Christine was here for two and a half weeks. We went to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Having now gone to three other Middle Eastern countries, I now KNOW that the cars in Lebanon truly are the crappiest. It actually makes no sense. Never have I been anywhere where the cars (I guess I'm talking mostly about the taxis) are so crappy. Sometimes when a service pulls up, I say to myself, I can't get into that, it won't make it up the mountain. In all the other countries, there are taxis that look like taxis, and they don't look like they have to be duct taped together. But as I've mentioned before, over 70% of the cars in Lebanon are over 20 years old. The whole thing is just scary.
What else?? Bed bugs. . . They exist. When you stay at really cheap hotels recommended by The Lonely Planet, (like $8-$12 a night for 2 people) you start scratching almost immediately after lying down. We brought towels and soap and had to buy toilet paper. But fortunately I also brought a sheet--my experience in 2-star hotels in India taught me something--and Ultrathon. Ultrathon is the bomb. It's the best insect repellant on the market. You get it in the camping section in Walmart. My mom is sending me some.
The Dead Sea is really salty. It HURTS when it gets in your eyes. And it's so buoyant, you can't keep your legs down. You just sort of sit there in the water.
And the men. I heard all these horror stories about Egyptian guys--groping, following you, etc. We really didn't have any problems. I guess I've learned now how to deal with them: ignore them. This advice goes for just about everything--people who want you to buy their stuff, kids begging on the street. Just keep on walking. (Actually, one time I saw a fully covered Muslim woman YELL at this little kid in Bombay. . .That kid ran away so fast. Who would have thought???)
But one early morning around 6 A.M. in Damascas, as we were going over a bridge to get to the bus station, a guy saw that we were by ourselves and with no one else around, and climbed up the other side of the bridge, and had his penis hanging out of his pants as he walked by us. I actually didn't see it. I noticed that his hand was down there, but I just looked away. Christine was a little behind me, and when I turned around, she looked kind of pale. I asked, "Was that guy vulgar?" And she was like, "You didn't see that?" Nope. I thought I was going to have to deal with Christine trauma for the next couple hours. But she got over it pretty quick.
To read Christine's Musings on Being in the Middle East, Greatest Hits, and travel tips, go to her blog at cfolch.blogspirit.com/.
To see the pictures of Syria, go to www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum31.html.
For Petra, go to www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum33.html.
For the rest of Jordan, including the Holy Land sites, Jerash, and Amman, go to www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum32.html.
The pictures from Egypt are at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum29.html.
July 31, 2005
July 30, 2005
Coverage
In Damascas
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
On a Nile cruise in Egypt, the contrast was startling. A very scantily clad Oriental dancer, what we in the West call a belly dancer, was basically wearing a bikini and fringe, while there were about 5 women with their heads covered and one completely covered in that black cloak that women in Saudi and the Gulf wear.
It reminded me of all that Latina literature and theory I studied in college, where it talked about women fitting into two categories: the Virgin Mary or the prostitute Mary Magdalene. Basically, if a girl/women doesn't stay at home and remain perfectly virginal, she's a slut. There is no "normal" woman. A guy can do whatever he wants. But women have to be perfect virgins. . . or else . . .
Since it was a dinner cruise, Christine and I were very curious about the women in black. How was she going to eat with that thing covering her whole face?. . .Or does she even get to eat in public? So as I was pretending to watch the band, I observed her attach a different black thing to her headscarf, kind of making a big tent. She then removed the part that was over her mouth and put her fork under the tent so she could eat. . . All the time making sure that no one could see her face.
In Jordan, it seemed that 90% of the women were covered. In Egypt, I would guesstimate 70%. In Lebanon, it may be about 30-40%, but really it depends on the region. Where I live in Aley, there are very few Muslims who cover.
In my college classes, we read all about the covering topic. How in many places the women chose to do this because they think it is part of serving and obeying God. In some places, it gives them freedom from harassment when they are in public, especially in crowded places like buses.
They say Western women are more "enslaved" by unrealistic body image standards and pressures to make them have to look sexy to gain the favor of men so they can get ahead in the world. . . And they are so right. I'd rather be covered, than have all my skin showing.
So I've never really thought that Muslims were backwards or anything because many of their women cover. Culturally, I do think it's more empowering and respectful of women.
But in Jordan, the whole thing started bothering me. It's really, really, really hot there. And unlike the Gulf or Houston, people are walking around outside. They don't confine themselves to their AC vehicle or AC shopping malls or offices. It was just so hot, and having one's head and neck covered, with a long cloak over pants seemed beyond unbearable to me.
But what really got me was seeing what the men wear. In Jordan it's some of them. But in Saudi and the Gulf, I think it's more common for the men to wear long, white, even transparent dresses. There's no belt. They're totally loose. They're modest in the sense that no skin shows or body outlines, and they are completely cool. It's the perfect thing to wear in hot weather, especially with the checkered cloth they have on their heads (which is not wrapped around their necks and ears). It just conveniently keeps the sun off the top of their head and the back of their neck.
How evil and disgusting is that! I was really, really sickened. The men go around in these cool white dresses with their Adidas soccer shorts underneath (which I could see) and the women have to wear long black cloaks over some pants or jeans outfit or have a scarf completely wrapped around their head, ears, and neck.
The whole double-standard really pissed me off. Not that the Arab world or Muslims are the only people to have double standards. It exists everywhere. But still, I wanted to yack. Culture shock sometimes slaps you in the face. It's hard work trying to understand where people are coming from and the good reasons for why people do what they do. This is just another example.
A Palestinian Refugee Camp
Bourj al-Bourajni
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
This is a Palestinian refugee camp, one of four in Beirut. Lebanon has 16. Palestinians are only officially allowed to work at 7 occupations, which are mostly menial labor jobs. They cannot own any property. Their schools and hospitals are run by UNRWA. They have about 60 kids in a class, and one doctor for about 20, 000 people.
Of course, teaching in a place like this is hell. What incentives do the children have to study, work hard in school, and graduate? They can't legally work in any profession. Yet there are some who do go on to colleges to get degrees that they can't really use in Lebanon--except, of course, to serve their own community.
Lebanon does not want to give the Palestinians any rights because they think that would be letting Israel off the hook. . . Where's the logic here? So they do evil in response to Israel's evil. (Compare to Jesus's/MLK's turn-the-other-cheek method.)
In this picture, you can see the crazy electrical wires that are everywhere. People getting electrocuted is a big problem. This is one of the widest pathways in the camp. The rest are not wide enough for two people to pass side by side. Thousands of people live cramped in a one-mile squared space.
The Palestinians get screwed on all sides. No one lets them have land or citizenship or even basic human rights.
It's easy to hate Israel. But when you come here, it becomes really easy to hate Lebanon, Jordan, and the rest of the Arab World who have done nothing to help the people whose cause they seem to champion so vehemently.
You can come here and serve. I met a lot of people (actually all white women) who are volunteering their services over the summer--doing occupational therapy, social work, nursing, teaching creativity classes with the kids, doing aerobics and fitness classes. Come one, come all! I can put you in touch with the people who run these things. I was going to volunteer. But I decided that right now studying Arabic is a better investment of my time.
Beirut
The Corniche
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
This is the Corniche. It's lovely. You see why I cried when Hariri died. Some people wanted to remind me how he was corrupt and dirty and a mafioso like all the other dirty politicians. I know, and yet, Beirut is lovely. And it's really a shame that people are scared and aren't coming.
So here's a dumb thing I did:
I was going to the eye doctor yesterday, and I wasn't exactly sure what bus to get on. So I hopped on one and asked the guys if it was going to "Dora." And they were like "No." So I just hopped off--after the bus was already moving!!! And I was wearing a skirt and girly shoes!! But not only is that retarded. There were these guys on the street watching me as I almost died, jumping off the moving bus. And then I was like, "Which is the bus to Dora?" (in Arabic, of course.) And they said I had to take the bus that I just jumped off of. So I felt kind of dumb.
It was Friday after work, and that bus goes through all Christian neighborhoods. I actually felt kind of nervous. All of these bombings have been happening in Christian neighborhoods and on the weekends.
Oh well, that's Lebanon. But it's still lovely. And people should still come. Everybody loves it here.
July 17, 2005
Egypt
Giza
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
This was the highlight of the two weeks. Being on a camel under the hot sun facing the desert was more than overwhelming. It's kind of like the ocean--huge and endless. Being in it is almost frightening. You feel how little you are, and how big the universe is. It would be so easy to get lost. In the middle of nowhere, under the hot sun.
It made me realize why the Arab/Bedouin culture is so different. Who can live like this? Who can live here? What kind of a person does it make you? To see the same everywhere and have it interrupted by the occasional oasis.
In Giza, you just look behind you and see Cairo. But our tour guide said he could take us all the way to Libya. . .
What a nightmare!
The Holy Land
Baptism in the Jordan River
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
So I finally went. But not to Palestine, to Jordan. We went to the Jordan river. See Christine babtizing me. I got to be Jesus. She was John the Baptist.
You can see where the height of the water used to be. It's very little now. Part of the reason is that Israel has diverted it for itself. (Israel likes to take other people's water--see "Khiam".)
I could look over into Palestine. There was a Jordanian soldier there and all along the river were wires that the South Carolina, just-finished-a-year-stint-doing-security-in-Iraq, dude told us were military communications stuff.
The other place where I got to look over to Palestine was from Mt. Nebo. This is where Moses got to see the Promised Land. He couldn't go in, though, because he disobeyed God. He's buried somewhere on that mountain. It was really, really "moving" "deep" (why can't I make this sound not trite?). It was just too symbolic. If I were Lebanese or Syrian, this would be the closest I could get to the Holy Land. I kept thinking of all the Christians and Muslims I know who can't go to Israel. And here I am standing as close as they'll get--the site of Moses's punishment.
Of course, I'm not punished, though, I have the blue passport. It's let's me get into anywhere. (Except for Saudi Arabia, but I'll try to work on that.) We couldn't see Jerusalem. It was too cloudy. Apparently at night, you can see the lights.
For pictures of Jordan, including the amazing city of Petra, (think Indiana Jones), go to
Walid Beik and the "Tribalism" of Lebanese Politics
Walid Beik and I
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
This is a picture of me and Walid Jumblatt. This picture is a BIG DEAL!!! For all you non-Lebanese, you might need an explanation as to who this guy is. He is the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party. He is one of the leading politicians in the opposition against Syria. He has been one of the most important Arab politicians since his father, Kemal Jumblatt, was assassinated by the Syrians in 1974. But most importantly, he is the Druze tribal chief.
When I say tribe, I mean "sects" or as some put it, "religion." Politics is very tribal here. Maybe there was some movement beyond sectarianism in the last election, but I don't think so. The Christians are just as tribal as the Druze, even more so. Some of my Christian friends HATE Walid Jumblatt, because he was a war lord and a criminal. He ordered the destruction of many Christian towns on the mountain. But at the same time, these people are like, "Haram, Samir Geagea." Poor, Geagea, the Christian psychopath who bombed a church to try to frame Muslims. He's still in prison; all the other warlords are out. So that's not fair, they say. Actually, the new government has issued an amnesty, and he'll be out of prison by the end of the week. I have a great view of the fireworks from my apartment.
People in my neighborhood adore Walid Beik. When I showed the picture to the security guard at school, he said "We have been fighting with him for more than 20 years, and never do we have such a picture. You are here for only 9 months. . ." . . . Another reason to feel guilty about my American privilege???
One of my Druze friends started yelling and punching me when she saw it; it was her automatic reaction. And of course I blew it up to bring to school to show the kids.
On Sundays, Jumblatt opens his mansions in Mukhtara to the public. Anyone can come. I came with a group of Americans, but most of the people were there were Druze. Some came to discuss issues of the community, some for personal favors, and some just to be up close and personal with their hero. Here, he is the tribal chief. They call him "Walid Beik," which comes from the Turkish word, "bey," a regional governor in the Ottoman empire.
So what's he like?? He was very jittery; he couldn't stop shaking his leg. It was two weeks before the election, and he obviously didn't have any time. (So it was cool that he made time for us) He's super intellectual and had a long-term view of everything. He criticized every politician.
Here's an excerpt from an October 2004 BBC article.
"Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader and leading member of the opposition . . . warned that 'the decision to extend Mr Lahoud's term is a matter that will throw the country into a cycle of violence'". That's very prophetic. The extention of President Lahoud's term led Hariri to resign from the government and was the beginning of the cycle of assassinations in Lebanon.
After the formal questions, Walid Beik took us into his private library. He had a lot of books about planes and guns and such. He said in an off-hand, sarcastic sort of way, "I graduated from AUB, and then had to become a warlord." He didn't have a choice. They killed his dad. He had to take over.
When I first saw him on TV, I was like, "That's Smithers from the Simpson's." He looks better in real life. Like a human, not a cartoon.
I know I diss Lebanon a lot in my blog. And I realized as I was reading over what I've written that I've picked up too many Tom Friedman-ism's. The whole "tribalism" of Arab politics. For me to say that, I need to talk about the tribalism or racialism of the U.S. Religion is to Lebanon what race is to the U.S. Both countries have made some strides out of their ugly pasts. There are always some notable examples. But people are still primitive. As Marx says, "Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like an Alp on the brains of the living. . . "
I can criticize Lebanon and maybe the Arab World for its "tribalism", but the U.S. is just as primitive. I mean we do have a president who wants to replace one of two female Supreme Court justices with a white male. Where is the progress there? But at the same time, I saw the news in Lebanon when Condoleeza Rice made her surprise visit. And the image on the TV almost paralyzed me--all the light-skinned, Lebanese men in their fancy designer suits with the one black woman. And they all had to kiss her ass. It was one of those rare moments in my life where I really felt proud to be an American.
But progress is slow on all fronts. It will be a long time before the politics in Lebanon moves past religious sectarianism.
Khiam
Foda-Se Israel
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
I took a field trip to the South with a Lebanese friend and a Harvard Ph.D. student from Thailand. I was dumb and forgot to bring my passport. I forgot that the "South" is still like another country, heavily militarized, even though Israel officially pulled out in the year 2000. It was okay though because my Lebanese friend is a smooth talker. Apparently, her uncle-relation is a judge in the region. Whether it's true or not, that's called wasta. It's how things get done in Lebanon.
May 25th is a national holiday called Liberation Day. It was the day Hizbollah succeeded in kicking out Israel. Israel rolled into Lebanon in 1982, at the height of the civil war. That same year, they surrounded and closed off the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, while the Christian Phalangist militias ran wild, massacring thousands of innocent people over the course of three days. There's a picture of Ariel Sharon watching the carnage. (Israelis took to the streets in protest against their own government and Sharon when it all came to light.)
So the Israelis set up an occupation zone in southern Lebanon. They say it was to prevent terrorists (Hizbollah and the like) from shooting bombs into northern Israel. Many say it's to get access to the water. They set up a prison called Khiam. In May 2000, the Lebanese were glued to their televisions as they saw people storm the prison to release the 140 people still in there. It's a museum today, run by Hizbollah. I got to see the cells and torture chambers and electrical torture instruments and wooden beams they strung people on. It's really unfathomable that this was happening in the year 2000. And who was in there, being imprisoned and tortured??? Not condemned criminals. There were no trials for these guys. Yes, guys, mostly boys, Shia who lived in the region who were part of Hizbollah or somehow connected or just could potentially be connected (which is everyone who lives there.)
All the walls are covered in grafitti, mostly in Arabic. But in this picture, I saw something I understood. It says "Go f-- yourself, Israel" and "God is just" in Portuguese.
Explosions and such
At the protest
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
So you might have noticed I haven't blogged at all since Hariri's assassination. I was kind of too overwhelmed by the whole thing. Some of you were e-mailing me, asking how I was. And I know a lot of you are news junkies and read all the analysis anyways. So in a way, I felt like I had nothing to contribute. I was reading all the analysis too, and just getting overwhelmed.
I have cried--twice--over Hariri. About three years ago, downtown was nothing. Still destroyed from the war. But now it's beautiful. Great stone, European-style buildings with outdoor restaurants where people smoke argila and drink coffee. Little kids run around the Place d'Etoile (chased by their Sri Lankan and Phillipino workers--the trafficing in women from Asia can be another blog.)
I know people who got scholarship money from him. If you want to go to a top end school in Lebanon, you have to have money. The government doesn't give financial aid. Hariri gave a LOT of scholarship money. And these friends are Druze. He wasn't keeping it to his sect--the Sunni Muslims.
A couple days ago was the fifth explosion, and apparently the biggest. How does this affect me? Aley is dead. There are supposed to be tons of people here in the summer. All my friends who work in the souk are very depressed.
But I don't let it stop me from anything. It has all been in Christian areas. Driving home the other night through Ashrafiyeh, a Christian area, there were military checkpoints. But this is normal now, everywhere.
One night, the phone cut off when I was talking to Christine. I then heard a loud noise. I said Christine, "Check on line. I think there was another big explosion." I was in my apartment in Aley, 17 km. up the mountain from Beirut. I heard Hariri's, too. It was during the lunch break at school. I was talking to some of my students and we heard it. "What was that?" I asked. They said, "Oh, that's just Israel flying their planes really low making that explosion noise." Of course, Israel always does that, just to be obnoxious.
How else did this affect me? We missed a lot of school days for protests and national strikes called by the opposition. Then we had to make up 4 Saturdays, which was one of the most horrible things I've ever had to experience.
Oh, and who's doing it? Here in Aley, if there's wrong weather, it's Syria's fault. During the war, the Syrian soldiers would just occupy people's houses and they took or destroyed all the stuff when they left.
But why would Syria do it? To bring the world's condemnation on them. I say it's the Americans or the Israelis. The U.S. needs more of a justification to be where it shouldn't. Iraq stuff spills over into Syria. Israel would like to have a weaker Syria, since it's a regional power that tries to keep Israel in check.
I guess some are concerned about bombs. But y'all shouldn't be. All you brave souls should come visit me anyways.
This always makes me laugh
A funny text message going around Lebanon. . .
You cry. I cry. You smile. I smile. You jump out the window. I look down and say "Oh my Cod!"
Oh my Cod!!!!! I just love that.
I say it all the time now.
You cry. I cry. You smile. I smile. You jump out the window. I look down and say "Oh my Cod!"
Oh my Cod!!!!! I just love that.
I say it all the time now.
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