...bans any event commemorating the Nakba. For the sake of "public security", I presume?
Tarboush tip: Angry Arab
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
After Egypt, Jordan...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
HKJ Needs Better Publicity Staff
The above is a recreation of the framed image at the Sheikh Hussein/Jordan River Valley Crossing. Jordan has a silly rule that you are not allowed to take pictures of any police anything, even their little huts. So you'll have to do with my approximation.
It was a faded image of police in RIOT GEAR charging towards the viewer, with the words "JUSTICE FOR ALL: Constitution of the National Police."
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
9 Hours Later: Youtube 0, Jordan Times 1
The video Saudi women made of themselves driving that they posted on Youtube 13+9 hours ago has been REMOVED.
Regarding the French (and Palestinian dual nationality- you left that out, BBC!) national convicted of verbally insulting King Abdullah of Jordan, a new story as of this morning has appeared in the Jordan Times covering the event. It was written by Rana Husseini. (who else?)
Jordan Times is now 1, Youtube 0.
New KABOBrule: Politically sensitive video gems must be downloaded asap.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Strategic Media Usage: Saudi Women 1, Jordan Times 0
Some women in Saudi Arabia made a video of themselves driving on a main highway in the Kingdom. They then posted it on Youtube- 13 hours ago. CNN and BBC are mad Youtube savvy!
Across the desert (uh, literally, unless you rented a boat at the red sea and drifted north), a French national has been sentenced to three months in jail in Jordan for verbally insulting King Abdullah. I read about it here in the BBC.
In search of a more in depth story, I went to the Jordan Times homepage. Nothing! I even searched for French both today and last week. Not one word. Not a peep.
The Saudi women have done something pretty cool as far as using media strategically as a tool for social change. The Jordan Times, well, you can read more about my frustration with the Jordan Times here.
I mentioned also in my previous posts slamming the Jordan Times that I expect better from them than to ignore abuses of fundamental human rights. The reason is this: the Jordan Times has actually done plenty in the past to bring about social change in Jordan precisely through its reporting. The Jordan Times was the first newspaper in Jordan to begin covering the trials of honor crimes perpetrators. Rana Husseini attended trial after trial to simply report in the newspaper about how crimes against women (mostly, sometimes men) go unpunished and are thus allowed to continue. Due almost entirely to her reporting, Jordanian society became appalled with the way the legal system was dealing with honor crimes (because really it isn't something that normal people can accept, no matter what you've heard about scary Arab men- honor killings also happen in Brazil, Italy, and in diverse societies all over the world), and things are actually changing. I have utmost respect for Rana Husseini and the Jordan Times for printing her work.
So, this is why the lack of reporting on abuses of Filipina workers in Jordan, and on this poor bastard who's gonna sit in jail for the next three months because of some words he spoke, frustrates me to no end.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
IT WAS THE GAYS
When I found myself grabbing my desk last week while the earth shuddered and the building shook, I had no idea what caused it. Thanks to Israeli Member of Knesset Shlomo Benizri, I've since been enlightened. It was the gays.
Clearly there is an orgy of monumental proportions going on that I'm missing out on, big time.
The epicenter turned out to be in southern Lebanon, which blows my theory that the feature in Haaretz Magazine a few months ago about Israeli gay tourism in Amman (and the 'Arab world') spawned some hott coexistence action at Books@Cafe's Friday brunch. Leave it to the Lebanese to throw the most awesome party that's been seen in these parts for the last century or so, and not invite me.
The Haaretz article basically lays out Amman's gay scene from the Roman amphitheater to Books to RGB and Culture Street. Books, ok that's a given. But the Roman amphitheater? Seriously? Joseph Massad, please step in here so we can all get our panties in a tizzy discussing whether the young men apparently selling sex to foreign tourists are actually 'gay.' And whether that makes the Roman amphitheater also 'gay.' (Though didn't the Romans kind of start the whole orgy thing?)
The article is seeing gay in places where I've been a thousand times and just saw West Amman. But I guess that's kind of the point, isn't it, for the tourists in the article looking for sex in the Middle East-- finding a place that is in a separate space altogether where men touch men in public all the time, where sex lurks behind every corner and under every veil and/or kuffiyeh, and where sex is exotic, exciting, and a conquest. Where gay sex isn't really gay sex. It's one big orgy, people! Veiled, of course. (That's why they cause earthquakes but we didn't actually see the orgy.)
For an Israeli gay man who might be mistaken for Mossad (not Massad),
The fear of being exposed as an Israeli heightens the thrill, some of the visitors say.Now let's all chant Edward Said to conjure his presence.
It is absolutely a type of conquest or operation in enemy territory and a speedy withdrawal. I came, I experienced a few things, I pulled out. The moment I have collected intelligence, withdrawal back to the hotel as quickly as possible.
Another person interviewed in the article says that being gay essentially makes you "international."
Gays have a tool that allows them to enter deep into communities that are rooted in the local culture. ...You can see the house, meet the friends, have breakfast with them.And that tool is, you guessed it, the one night stand. Sorry to let you down, dude, but that isn't 'internationalism.' You enter deep but for a superficial interaction (possibly followed by breakfast at Books). That's just good old Flaubert-style penetration of and experiencing the natives.
I sincerely hope you're using a condom.
Monday, February 18, 2008
A Nice Thing About Jordan
Internal conversation posted by popular demand (and by popular I mean MHMD and Nimr).
Emily: I just bought 9 recently released movies and two seasons of Bab Al Hara for about 20 bucks.If you take anything from this conversation, let it be that travel to Amman is well worth it simply and only for Hamoude's DVD store near Hashem's Falafel in the Balad.
Mohammad: Shouldn't that be 'THE nice thing about Jordan?'
Emily: Maybe. The taxi driver who drove me home was also nice, though.
Mohammad: He was Palestinian.
Emily: Haha, probably. He told me I have a 'mukh natheef' as in a clean mind because I learned Arabic. Does that mean like an open mind?
Mohammad: I dunno... wear a fake wedding ring just in case.
Emily: I'm smart, I can tell the difference between sleazy and nice. I tell drivers I'm married anyway though, more often to spare the lecture about how great marriage is.
Mohammad: Why do Arabs lie so much... I know 95% of Arabs are unsatisfied in their marriages. Actually the one segment of society who always seem to be happy with their home lives are taxi drivers.
Fayyad: Damn, people... I'm really busy these days and I don't have time to keep deleting these conversation threads without reading them like I usually do. So ease off.
Mohammad: Don't feel so left out, Fayyad... how was your day? :-D
Emily: Oh my, our friend commented something positive about my last post. Did I do something wrong?
Mohammad: You criticized Arabs without mentioning Israel.
Also we should say Hi to Fayyad more often.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Filipina Workers in Jordan Update
In a new Jordan Times article, Hani Hazaimeh reports again that
According to DHAA officials, the complaints included ill-treatment by employers and being overworked, said Faouri, who believes the workers’ reasons for wanting to leave their posts were homesickness and cultural differences between Jordan and the Philippines.The Jordan Times still fails to mention the real allegations, which include serious abuses such as non-payment of wages, physical abuse and rape.
The article is unclear as to whether the hundreds of women who sought refuge at their embassy were forced to pay a fine for terminating their contracts:
The Jordan Times appears to be laying the blame for the situation squarely upon the Filipina workers themselves for not being well-adjusted enough:On December 9, the Philippine embassy approached the ministry seeking its assistance to waive fines for around 100 domestic helpers for violating residency regulations in order to be sent home at the expense of the embassy, said Habashneh.
“The ministry did not accept the embassy’s proposal because it would harm the interests of local domestic helper recruitment agencies with which these workers are bound by a two-year contract,” he added.
The ministry pointed out the necessity to hold orientation and awareness programmes on Jordanian culture to the Filipino workers before they are brought into the Kingdom, Habashneh added.What about orientations for the families bringing a foreign person to work in their homes? What about putting sexual assault response services into place for women who speak Tagalog and other languages? What about the police and the Labor Ministry taking some of these allegations seriously?
Come on, Hazaimeh, Jordan Times, you're better than this!!!!!
Hey guys it's the Arab Youtube AND Flickr!!
How did this happen and we completely missed it? Or, I completely missed it.
I knew about iToot.net, the network of Arab blogs. But many of those are also in English, thus excluding many exclusively Arabic-speaking people. Now the makers of Toot have come out (as of late 2006) with another site that is like Youtube and Flickr in one, and in Arabic: http://ikbis.com/.
They were even featured in Newsweek. I read in Jordan's Pulp Magazine (I was up till the dawn adhaan jetlagged and was bored, ok?) about Ikbis in an interview with its creator Ahmad Humeid where he says that the goal is to incorporate other Jordanians and Arabs besides those in West Amman in the Internet revolution.
A lot of people, especially in the Gulf, don't speak English very well. And according to our statistics, most people prefer the Arabic interface over the English one. Not everyone in the Arab world is like people in West Amman. For the most part, everyone here speaks English. But that's not always the case.Other pluses of Ikbis include the fact that it's videos and pictures in one place (in other words, better than Youtube and Flickr both), and the fact that there's no pornography so they don't go getting their site banned in a bunch of places. (Sorry Nadeem)
I guess that means we can't link the Indian Buffalax video to it?
Also a big draw is this:
So why would I, as an English speaking person in Jordan, choose Ikbis over Youtube?
You use Ikbis if you want to be part of a smaller, more focused community.... For example, there was an American Muslim guy who wanted to talk about culture and religion and start dialogue about Islam and the West. When he put his video up on YouTube, he got no responses. But when he put it up on Ikbis, he got hundreds of views and comments. So, you go to Ikbis when you want a more localized, Arabic experience.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Philippine Government Finally Stands Up!
I was surprised and pleased to read this in the Jordan Times on Wednesday. The Philippine government has apparently said it will not approve any more work contracts for its citizens in Jordan, where a large number of Filipina women work as domestic helpers.
Domestic workers in Jordan are mainly from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, and are often treated like doodoo. By the time I was ready to leave Jordan a while ago, I was so incredibly tired of the classism inherent in the society and in the way people treat each other. (see this post from last spring for one individual instance.) Other instances that my friends experienced were much more insidious and happened in much greater numbers to Americans of Asian descent. Jordan is incredibly classist, but this classism is tied to racism in a place where Asian women in the country largely fall into the category of either domestic workers or sex workers.
What this means for the women who sign contracts to come and work in Jordan, through agencies that make money off of them while simultaneously failing to protect them, is that they come to a place where they are made very, very vulnerable.
Harassment I was made aware of involved Asian American women who were harassed on the street, grabbed in cabs, and accused of stealing while shopping in an upscale department store. White women, while they may be mistaken for a Russian brought in by the trade in women, largely did not face harassment on this level. Two friends had their wallets stolen while at the gym, one white and one Asian American. The police asked the white girl about the chain of events, but repeatedly asked the Asian American girl what she was doing there and whether she was Filipina, even though she produced a passport for them. Another time, a salesperson came to the door of an Asian American girl and asked for her 'madame.' When she said, 'I am the madame,' he just walked away. These are instances of harassment of American students, not Filipina domestic workers.
I'm certain we don't have any idea of the extent of harassment and abuses of Asian women domestic workers (and sex workers) in Jordan. A foreign teacher in Jordan used to overhear his students in a boy's high school bragging about the sexual acts they had done with their family's domestic worker. The Jordan Times article doesn't mention the worser abuses. It says
The decision [of the Philippine government] was taken in light of allegations of mistreatment of Filipina domestic helpers by their Jordanian employers, according to the embassy's legal adviser, Imad Sharqawi.The article then goes on to report in a rather self-serving, disappointing fashion:
According to Faori, three Labour Ministry committees formed to look into the allegations found that most "were illogical."Homesickness and cultural differences are a far cry from the non-payment of wages, physical abuse, and rape reported by the BBC article on the same topic. I personally am more apt to think that serious abuses sent about 200 Filipina women to their embassy demanding to be sent home.
The complaints included ill-treatment by employers and being overworked, said Faori who believes the workers' real reasons for wanting to leave their posts were homesickness and cultural differences between Jordan and the Philippines.
I also have little sympathy for the Jordanian families who
...stand to lose thousands of dollars as a result of the suspension.In a country where unemployment is so high, why aren't the better-off families hiring domestic workers who are Jordanian? Lord knows many could use the money. My theory is that it's about power and control: girls and women from Amman would go home to their families, who would protect them against any abuses or offenses. Foreign Asian women and girls (many are actually girls) have no such entity protecting them. They live with the family, sometimes in the kitchen, and do not have any enforced time off. (There used to be a mandatory day off for domestic workers in Jordan, which was canceled after families complained that their domestics brought home or met with undesirable individuals.) The family therefore has almost complete control.
A PS: A woman doing PhD research interviewing the domestic workers in Jordan was told by a young Filipina woman that her government had offered her an injection containing two years worth of contraception before she left her country. She intelligently refused the injection.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Spitfire-side Chats: The Low Down on the High Value of "Low" and "Good" Numbers in the UAE and other Persian Gulf States
"Yo son, what you sporting these days?"
"Well, you know how I do; I got me some gators, 22s, and a single-digit license plate number-ya herrrrd!"
That's right, big pimpin' in the Arab world has taken a life of it's own. Because of the general level of wealth enjoyed by Khaleeji national community (and corrupt monarchy-sustained elites in other Arab countries), a couple of imagined commodities have taken the respective countries by storm as a means to distinguish individuals from the pack; many centered around "Low" and "Good" numbers.
Low and nice numbers go beyond being a representation of material wealth, they represent that of symbolic wealth, of the kind of power one can wield for accessing and possessing exclusive imaginary commodities. And what are these imaginary commodities specifically?
License plates: The lower the number the more well-connected you are to government-unless of course you bought one off of some enterprising sheikh for beaucoup bucks.
Cellphone and home numbers. The "good" numbers are basically the "nicer sounding" ones. From what my informants have told me, the "nicer" sounding connotes easy memoryability (remember I'm a budding anthropologists, I'm allowed to make up words), which usually means there are repeating or symmetric numbers in the sequence.
Here are some ads on an UAE-based ebay-like classified site called Bazaar.ae that sell "good", "nice sounding" cellphone and home numbers-some at undisclosed prices and others that will cost you a pretty dirham: Here, here, here, and oh yes, HERE.
The following are KABOBer reactions, highly-opinionated comments, sensationalist stories and titillating hearsay about the low and nice numbers phenomenon in the Arab, but mostly Khaleeji, world:
Maytha: I have been informed by my cousins who live in Abu Dhabi that low numbers on license plates are considered the 'it' thing in UAE. So, Sheikh Maktoum having a "1" as his license plate number basically means that homeboy is the biggest balla in Dubai.
Assouli: License plate numbers are also big in Jordan. the king has number 1. i remember Abdulmajid Shoman had a 5. people are very proud of their license plate numbers. poor poor people have nothing else to be proud of in Jordan. generally, it's gotta be 5 digits to be cool, unless it's 5 digits on a shitty car, which just means the person got it a long time ago. 4 digits is unheard of for anyone other than the closely connected Jordanian or the very wealthy. people pay a premium for the numbers and any repetition in numbers is hip such as 11145. then apparently there are numbers that show some connection to the mukhabarat (intelligence services) and that supposedly grants you immunity from traffic tickets without having the moustache and the Bedouin accent...
By the way, same thing for cellphone numbers... you're cool as hell if your number is 677-7776 or something... buying a SIM card you can expect to pay a healthy premium above the price of an ugly number like 648-5210, although that 210 at the end is bordering on hot!
That's pretty much what's going on in Jordan in a nutshell...
Nimr: To add my 5 cents, it is not just Jordan. In Qatar and Bahrain I heard of guys buying these "good" numbers for thousands of dollars for their cars or phones. there were even speculators and re-sellers. talk about an imagined commodity.
Omar: It's not just hearsay about people willing to pay thousands for "cool" phone numbers and license plates. When I was in Saudi my brother had a really easy number to remember and constantly kept getting calls from people who wanted to buy it. I think the highest offer he got was around ~$3500. Come to think of it, I don't know why he didn't just sell it.
I also heard of people willing to pay millions for license plates.
Diana: In Palestine, numbers are also hot too but we don't have to pay big money for them: you just have to pay an additional $5 when getting the number. Sometimes you luck out - like me - with a cool number. But I get a weirdo from Gaza always calling me thinking that I am his wife. Cars are different, of course, due to apartheid-incentiving Oslo: only PA officials get red coloured licence plates with four digits. Arafat was the only person with a 0001. The licence plate has been retired. Abu Mazen's car is now: 2000. Here the cool thing is with PASSPORT NUMBERS: PA guys get super cool numbers: A011111 (used to be the Passport Number of Abu Mazen).
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Mithl Me
There are things about the Middle East and its treatment of diversity that I really like. Countries like Syria and Jordan have absorbed wave after wave of refugees through history. Circassians, Chechens, Armenians, Palestinians, Iraqis and many other groups and now an integral part of the fabric in those countries. I met a community of Sudanese Christian refugees in Syria in the 90s. Many Muslim families in Syria go to church with their neighbors for holidays and others proudly recall attending Jewish schools growing up.
There is of course the unfortunate other side of the coin. I find all the bloodshed in Iraq so depressing, but was really saddened by the recent attack on the Yazidi community that took more than 250 lives. This was not the first attack on the community and other minority religions (e.g. Jews, Christians, Sufis and Mandeans) have been persecuted (to say nothing of certain occupations or political views). Is the region unique in its intolerance? With any broad historical perspective the answer is certainly, no, but that does not excuse these kinds of acts. I have to respect a democracy like India, that until recently had religious minorities as both President and Prime Minister (not to say India does not have sectarian problems of its own).
Sadly another group that has been failed by the Middle Eastern community, the Sahrawi, have been served merely "good discourse" rather than substantive progress in recent UN brokered talks. I think it would almost magical how quickly things could get sorted out if France and the Arab League put a bare modicum of pressure on Morocco.
Although it has been late coming in some quarters, it has been heartening to see more and more voices speaking out against the atrocities in Darfur. We can sort out the problems (to put it lightly) in the media coverage later, there needs to be action yesterday. For examples click here and here. Al Jazeera English has also had some good coverage on the issue, which can be seen on their Youtube page.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Listen Up Arab-Americans
What happens when you criticize the well-known human rights violations committed by a "moderate" Arab regime (the picture to the right illustrates the guage for moderation)? In the West, people might listen. Unfortunately, the same liberty is not afforded to our brothers and sisters in the Arab world. Just ask former Jordanian Parliamentarian Dr. Ahmad Oweidi Al-Abbadi. In late April, Dr. Oweidi had the audacity to detail the corruption of the Abdullah II regime in a letter to Senator Harry Reid. Shortly thereafter - in an act that only validated Dr. Oweidi's accusations - Abdullah II detained Dr. Oweidi, charging him with harming the state's dignity among other spurious crimes that proscribe any criticism of Abdullah II's criminal regime and equate such criticism with acts of terrorism against the state. Dr. Oweidi has since been in prison, under horrible conditions, for acting in a manner that should be encouraged in any free and open society. The right to dissent is a fundamental human right - Jordan, however, is not a free and open society, and freedom of expression for the people is not recognized by Abdullah II.
To those of us outside of the reach of these regimes, it is our duty to give voice to the voiceless. Sign petitions, write to your Congressman, write to your local newspaper editors, organize a demonstration, or just publicize the plight of the victims. You do not have to agree with Dr. Oweidi's political program - which calls for democracy and equality for all Jordan's citizens (*gasp*). Nor must you oppose the concept of unelected, dynasty regimes. However, you must recognize that our brothers and sisters that live under these closed political systems must be provided with the right to speak freely without fear of detention, torture, or other like repurcussions.
Monday, June 11, 2007
To Fadi With Love
Last week, Fadi took issue with Queen Rania, dat sista over in Jordan. While I personally believe Fadi him self is more worthy of the ADC leadership award, I thought I would play peacemaker between the two.
Through the following clip, I was hoping to affect a change of heart on Fadi's part, and I intend to do the same with Rania once she learns of Fadi. Isn't she lovely?
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Tarboush Tip To Jordan
It is not uncommon to frustrated with Jordanian politicians, I am so almost as often as I am with Palestinian ones. But this time, and partly for the sake of making Nadeem turn out the bad guy once more. I'm writing this post to show mad respect for Jordan.
The Israeli embassy in Amman could not find a single hotel in the entire country to host its 59th apartheid celebration. The so-called "Israel Independence" day actually celebrates the establishment of the state of Israel and the creation of the Palestinian Nakba, resulting in the ethnic cleansing of 800,000 Palestinians, and the destruction of their 418 villages, and the denial of Palestinians civil and human rights as well as self determination to live on their land until present day.
Ironically, missing from Israel's celebrations any mention of the Nakba or the continuing plight of entire Palestinian population, more than half of which, almost 4.8 million, remain refugees. And to add insult to injury, some of these celebrations, at least those in Western countries, serve Palestinian food as if it were Israeli. Attempting to pass Hummus, Falafel, and Kabobs as Israeli food is more than just a bad joke or poor taste, rather, a psrt of systemic campaign to deny Palestinian identity that amounts to cultural genocide.
And of course, there to wipe the tear off of Israel's cheek is Jordan's King Abdulla; he sent the embassy a bouquet of flowers.
[Just like his social and parenting skills, Fayyad is building his photoshop skills in baby steps]
Saudi Tribe Holds Camel Beauty Pageant: Jordanian Woman Wins!
According to Reuters, "[t]he legs are long, the eyes are big, the bod[y's] curvaceous."
"Contestants in this Saudi-style beauty pageant have all the features you might expect anywhere else in the world, but with one crucial difference -- the competitors are camels.No one, however, expected Mona Hussein Abu-Bakr to win!!
This week, the Qahtani tribe of western Saudi Arabia has been welcoming entrants to its Mazayen al-Ibl competition, a parade of the "most beautiful camels" in the desolate desert region of Guwei'iyya, 120 km (75 miles) west of Riyadh." MORE
Ouch.. sorry, yeah that's pretty f*cked up. On a serious note, I think we should all be congratulating Ms. Abu-Bakr for becoming the first female (?) chief of a political party in Jordan.
Yay democracy! Democracy? DEMOCRACY!!! Tayib, whatever... "democracy"... she's still hotter than Golda.
(tarboush tip: MuNa MuNa MuNa & The Fadmeister)
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
AJDATH: Jordanian Thrash Metal Rocks Out!!
I'm a big fan of when Arab musicians combine both their Eastern and Western influences in order to create a sound that's uniquely their own.
In the past, such fusions have included experimenting with genras as diverse as classical and jazz - to even Latin, world, hip-hop and r&b.
Most recently, Arab MC's, DJ's, and producers have gained international recognition and praise for launching an underground Arab hip-hop revolution - bringing an old skool quality, sense of social awareness, and ruggedness of sound that much of American rap music has lost.
Now enters a new sound: Arab THRASH METAL!
Jordanian death metallers AJDATH have just released a new six-song EP, entitled "Triangle of Death". The CD features artwork by the Jordanian artist Amer Kokh (creator of Jahannam - Arabic for "Hell") , and is being distributed internationally through nine metal labels in the US, Russia, Canada, Germany, Venezuala, Colombia, and the UK.
According to AJDATH's website:
If you're into the metal scene, check out Myspace Music for a load of other great Arab Death, Thrash, Gothic, and Heavy Metal bands - rockin' straight out of the Middle East!AJDATH was formed in late 1995 under the name DIABOLICAL PERFECTION by
guitarist OMAR AL KILANI.
Later in 1997 it was named AJDATH an ancient arabic name that means the
graves of the resurrected dead.
AJDATH plays a combination of DEATH metal THRASH METAL in middle
eastern theme and old school riffing.
Support AJDATH - buy their CD!
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