world and take my favourite mare out into the countryside near Abu Sir to explore some new trails. The farmland in Egypt is cut up into millions of tiny farms, especially in the areas of the Delta that have been cultivated for a long time. Many of the farmers live in villages some way away from their plots, and each morning they walk to the fields with their donkeys, goats, sheep, water buffalo, cows and camels in various numbers and combinations. There are usually mud brick shelters for the animals at the edges of the fields where the farmers and their families take a break for tea and some bread and cheese. Dirt roads and trails cut through these fields along the irrigation canals, and it's possible to ride for hours through some of the lushest fields imaginable.

At a reasonable distance from the more densely populated villages, the chance to observe the wildlife is excellent. Egypt has always been a haven for migratory birds who travel down the Nile to other areas in Africa, and there are a lot of birds that make their homes here year round. Along the canals, we have black and white kingfishers that hover over the water at about a height of a 6 or more metres like little black apostrophes until they plunge into the canal to snatch a minnow or a frog. Even more spectacular are the European Kingfishers that are turquoise and bronze and zip about in pairs playing in the trees over the canals.

An afternoon in the 1800's is a good cure for today.