tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48079880424197285462024-02-08T16:18:00.887+04:00Mich CaféGood morning, sabaho, bonjour...Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-28743938475108939452015-10-01T11:05:00.000+04:002015-10-01T11:05:13.394+04:00Cheers to Palestine’s beer... Taybeh!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UST6RXDaRe4/VgrgiUs7RwI/AAAAAAAARIA/AjoUJVsMYMs/s1600/2015-08-07%2B14.23.37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UST6RXDaRe4/VgrgiUs7RwI/AAAAAAAARIA/AjoUJVsMYMs/s400/2015-08-07%2B14.23.37.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Beer and Oktoberfest in Palestine? Yes, indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After traveling for about 10 hours from Dubai, to Amman, passing
the Jordanian and Israeli cross points, and finally a taxi ride to the Occupied
West Bank town of Beit Jala, what better way to quench the thirst of the day
than a beer, and a Palestinian beer at that – Taybeh (goodly in Arabic).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am no expert on beer, but I loved it and stuck with Taybeh during
my three-week stay in Palestine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was also told about the Taybeh Oktoberfest, which this year
took place on September 19 and 20, unfortunately too late for my visit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhV20EyAQng/Vgrgkp1ASeI/AAAAAAAARIU/BKqiORdSmjs/s1600/Founders_pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhV20EyAQng/Vgrgkp1ASeI/AAAAAAAARIU/BKqiORdSmjs/s400/Founders_pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><a href="http://taybehbeer.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Taybeh Brewing
Company</span></a></span></strong><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">
is located in the Occupied West village of the same name, just outside Ramallah
and </span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">15</span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> km from Jerusalem. It</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">is a family-owned
business established in 1994 following the Oslo Peace Agreement (1993). B</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;">rothers </span></span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">David and Nadim Khoury</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> were inspired by their late father,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Canaan David Khoury</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">, </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">to return to their home
village of</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Taybeh</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">after spending more than 20
years in the U.S. and establish the first microbrewery in the Middle East.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Their goal was to invest and boost the local
economy by introducing new styles of natural hand-crafted microbrewed beers
according to the German Purity Law -- with no preservatives or additives.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Nadim
Khoury</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">turned his hobby of
making homemade beer during his college days into a career, becoming the master
brewer. He is now passing on this passion and experience to his daughter,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Madees Khoury</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, the only female brewer in Palestine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Taybeh’s mission is to produce a premium high
quality hand-crafted beer, contribute to the Palestinian economy, widen
international market presence and elevate tourism. Their vision is to be the
top performing beverage company in the Middle East with entrepreneurial
leadership and innovative brewing techniques.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In 1997, Taybeh beer became the
first Palestinian product to be franchised in Germany, where it was brewed and
bottled for sale in Europe. The beer is also exported directly from Taybeh to
Sweden and as far as Japan.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From 500 liters of beer in 1995, the company produced 600,000
liters in 2011, mainly sold in the Occupied West Bank and Israel. Before the
Second Intifada in 2000, the beer was sold to upscale bars in Israel. According
to David Khoury, the brewery now sells over six million liters a year,.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QMBpVCTsQXs/VgrgmSNxtpI/AAAAAAAARIg/SDZWfxMef_A/s1600/Guy_with_bottles_pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QMBpVCTsQXs/VgrgmSNxtpI/AAAAAAAARIg/SDZWfxMef_A/s400/Guy_with_bottles_pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nadim Khoury showing off four of the varieties of Taybeh beer</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are five varieties of Taybeh
Beer -- Golden, Light, Amber, Dark, and White. In 2007, a new non-alcoholic
beer variety was launched specifically for the local Palestinian Muslim market.
The original brand is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Taybeh Beer
Golden, which I was drinking. The Dark and Light were introduced for the 2000
celebrations in the Holy Land. The Dark variety follows the classic way monks
brewed beer in the Middle Ages to fortify themselves during their fasting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ofJR4Pf1Ugw/VgrgoUSq3jI/AAAAAAAARIw/oIdt0BOZtL0/s1600/Nadim%2Bwines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ofJR4Pf1Ugw/VgrgoUSq3jI/AAAAAAAARIw/oIdt0BOZtL0/s400/Nadim%2Bwines.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Nadim wines</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In November 2014, Nadim Khoury opened a line of Taybeh wines –
a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah -- marketed under the brand name "Nadim”
(or drinking companion).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Taybeh is one of two Palestinian beers in the Occupied West Bank. </span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">The second, </span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Shepherds</span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">,</span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> was launched in the university town of Birzeit last June. You can
read about Shepherds in a </span><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/4d525bec-5d2e-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2,Authorised=false.html?siteedition=intl&_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F4d525bec-5d2e-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2.html%3Fsiteedition%3Dintl&_i_referer=&classification=condition"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">recent
article</span></a><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> in the Financial Times.</span><strong><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oktoberfest<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2RySR0x0Lw/VgrgnR-R7hI/AAAAAAAARIo/d7EkhBtcG1Q/s1600/Poster%2Bof%2BOktoberfest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2RySR0x0Lw/VgrgnR-R7hI/AAAAAAAARIo/d7EkhBtcG1Q/s400/Poster%2Bof%2BOktoberfest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Taybeh Brewing Company has been welcoming
people from all corners of the world to celebrate Oktoberfest every year since
2005 when David Khoury became the first democratically-elected Mayor of
Taybeh.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He inspired the Taybeh Municipality, and all
local civic organizations, to collaborate in boosting the collapsed local
economy and place Taybeh on the international map.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNcbAo0s8Ho/Vgrgj4RtsII/AAAAAAAARII/BtBt33KiLKM/s1600/Nadim%2Bpouring%2Bbeer%2Bat%2BOktoberfest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNcbAo0s8Ho/Vgrgj4RtsII/AAAAAAAARII/BtBt33KiLKM/s400/Nadim%2Bpouring%2Bbeer%2Bat%2BOktoberfest.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nadim Khoury serving Taybeh beer at the Oktoberfest</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This unique event has been called the highlight
of the Palestine summer season reaching over 16,000 visitors annually. The
exquisite hills and valleys of the village offer the perfect escape from any
busy schedule for all international and local people who come to support local
products and boost the economy while celebrating the deep cultural heritage
offered by one of the most ancient spots in Palestine also known by its
Biblical name, Ephraim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Taybeh village<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Taybeh is among the last all-Christian communities in the Occupied
West Bank. It has been identified as the site of Ophrah</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, mentioned in the Bible<span style="color: #252525;"> (</span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Joshua" title="Book of Joshua"><span style="color: #0b0080; line-height: 115%;">Book
of Joshua</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;">18:23) </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">as a town of Benjamin, which was
later renamed Ephraim. But the word Ophrah was close in sound to <i>afrit </i>(demon
in Arabic). Under</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Saladin, the name was changed to “Taybeh"
-- "The goodly.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_DafiWMD4lk/Vgrgp399y9I/AAAAAAAARI4/1MOU7rc2GY4/s1600/Taybeh%2Bvillage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_DafiWMD4lk/Vgrgp399y9I/AAAAAAAARI4/1MOU7rc2GY4/s400/Taybeh%2Bvillage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taybeh village in the Occupied West Bank</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">According to local tradition, Saladin met a delegation of Ephraim
inhabitants during his wars against the Crusaders. Impressed by the hospitality
of the locals, he named the village Taybeh, or “goodly” in Arabic.<sup> </sup>Another
version of the story is that he was charmed by their goodness and the beauty of
their faces, ordering the village to be renamed</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Tayyibat al-Isem</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">(Beautiful of Name).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In the Bible, after Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus retired to
Taybeh with his disciples. John says, "Since that day on, they (the Pharisees)<span style="color: #252525;"> </span>made the decision to kill him. Jesus did not walk
in public among the Jews</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">anymore. He went away to a region
near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, and it was there that he and his
disciples dwelt." (John 11: 53-54). This happened probably around the year
30.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;">In </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">the 5th century, a church</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">known today as St. George's Church, was built in the east of
the town. In the 12th century, another church was built by the Crusaders<span style="color: #252525;">, </span>in attachment to the first one. They</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">fortified Taybeh with the Castle of
St. Elias.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In 1882, the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_Exploration_Fund" title="Palestine Exploration Fund"><span style="color: #0b0080; line-height: 115%;">Palestine Exploration Fund</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">'s</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Survey of Western Palestine</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">described Taybeh as a "large Christian village in a
conspicuous position, with well-built stone houses. A central tower stands on
the top of the hill; on either side are olive and fig gardens in the low
ground. The view is extensive on either side. A ruined church of St, George
exists near, and there are remains of a ruined castle in the village.”</span></span></div>
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Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-30799482976270434892015-09-23T11:01:00.000+04:002015-09-23T11:01:52.114+04:00Flag Day in the UAE, next in Palestine?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_EpG6cKPbzA/VgGacJeH_rI/AAAAAAAAREI/h1xud8K3rag/s1600/Flag%2Bday%2BUAE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_EpG6cKPbzA/VgGacJeH_rI/AAAAAAAAREI/h1xud8K3rag/s320/Flag%2Bday%2BUAE.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flag Day in the UAE on November 3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Two
flag-related news items in the past couple of weeks got me thinking about our
flags -- a symbol we maybe overlook sometimes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
first is that November 3 has been designated “Flag Day” in the Emirates. The
second is a UN General Assembly resolution that approved the flying of the
Palestinian flag at UN Headquarters in New York.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Both
flags, coincidentally, have the same colors and are very similar in design.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
is difficult to overlook the flag in the UAE. It is proudly displayed not only
on government buildings but also on businesses and homes, especially in the
run-up to National Day on December 2.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">HH
Sheikh Mohammed, Vice President and Prime Minster of the United Arab Emirates
and Ruler of Dubai, or Sheikh Mo as he is affectionately known, on September 15
called on Emiratis to hoist the UAE flag atop all departments, institutions and
homes around the country, in an expression of solidarity with the Emirati
martyrs who were killed in the line of duty while taking part in the Arab
Coalition's Operation Restoring Hope, led by Saudi Arabia.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-reGVMWLiMjQ/VgGaflwDZUI/AAAAAAAARDE/q9RyiEYvHAo/s1600/Mo_on_Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-reGVMWLiMjQ/VgGaflwDZUI/AAAAAAAARDE/q9RyiEYvHAo/s320/Mo_on_Twitter.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HH Sheikh Mohammed's posting on Twitter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Sheikh
Mo’s call came via his official Twitter account. He posted: “We call on all
Emiratis to express their solidarity through hoisting the UAE flag atop their
homes, departments and institutions around the country.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="date"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">On
the same day, the </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">UN General Assembly overwhelmingly
passed a Palestinian resolution to allow its flag to fly in front of the UN
headquarters in New York, infuriating Israel of course and giving hope to Palestinians
seeking to gain full UN membership.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Guj2rFZjBY/VgGao-tQOHI/AAAAAAAARDM/17D8_QyTjB4/s1600/Wall%2Bflag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Guj2rFZjBY/VgGao-tQOHI/AAAAAAAARDM/17D8_QyTjB4/s400/Wall%2Bflag.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying the Palestinian flag atop the Wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The vote was passed with
119 votes out of 193 in favor. Among the European countries that voted “yes”
were France, Russia, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Luxembourg,
Belgium, Malta and Poland. The majority of EU member states were among
the 45 countries that abstained. A total of eight countries voted against,
including the U.S. and Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kMVKUOmR89o/VgGccIbCH5I/AAAAAAAARDw/B48CsbIjdSM/s1600/The_resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kMVKUOmR89o/VgGccIbCH5I/AAAAAAAARDw/B48CsbIjdSM/s400/The_resolution.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The General Assembly resolution</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Currently, the UN has only one other
non-member observer state -- the Vatican. The Holy See was not supportive when
the idea was first brought up last month, however, and rejected the
Palestinians’ original proposal to introduce the resolution as a joint effort,
asking the Vatican to co-sponsor the document. The Vatican still remains
unsure whether it will be flying its flag next to Palestine’s.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
is may be a small symbolic victory. But seeing that Israel flies its flag all
over Palestine, why not?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9og-rf6C2jI/VgGcHo2eyJI/AAAAAAAARDg/H60cLJmo0ds/s1600/2015-08-13%2B15.57.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9og-rf6C2jI/VgGcHo2eyJI/AAAAAAAARDg/H60cLJmo0ds/s400/2015-08-13%2B15.57.01.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Israeli flag flying in the streets...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFku_SnvGJw/VgGcYk77KBI/AAAAAAAARDo/DxgyHQsP3ks/s1600/2015-08-13%2B15.58.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFku_SnvGJw/VgGcYk77KBI/AAAAAAAARDo/DxgyHQsP3ks/s400/2015-08-13%2B15.58.38.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">of the Old City of Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
was shocked and dismayed by these Israeli flags flying all over, especially in
the Old City of Jerusalem. Maybe a “Flag Day” in Palestine will go some way in
redressing the balance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">DESIGN<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Palestinian flag is a
tricolor of three equal horizontal stripes -- black, white, and green from top
to bottom -- overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. These are the
Pan-Arab colors inspired by the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule (1916–1918).
Prior to being the flag of the Palestinian people, it was the flag of the short-lived
Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The flag used by the Arab Palestinian
nationalists in the first half of the 20th century is the flag of the 1916 Arab
Revolt. The origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology. In
one version, the colors were chosen by the Arab nationalist “Literary Club” in
Constantinople in 1909, based on the words of the 13th-century Arab poet
Safiaddin al-Hili:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Ask the high rising spears, of our
aspirations</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Bring witness the swords, did we lose
hope</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">We are a band, honor halts our souls</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Of beginning with harm, those who
won’t harm us</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">White are our deeds, black are our
battles,</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Green are our fields, red are our
swords<span style="color: #252525;">.</span></span></i><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #252525;"><br /></span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Another version credits the<span style="color: #252525;"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Fatat" title="Al-Fatat"><span style="color: #0b0080; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Young Arab Society</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, formed in Paris
in 1911. Yet<span style="color: #252525;"> </span>another version is that the
flag was designed by<span style="color: #252525;"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Sykes" title="Mark Sykes"><span style="color: #0b0080; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Sir Mark Sykes</span></a><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">(of<span style="color: #252525;"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Sykes-Picot</span></a><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">repute).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">On October 18, 1948, the flag of the
Arab Revolt was adopted by the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Palestine_Government" title="All-Palestine Government"><span style="color: #0b0080; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">All-Palestine Government</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, and was recognized subsequently by
the Arab League as the flag of Palestine. A modified version (changing the
order of stripes) has been used in Palestine at least since the late 1930s<sup>
</sup>and was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. On November 15, 1988 the PLO
adopted the flag as the flag of the State of Palestine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw6XJhBaTeQ/VgJN3QLN3uI/AAAAAAAAREc/A1Kd1nQ_CWw/s1600/new%2Bflag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw6XJhBaTeQ/VgJN3QLN3uI/AAAAAAAAREc/A1Kd1nQ_CWw/s400/new%2Bflag.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying the Palestinian flag</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">On the ground the flag became widely
used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the Palestinian
Authority</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">in 1993.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In 1967, immediately following the
Six-Day War, Israel banned the Palestinian flag in the Occupied West Bank and
Gaza Strip. A 1980 law forbidding artwork of "political significance"
banned artwork composed of its four colors, and Palestinians were arrested
for displaying such artwork. <span style="color: #252525;">S</span>ince the
signing of the<span style="color: #252525;"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Peace_Accords" title="Oslo Peace Accords"><span style="color: #0b0080; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Oslo Peace Accords</span></a><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">in<span style="color: #252525;"> </span>1993, the ban has been abolished.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Let's proudly fly our flag...</span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-76124489044454502122015-09-16T11:27:00.003+04:002015-09-20T21:42:05.749+04:00ADEL, Palestine’s Fair Trade initiative<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-byLzv-AgntU/VffJi8NXXtI/AAAAAAAAQ6A/eAYSXYrc2EE/s1600/2015-08-22%2B18.06.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-byLzv-AgntU/VffJi8NXXtI/AAAAAAAAQ6A/eAYSXYrc2EE/s400/2015-08-22%2B18.06.32.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Beit Jala Saturday market with Eric Shehadeh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">An organic Farmers’ Market in Beit Jala? With
produce in Palestine grown locally and of such good taste and quality, it was
quite a pleasant surprise to find out one takes place every Saturday in the Occupied
West Bank city.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It is organized by the National Fair Trade
Non-Profit Corporation “</span><a href="http://www.adelft.com/"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">ADEL</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">,” established in 2011. What
better name than <i>adel, </i>which means<i> </i>fair in Arabic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRzJp6JCndw/Vf7szpOTA7I/AAAAAAAARBs/YPeD3JwIX7g/s1600/ADEL%2Bposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRzJp6JCndw/Vf7szpOTA7I/AAAAAAAARBs/YPeD3JwIX7g/s400/ADEL%2Bposter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although quite small in Beit Jala, it is
bigger in Ramallah where it is held on Tuesdays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone in the
Occupied Territories tries, as much as possible, to buy Palestinian or at
least non-Israeli products. The ADEL market guarantees that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k0guoZDSii8/VfhzL6JcOeI/AAAAAAAAQ8Y/J7zqmCqvgqg/s1600/2015-08-22%2B11.20.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k0guoZDSii8/VfhzL6JcOeI/AAAAAAAAQ8Y/J7zqmCqvgqg/s400/2015-08-22%2B11.20.15.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cucumbers, tomatoes, white cheese and olives from the market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jR-HeWjd5tQ/VfhzRIVFubI/AAAAAAAAQ8g/kta5nQptMSw/s1600/2015-08-06%2B16.41.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jR-HeWjd5tQ/VfhzRIVFubI/AAAAAAAAQ8g/kta5nQptMSw/s400/2015-08-06%2B16.41.54.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pickling organic cucumbers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09H6oDruivs/VffJm0lTQgI/AAAAAAAAQ7I/hUSJA2b4XnA/s1600/2015-08-22%2B18.09.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09H6oDruivs/VffJm0lTQgI/AAAAAAAAQ7I/hUSJA2b4XnA/s400/2015-08-22%2B18.09.40.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nablus soap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DEogX1Wxmo8/VffJnXpJliI/AAAAAAAAQ7U/ZCpnnPrf_HM/s1600/2015-08-22%2B18.12.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DEogX1Wxmo8/VffJnXpJliI/AAAAAAAAQ7U/ZCpnnPrf_HM/s400/2015-08-22%2B18.12.39.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most delicious raisins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the two occasions we were able to visit the
ADEL market in Beit Jala, we bought tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, parsley,
bottled juices, mouloukhia and many other things that were all excellent. I am
using the Nablus soap bar I got back with me and still regret not stocking up on
raisins. They were so big and delicious. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Fair-Trade-Adel-Corporation-289191397880630/timeline/"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">ADEL Fair Trade</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is a non-governmental organization
(NGO) that Catholic Relief Services (</span><a href="http://www.crsfairtrade.org/"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">CRS
Fair Trade</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">) helped
establish in Palestine to help vulnerable women and disadvantaged farmers
produce healthy products at a fair price.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B_TAFQMzbgQ/Vf7s1l97deI/AAAAAAAARCA/7RH7nMxlr1M/s1600/Market%2BRamallah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B_TAFQMzbgQ/Vf7s1l97deI/AAAAAAAARCA/7RH7nMxlr1M/s400/Market%2BRamallah.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The ADEL market in Ramallah</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While ADEL received CRS support over two years, it is now a
self-sufficient Fair Trade business supporting its workers from the money
generated from the sale of its products.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ADEL runs an Empowerment and Rehabilitation Program to build
the producers’ capacities, empower them technically, administratively and
financially and rehabilitate production centers, committed to general health
conditions and food safety principles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhHWcjBAkew/Vf7sx0XWQpI/AAAAAAAARBg/2fpjIJFx5y8/s1600/Maamoul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhHWcjBAkew/Vf7sx0XWQpI/AAAAAAAARBg/2fpjIJFx5y8/s400/Maamoul.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Palestinian ladies preparing Ma'amoul for the Goods Home Delivery Program</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Its other programs are the Goods Home Delivery Program (for
Ma’amoul, cheese, olive oil and grapes), the Support Local Products and Enjoy
Healthy Life Program and the Occupation Products Boycott Program.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apart from generating long-term income for marginalized
families and tens of cooperatives, ADEL has been successful in providing a
Palestinian replacement for Israeli strawberries and mushrooms, among other
products. It is also building groups of Fair Trade ambassadors under
Occupation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3jJ_3Z6W-Xc/Vfh4qli5zhI/AAAAAAAAQ84/uS9l1uenAbA/s1600/BDS_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3jJ_3Z6W-Xc/Vfh4qli5zhI/AAAAAAAAQ84/uS9l1uenAbA/s1600/BDS_logo.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="hascaption"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">ADEL encourages the purchase
in Palestinian produce instead of Israeli products as per the</span></span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> global movement for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and
Palestinian rights. Initiated by Palestinian civil society in 2005 and coordinated
by the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.bdsmovement.net/BNC"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">Palestinian BDS National
Committee</span></span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> (BNC)</span></a><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"> established in 2007, BDS is a
strategy that allows people of conscience to play an effective role in the
Palestinian struggle for justice.</span><span class="hascaption"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="hascaption"><b><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Success story<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="hascaption"><b><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m75cUcwHHQY/Vf7syxkgZkI/AAAAAAAARBo/Sik3alYXXnE/s1600/Dina%2BSharif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="347" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m75cUcwHHQY/Vf7syxkgZkI/AAAAAAAARBo/Sik3alYXXnE/s400/Dina%2BSharif.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Dina al-Sharif at her exhibition in Ramalla</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dina al-Sharif, from a small
village north of Nablus, is an example of ADEL’s success stories. She is one of
the leading and creative disadvantaged producers who are working to increase their
income and independence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dina, who is wheelchair-bound, was
struggling to meet her basic needs. She felt marginalized and undervalued because
she took longer to finish her knitting products. For example, she needed 10 days at a
rate of eight hours a day to produce a wool jacket or quilt only to finally
sell it at a low and unfair price. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through ADEL, Dina received
training in quality, packaging and transportation of her products. She
is now one of the leading producers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She received an incentive grant of
$1,000 to buy a sewing machine and raw materials to improve her production and
market her products at a fair price so as to meet her basic family and personal
needs.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In March 2013, ADEL held the “First
Solidarity Exhibition” in corporation with the Technical College for Girls in Ramallah
dedicated to Dina’s handmade products. The exhibition was great success. She
made more than $300 and got more exposure for her work.</span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-84068905826784529212015-09-10T11:48:00.000+04:002015-09-10T11:48:20.037+04:00Palestine's only female taxi driver<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6v17ZLtZaGc/VfCAXy_jncI/AAAAAAAAQ0k/_Ea2x2iHDXc/s1600/Taxi%2Bpic%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6v17ZLtZaGc/VfCAXy_jncI/AAAAAAAAQ0k/_Ea2x2iHDXc/s400/Taxi%2Bpic%2B3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; text-align: start;">Nadia Ahmad at the wheel of her taxi [Abed al-Qaisi/Al Jazeera]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Nadia
Ahmad is planning to start her own fleet of taxis in the Occupied West Bank
town of Hebron -- driven by women, for women, Sheren Khalel and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-style: normal; padding: 0in;">Abed al-Qaisi <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/palestine-female-taxi-driver-big-plans-150813124001006.html?utm_content=bufferf209b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer"><span style="color: blue;">report</span></a>
for Al Jazeera.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<em style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #333333; font-style: normal; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
is something we discussed with friends during my stay in the Occupied West Bank
town of Beit Jala last month. Everyone was curious to hear about Dubai and its
progress. Among other topics, we spoke of the city’s pink taxis driven by
women. So it was a very pleasant surprise when I spotted this news item on Al
Jazeera, especially considering the very volatile situation in Hebron where
Palestinians are subjected to constant harassment by Israeli settlers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Khalal
and Qaisi write:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Nadia
Ahmad prefers to drive in manual. She laughs, motioning with one hand as if she
is changing gears while the other one rests on an imaginary wheel.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Ahmad
has been preoccupied with cars since she was a young girl, but she never
thought she would end up making a living out of her love for being behind the
wheel.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">For
the past two years, Ahmad has been driving a taxi through the streets of Hebron.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">While
she never planned to make a political statement with her career, there is no
getting around it: Ahmad is believed to be the only female taxi driver in
all of Palestine.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Her
floral-printed mauve headscarf and long black abaya stand out among the rows of
bare male elbows poking out of the drivers' windows in the bustling city of
Hebron.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">She
says her husband, a professor of information technology at a local university,
never challenged her dream of driving a taxi -- but many others in the
community were not as open to her unusual job choice.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6m4ArS7iXs/VfCAQokXl2I/AAAAAAAAQ0g/3cbo3-fWrpA/s1600/Taxi%2Bpic%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6m4ArS7iXs/VfCAQokXl2I/AAAAAAAAQ0g/3cbo3-fWrpA/s400/Taxi%2Bpic%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">Nadia Ahmad shows off her driving license [Abed al-Qaisi/Al Jazeera]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">"In
the beginning, there was a lot of gossip. When my brother heard other drivers
talking about me, about 'that woman who drives a taxi,' he came home and was
furious and demanded I stop at once," Ahmad told Al Jazeera.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Ahmad
stopped driving for several months after that, but her husband urged her to
continue.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Nahid
Abu Taima, who teaches a course on feminism in the media at Birzeit University,
told Al Jazeera that women like Ahmad are trailblazers in Palestine, paving the
way for an equal society.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wHFXPI9qLWA/VfCAmC5nmMI/AAAAAAAAQ0s/eI1NSXHv0sI/s1600/Fisherwoman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wHFXPI9qLWA/VfCAmC5nmMI/AAAAAAAAQ0s/eI1NSXHv0sI/s400/Fisherwoman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madeleine Kulab, 16, Gaza's only fisherwoman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">"There's
another woman like [Ahmad] in Gaza. She's a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-girl-who-became-the-only-fisherwoman-in-gaza-2053580.html"><span style="color: blue;">fisherwoman</span></a>.
She's surely the only woman doing that job," Abu Taima said. "It's
not easy, but these women are opening doors for other women to start work --
not just in general, but in fields previously impossible. We will look back and
see [that] these women who made the first jump into 'male' fields helped push
us towards equality."</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">For
Palestinian women to break out of the gendered roles in society, Abu Taima
says they will have to be prepared for the same kind of backlash and community
gossip to which Ahmad was initially subjected.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">"Eventually,
though, people will start to understand that there is no problem with what she
is doing," Abu Taima said.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Ahmad
became interested in cars at a young age -- but even then, she understood that
it was not considered a "normal" interest for a girl.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
watched her cousins work on their engines when she was a teenager -- never
asking questions, but taking mental notes instead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I
can work on my own car [now]. I watched and watched, [and] now I know about
cars. I can take even apart the carburetor," Ahmad said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Ahmad's
daughter, who is married and lives in neighboring Jordan, has followed in her
mother's footsteps by obtaining a taxi driver's license as well -=- though she
has not yet started driving professionally.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">The
support Ahmad has received from her family has pushed her to think of her
career in a bigger way. She</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> now
wants to start her own business, and within the next few years, she hopes to
run a small fleet of taxis driven by women, for women.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">"The
cars will be neon green," she said. "I want to distinguish the
all-women taxis from the mainstream ones." [Those are yellow.]</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">If
her idea comes to fruition, customers would be able to request taxis by phone,
so women would not have to flag down their ride on the side of the
street. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">She also plans to provide car seats for
children upon request, an option not available to women taking mainstream
taxis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">So
far, Ahmad has encouraged six other women to acquire government-issued taxi
licenses. While all six have passed their test and are now licensed taxi
drivers, they said family pressure has kept them from proceeding further.
Still,</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Ahmad remains confident they
will eventually agree to join her fleet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6qVsJvdLVtc/VfCBZ5N38sI/AAAAAAAAQ04/LdVjKGbccJ4/s1600/Taxi%2Bpic%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6qVsJvdLVtc/VfCBZ5N38sI/AAAAAAAAQ04/LdVjKGbccJ4/s400/Taxi%2Bpic%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; text-align: start;">ADWAR's Sahar al-Kawasmeh, [Abed al-Qaisi/Al Jazeera] </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">The
Roles for Social Change Association (<a href="http://adwar.ps/we/"><span style="color: blue;">ADWAR</span></a>),
a nongovernmental organization based in the Occupied West Bank, is fully behind
Ahmad, general director Sahar al-Kawasmeh told Al Jazeera. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Much of ADWAR's work involves fundraising for
projects that coordinators believe will help close the gender gap in
Palestinian society, and Kawasmeh believes Ahmad's business model is a perfect
match.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">"When
she gets a few more women on board with her idea, we can start an ADWAR project
for her business and begin fundraising," Kawasmeh said.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">In
June, ADWAR recognized Ahmad with their Roles for Social Change Award in
honor of her part in breaking social stereotypes and being a positive role
model.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Earlier
this year, Ahmad submitted her application for a business license, along with
her business pitch, to the Palestinian Ministry of Transportation to gauge the
viability of her entrepreneurial plans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="max-width: 38em; outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A ministry representative from told Al
Jazeera that as long as Ahmad was able to meet all the </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">requirements of any new
taxi company -- including office space, insurance, licensed cars and drivers,
and start-up cash -- she would be allowed to open.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="max-width: 38em; outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="max-width: 38em; outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"We do not discriminate upon
gender," the representative, who did not provide his name, told Al
Jazeera. "Man, woman, whatever -- there are standard procedural steps that
have to be taken, that's all."</span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-87756090715148689092015-09-08T22:47:00.000+04:002015-09-08T22:47:58.475+04:00The magic of being back in Palestine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">And losing my heart to Beit Jala</span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_jH-Tv0uQg/Ve8hnBvOVNI/AAAAAAAAQmE/ISs04Qzshfk/s1600/Image%2Bof%2BBeit%2BJala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_jH-Tv0uQg/Ve8hnBvOVNI/AAAAAAAAQmE/ISs04Qzshfk/s400/Image%2Bof%2BBeit%2BJala.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beit Jala, in the Occupied West Bank, Palestine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is something I have dreamed of for decades! It’s that long
since I had been back. Being invited to spend three weeks in Palestine this
August is the stuff dreams are made of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Who in their right mind would pass on the opportunity to spend
three weeks in the Occupied West Bank town of Beit Jala, a stone’s throw from
Bethlehem, where we used to spend our summer vacations until my father passed
away in 1973.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There were many apprehensions, mainly about actually seeing the
enemy, the crossings, the possibility of getting my passport stamped… but these
soon evaporated as we set off for Amman, Jordan, to start what would be three
weeks of magic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ngSr10fTt9k/Ve8ilKT70mI/AAAAAAAAQmc/QEfAbeTGUg8/s1600/IMG_20150803_134254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ngSr10fTt9k/Ve8ilKT70mI/AAAAAAAAQmc/QEfAbeTGUg8/s400/IMG_20150803_134254.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way to Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We crossed into Palestine from the Allenby Bridge, first through
the Jordanian checkpoint and then the Israeli one. From my first glimpse of
Palestinian soil I was blown away. Seeing that first road sign saying
“Jerusalem,” was just unbelievable! That is until the “Wall” appears and the
enormity of the Occupation hits you in the face. And the “Wall” is everywhere!
The second most shocking thing is the extent of the illegal Israeli settlements
that are eating away at Palestinian land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpJXBYOEsYc/Ve8ipNX33GI/AAAAAAAAQnA/SmDRslvUEe8/s1600/IMG_20150803_141141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpJXBYOEsYc/Ve8ipNX33GI/AAAAAAAAQnA/SmDRslvUEe8/s400/IMG_20150803_141141.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerusalem's glorious walls, but then you hit another kind of "Wall"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aUfGBZaJLUY/Ve8iq0dopUI/AAAAAAAAQnM/h-6CKxoBFlI/s1600/IMG_20150803_142931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aUfGBZaJLUY/Ve8iq0dopUI/AAAAAAAAQnM/h-6CKxoBFlI/s400/IMG_20150803_142931.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning of the segregation "Wall" south of Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9hIn7Ap8y_A/Ve8ixiBvRvI/AAAAAAAAQn0/iIsJAYpmlaQ/s1600/IMG_20150803_172732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9hIn7Ap8y_A/Ve8ixiBvRvI/AAAAAAAAQn0/iIsJAYpmlaQ/s320/IMG_20150803_172732.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Wall" in Bethlehem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f19bx8ObB88/Ve8i2wzFLeI/AAAAAAAAQoU/0-wF_xkdLhg/s1600/IMG_20150803_173319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f19bx8ObB88/Ve8i2wzFLeI/AAAAAAAAQoU/0-wF_xkdLhg/s320/IMG_20150803_173319.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With foreign passports, we were able to travel freely across the
country. For Palestinians, who need a permit or <i>tasreeh,</i> it is very restricted and full of hardships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We went to Bethlehem often, but I wasn’t able to identify my
grandparents’ home where we used to spend our summers. We also went to
Jerusalem, Yaffa, Tel Aviv, Hebron, Haifa, Acca, Nazareth, Caesaria and
Ramallah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a kind of pilgrimage into the past, but also one into a
future that does not look bright, at least in my lifetime. The trip was filled
with a mixture of tears of joy and sadness. There is a sense of history that is
always present. Everyone recognized my family name and made me proud of who I
am. There is also a deep renewal of faith at the centuries-old religious sites,
be they Christian or Muslim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But it is Beit Jala, which in Aramaic means “Grass Carpet,” I fell
in love with -- both the city and its people. Situated on a hill adjacent to
Bethlehem, it has existed for thousands of years and its Christian community is
one of the oldest in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We were in Beit Jala for the three weeks in a beautiful house and
enchanting garden. I couldn’t get enough of the crystal clear blue sky and air,
picking grapes and figs, watching the lemons grow and the flowers bloom,
listening to the crickets chirp as the Israeli jets flew overhead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Beit Jala is a Palestinian Christian town in the Occupied West
Bank, one of three including Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. Opposite Bethlehem, it
is just 10 km south of Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9e3Rh2-J6Y/Ve8l-rRMLkI/AAAAAAAAQqw/dYinOoNuMbs/s1600/2015-08-21%2B18.08.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9e3Rh2-J6Y/Ve8l-rRMLkI/AAAAAAAAQqw/dYinOoNuMbs/s320/2015-08-21%2B18.08.30.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Nicholas Church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is dominated by the Church of St. Nicolas with its golden dome
and spire. Wherever you look, there are olive groves, vineyards and pine tree
groves as in most of Palestine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is in the 3rd-4th century AD when monks such as St. Nicolas
began to come to the area to be close to the site of Jesus’ birth. The large
hill on which Beit Jala is located was a good place to build a monastery, being
close to the Nativity site but outside the town of Bethlehem itself. With the
help of the few locals who were already living in Beit Jala they built St.
Nicolas Monastery, the ruins of which can still be seen beneath the Church, as
well the very cave in which Nicolas is thought to have lived. With the building
of the monastery, the growth of the town accelerated around it and Beit Jala
has been continually inhabited
by Christians ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">As a result of the social upheavals during the
Ottoman rule, large numbers of Palestinians, particularly from Beit Jala,
Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Safafa, left the country for South America
during the 19th and early 20th century. Chili and Argentina are home to at
least 400,000 Palestinians living in Diaspora, almost all of them from the
Bethlehem area.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W7d_1jTsmto/Ve8m-5WJ3zI/AAAAAAAAQzI/13xUjFki1dg/s1600/2015-08-21%2B19.10.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W7d_1jTsmto/Ve8m-5WJ3zI/AAAAAAAAQzI/13xUjFki1dg/s320/2015-08-21%2B19.10.00.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road from Beit Jala to Bethlehem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The biblical heritage of the Bethlehem area attracted particular
attention from the missionaries, and they began to found some of the region’s
first modern schools and churches in Beit Jala. Between 1848 and 1900, it
witnessed the building of two Orthodox churches (St. Nicolas’ and St Mary’s),
two Catholic churches (The Church if the Annunciation and Bishara Church of the
Latin Convent), one Lutheran church (Church of the Reformation), Palestine’s
premier Seminary and at the time its most modern school (The Latin Patriarchate),
and the Cremisan Monastery. This gave Beit Jala access to the most advanced
educational institutions in the country and contributed towards making it one
of the first cities to become incorporated as a municipality in all of
Palestine in 1912.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--17y9doxmrU/Ve8jUKLrhDI/AAAAAAAAQp8/9dfhcJjwWTc/s1600/2015-08-05%2B11.54.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--17y9doxmrU/Ve8jUKLrhDI/AAAAAAAAQp8/9dfhcJjwWTc/s320/2015-08-05%2B11.54.56.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Afteem in Bethlehem with Habib Shehadeh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erhnF85IWO0/Ve8jSwNqRtI/AAAAAAAAQp0/g84tKfvcWuY/s1600/2015-08-05%2B11.54.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erhnF85IWO0/Ve8jSwNqRtI/AAAAAAAAQp0/g84tKfvcWuY/s320/2015-08-05%2B11.54.25.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most delicious falafel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremisan" title="Cremisan">Cremisan</a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cellars,
located in the Cremisan Monastery, is an
important local winemaker that has operated since the establishment of the
monastery in the 19th century. The</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank_Barrier" style="font-family: inherit;" title="West Bank Barrier"><span style="color: blue;">West Bank Barrier</span></a><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;">,</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">or “Wall,” is being extended to encircle the area, splitting
the monastery, which would end up on the Israeli side, from the sister</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesian" style="font-family: inherit;" title="Salesian"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Salesian</span></a><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">convent,
and making access to this recreational area for Beit Jala residents very
difficult. Some 57 Christian families are slated to lose their agricultural
property.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The “Wall,” being continuously built and extended by the Israeli
occupation forces separates families from their land and livelihood. The
Israeli bypass road or Tunnel Highway passes directly underneath Beit
Jala.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B6HaVTCQY64/Ve8pb49_NOI/AAAAAAAAQzg/RH5jFa2BxWE/s1600/demolishing%2Bolive%2Btrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B6HaVTCQY64/Ve8pb49_NOI/AAAAAAAAQzg/RH5jFa2BxWE/s400/demolishing%2Bolive%2Btrees.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Israeli forces uprooting
olive trees on August 17 in Bir Onah, Beit Jala,<br />
in preparation for building the separation "Wall" encircling Cremisan</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While I was there, the Israeli Defense Ministry resumed
construction on August 17 of the separation barrier near Beit Jala, even though
the High Court of Justice had invalidated the building of the barrier in that
region and ordered the state to reconsider it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw9YUTs3hnSpNzxCKiFB_XdxA4GEOsP3Tp-EEPUg3iy7JOliEH9Z3CY1bvGTrobx8E6qpQXlCjUBp2XiZQqEA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Video posted by Muhanad Qaisy on
Facebook of Israeli Force</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">uprooting olive trees on August 17
in Bir Onah, Beit Jala</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since the Israeli occupation, many illegal settlement schemes were implemented
in Beit Jala which tore up the town's agricultural infrastructure into
segments. So far, three settlements, Gilo, Har Gilo, and Giv'at Hamatos have
been created on Beit Jala's cultivated confiscated land, in addition to two
tunnels and two bypass roads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The 1995 Oslo II Interim Agreement resulted in a division of the
West Bank into three types of areas which are distinguished by a different
level of control -- Areas A, B, and C. Several Palestinian built-up areas were
assigned as Areas A or B, yet portions of their community lie in Area C (under
complete Israeli control). In the case of Beit Jala, Area A comprising about
25% of the town's land is under Palestinian control. The remaining 75% (Area C)
is under Israeli<span style="color: #333333;"> </span>jurisdiction
and 7% of the total Area C is located inside the Municipality border. Thus,
many neighborhoods in a town or village are physically separated from the core
part of their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Israeli settlement of Gilo was
constructed in 1971 on lands belonging to the towns of Beit Jala and Beit
Safafa. The present population of Gilo exceeds 40,000. Gilo settlement was
greatly expanded in the southern and western direction, creeping on more Beit
Jala lands. Gilo settlement is considered one of the largest Israeli
settlements that have been built in the West Bank, with a total area of 2,738
dunums (1 dunum is around 1000 square meters).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tsMV7dCkSsA/Ve8mAMfwVeI/AAAAAAAAQq8/NRHZMK6d_z8/s1600/2015-08-14%2B11.48.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tsMV7dCkSsA/Ve8mAMfwVeI/AAAAAAAAQq8/NRHZMK6d_z8/s400/2015-08-14%2B11.48.33.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Har Gilo Israeli settlement as seen from Beit Jala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Har Gilo settlement was established by Israel in 1972 on the
Palestinian citizens’ lands in Beit Jala city and Al Walaja village which are
located west of Bethlehem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The settlement of Giv'at Hamatos was created in 1992 on 255 dunums
of land belonging to the Orthodox Church in Beit Jala. It presently includes
280 mobile houses which were built to absorb Jews brought from Ethiopia. The
Israeli government plans to expand this settlement and build an additional
3,600 housing units on an area of approximately 1,010 dunums belonging to the
Palestinian village of Beit Safafa. The expansion of Giv'at Hamatos will also
complete the wall of settlements which surrounds Jerusalem from the south.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although I lost my heart to Beit Jala, the other Palestinian towns
and cities we visited each has its own magic and beauty. I treasure every
single second of the trip thanks to my hosts, Ayda, Maya, Nasma, Eric and
Habib, as well as the many friends I made and who each contributed to making
the three weeks unforgettable. Thank you all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>More pictures of:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mich3mich/FirstDayInPalestine02?authuser=0&feat=directlink">First Day in Palestine</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mich3mich/DrivingAroundBeitJala?authuser=0&feat=directlink">Driving around Beit Jala</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mich3mich/BreakfastAtAfteemInBethlehem?authuser=0&feat=directlink">Breakfast at Afteem in Bethlehem</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>References:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.beitjala-city.org/index.php/en/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://www.beitjala-city.org/index.php/en/</span></a></div>
<br />
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</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-45936487559539016352015-09-06T19:54:00.001+04:002015-09-06T19:54:50.336+04:00Hopes of a generation and region at stake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As war stops 13m children going to school in
Middle East, North Africa</span></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctbu42XGMoU/VexenQALX7I/AAAAAAAAQh8/w7i899snGKI/s1600/Education_cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctbu42XGMoU/VexenQALX7I/AAAAAAAAQh8/w7i899snGKI/s400/Education_cover.png" width="283" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What hope is there for the Middle East and North Africa,
where violence continues unabated and 13 million children, the next
generation, are out of school? </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Who will be the future leaders, doctors, nurses, engineers,
writers, scientists, poets, teachers, artists...?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Surging conflict and political upheaval across the Middle
East and North Africa are preventing more than 13 million children from going
to school, according to a UNICEF report released at the beginning of September.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The report, “<a href="http://www.unicef.org/mena/media_10557.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Education Under Fire</span></a>”<span style="color: #404041;"> </span>focuses on the impact of violence on
schoolchildren and education systems in nine countries -- </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and the
State of Palestine --</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
that have been directly or indirectly impacted by violence.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the violence gripping Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya
continues to deepen, and with no end in sight to other, more enduring conflicts
in Palestine and Sudan, there is every reason to fear that the huge number of
children already out of school across the region will continue to grow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With more than 13 million children already driven from
classrooms because of conflict, it is no exaggeration to say that the
educational prospects of a generation of children are in the balance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The forces that are crushing individual lives and futures are
also destroying the prospects for an entire region. Young minds distorted by
hatred and fear will need extraordinary support to contribute fully to the
development of societies built on social progress, tolerance and prosperity,
the report says.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Across the region, children demand -- above all else -- to go
back to school. They dream of a better future for themselves and their
families, and of the day when they can help rebuild their shattered communities
and nations. These are the future teachers, nurses, doctors, architects,
musicians, scientists and technicians of countries like Syria, Iraq, the State
of Palestine, Sudan, Libya and Yemen, and their future leaders too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like children anywhere, they want an opportunity to learn,
and acquire the skills they need to fulfill their potential. This constitutes a
clear challenge to the international community, host governments, policy
makers, and all those who want to see the Middle East and North Africa emerge
from its current turmoil. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Attacks on schools and education infrastructure -- sometimes
deliberate -- are one key reason why many children do not attend classes, the
report writes. In Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya alone, nearly 9,000 schools are
out of use because they have been damaged, destroyed, are being used to shelter
displaced civilians or have been taken over by parties to the conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QULyiogqnqc/Vexe76fOjLI/AAAAAAAAQiA/jW4oJIv_Z30/s1600/Numbers_chart_children.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QULyiogqnqc/Vexe76fOjLI/AAAAAAAAQiA/jW4oJIv_Z30/s400/Numbers_chart_children.png" width="281" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Other factors include the fear that drives thousands of
teachers to abandon their posts, or keeps parents from sending their children
to school because of what might happen to them along the way – or at school
itself.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, more than 700,000 Syrian
refugee children are unable to attend school because the overburdened national
education infrastructure cannot cope with the extra student load.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children
right across the region,” says Peter Salama, Regional Director for UNICEF in
the Middle East and North Africa. “It’s not just the physical damage being done
to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see
their hopes and futures shattered.”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"It's no coincidence in that what we see in terms of our
TV pictures, the tragic pictures of people crossing on boats to Greece and
Italy, very much comes back to the Syrian conflict and (to) the Iraqi conflict
to a lesser extent," Salama says.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Countries hosting refugees are struggling to get children
into schools because their education systems were never created to absorb such
numbers. "Everyone is basically straining at the seams in terms of dealing
with this massive crisis, which is not surprising given that it is the biggest
population movement since World War Two," he notes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Children out of school can end up working illegally, often
being breadwinners for their family. They are vulnerable to exploitation and
can be more easily recruited into armed groups, Salama adds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UNICEF's research shows children are increasingly becoming
combatants from a younger age, he added, while students and teachers have been
killed, kidnapped and arrested.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"We're on the verge of losing an entire generation of
children in the Middle East and North Africa. We must step up, otherwise it
will be irreversible and long-term damage we've collectively inflicted upon the
children of this region."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The report highlights a range of initiatives -- including the
use of self-learning and expanded learning spaces -- that help children learn
even in the most desperate of circumstances. But it says the funding such work
receives is not commensurate with the burgeoning needs, despite the fact that
children and parents caught up in conflict overwhelmingly identify education as
their number one priority.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">In particular, the No Lost Generation Initiative, launched by
UNICEF and other partners in 2013 to galvanize more international backing for
the education and protection needs of children affected by the Syria crisis
deserves more support, the report says.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In addition, the reports calls on the international
community, host governments, policy makers, the private sector and other
partners to: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Reduce the number of children out of school through the
expansion of informal education services especially for vulnerable children.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Provide more support to national education systems in
conflict-hit countries and host communities to expand learning spaces, recruit
and train teachers and provide learning materials</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In countries affected by the Syria crisis, advocate for the
recognition and certification of non-formal Education services.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Prioritize Funding for Education in conflict-hit countries. Funding
and investment in education during emergencies remains low. In 2013, less than
2% of emergency aid globally went to education and learning opportunities.
UNICEF is seeking around $300 million to fund its emergency education work in
the region in 2015.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 18.4px;">The full report can be read <a href="http://www.unicef.org/mena/Education_Under_Fire.pdf">here</a>.</span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-55499597729875013092015-07-23T14:56:00.000+04:002015-07-23T14:56:43.188+04:00Dubai does it again with WiFi Palms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2WSvmVL8YU/Va5V75OhXGI/AAAAAAAAOh4/LgTmEA5EXfU/s1600/Smart%2BA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2WSvmVL8YU/Va5V75OhXGI/AAAAAAAAOh4/LgTmEA5EXfU/s400/Smart%2BA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Ooops, Dubai does it again! This time, by putting palms to
good use offering free WiFi around the city.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been seeing a white palm on the beach next to Burj Al Arab while at the traffic light on Thanya Street going towards Beach Road, but I haven't been able to stop. So I had a poke online.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">That’s how I found out it is a </span><a href="http://smart-palm.com/#why_smart_palm"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Smart
Palm</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> station, among others Dubai is planning to roll out around the city, to
provide free WiFi in parks, beaches and other locations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I only have WiFi, I can’t wait until one of the Smart
Palms is installed on the free beach I go to in Umm Suqeim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_50kvyGJqU/Va5WHKOXS4I/AAAAAAAAOiE/qUHSW9bg6Go/s1600/Smart%2BE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_50kvyGJqU/Va5WHKOXS4I/AAAAAAAAOiE/qUHSW9bg6Go/s400/Smart%2BE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first Smart Palm was installed
at Gate 6 in Zabeel Park a couple of months ago. There are plans to provide over 50
more of them this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dubai Municipality recently
installed the Smart Palm I see on the beach next to Burj Al Arab Hotel and plans to cover
all open public beaches in Al Mamzar, Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">UAE-made stations stand six meters tall in the
shape of a palm tree. They have fast mobile phone charging stations and screens
displaying information on Dubai’s attractions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KanRW4ytUas/Va5WELAVs1I/AAAAAAAAOh8/qFpPubQUUIg/s1600/Smart%2BD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KanRW4ytUas/Va5WELAVs1I/AAAAAAAAOh8/qFpPubQUUIg/s400/Smart%2BD.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N96FWIpaczs/Va5WLQRlWtI/AAAAAAAAOiU/pSPZ7UOtb2w/s1600/smart%2Bnight%2BB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N96FWIpaczs/Va5WLQRlWtI/AAAAAAAAOiU/pSPZ7UOtb2w/s400/smart%2Bnight%2BB.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The WiFi palms are a venture between Dubai Municipality, Smart Palm creators D Idea Media, Du, Sun Tab Solar
Energy and Promo Tech Gulf Industry. The project is in line with the UAE Cabinet’s
decision to make 2015 the Year of Innovation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The development took just 10 months from
conception to delivering the finished product. After receiving its patent,
Smart Palm began working with its partners who each contributed towards the
overall functionality of the product.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-ollW73ntk/Va5WJoY8yqI/AAAAAAAAOiM/K1qhbi-9Nzo/s1600/Smart%2Bfeatures.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-ollW73ntk/Va5WJoY8yqI/AAAAAAAAOiM/K1qhbi-9Nzo/s400/Smart%2Bfeatures.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Smart Palms' 18-square-meter leaves run entirely on solar power and offer
high-speed WiFi up to a range of 53 meters, supporting up to 50 users at a
time. They have several phone and tablet charging points offering
two-and-a-half times faster charging speeds than a regular plug. Two screens on
each palm offer weather information, local news, a navigation application,
general Dubai information -- and even a selfie camera.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soaking up the sun during the day, these state-of-the-art palms
store energy to be discharged after sunset. There are eight
charging points and WiFi ranges on each palm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dubai Municipality
Director-General Hussain Lootah said ”the structures are entirely
self-sufficient thanks to their mono crystal solar panels, which provide up to
21 percent efficiency.”</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the pictures, they look even more impressive lit
up at night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTLNXHCfYiI/Va5WRVVYFLI/AAAAAAAAOik/Yfefls5mUHc/s1600/Smart_C.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTLNXHCfYiI/Va5WRVVYFLI/AAAAAAAAOik/Yfefls5mUHc/s400/Smart_C.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alya Harmoudi, director of
Environment Department at Dubai Municipality, said the stations can display updates on events and activities on the beach and serve as a public
announcement system. They also show beach rules, guidelines, tips and sea
conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“For us, it was important to translate the important
cultural identity of the date palm from being a plant that provides shelter,
building materials, shade and sustenance, to our Smart Palm, designed to
provide data, connectivity, energy and all in a sustainable manner,” says
Viktor Nelepa, Smart Palm's founder, in a press release.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">A trip down to the beach at night to see the high-tech palm
is now a must.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-57904693852460336782015-07-20T14:09:00.002+04:002015-07-20T15:25:25.712+04:00Anti-Discriminatory Law issued in UAE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEHNBRGWiNA/VazHcF37zUI/AAAAAAAAOhU/4RRYLV9i64c/s1600/mo_on_twitter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEHNBRGWiNA/VazHcF37zUI/AAAAAAAAOhU/4RRYLV9i64c/s400/mo_on_twitter.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">His Highness Sheikh Mo (as the Vice-President and Prime
Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> is affectionately known) posted on Twitter earlier today
that the United Arab Emirates has issued a new law against any form of
discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, creed, doctrine, race, color or
ethnic origin following a Decree by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin
Zayed Al Nah<span style="font-family: inherit;">yan</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to the Emirates News Agency (WA</span>M) the new law, No.02 of 2015, criminalizes any
acts that stoke religious hatred and/or which insult religion through any form
of expression, be it speech or the written word, books, pamphlets or via online
media. The law also includes provisions for punishing anyone for terming other
religious groups or individuals as infidels, or unbelievers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The law is intended to provide a sound foundation for the environment
of tolerance, broad-mindedness and acceptance in the UAE and aims to safeguard
people regardless of their origin, beliefs or race, against acts that promote
religious hate and intolerance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Penalties for violation of the various provisions of the law
include jail-terms of six months to over 10 years and fines from Dhs 50,000 to
Dhs 2 million.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Anti-Discriminatory Law prohibits any act that would be
considered as insulting God, his prophets or apostles or holy books or houses
of worship or graveyards. It also has provisions to fight discrimination
against individuals or groups on the basis of religion, caste, doctrine, race,
color or ethnic origin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The law condemns actions that would comprise hate speech or
the promotion of discrimination or violence against others using any form of
media, including online, print, radio or visual media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Strict action will be taken against any form of expressions
of hatred or incitement to hate crimes spread in the form of speech and
published media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The law also criminalizes any act that amounts to abuse of
religion or vandalism of religious rituals, holy sites or symbols, and takes a
serious view of violence on the basis of religious doctrines.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The law prohibits any entity or group established
specifically to provoke religious hatred and recommends stringent punishment
for groups or supporters of any organizations or individuals that are
associated with hate crimes. It also bars any kind of events such as
conferences and meetings within the UAE organized with the sole purpose of
sowing seeds of discrimination, discord or hatred against individuals or groups
on the basis of faith, origin or race. Receiving financial support for such
activities is also punishable under the new law.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The law encourages anyone involved in any activity that
violates the law to voluntarily submit themselves before the authorities and
has provisions allowing the courts to waive penalties in such cases.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">The new law does not contradict with any other existing laws
meant to protect specially privileged groups in the society such as women,
children and individuals with disabilities or others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Anti-Discriminatory Law in full, as published in <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/new-uae-anti-hate-law-in-detail-1.1553188#.VazXqw9XwVE.twitter">Gulf
News</a>:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Criminalizes any acts that stoke religious hatred</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Criminalizes any act that insults religion through any form
of expression, be it speech or the written word, books, pamphlets or online</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Punishes anyone for terming other religious groups or
individuals as infidels, or unbelievers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Provides a sound foundation for the environment of tolerance,
broad-mindedness and acceptance in the UAE</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Aims to safeguard people regardless of their origin, beliefs
or race, against acts that promote religious hate and intolerance</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Includes jail terms of six months to more than 10 years for
those who break the law</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Includes fines of between Dh50,000 and Dh2 million for those
who break the law</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Prohibits any act that would be considered as insulting God,
His prophets or apostles or holy books or houses of worship or graveyards</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Makes it illegal to discriminate against individuals or
groups on the basis of religion, caste, doctrine, race, color or ethnic origin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Prohibits any entity or group established specifically to
provoke religious hatred</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Recommends stringent punishments for groups or supporters of
any organizations or individuals that are associated with hate crimes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Prohibits any kind of events such as conferences and meetings
within the UAE organized with the sole purpose of sowing seeds of
discrimination, discord or hatred against individuals or groups on the basis of
faith, origin or race</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Makes it illegal to receive financial support to fund
activities that propagate hate</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Encourages anyone involved in any activity that violates the
law to voluntarily submit themselves before the authorities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Allows courts to waive penalties where people voluntarily
submit themselves to authorities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Dovetails with other existing laws to protect specially
privileged groups such as women, children and individuals with disabilities or
others</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">
</span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-52688454891831198992015-07-17T19:00:00.002+04:002015-07-17T19:00:59.584+04:00Is the Web dying?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oUDwAWwUTA4/VakWp1nLMyI/AAAAAAAAOhE/L77DxbEbjxQ/s1600/Web%2Bpost%2B17-7-2015.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oUDwAWwUTA4/VakWp1nLMyI/AAAAAAAAOhE/L77DxbEbjxQ/s400/Web%2Bpost%2B17-7-2015.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Illustration by Tim McDonagh</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every
now and then you read an absolute gem online that says exactly what you have
been thinking but don’t have the words to express.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An article by Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, published in <a href="https://medium.com/matter"><span style="color: blue;">Matter</span></a>, is a case
in point.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is the web showing “a departure from a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>books-internet</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>toward
a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>television-internet</em>?” he
wonders, adding: “We seem to have gone
from a non-linear mode of communication — nodes and networks and links — toward
a linear one, with centralization and hierarchies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" id="72dc" name="72dc" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941);">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-creator-ids="anon" name="anon_a1d8a49241e8" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 200ms; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(225, 225, 225, 0.498039), rgba(225, 225, 225, 0.498039)); cursor: pointer; transition: background-color 200ms;"><span class="markup--quote"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">“The web was not
envisioned as a form of television when it was invented. But, like it or not,
it is rapidly resembling TV: linear, passive, programmed and inward-looking.</span>”</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" id="72dc" name="72dc" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941);">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-creator-ids="anon" name="anon_a1d8a49241e8" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 200ms; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(225, 225, 225, 0.498039), rgba(225, 225, 225, 0.498039)); cursor: pointer; transition: background-color 200ms;"><span class="markup--quote"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His
article, written after an absence of seven years in jail, gives a perspective
on the web that we might have lost sight of in our daily interactions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes,
there was excitement about writing a blog all those technology years ago. Now
it is a rush to post a photo of the food you are going to eat, the selfie, the cat… and the visual has taken over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But
Derakhshan says it much better:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Maybe it’s that text itself is
disappearing. After all, the first visitors to the web spent their time online
reading web magazines. Then came blogs, then Facebook, then Twitter. Now it’s
Facebook videos and Instagram and SnapChat that most people spend their time
on. There’s less and less text to read on social networks, and more and more
video to watch, more and more images to look at. Are we witnessing a decline of
reading on the web in favor of watching and listening?” he writes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“But the Stream, mobile applications, and moving images:
They all show a departure from a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>books-internet</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>toward a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>television-internet</em>…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">“This is not the future of the web. This
future is television,” </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Derakhshan notes.<span style="background: white; letter-spacing: .1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I miss when people took time to be exposed to different
opinions, and bothered to read more than a paragraph or 140 characters. I miss
the days when I could write something on my own blog, publish on my own domain,
without taking an equal time to promote it on numerous social networks; when
nobody cared about likes and reshares.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s the web I remember before jail.<span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span>That’s the web we have to save.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Derakhshan’s
article is a real gem and can be read in full here: <a href="https://medium.com/matter/the-web-we-have-to-save-2eb1fe15a426"><span style="color: blue;">The Web
We Have to Save</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-13806090352514166512015-05-27T16:50:00.000+04:002015-05-27T16:50:42.123+04:00Why 9.41 on Apple advert screens?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XYYQ57W1sU/VWW5hQG0zMI/AAAAAAAAOEM/F2AD4P_c_Gc/s1600/phones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XYYQ57W1sU/VWW5hQG0zMI/AAAAAAAAOEM/F2AD4P_c_Gc/s400/phones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple's iPhone 6</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.85pt;">I
found this news item on </span><a href="https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/in-every-apple-advert--the-time-on-iphone-s-screen-is-9-41---but-why--193541046.html" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.85pt;">Yahoo!</a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.85pt;">
brilliant and it brought back fond memories of the late Steve Jobs' era.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
author, Rob Waugh notes that in every Apple advert, one seemingly tiny detail
is always the same -- the time on iPhone’s screen. He writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
the adverts for iPad and recent iPhones such as iPhone 6, it says 9.41.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
the very first adverts for iPhone, it read 9.42.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Question-and-answer
site Quora.com threw light on exactly why this week -- and it’s all down to the
late Steve Jobs’ determination to get the launch of the first iPhone exactly
right.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RnsGJ7ljKyY/VWW6KOvGtQI/AAAAAAAAOEU/ZlDRihMQ2T0/s1600/jobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RnsGJ7ljKyY/VWW6KOvGtQI/AAAAAAAAOEU/ZlDRihMQ2T0/s320/jobs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The late Steve Jobs with the iPhone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When
Jobs first announced iPhone, he wanted the phone to be “frozen” at the time he
announced it on stage at MacWorld.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Quora
writer Brian Roemmele says, “On January 9, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. Steve Jobs took
the stage at the 2007 Macworld Conference & Expo and just about 35 minutes into
his presentation he said, ‘This is a day I have been looking forward to for
two-and-a-half years…’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“And
at just about 9:42 a.m. Steve announced the iPhone. Thus frozen in time is the
near exact time the iPhone was officially announced.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.85pt; margin: 8.25pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since
then, Apple presentations have got a bit shorter, and newer iPhones such as
iPhone 6 were announced at 9.41 -- hence the time on screen!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-43539309631016743682015-05-05T11:59:00.000+04:002015-05-05T11:59:30.122+04:00The General Election, NHS and my Mum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">To David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick
Clegg: Please keep the NHS, the biggest jewel in the UK’s crown, shining</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmP2r5h-r8E/VUfDVXILrCI/AAAAAAAANlc/Dw60fFzobH0/s1600/NHS%2BLogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmP2r5h-r8E/VUfDVXILrCI/AAAAAAAANlc/Dw60fFzobH0/s400/NHS%2BLogo.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ahead
of the general election in the UK on Thursday (May 7), maybe one of the most
closely fought elections in recent times, my only concern is for the National
Health Service (NHS) to which I owe my deepest gratitude.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
NHS is an issue of great public concern and has rarely been out of the
headlines in recent months. Polls show the NHS will be one of the issues people
will base their voting decisions on, and I certainly would.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Conservative and Labor parties appear to be neck and neck according to polls
carried out for the Sunday newspapers. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">This,
says the BBC, suggests a hung Parliament is likely, and the Lib Dems have been
setting out their “red lines” -- with public sector pay joining education
spending, a £12,500 personal allowance, £8bn for the NHS and an emergency
"stability budget."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If the recent series of TV debates
produced just one moment of consensus, it was on the importance of the NHS.
Despite cuts elsewhere all the major parties, from left and right alike, appear
to be in agreement that the NHS should receive more funding -- the argument
being how much is needed and where this should come from.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">An<span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3542/EconomistIpsos-MORI-March-2015-Issues-Index.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Economist/Ipsos
MORI</span></a><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">poll </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">shows
that two in five of the British public (38%) think that health care is one of
the most important issues facing Britain today, currently ranked second only to
immigration (45%), and above the economy (28%) and unemployment (21%).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
write about the general election because it will be held one day after the 23rd
anniversary of my mum Vicky’s death on May 6, 1992. And no one would have been a bigger defender
of the NHS than her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
NHS is what makes me proud to be British. Paying my taxes and National
Insurance contributions was never a problem because they were my insurance for
old age, as it was for Vicky.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although
I neglected to register in time to vote from abroad, I will follow closely and hope
the party that will preserve and give adequate funding to the NHS wins the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
NHS is a life-safer and it is unthinkable how many people rely on it to
survive.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">We certainly did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJSvKAaCLi0/UUqi4Xa7KyI/AAAAAAAALBQ/Q93QX90jJXM/s1600/IMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJSvKAaCLi0/UUqi4Xa7KyI/AAAAAAAALBQ/Q93QX90jJXM/s320/IMG.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mum, Vicky</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vicky’s
troubles began in 1984 when we were living in Beirut and she collapsed one July
morning from an aneurysm. She came out of a coma five weeks later, albeit with
no recent memory. That was difficult and traumatic enough, but after breaking a
hip some years later, she was diagnosed with terminal viral liver cirrhosis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
were in an out of the American University Hospital (AUH) in Beirut where she
was then living. But with each visit, the costs were mounting to the point
where I had to be accompanied by a cousin carrying a carrier bag full of
banknotes to pay the bills. By 1990, this became practically impossible, added
to the electricity and water cuts as well as the fighting and bombings. It was
time for her to come and live with me in London. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
couple of months later, Vicky had a relapse and was admitted to Charing Cross
Hospital in Hammersmith, a teaching hospital. It was my first experience with
the NHS, not having needed it before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vicky
was there there for over a month. A month in hospital is a long time. You get
to know everyone, all the shifts, the routines and how everything works.The doctors were reluctant to let us leave because they said her days were
numbered. However, she lived for another year after that, thanks to the excellent
medical care she received.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
were initially in a ward but as my sister and I were with my mum all the time, we
were moved to a room on our own. With sisters and nurses much too busy and
overworked, we did the basics, but the nurses and doctors were on hand for the
essential care, reassurance and the numerous cups of tea and Horlicks needed to
keep us going. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
room was cleaned daily, without having to tip anyone to do it. The sheets were
always clean, the support and kindness in abundance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
was even more remarkable was the after-hospital care we received.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
were given a wheelchair and visited at home to see what needed to be adjusted
to help Vicky and ourselves cope.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
were provided with all the medicine, the pads and all kinds of equipment for
the bathroom to make washing easier. A dentist and nurse even came home and set
up to treat a problem Vicky had with a tooth. A carer was also arranged for
when I had to leave her to go out and do chores.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There
is not one thing Vicky needed to make her comfortable at home that was not
provided by the NHS.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
NHS, its staff and services were our lifeline for the year and a bit until
Vicky’s death that terrible May 6 morning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tbZsxxY2LJo/VUfEq8cW84I/AAAAAAAANl4/sjNWdEGFCDc/s1600/pledge-new-powers-scotland.si.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tbZsxxY2LJo/VUfEq8cW84I/AAAAAAAANl4/sjNWdEGFCDc/s400/pledge-new-powers-scotland.si.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So
dear Messrs. Cameron, Miliband, Clegg and co, hands off the NHS or rather,
hands on it -- it is our treasure! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
is the NHS?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
</span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/overview.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">NHS</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">
was launched in 1948. It was born out of a long-held ideal that good healthcare
should be available to all, regardless of wealth --<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/nhscoreprinciples.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">a principle</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">that remains at its core. With the exception
of some charges, such as </span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">prescriptions</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Eyecarecosts.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">optical</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Dentalcosts.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">dental services</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, the NHS in England remains free at the point
of use for anyone who is a UK resident. That is currently more than 64.1
million people in the UK and 53.9 million people in England alone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
NHS in England deals with over 1 million patients every 36 hours. It covers
everything from antenatal screening and routine screenings such as the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/nhs-health-check/Pages/NHS-Health-Check.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">NHS Health Check</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">and treatments for </span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/planners/yourhealth/pages/yourhealth.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">long-term conditions</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, to transplants,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/Emergencyandurgentcareservices/Pages/Majortraumaservices.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">emergency treatment</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/end-of-life-care/Pages/End-of-life-care.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">end-of-life care</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In
2014,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/"><span style="line-height: 115%;">the
Commonwealth Fund</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">declared
that in comparison with the healthcare systems of 10 other countries
(Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden,
Switzerland and the US) the NHS was the most impressive overall. The NHS was
rated as the best system in terms of efficiency, effective care, safe care,
coordinated care, patient-centered care and cost-related problems. It was also
ranked second for equity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
NHS employs more than 1.6 million people, putting it in the top five of the
world’s largest workforces together with the U.S. Department of Defense,
McDonalds, Walmart and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Funding
for the NHS comes directly from taxation. Since the NHS transformation in 2013
the NHS payment system has become underpinned by legislation. When the NHS was
launched in 1948, it had a budget of £437 million (roughly £9 billion at
today’s value). For 2015/16, it was around £115.4 billion.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">The
UK Parliament sets the overall budget available to the NHS in England. It also
allocates a block grant to each devolved national government to spend on local
needs. Each government may choose how much of its block grant to spend on its
health care system.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-92051592875923051512015-05-01T15:22:00.000+04:002015-05-01T15:22:18.871+04:00Roger Waters to Robbie Williams: Don’t play in Tel Aviv<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One UK superstar to
another: If you take children and human rights seriously, please don't play
Israel</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iA8iDNlGCG4/VUNfvztCB4I/AAAAAAAANko/pffNT-DhfnA/s1600/waters_williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iA8iDNlGCG4/VUNfvztCB4I/AAAAAAAANko/pffNT-DhfnA/s1600/waters_williams.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Waters and Williams (Photo <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: right;">Credit: AP/Evan Agostini/Gero Breloer)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a letter last week, Roger Waters explains
to Robbie Williams why his decision to play in Tel Aviv tomorrow, May 2, “gives
succor to [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu and his regime and endorses
their deadly racist policies.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The following is Waters’ letter published in
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/04/28/roger_waters_to_robbie_williams_your_decision_to_play_in_tel_aviv_gives_succor_to_netanyahu_and_his_regime_and_endorses_their_deadly_racist_policies/">Salon</a> on April 28:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;">* * * *</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Roger Waters to Robbie
Williams: “Your decision to play in Tel Aviv gives succor to Netanyahu and his
regime, and endorses their deadly racist policies”<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.salon.com/writer/roger_waters/">ROGER WATERS</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Robbie Williams:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/world/middleeast/through-lens-4-boys-dead-by-gaza-shore.html" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">horrifying incidents</span></span></a> during
Israel’s massive assault on Gaza last summer was the killing of four
Palestinian boys playing soccer on a beach. This war crime was
meticulously documented by human rights organizations and by journalists on the
scene at the Al-Deira Hotel. NBC correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin tweeted that
just minutes prior he had joined the children in their soccer game. War-hardened
journalists tweeted their eyewitness distress.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E55hvx_qjVQ/VUNgF1HhPCI/AAAAAAAANkw/1PfZ2wsbS-w/s1600/Children%2BNYT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E55hvx_qjVQ/VUNgF1HhPCI/AAAAAAAANkw/1PfZ2wsbS-w/s1600/Children%2BNYT.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaza beach last summer (Photo by Tyler Hicks, The New York Times)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I bring up this gruesome
scene because popular UK entertainer Robbie Williams, soon to play a May
2 concert in Tel Aviv, is known to be a huge soccer fan. He is also
UNICEF’s UK ambassador and a declared supporter of its <a href="http://blogs.unicef.org.uk/2014/10/23/famous-fathers-david-beckham-robbie-williams-unite-protect-children-danger/" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">Children in Danger</span></span></a> campaign.
Yet, sadly, when it comes to Palestinian children, like those killed on that
beach in Gaza that day, Williams is showing a chilling indifference to their
well-being.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">London Palestine Action
has pointed to his hypocrisy in that he purports to represent UNICEF while
preparing to play a gig in Tel Aviv: “We hope UNICEF will remain steadfast in
defense of children’s rights, including Palestinian children, and ask Robb<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UNICEF, as declared in
its <a href="http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_mission.html" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">mission statement</span></span></a>,
insists that “the survival, protection and development of children are
universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Robbie, playing this
concert on May 2 would be giving your tacit support to the deaths of
over 500 Palestinian children last summer in Gaza, including the four soccer
players on the beach in Gaza, and condoning the arrest and abuse of hundreds of
Palestinian children each year living under Israeli occupation, as has been <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/us-palestinians-israel-children-idUSBRE9250D520130306" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">documented</span></span></a> by
UNICEF itself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To declare my own history, I confess I myself
played a gig in Israel in 2006 before I knew any better. At that time and
afterward, moved as I was, I listened to voices from all sides and made it my
business to learn as much as I could about the situation in Israel and
Palestine. I traveled widely in Israel and the West Bank and now nine years
later having done my research, I have come to the conclusion that BDS (Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions) is the most viable, peaceful way to end the
suffering of, and forge a better future for, all the people of the Holy Land. I
encourage you, Robbie, and all other artists, not to play in Israel until
Israel complies with international law and recognizes the basic human rights of
all the people of the region, including the Palestinian people, which, Robbie,
includes Palestinian children playing soccer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since my 2006 gig, the
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has emerged as a dynamic force to
be reckoned with. Covered heavily in mainstream <span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 1pt none windowtext; color: red; outline: 0px; padding: 0in;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/opinion/sunday/why-the-boycott-movement-scares-israel.html?_r=0" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank">media</a> </span>around
the world, BDS has succeeded in publicizing the Palestinian people’s
predicament, their lack of freedom, equality and access to justice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-srYKoJ5-rFI/VUNgV2OltXI/AAAAAAAANk4/1P9olGd98CU/s1600/Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-srYKoJ5-rFI/VUNgV2OltXI/AAAAAAAANk4/1P9olGd98CU/s1600/Poster.jpg" height="360" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, in 2015, there is
really no excuse for musicians agreeing to play in Tel Aviv. The jury of world
opinion is in; global civil society supports equal rights for all. We are
approaching the same tipping point as when artists lent their support to the
anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those innocent
soccer-playing children in Gaza were the victims of a violent indiscriminate
Israeli attack.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That was more than nine
months ago. Since then, one of those kids, 12-year-old Montasser Abu
Bakr, who was playing alongside his brother, and three friends, has attempted
suicide and is regularly subject to uncontrollable fits of screaming and
sobbing. This is one of the children whose “survival, protection and
development” you, Robbie, have promised to uphold. Tragically, it is too late
for Montasser’s dead brother and the other three children needlessly slain that
day. But, Robbie, you can still stand up and send a powerful message as an
individual and as a genuine human rights ambassador, that “business as usual”
with Israel is unacceptable until such time as our Palestinian brothers and sisters
are afforded equal human rights under international law and their children are
not subject to this kind of obscene random slaughter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a UNICEF ambassador
and a man of humanity and honor, you have, in my opinion, a duty to respect the
picket line created by Palestinian civil society and a growing number of
engaged musicians, artists and academics around the globe. Not just Ken
Loach and Stephen Hawking and Elvis Costello and Brian Eno and me, but all the
other <a href="http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/seven-hundred-artists-have-just-announced-a-cultural-boycott-of-israel--eySdBeqw2g" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">artists</span></span></a>, thousands
and counting, standing up for the oppressed and the occupied, those subjugated
people that Israeli officials describe as needing to be <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/18/international/middleeast/18mideast.html?ex=1297918800&en=5b778e6679dba2cf&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">made to “lose weight, but
not to starve to death</span></span></a>” or, worse, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/world/middleeast/israel-steps-up-offensive-against-hamas-in-gaza.html" style="outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;">grass to be mowed</span></span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be clear, Robbie,
whether intended or not, your decision to play in Tel Aviv gives succor to
Netanyahu and his regime, and endorses their exceptionalist and deadly racist
policies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I say, please,
Robbie, look inside yourself and find the soccer fan, the man, the father who
can feel another father’s loss.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you cannot see
yourself in the eyes of a Palestinian father, you should do the decent thing
and resign from UNICEF, or failing that, UNICEF should let you go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Roger Waters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="outline: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PS: To all of you reading
this who care about children, thank you, we are bound together by the love we
have for children, not just Montasser Abu Bakr, his brother and his friends,
but the other children in Gaza and the West Bank and Israel and all the other
children all over the world who should have the right to live and play in peace
and safety. Our love and goodwill extends to each of them equally as we strive
to encourage the creation of a Holy Land worthy of that name.</span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-53927286825833523762015-05-01T14:30:00.000+04:002015-05-01T14:30:11.255+04:00TOMS partners with UNRWA to shoe Palestinian children<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J2Dm1zWzb9I/VUNUO6KQ3_I/AAAAAAAANkI/dtsycFGKxsg/s1600/Shoes%2Btoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J2Dm1zWzb9I/VUNUO6KQ3_I/AAAAAAAANkI/dtsycFGKxsg/s1600/Shoes%2Btoms.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I will not look at a pair of </span><a href="http://www.toms.com/" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">TOMS</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">
shoes in the same way again. I didn’t find the canvas ones that so many people
wear very attractive. My bad! Now, I can’t wait to get a pair and be able to
support such a noble initiative by the company and its founder.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) has partnered with TOMS to supply Palestinian refugee children
living in Jordan and Gaza with shoes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TOMS will provide shoes and support the local distribution
expenses through its “Last Mile Contribution.” The expenses covered include,
freight, vehicle rentals, fuel, storage, and labor required to get the shoes
from their factory to the children in Gaza and Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">TOMS<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">is an American company founded by <a href="http://www.toms.com/blakes-bio">Blake
Mycoskie</a>, who had a vision to help children in need of shoes. He
started with the TOMS Shoes “One for One” project. The company donates a shoe
to a child in need every time a consumer purchases a TOMS shoe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mgFD1gc-Q0A/VUNUYp18siI/AAAAAAAANkQ/egmURuOlbu4/s1600/Distributing%2Bshoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mgFD1gc-Q0A/VUNUYp18siI/AAAAAAAANkQ/egmURuOlbu4/s1600/Distributing%2Bshoes.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distributing TOMS shoes in Gaza (photo via UNRWA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TOMS shoes were distributed to students enrolled in 1st and
2nd grade in UNRWA schools. In March alone, approximately 100,000 pairs of
TOMS were distributed to children in Gaza where UNRWA provides education to
approximately 240,000 students in 252 schools. Many families, living on less
than $1.53 per person per day, lack even the means to meet their basic food and
living requirements. Receiving an essential item such as shoes for their
children allows families to free some resources to purchase food.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having shoes to wear to school is an important component of
the right to an adequate standard of living, as enshrined in Article 25 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reiterated in the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Jordan, shoes were distributed to students enrolled in
grades one and two in UNRWA schools, and out-of-school children receiving
social safety net benefits or on the social safety net waitlist. UNRWA provides
basic education to over 117,000 students at 175 UNRWA schools in Jordan. This
education program helps young people develop the knowledge and skills they need
to thrive as adults in an evolving, challenging landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TOMS
STORY<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JHqsZ88hq_0/VUNUj3wuv9I/AAAAAAAANkY/voOTnSSsCuA/s1600/Blake%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JHqsZ88hq_0/VUNUj3wuv9I/AAAAAAAANkY/voOTnSSsCuA/s1600/Blake%2B2.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blake Mycoskie distributing shoes to children</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children
in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet.
Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of
shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need – One for
One.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TOMS has given over 35 million pairs of shoes to children in
need. TOMS<sup><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">®</span></sup> Shoes are always given to children through
humanitarian organizations who incorporate shoes into their community
development programs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Realizing that One for One could serve other global needs, Mycoskie
launched TOMS Eyewear in 2011 to help restore sight to persons in need with
every purchase of sunglasses and optical frames. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TOMS Eyewear has helped restore sight to over 275,000
people in need in 13 countries. The eyewear initiative provides prescription
glasses, medical treatment and/or sight-saving surgery with each purchase of
eyewear.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2014, TOMS Roasting Co. launched with the mission to
provide safe water to developing communities with the purchase of premium
coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2015, TOMS Bag Collection launched in four countries with three
Giving Partners to help address the need for advancements in maternal health.
Purchases of TOMS Bags help provide training for skilled birth attendants and the
distribution of birth kits containing items that help a woman safely deliver
her baby. Every TOMS bag purchased helps provide a safe birth for a mother and
baby in need.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Will stop now and go find a TOMS store…</span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-68099412379050945822015-04-25T11:10:00.000+04:002015-04-25T11:10:17.457+04:007 facts about Khadija, the first Muslim<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.55pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Narrated by 'Aisha<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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</div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I did not feel jealous of any of the
wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija (although) she died before he
married me, for I often heard him mentioning her, and Allah had told him to
give her the good tidings that she would have a palace of Qasab (pipes of
precious stones and pearls in Paradise), and whenever he slaughtered a sheep,
he would send her women-friends a good share of it. (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5,
Book 58, Number 164)</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There is so much to read and learn online
these days. But every so often, one comes across an article that just has to be
shared. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">The following piece by Yasmina Blackburn is
an example. It is reproduced it here in case you missed it:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;">* * * * *</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7
Remarkable Things About Khadija, Wife of the Prophet of Islam<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: inherit;">By <a href="http://www.twitter.com/yasmina_reality"><span style="color: blue;">Yasmina Blackburn</span></a></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/yasmina_reality"> </a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Writer, Consultant, Activist,
Mom</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.8pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.55pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yasmina-blackburn/7-remarkable-things-about_b_7097606.html"><span style="color: blue;">Posted
on 21 April 2015 in the Huffington Post</span></a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I often get into debates with
people about women in Islam. How we dress. How we don't dress. What we think or
don't think or should-be-thinking. I get into debates about feminism. What it
is and what it isn't. I think I've spawned permanent foes because I don't care
to apply the label, feminist, to describe myself. (I'm not one for labels,
sorry. But if it's even required of me, "Muslim woman" suits me just
fine.) But if we could agree for a moment that there exists a pure definition
of the word feminist to mean: awesomely fierce to the millionth degree, then
I'd like to introduce you to Islam's first feminist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her name is Khadijah bint
Khuwaylid. She was the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be
upon him.) And she is one of the people that I think about when I face or
debate issues surrounding women today. Khadija's existence precedes mine by
more than 1,400 years; and, if I can at the very least, continuously strive to
emulate her character, I will consider myself a success in life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7 things you might not know
about the awesomely fierce, Khadija (may God be pleased with her):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">1. She was a successful
and esteemed business woman.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would give anything to do an
on-the-job, ride-along with Khadija. Gladly swipe my car for a camel- my laptop
for a government-issued glass weight to measure goods in trade. What could I
learn in one day of shadowing this highly-respected business leader, trading
furniture, pottery and silks? Khadija was born to a father who was a successful
merchant in their Quraysh tribe of Mecca. She inherited her father's skills in
a time in history where society was male-dominated and dangerous. Upon her
father's death, she took over the business and traded goods through the primary
commerce centers at that time, from Mecca to Syria and to Yemen, hiring the
most trustworthy men of character to brave the dangerous trade routes. Her
business was larger than all of the Quraysh trades combined and the most
acclaimed with a reputation of fair-dealing and high-quality goods. She had a
keen eye and was highly intuitive, earning the monikers, Ameerat-Quraysh
("Princess of Quraysh") and al-Tahira ("The Pure One") due
to her stellar reputation. Khadija knew what she was doing business-wise, never
compromising her modesty or integrity to succeed in the male-dominated trades-
hiring only those that could meet these standards. Glass ceiling? Hah! 1,400
years ago, yes, Khadija shattered it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">2. She turned down many
marriage proposals.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being the most successful woman
around, rich in worldly attainment as well as character, it seems Khadija faced
a consistent campaign of men seeking her hand in marriage. She was married
twice before her wedlock to the Prophet; both of these marriages produced
children and both left her widowed. Her keen sense of character left her picky;
and, she was less than eager to suffer another painful loss of a husband. She
resigned herself to being a widowed woman taking care of herself and her
family. Until ...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">3. She asked the Prophet
to marry her.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love comes when you aren't
looking, or so I have heard. (And experienced.) Khadija learned of the stellar
character of Muhammad as well as his experience managing caravans on the trade
routes accompanying his uncle, Abu Talib. She hired him into her conglomerate.
Marriages at this time were typically necessary for survival and not always
about love as we know it in today's world. Khadija didn't need a husband to
take care of her financially. And Muhammad did not have the means to seek a
wife. She fell in love with him, and through a friend, asked him to marry her.
(He said yes.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">4. She was 15 years
older than Muhammad.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If Khadija's story hasn't broken
stereotypes about Islam yet, it might intrigue you to know that she was 40
years old when she married Muhammad. He was 25.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">5. She was an ideal
wife; theirs was a true love story.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Your wives are a garment
for you, and you are a garment for them." (Qur'an 2:187)</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Taking multiple wives was a
common practice, yet Khadija and Muhammad's marriage was monogamous until her
death 25 years later. Muhammad's prophethood began during his marriage to
Khadija, when he received the first of God's revelations through the Angel
Gabriel that left him frightened, strained and feeling alone when no one
believed in him. Khadija comforted her husband and encouraged him during the
most difficult days of his life. She bore him 6 children. He loved no one more
than Khadija during his lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">6. She was the first
Muslim.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Khadija, the mother of Islam,
was the first person on earth to accept Muhammad as the final prophet of God
and accept the revelations that culminated into the Holy Qur'an. She was
greeted with "Salam" (peace) by God himself as well as the Angel
Gabriel. She bequeathed her worldly goods and put herself in the face of danger
to stand by the Prophet Muhammad as Islam became established in the land.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">7. She spent her worldly
riches on the poor.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Islam, whether rich or poor,
one's financial condition is a test. Khadija gave her earnings to the poor and
to the orphans, to the widows and the sick. She helped poor girls get married
and provided their dowry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 10.2pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Khadija was one of history's
most remarkable women. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said that the four greatest
women of mankind were: Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Fatima bint Muhammad (his
youngest daughter,) Mary bint Emran (the Virgin Mary) and Asiya bint Muzahim
(the wife of Pharaoh). Khadija continues to inspire people to this day who
revere her for taking great care of the Prophet of Islam and for showing the
world, through her behavior, what a pious, modest and courageous woman can
accomplish. The example she left for mankind remains timeless.</span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-19878695889825965772015-04-24T10:19:00.000+04:002015-04-24T10:19:52.389+04:00Armenian Genocide at 100: Forget-me-not<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Obama reneges again on
2008 campaign promise to "recognize the Armenian Genocide" as
president</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3kbgOTtYiGg/VTkKqHX7qTI/AAAAAAAANis/kANjYTvpR1o/s1600/Flower%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3kbgOTtYiGg/VTkKqHX7qTI/AAAAAAAANis/kANjYTvpR1o/s1600/Flower%2B2.jpg" height="304" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, April 24, commemorates the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide carried out by the “Young Turk” government
of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916. One to one-and-a-half million Armenians
were killed during the Armenian Genocide -- through wholesale massacres and
deportations consisting of forced marches -- out of two-and-a-half million
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the past few years, I have commemorated the Armenian
Genocide at Mich Café with testimonials by Armenian friends sharing what it
means to them. I was about to do the same this year too when I fell across two
illustrations that give hope and decided to share those instead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The first is the beautiful forget-me-not, the official emblem
of the 100th Year of Remembrance of the Genocide issued by the Republic of
Armenia. The second is an illustration by my friend cartoonist Sareen</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Akharjalian on her webcomic,<i> </i></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://inkontheside.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Ink on the Side</span></a>.</span><i><span style="color: blue; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The forget-me-not, illustrating the worldwide observance of
the centennial, as <a href="http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net/uploaded_files/tinymce/files/pdf/GenocideEmblemExplanationFlyer.pdf">explained</a>
by the Armenian Church, expresses the theme of eternal remembrance. It is also
meant to symbolically evoke the past, present and future experiences of the
Armenian people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymwawPM0ytY/VTkKyS8PaJI/AAAAAAAANi0/FATF0x3HmC0/s1600/past.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymwawPM0ytY/VTkKyS8PaJI/AAAAAAAANi0/FATF0x3HmC0/s1600/past.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">The past:</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The black center represents the
sufferings of 1915, and the dark aftermath of the Armenian Genocide.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VnnwGtyxHmE/VTkK2pIy-dI/AAAAAAAANi8/lJ1Axud41ow/s1600/present.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VnnwGtyxHmE/VTkK2pIy-dI/AAAAAAAANi8/lJ1Axud41ow/s1600/present.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">The present:</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The light purple petals represent
the unity of Armenian communities across the world -- all of whom stand
together in this 100th year of remembrance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1cmI--cVI3c/VTkK6eog2OI/AAAAAAAANjE/StbF-3WlV7E/s1600/future.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1cmI--cVI3c/VTkK6eog2OI/AAAAAAAANjE/StbF-3WlV7E/s1600/future.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">The future:</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The five petals represent the five
continents where survivors of the Armenian Genocide found a new home. The dark
purple color is meant to recall the priestly vestments of the Armenian Church
-- which has been, is, and will remain at the heart of the Armenian Christian
identity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2uEEdWXeqw/VTkK-14fk_I/AAAAAAAANjM/raYfowdd3DY/s1600/Eternity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2uEEdWXeqw/VTkK-14fk_I/AAAAAAAANjM/raYfowdd3DY/s1600/Eternity.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Eternity:</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The 12 trapezoids represent the
twelve pillars of the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide memorial in Yerevan,
Armenia. Yellow represents light, creativity, and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, Armenians can be found in every corner of the globe,
creating a Diaspora population of about three million. All
over the world, they commemorate the tragedy on April 24, the day in 1915 when
250-300 Armenian leaders, writers, thinkers and professionals in
Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, were rounded up, deported and killed. The
Ottoman military then uprooted Armenians from their homes and forced them to
march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of
what is now Syria.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since then, the pomegranate was
adopted as a symbol for Armenians. The narrative is that during the 1915
Genocide and exodus, pomegranate was the only food mothers could find to feed
their offspring. Those marching could also count the days with the pomegranate
seeds. It is said that each fruit, however big or small, holds 365 seeds!</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R1_YNDsJGxE/VTkLj5WogYI/AAAAAAAANjc/4igEuCDiOqk/s1600/Sareen_cartoon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R1_YNDsJGxE/VTkLj5WogYI/AAAAAAAANjc/4igEuCDiOqk/s1600/Sareen_cartoon.png" height="249" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">The second illustration is by
Sareen Akharjalian on her </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">webcomic </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://inkontheside.com/"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ink
on the Side</span></a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, which is awaited online every Monday
morning to brighten up the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">With <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ararat">Mount Ararat</a> in the
distance, Sareen wrote: </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> “</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I
pray that we’ll have our day for a fair trial.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Sareen (</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sareen_ak"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@sareen_ak</span></a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">) who is
a programmer and software developer by day and a cartoonist by night also </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">quotes
the great Armenian-American writer </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Saroyan">William Saroyan</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">:
“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small
tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose
structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers
are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send
them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches.
Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet
anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.”</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">And
yet, 100 years on, U.S. </span></cite><span style="line-height: 115%;">President Barack <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/21/politics/obama-armenian-genocide-100th-anniversary/index.html"><span style="color: blue;">Obama</span></a>, wary of damaging relations with
Turkey amid growing unrest in the Middle East, won't use the centennial of the
massacre to declare the brutal episode genocide. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cM7fXjHmWwI/VTkW5B4sGFI/AAAAAAAANjs/22fwH08I7Ew/s1600/Flower_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cM7fXjHmWwI/VTkW5B4sGFI/AAAAAAAANjs/22fwH08I7Ew/s1600/Flower_poster.png" height="400" width="167" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite his campaign promise in 2008 to "recognize the
Armenian Genocide" as president, the White House on April 21 issued a
carefully worded statement on a high-level administration meeting with Armenian
groups that avoided using the term "genocide."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An administration official said Obama, who will mark the
centennial today, would similarly avoid using the word. "We know and
respect that there are some who are hoping to hear different language this
year," the official said. "We understand their perspective, even as
we believe that the approach we have taken in previous years remains the right
one -- both for acknowledging the past, and for our ability to work with regional
partners to save lives in the present."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"President Obama's surrender to Turkey represents a
national disgrace. It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of
trust," said Ken Hachikian, the chairman of the Armenian National
Committee of America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even some of Obama's allies decried the decision. California
Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic leader of the House Intelligence Committee,
said he was "deeply disappointed" by the decision to avoid the word
genocide.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"How long must the victims and their families wait
before our nation has the courage to confront Turkey with the truth about the
murderous past of the Ottoman Empire?" Schiff wrote in a statement.
"If not this President, who spoke so eloquently and passionately about
recognition in the past, whom? If not after 100 years, when?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When, indeed!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">At a service in Rome on April 12, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32272604"><span style="color: blue;">Pope
Francis</span></a> used "genocide" to describe what happened a
century ago. In response, Turkish Foreign Minister </span><span style="background: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;">Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu<b> </b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">recalled the ambassador to the Holy See
for "consultations."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #262626; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Related
posts:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://michcafe.blogspot.com/2013/04/armenian-genocide-echoes-of-dream.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Armenian Genocide: Echoes of the dream</span></a></span><span style="color: #002ebf; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">-- April 24, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://michcafe.blogspot.com/2012/04/armenian-genocide-lest-we-forget.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span>Armenian
Genocide: Lest we
forget</span></a></span><span style="color: #002ebf; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">-- April 24, 2012</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://michcafe.blogspot.com/2011/04/armenian-genocide-tear-day.html" target="_blank">Armenian Genocide: A tear a day</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- Apr 24,
2011</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-83698456672775854352015-04-12T09:02:00.000+04:002015-04-12T09:02:09.630+04:002014 deadliest year for Palestinians<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The number of
Palestinians killed in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip was the highest since 1967, UN report says</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mF7nP-6eO1Q/VRqvEp6YbzI/AAAAAAAANdM/OmpKoIhHIFE/s1600/Pales_pic_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mF7nP-6eO1Q/VRqvEp6YbzI/AAAAAAAANdM/OmpKoIhHIFE/s1600/Pales_pic_1.png" height="400" width="311" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With so many hot points currently raging in the Middle East,
each day creating more casualties and refugees and requiring ever more
generosity from the coffers of the international community for humanitarian
needs, what does the future hold for the Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">According to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) titled “</span><a href="http://reliefweb.int/node/910511"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Fragmented Lives</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">,” Palestinian civilians continue to be subject to threats to
their life, physical safety and liberty. Last year witnessed the highest
civilian death toll since 1967.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Humanitarian needs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are
driven by practices related to Israel’s prolonged occupation and recurrent
escalations of armed conflict, OCHA says in its 2014 Annual Humanitarian
Overview released on March 26.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“2014 was a
devastating year for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,”
said James Rawley, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. In Gaza, 1.8 million people experienced an escalation of
hostilities, which resulted in over 1,500 Palestinian civilian fatalities,
including more than 550 children, and left some 100,000 residents without a
home. On the Israeli side, five civilians, including a child, as well as a
security guard were killed. Serious concerns were raised over the conduct of
hostilities of both Israeli forces and armed Palestinian actors. Reconstruction
in Gaza has been slow, hampered by the continued blockade and the lack of
funding, although the temporary Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism has enabled the
import of construction material.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ISKDNlC1OfU/VRquolH7ZEI/AAAAAAAANdE/egqg_uBQ61s/s1600/Gaza_pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ISKDNlC1OfU/VRquolH7ZEI/AAAAAAAANdE/egqg_uBQ61s/s1600/Gaza_pic.png" height="312" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” he added,
“conflict-related casualties increased, a record number of 1,215 Palestinians
were displaced due to home demolitions by Israeli authorities, while settlement
and settler activity continued, in contravention of international law, and
contributed to humanitarian vulnerability of affected Palestinian communities.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to the OCHA report, movement and access
restrictions continued to fragment the occupied territory, undermining
Palestinians’ livelihoods and impeding their access to basic services.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Continued occupation undermines the ability of Palestinians
to live normal lives. Were these factors removed and related policies changed,
international humanitarian assistance would not be necessary here,” Rawley
concluded.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The violence spiked during the second half of 2014, due to the
51-day Israeli offensive on Gaza between July 7 and August 26 -- the deadliest
escalation in hostilities since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in
1967.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, some 4,000,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip remain under an Israeli military occupation that prevents them from
exercising many of their basic human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jupj_S459NI/VRqvgbA4vsI/AAAAAAAANdc/6Q9qANym-QE/s1600/The_wall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jupj_S459NI/VRqvgbA4vsI/AAAAAAAANdc/6Q9qANym-QE/s1600/The_wall.png" height="198" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The barrier in Abu Dis (OCHA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the fourth year in which OCHA has detailed the key
humanitarian concerns in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The purpose of
the report is to provide a comprehensive overview of the underlying causes or
drivers of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
in a given year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The concerns outlined in the Humanitarian Overview reflect
the advocacy priorities identified by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), the
main humanitarian coordinating body for UN agencies and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2014, these priorities remain: Accountability; Life,
Liberty and Security; Forced Displacement; Movement and Access; and
Humanitarian Space.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Overview is structured around these priorities, with the
issue of accountability addressed throughout. Each section contains a calendar
of the main developments in 2014 and a Way Forward, which details the main
steps required to rectify policies and practices inconsistent with
international law and reduce humanitarian vulnerability.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As with all OCHA reports, the Humanitarian Overview is based
on data collated and cross-checked from multiple sources that include OCHA,
other UN agencies, international NGOs, Palestinian and Israeli NGOs and, where
relevant, government sources.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The overall situation described in the report is a protection-based
crisis, with negative humanitarian ramifications. This crisis stems from the
prolonged occupation and recurrent hostilities, alongside a system of policies
that undermine the ability of Palestinians to live normal, self-sustaining
lives and realize the full spectrum of their rights, including the right to
self-determination.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C8wtiECvslM/VRqvePkaNbI/AAAAAAAANdU/3cHfRdHO33Q/s1600/Children.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C8wtiECvslM/VRqvePkaNbI/AAAAAAAANdU/3cHfRdHO33Q/s1600/Children.png" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Were these factors removed, Palestinians would be able to
develop their government institutions and economy without the need for humanitarian
assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To achieve progress in this regard, a range of actions is
required by all relevant parties, particularly the following:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- Israel, the occupying power, must fulfill its primary
obligations to protect the Palestinian civilian population, and ensure that
people’s basic needs and human rights are met. This would include taking action
to secure the physical protection of Palestinian civilians, cease their
displacement, ensure accountability for violence and abuse, and lift
restrictions on the movement of people and goods, as well as on access to land
and resources.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- All parties to the conflict, including armed groups, must fulfill
their legal obligations to conduct hostilities in accordance with international
law to ensure the protection of all civilians during hostilities and to ensure
accountability for acts committed in contravention of the laws of armed conflict.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">-- Third states share responsibility for ensuring respect for
international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and for
promoting compliance with human rights obligations, and should take all
necessary actions stemming from that responsibility.</span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-79524306180669965322015-04-11T12:05:00.001+04:002015-04-11T12:05:34.547+04:00Thank you IKEA for shining a light on refugees<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pHJFDeglkuE/VSjUlvIU25I/AAAAAAAANiU/EF6BYBDK0Xk/s1600/new_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pHJFDeglkuE/VSjUlvIU25I/AAAAAAAANiU/EF6BYBDK0Xk/s1600/new_poster.png" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt;">For every LED light bulb sold in
IKEA stores between February and March 2015, the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt;"> <a href="http://www.ikeafoundation.org/programmes/brighter-lives/">IKEA Foundation</a>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt;">donated €1 (AED3.88) to UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to light refugee camps
-- making them a safer, more suitable place for the many families who live
there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Under its “Brighter Lives for Refugees”
campaign, the IKEA Foundation drive in the global retailer's stores has so far this
year raised €10.8 million (AED 42 million) that will improve the lives of
refugees by providing educational opportunities and distributing renewable energy
devices such as solar lights, UNHCR said in a <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/552782189.html">statement</a> on Friday (April 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 8.4pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
funds will help improve the lives of 380,000 refugees in Bangladesh, Chad,
Ethiopia and Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 8.4pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Thanks
to IKEA's co-workers and customers, thousands of refugee children and families
will now have access to sustainable energy and lighting," said Per
Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation. "Simple activities like sharing a
family meal, doing homework and important social gatherings will now be
possible for some of the most vulnerable people on our planet."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 8.4pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
campaign, which began in 2014, raised €7.7 million (AED30 million) last year.
Already thousands of refugees have benefited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In Jordan, some
11,000 Syrian refugees living in Azraq camp can move around safely after 500
solar streetlights and LED streetlights were installed. In refugee camps around
Dollo Ado in Ethiopia, 40,000 solar lanterns -- one per refugee family -- and 240
streetlights are being delivered. In Chad, over 13,000 refugee children have
been enrolled in primary school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 8.4pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"The
number of displaced people worldwide has, for the first time since World War
II, exceeded 50 million people, including 13 million refugees who are under
UNHCR's care," said UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander
Aleinikoff. About half are children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"In this context, the
engagement of the public worldwide through our long-standing partner, the IKEA
Foundation, has never been more important. I greatly appreciate the efforts of
IKEA co-workers and the support of the customers who participated in this
global campaign so that we can make the lives of thousands of refugees better
and brighter," Aleinikoff said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_RUF1Q7B0w/VSjUxL14kII/AAAAAAAANic/wojQsT0_Pws/s1600/in%2Btent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_RUF1Q7B0w/VSjUxL14kII/AAAAAAAANic/wojQsT0_Pws/s1600/in%2Btent.jpg" height="224" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A lack of light in refugee camps
after sunset can have a devastating effect on safety and security. The loss of
daylight means that even simple activities like using the toilet, collecting
water or returning to the shelter can become dangerous, particularly for women
and girls. The campaign focuses on providing renewable energy solutions like
solar-powered streetlights, solar-powered lanterns and fuel-efficient cooking
stoves that make camps safer and more comfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Providing sustainable lighting
can have a huge effect on the quality of life in a refugee camp:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt;">Solar lanterns help children
study after dark, improving results in school.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt; text-align: left;">Solar street
lights enable people to have more community gatherings and social activities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt; text-align: left;">Solar
lanterns allow refugees to continue important income-generating activities,
such as weaving or sewing, long after the sun goes down.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt; text-align: left;">Solar
lanterns enable refugees to run their small shops and kiosks into the evening
so they can earn a sustainable income.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt; text-align: justify;">The IKEA Foundation has partnered
with UNHCR since 2010, helping to provide shelter, care and education in
refugee camps and surrounding communities. The Foundation has to date committed
more than €125 million (AED486 million) in support to UNHCR.</span><br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-34300738465036138052015-04-10T19:44:00.000+04:002015-04-10T19:44:02.932+04:00Appeal for Protected Zones in Syria<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vLkgbGxJqDY/VSfu6LmvaJI/AAAAAAAANh8/Ef5i_y6vFEk/s1600/Copy_of_Letter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vLkgbGxJqDY/VSfu6LmvaJI/AAAAAAAANh8/Ef5i_y6vFEk/s1600/Copy_of_Letter.png" height="400" width="228" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In a letter published in today’s </span><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Washington Post</i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">, 12 diplomats, former State Department officials,
judges, professors, journalists and ambassadors appeal to U.S. President Barack
Obama to establish Protected Zones in northern and southern Syria.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But is “a negotiated settlement between [Syrian President
Bashar] Assad and the moderate opposition” possible or indeed what the
opposition is seeking?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They write:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">* * * *<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To the President and
Leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives:<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We urge you to establish Protected Zones in northern and
southern Syria that are safe from attacks by the Assad regime and ISIL.
Establishing Protected Zones would alleviate the severity of the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis by:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Ending the killing of innocent civilians in these regions;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Curtailing egregious human rights abuses;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Enabling humanitarian organizations supported and funded by
the Administration and Congress to deliver emergency assistance in safety;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Allowing refugees to begin returning from neighboring
Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Facilitating reconstruction projects in protected towns;
and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Encouraging opposition-led democratic governance to grow
deeper roots.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Protected Zones can be integrated with the Administration’s air
campaign against ISIL to tip the military balance away from Assad, giving him
an incentive to reach a negotiated settlement with the moderate opposition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Protected Zones should be established in three provinces:
Aleppo -- which includes Syria’s largest city of Aleppo -- and Idlib in the
north along the Turkish border; and Deraa province bordering Jordan. No U.S.
ground forces would be involved. U.S. air power already engaged in the fight
against ISIL and partnered with Free Syrian Army ground forces would provide
necessary security in the Protected Zones.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The goal would be to help create and defend the three
designated Protected Zones, not oust the regime by direct U.S. force.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once established, Protected Zones would provide a secure base
for the Free Syrian Army to take the offensive against ISIL while moderate
opposition leaders negotiate with Assad on a transitional government.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">U.S. leadership to provide air cover for Free Syrian Army
defenders of designated Protected Zones could produce a humanitarian
breakthrough for large numbers of Syrians, put ISIL on the defensive, and make
a negotiated settlement between Assad and the moderate opposition possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_I._Abramowitz"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Ambassador (ret.) Mort Abramowitz</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://edi-dc.org/board-of-directors/nina-bang-jensen-member/"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Nina Bang-Jensen</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Cherif_Bassiouni"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Professor Cherif Bassiouni</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Buergenthal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Judge (ret.) Thomas Buergenthal</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_H._Hamilton"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Honorable Lee H. Hamilton</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hooper"><span style="line-height: 115%;">James Hooper</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kagan"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Robert Kagan</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.ndi.org/kovlerp"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Peter Kovler</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryeh_Neier"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Aryeh Neier</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.brookings.edu/experts/pickeringt"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Ambassador (ret.) Tom Pickering</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne-Marie_Slaughter">Hon. Anne-Marie Slaughter</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://publicinternationallawandpolicygroup.org/about/board/paul-r-williams/">Dr. Paul R. Williams</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-24503009003930397692015-04-10T16:06:00.000+04:002015-04-10T16:06:26.526+04:00Israel locks up Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JmCBUbAgQh0/VSe6-lMcgeI/AAAAAAAANgI/eqGRwEAou1w/s1600/Good_pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JmCBUbAgQh0/VSe6-lMcgeI/AAAAAAAANgI/eqGRwEAou1w/s1600/Good_pic.png" height="277" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span id="goog_1159243619"></span><span id="goog_1159243620"></span>“We don’t know whether Israel’s detention of the Palestinian
lawmaker Khalida Jarrar has anything to do with her passionate advocacy for
prisoners’ rights. It could be her membership on a government-appointed
committee mandated to follow up Palestine’s recent </span><a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/01/icc-palestine-newest-member"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">accession</span></span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #42210b; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Israel is not saying. But one
thing is quite clear: her case is rife with due process violations,” writes
Bill Van Esveld in Human Rights Watch’s </span><a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/09/dispatches-israel-locks-palestinian-lawmaker"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Dispatches</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> on Thursday, Apri 9.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Israeli forces raided Jarrar’s West Bank home in Ramallah
around 1 a.m. on April 2 and arrested her. They shuttled her to an Israeli
settlement, then to two military bases, interrogating her at the second all
morning, before transferring her to a prison inside Israel, her lawyers said.
On April 5, the Israeli military commander of the West Bank ordered her
administrative detention for six months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“They attacked our house at
about 1 a.m. They broke the door… They isolated me in another room and stayed
in my house for about an hour. Finally they kidnapped my wife, Khalida,”</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> her husband Ghassan Jarrar
said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He added that the IDF violated an agreement with the
Palestinian Authority under which the Israelis are not supposed to detain
elected Palestinian officials.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Under Israeli law, the military can detain any Palestinian
without charge or trial if it can convince a military judge that the evidence
provides “reasonable grounds to believe” that the person poses a “danger to
security,” Van Esveld writes. “The military is under no obligation to share
that evidence with the person being detained. The military judge can approve a
military order detaining him or her for up to six months; the detention can be
indefinitely renewed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An Israeli military commander later ordered the
administrative detention of Jarrar for six months, the maximum term Israeli law
allows a person to be held in custody without a charge or a court order.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The MP joins over 450 people currently held in
administrative detention in Israel, according to the </span><a href="http://www.addameer.org/"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Addemeer
Prisoner Support Association</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">. The number is lower than it was three years ago,
before Israel scaled down the detentions following a prolonged hunger strike by
detainees.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Fourth Geneva Convention on military occupations allows
for temporary detention of civilians without charge “if necessary, for
imperative reasons of security.” That’s an easy claim to make when the 400-plus
Palestinian administrative detainees are provided no fair opportunity to contest
the evidence against them, Van Esveld notes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QaNgSH4jaq4/VSe8AXnvJKI/AAAAAAAANgs/ZIlSrzkNiO8/s1600/New_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QaNgSH4jaq4/VSe8AXnvJKI/AAAAAAAANgs/ZIlSrzkNiO8/s1600/New_poster.png" height="320" width="257" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jarrar -- a 52-year-old member of the Palestinian parliament --
is a member of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a political party that Israel has deemed an
“illegal terrorist organization.” The party has an armed wing that has attacked
Israeli civilians but the Israeli military hasn’t charged her with any link to
such attacks. During her interrogation on April 2, Israeli officials played
three videos of her making speeches and questioned her about her political
statements, Jarrar later told her lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jarrar is no stranger to Israeli harassment. Israel has
banned her from traveling abroad since 1998, although it allowed her to receive
medical treatment in Jordan in 2010. Last August, the military issued a
“supervision order” requiring her to leave her home and stay in Jericho for six
months on the basis that she posed a security threat due to her alleged
“incitement and involvement in terror.” She ignored the order and set up a
protest tent outside the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah; the military later
shortened her expulsion to 30 days and took no further action to enforce it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her position as a member of the team that oversaw the Palestinian
Authority becoming a member of the ICC last week led to suspicion that the
arrest may be a punishment. Israel has been fiercely
opposed to Palestine joining the ICC.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“This is how Israel seeks to deter every
Palestinian public activist -- not to mention one involved with advancing the
processes in the ICC – from realizing his or her rights,”</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> the Israeli newspaper <i>Haaretz</i> said in an editorial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“If Jarrar broke the law, Israel must
put her on trial and prove she committed a crime. If, on the other hand, the
reason for her detention is revenge, she must be released immediately,” the
paper added.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Khalida Kana’an Muhammad Jarrar was elected to Palestine Legislative
Council (PLC) in January 2006 as one of the PFLP's three deputies and has
continued to serve as an elected representative ever since. She is also the
Palestinian representative on the Council of Europe and is currently head of
the Prisoners Committee of the PLC<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c8EnkbWDNMs/VSe8OrCvUII/AAAAAAAANg0/xX8ekKWFV7Y/s1600/campaign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c8EnkbWDNMs/VSe8OrCvUII/AAAAAAAANg0/xX8ekKWFV7Y/s1600/campaign.png" height="160" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jarrar has been a human rights activist for many years. She is active in
support of Palestinian prisoners and she served as the director of<span style="color: #252525;"> Adameer </span>Prisoners' Support and Human Rights
Association<span style="color: #252525;"> in Ramallah </span>from 1993 to
2005 and remains a board member. She has also previously worked with UNRWA<span style="color: #252525;"> </span> and has been prominently active in working
with Palestinian women and advocating for women's rights. In 1989, Jarra was
arrested by the IDF for taking part of a protest on International Women’s Day<span style="color: #252525;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #252525;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since 1998 Jarrar has been banned from travelling outside of the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. She has two children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2005 Israel refused to allow her to leave the country to attend a
human rights conference in Ireland. <u><o:p></o:p></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Jarrar’s arrest brings the number of Palestinian legislators
currently held in Israeli prisons to 16.</span></div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-35793437282107771252015-04-04T12:02:00.002+04:002015-04-04T12:02:52.395+04:00On preserving freedom and diversity of religion in Lebanon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lD1YTQh9O48/VR-Yw8fj5zI/AAAAAAAANeo/xSG6niJtj8g/s1600/Diversity%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lD1YTQh9O48/VR-Yw8fj5zI/AAAAAAAANeo/xSG6niJtj8g/s1600/Diversity%2B1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems so appropriate to speak of diversity and
freedom of religion in Lebanon in this Holy Week, leading up to Easter Sunday.
There is nowhere else I have seen practices as it is during Passion week.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So it is with great interest that I read, and
want to share, the preliminary report by United Nations Special Rapporteur Heiner
Bielefeldt on freedom of religion or belief in Lebanon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">On Thursday (April 2) he </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15795&LangID=E"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: blue;">praised</span></span></a><span style="background: white;"> the country’s unique tradition of religious diversity, in particular in
the Middle East region, and urged the Lebanese people to protect and preserve
it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “Diversity as well as freedom of religion or
belief must be preserved and further developed in order to build resilience
against the spiraling religious extremism in the Middle East region,”
Bielefeldt said at the end of an official visit to the country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“In face of the challenging time,
Lebanon could be the ray of hope in the region and beyond for as long as it
preserves and promotes its legacy of religious diversity,” he noted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bielefeldt (Germany) assumed his
mandate as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in August 2010.
He is Professor of Human Rights and Human Rights Politics at the University of
Erlangen-Nürnberg. From 2003 to 2009, he was Director of Germany’s National
Human Rights Institution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The human rights expert emphasized
that people in Lebanon have learned the importance of coexisting even under
precarious conditions. In his view, other enabling factors include active
interreligious dialogues or cooperation and Lebanese citizenship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Religious
diversity is a visible and audible reality, as Churches and Mosques often stand
in close vicinity and the ringing of bells at times blends with the Muslim
prayer call. Some Lebanese openly declare themselves as agnostics or atheists
and express critical views on religion in general, which is mostly appreciated
as something quite natural in an open society.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">“Lebanon’s
pluralistic heritage represents a counter-point to aggressive agendas of
sectarian homogenization, which haunt some of its neighboring countries. Over
the centuries a culture of interreligious coexistence has emerged, which today
helps to build resilience against extremist interpretations of religious
traditions. Due to mixed marriages, many families comprise persons of different
religious orientations. Many people live, learn and work together across
confessional lines, a situation which quite naturally fosters the discovery of
common interests…” </span><span style="background: white;">Bielefeldt
wrote in his preliminary statement.</span><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Overcoming the political
confessionalism is nonetheless important in order to live up to its aspiration
to become a civil state based on rule of law,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Disentangling
the tightly knit web of religious loyalties, political affiliations, social
positions and societal opportunities may then enhance the prospects of common
citizenship.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Special Rapporteurs are part of
what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights
system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and
monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on
a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their
work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in
their individual capacity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNXUmkmPpkg/VR-YueOiMVI/AAAAAAAANeg/pJriu0v2gvo/s1600/Beirut%2C-Church-and-Mosque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNXUmkmPpkg/VR-YueOiMVI/AAAAAAAANeg/pJriu0v2gvo/s1600/Beirut%2C-Church-and-Mosque.jpg" height="238" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">On “Why Lebanon?”
</span><span style="background: white;">Bielefeldt</span><span style="background: white;"> wrote: “…Lebanon
has successfully managed to keep the society together, across religious
boundaries and to build resilience against the virus of religious extremism.
Indeed, the main purpose of my visit has been to better understand what
facilitated these surprising accomplishments and which measures can be taken to
further strengthen peaceful interreligious coexistence of people across the
broad range of confessions…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Even though equal power sharing on
one hand maintains stable relationship among religious denominations, it may on
the other hand weaken the civil structure and reinforce political fragmentation,”
Bielefeldt further explained.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He noted that allowing civil marriage
in Lebanon will be a test case in further strengthening diversity. “Mixed
marriages are a reality in Lebanon and the absence of a civil marriage law may
create problematic situations from the perspective of freedom of religion or
belief and exacerbate discrimination against women,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It is furthermore inevitable for the
society, especially the younger generation to tackle complicated facts of
recent history in Lebanon,” he added. “Without proper history teaching and
memorialization process, a climate of mistrust against each other between
different religious communities may persist.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Bielefeldt</span><span style="background: white;"> concludes: “In discussions on how to preserve
and further develop religious diversity in the face of external threats and
internal challenges I have experienced a surprising readiness for reforms… Disentangling
the tightly knit web of religious loyalties, political affiliations, social
positions and societal opportunities may thus enhance the prospects of common
citizenship while at the same time ensuring that the inner attractiveness and
persuasiveness of religious messages can unfold without getting mixed with
non-religious incentives. Similarly, I have sensed much willingness to
introduce optional civil marriage in Lebanon, in order to accommodate the
realities of modern life in a more honest and open manner. Also in discussions
with religious leaders and dignitaries I rarely came across a wholehearted and
clear defense of the status quo. Fears that the option of contracting civil
marriages in Lebanon would erode the existing religious diversity would indeed
betray a lack of confidence in the inner persuasiveness of religious
traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“In order to
preserve and further develop the Lebanese legacy of religious diversity in an
increasingly complicated region, religious communities and civil society
organizations will have to cooperate more closely to build trust based on a
common commitment to human rights, including the right to freedom of religion
or belief. I am grateful for having seen promising initiatives pointing in this
direction.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During this 11-day mission to
Lebanon, Bielefeldt met with various government officials, representatives of
religious or belief communities, including the refugees, civil society
organizations and the UN.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Bielefeldt’s full end-of-mission statement can be read </span><a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15791&LangID=E"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></span></a><span style="background: white;">. </span></span><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The final official report will be presented to
the 31st session of the Human Rights Council in March 2016.</span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-45069748603278870252015-04-01T11:48:00.003+04:002015-04-01T11:48:55.687+04:0010 facts about technology use in the emerging world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FlbvOFjhVLY/VRuaq5Lf1qI/AAAAAAAANeQ/F7XOM1aS5LY/s1600/1st_Pew.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FlbvOFjhVLY/VRuaq5Lf1qI/AAAAAAAANeQ/F7XOM1aS5LY/s1600/1st_Pew.png" height="400" width="243" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/internet-seen-as-positive-influence-on-education-but-negative-influence-on-morality-in-emerging-and-developing-nations">The Pew Research
Center surveyed</a> t</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;">housands of people across 32 emerging and
developing nations about their technology use and how the rising influence of
the internet affects their daily lives. But, Jacob Poushter writes, beyond the
larger findings, Pew found some notable data points about specific countries
that might have been lost in the fray.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The following are the Pew Research
Center’s findings:</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">1<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Almost no one in Nigeria,
Ghana, Bangladesh and Uganda owns a landline</b> <b>telephone. </b>Many
people worldwide are skipping the fixed telephone line that many Americans grew
up with, and this fact is most apparent in many emerging and developing
nations. Only 1% of the population in Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh and Uganda say
they own a working landline telephone in their household, while 89% in Nigeria,
83% in Ghana, 76% in Bangladesh and 65% in Uganda own cell phones. This
compares with 60% landline penetration in the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">2<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Chinese internet users
love to shop.</b> About half of online Chinese (52%) have used the internet to
buy products in the past 12 months. Given the size of the online Chinese
marketplace, this goes a long way in explaining the meteoric rise of commerce
giants such as Alibaba and Baidu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">3 </span></b><b>Filipinos love social networking.</b> Among adult internet
users in the Philippines, 93% say that they use social networking sites, such
as Facebook and Twitter. This is the highest such percentage across the
emerging and developing countries surveyed and greater than the 74% of <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">internet users
in the U.S. who use social networking sites</span></span></a>. Roughly seven-in-ten of
those Filipino social networkers use these platforms to share views about music
and movies, while half talk about sports.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Social Media Popular in Emerging and Developing Nations"
href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/2-online-activities-in-emerging-and-developing-nations/"
style='width:480pt;height:218.25pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'
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o:title="Social Media Popular in Emerging and Developing Nations"/>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kB5npo4Kx9o/VRuap27LG6I/AAAAAAAANeI/pnlUmajWdfA/s1600/Pew_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kB5npo4Kx9o/VRuap27LG6I/AAAAAAAANeI/pnlUmajWdfA/s1600/Pew_1.png" height="175" width="400" /></a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">4 </span></b><b>Indians and Bangladeshis use the
internet for job hunting.</b> Very few people in India and Bangladesh use the internet --
only 20% and 11% respectively. But among those who do, job searching is a
popular activity. Majorities of internet users in Bangladesh (62%) and India
(55%) say they have looked for a job online in the past year, the highest rates
among the 31 countries surveyed that have enough internet users to analyze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">5<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Young Thais are internet
enthusiasts.</b> In every country we polled, younger people ages 18 to 34 are
substantially more likely to say they use the internet than those who are
older. Especially large differences occur in Asia, and particularly in
Thailand, where 83% of 18- to 34-year-olds are online, but only 27% of those 35
and older are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">6<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Politics is a big social
media topic in Lebanon. </b>Among Lebanese who use social
networks, an astounding three-quarters say they use the platform for discussing
politics. Similar levels of political participation occur among social network
users in Egypt (66%) and Jordan (63%). Across all the countries surveyed with
sufficient numbers, only a median of 34% say they talk politics using social
media, including 16% of Filipino and Vietnamese social networkers and 19% of
Indonesians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/2-online-activities-in-emerging-and-developing-nations/"><span style="color: #bc7b2b; text-decoration: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3"
o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Middle Eastern Social Media Users More Likely to Talk Politics"
href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/2-online-activities-in-emerging-and-developing-nations/"
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yAbLGmNIlRE/VRuaoTDSFnI/AAAAAAAANeA/ncl0gmtmesY/s1600/Pew_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yAbLGmNIlRE/VRuaoTDSFnI/AAAAAAAANeA/ncl0gmtmesY/s1600/Pew_2.png" height="175" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">7<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Ukrainians get their
political news online.</b> Overall, a median of 54% of internet users across emerging
and developing countries surveyed use the internet to get political news and
information. But in Ukraine that figure is much higher: Eight-in-ten internet
users do so. The survey was fielded after the ousting of President Viktor
Yanukovych from office in early 2014 and toward the beginning of the ongoing
conflict with Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, meaning many Ukrainians
followed those news events online. However, only 53% of Ukrainians have access
to the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">8<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Nearly eight-in-ten
Russians own a computer.</b> Due to the rise of smartphones, many people in emerging and
developing nations access the internet from a device other than a personal computer.
But about eight-in-ten Americans (80%) and Russians (78%) have a working
computer in their household. In contrast, only 3% in Uganda say they have a
computer in their home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">9<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Venezuelans like taking
pictures and videos with their phones.</b> Overall, Latin Americans
(just like in the U.S.) are quite keen on capturing the world around them, with
more than six-in-ten mobile owners in Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and
Nicaragua saying they have taken videos or pictures with their phones in the
past year. In Venezuela, this is particularly common: Three-quarters of cell
phone owners (who constitute 88% of the adult population) use their device
to take pictures or video.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">10<span style="color: #ec9f2e;"> </span></span></b><b>Many Poles access medical
information online, especially women.</b> More than six-in-ten
internet users in Poland (64%) say they have gotten health information online
in the past 12 months. This includes 72% of female internet users, but only 56%
of male users. Similar gender gaps <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/15/health-online-2013/"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">are found in the
U.S.</span></span></a>, and also in Russia and Ukraine.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-16795988695595393032015-03-30T17:54:00.002+04:002015-03-30T17:54:55.507+04:00Sheikh Hamdan donates World Cup prize money to Dubai Autism Center<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-omNOzU1pOL8/VRlTcYPRibI/AAAAAAAANcQ/BfJceAmgyhM/s1600/Jockey%2BWilliam%2BBuick%2C%2Bcelebrates%2Bwith%2BSheikh%2BHamdan%2Bbin%2BMohammed%2BAl%2BMaktoum..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-omNOzU1pOL8/VRlTcYPRibI/AAAAAAAANcQ/BfJceAmgyhM/s1600/Jockey%2BWilliam%2BBuick%2C%2Bcelebrates%2Bwith%2BSheikh%2BHamdan%2Bbin%2BMohammed%2BAl%2BMaktoum..jpg" height="305" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 11.9340000152588px; line-height: 20.2877998352051px;">Sheikh Hamdan celebrates Prince Bishop's win with Jockey William Buick</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown
Prince of Dubai, has donated his $6 million (Dh22 million) prize money for
Prince Bishop winning the Dubai World Cup horse race to the </span><a href="http://www.dubaiautismcenter.ae/" style="line-height: 115%;">Dubai Autism Center</a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sheikh Hamdan joined his father Sheikh Mohammed, Ruler of
Dubai, at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday night to watch Prince Bishop romp home
on the 20</span></span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">th</span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">anniversary of the world’s richest horse race. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And he wasted little time in spending his windfall,
taking to Twitter to announce that he was pledging the money to a cause close
to his heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GCek2iyxIYM/VRlTghCcE_I/AAAAAAAANck/8nOe7qIhWmI/s1600/Tweet_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GCek2iyxIYM/VRlTghCcE_I/AAAAAAAANck/8nOe7qIhWmI/s1600/Tweet_1.png" height="173" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KWWLsBNS1bY/VRlTiBeUznI/AAAAAAAANcs/kPhfzXX6920/s1600/Tweet_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KWWLsBNS1bY/VRlTiBeUznI/AAAAAAAANcs/kPhfzXX6920/s1600/Tweet_2.png" height="156" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sheikh Hamdan, known affectionately as Faz3, is the chairman
of the Dubai Autism Center. He was optimistic the money will go towards
changing young children’s lives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He also directed that plans and initiatives be launched so
that the children in the center will reap the enormous psychological, social
and therapeutic benefits as quickly as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The <a href="http://www.dubaiworldcup.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Dubai World Cup</span></a>,
the richest horse race in the world, is held at the Meydan Grandstand and
Racecourse on the last Saturday in March. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Efm9Vgi2heA/VRlTfHCdArI/AAAAAAAANcY/tK-iALGZWM8/s1600/Sheikh%2BMo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Efm9Vgi2heA/VRlTfHCdArI/AAAAAAAANcY/tK-iALGZWM8/s1600/Sheikh%2BMo.jpg" height="400" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheikh Mo at the races on Saturday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The brainchild of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai World
Cup was inaugurated in 1996 as a tribute to his love of horses and horseracing.
The total value of the prize money stands at over $35 million, with the annual
invitation-only Dubai World Cup, worth $10 million.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On Saturday night (March 28), Prince Bishop pulled away from
favorite California Chrome on the home straight and won the $10 million Dubai
World Cup by 2 ¾ lengths.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Starting from the inside post, jockey
William Buick rode Prince Bishop to his first victory on dirt. It was the
fourth attempt for the eight-year-old horse in the world's richest race.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buick said it would take some time to
gather his thoughts after winning the world's richest horse race.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">"I can't express what I am
feeling right now," he said. "It's very surreal. We were detached
last, but ended up traveling very well in the last turn.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I didn't look back, but I
imagine we won well because I could hear the commentator. I feel a bit numb at
the moment, but I'm sure when I get home and relax it will sink in."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prince Bishop was bred in Ireland, but has been trained by
Saeed bin Suroor in the Emirates.</span></span></div>
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</div>
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Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-35050481399129882172015-03-30T11:37:00.000+04:002015-03-30T11:37:40.184+04:00Asylum applications at a 22-year high<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Soar to almost 900,000 in industrialized world, says UNHCR</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hs7CVAoK5_M/VRj2fhMIroI/AAAAAAAANbo/rxXuCkPDRec/s1600/UNHCR_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hs7CVAoK5_M/VRj2fhMIroI/AAAAAAAANbo/rxXuCkPDRec/s1600/UNHCR_1.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported last Thursday (March 26) that the wars in
Syria and Iraq, as well as armed conflicts, human rights violations and
deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in other countries, pushed
the number of asylum applications in industrialized countries to a 22-year high
last year.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And there is no end in sight...</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A combination of armed conflict, deterioration of security or
humanitarian situation and human rights concerns in a number of countries -- notably
Syria -- have been among the main reasons for the sharp increase in the number
of asylum-seekers registered among industrialized countries during 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An estimated 866,000 asylum applications were recorded in the
course of the year, some 269,400 claims more than the year before (+45%). This
is the fourth consecutive annual increase and the second highest annual level
since the early 1980s when statistics on asylum-seekers started being collected
by UNHCR in a systematic way. As such, the 2014 figure is close to the all-time
high of almost 900,000 asylum applications recorded among the industrialized
countries in 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">UNHCR’s report,</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
</span><a href="http://www.unhcr.org/551128679.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">The
Asylum Trends 2014</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, puts the
estimated number of new asylum applications lodged in industrialized countries
throughout the year at 866,000, a 45 percent increase from 2013, when 596,600
claims were registered. The 2014 figure is the highest since 1992, at the
beginning of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UN
High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres put the new figures in their
historical context. "In the 1990s, the Balkan wars created hundreds of
thousands of refugees and asylum seekers," Guterres said. "Many of
them found refuge in industrialized countries in Europe, North America and
elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Today,
the surge in armed conflicts around the world presents us with similar
challenges, in particular the dramatic situation in Syria. Our response has to
be just as generous now as it was then -- providing access to asylum,
resettlement opportunities and other forms of protection for the people fleeing
these terrible conflicts."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Jot8KpjgRA/VRj3I0UTlXI/AAAAAAAANb0/zZcF5FR-G78/s1600/UNHCR_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Jot8KpjgRA/VRj3I0UTlXI/AAAAAAAANb0/zZcF5FR-G78/s1600/UNHCR_2.png" height="400" width="283" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KMN6HDUbqW0/VRj3It4Dh-I/AAAAAAAANbw/y_X3QmEMkZE/s1600/UNHCR_2_A.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KMN6HDUbqW0/VRj3It4Dh-I/AAAAAAAANbw/y_X3QmEMkZE/s1600/UNHCR_2_A.png" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UNHCR’s
report says Syrians were by far the largest group among those seeking asylum in
2014, with almost 150,000 applications, one in every five asylum claims in the
industrialized world. Iraqis accounted for 68,700 applications, almost double
the number in 2013. Afghans were the third largest group, with almost 60,000
applications, followed by citizens of Serbia (and Kosovo) and Eritreans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
industrialized country receiving the largest number of asylum-seekers in 2014
was Germany, with more than 173,000 applications. Syrians made up a quarter of
all asylum applications in Germany. The United States received an estimated
121,200 asylum claims, mostly from Mexico and countries in Central America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Turkey,
which by the end of last year hosted over 1.5 million Syrian refugees, received
87,800 new asylum applications in 2014, mainly from Iraqis. Sweden ranked
fourth among the 44 industrialized countries, with 75,100 applications, mainly
from Syrians and Eritreans. Italy registered 63,700 new applications in 2014,
the highest on record. Asylum-seekers in Italy came mainly from Mali, Nigeria
and Gambia.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Russian Federation, which is not included in this report for methodological
reasons, received some 265,400 applications for temporary asylum and 5,800
applications for refugee status from Ukrainians during 2014. At the same time,
the number of Ukrainians seeking asylum in the 44 countries included in the
report went up from 1,400 in 2013 to 15,700 in 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While
there has been a net overall increase in asylum applications, the number of new
claims has not been spread evenly among the industrialized countries covered by
the report. The top five receiving countries (Germany, the United States,
Turkey, Sweden and Italy), for example, accounted for 60 percent of all new
asylum claims.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lOQbQfH9_6s/VRj3vZ8dslI/AAAAAAAANcA/VFFw5j83It4/s1600/Applications.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lOQbQfH9_6s/VRj3vZ8dslI/AAAAAAAANcA/VFFw5j83It4/s1600/Applications.png" height="291" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
report reveals other disparities, as when a country's population size is taken
into account, for example. Relative to the size of its population, Sweden is
the country with the largest number of asylum seekers (24.4 asylum seekers per
1,000 inhabitants on average, during the last five years), followed by Malta,
Luxembourg, Switzerland and Montenegro.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While
most industrialized countries saw increases in the number of asylum applicants
during last year, some countries registered a decrease, notably Australia,
where numbers went down 24 per cent from 11,700 in 2013 to less than 9,000 in
2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UNHCR's
Asylum Trends 2014 report is based on data received from 44 governments in
Europe, North America and parts of the Asia-Pacific. The number of people
applying for refugee status in industrialized countries is just one element in
the global picture of forced displacement from conflict and persecution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Worldwide,
by the start of last year, some 51.2 million individuals were forcibly
displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human
rights violations. Of these, some 16.7 million people were refugees and 33.3
million were internally displaced in their own country. Close to 1.2 million
were asylum-seekers. UNHCR's forthcoming Global Trends 2014 report, due in June
2015, will provide a complete picture of global displacement in 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Asylum Trends 2014 report and annex tables are available here:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.unhcr.org/551128679.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Report</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/2014AsylumTrends.zip"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Annexes</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> [Excel
tables -zip file]</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-19798086204425456452015-03-28T11:24:00.000+04:002015-03-28T11:24:12.014+04:00Raeda Taha play triggers fond memories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTYwR73wWvI/VRWQSMOuEQI/AAAAAAAANbE/4m8fJBdIgCc/s1600/Raeda_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTYwR73wWvI/VRWQSMOuEQI/AAAAAAAANbE/4m8fJBdIgCc/s1600/Raeda_1.jpg" height="231" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="caption-text" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: start;">Raeda Taha performing with an image of her father serving<br />as a backdrop.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder" style="background-color: white; display: inline-block; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 1rem; text-align: start;"><i><span class="visually-hidden" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Credit</span>Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is one of the perks of social media to be able to find friends
you have lost contact with for years and learn of the things they are doing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And so it was that I heard about Raeda Taha, who I have not
seen or been in contact with for more than 25 years!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Raeda was performing in a play she wrote at the Babel Theater
in Beirut’s Hamra district. The one-woman show, titled <i>“Where can I find
someone like you, Ali,”</i> was directed by Lina Abyad and ran from the end of
February to March 7.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I heard about it from my cousin Lillian and it is with very
fond memories that I read the article about the show in <i>The New York Times.</i>
In the 1980s and early 1990s, when I used to
cover the Palestine Cause in general and its leader Yasser Arafat in particular,
I landed often in Tunis where the Palestinian leadership had moved. After a few
visits and stays in a hotel, I became friends with Raeda and started staying
with her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zj6vvArOhw/VRWQSplpdwI/AAAAAAAANbM/vG7V5rCpMZ8/s1600/scan0097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zj6vvArOhw/VRWQSplpdwI/AAAAAAAANbM/vG7V5rCpMZ8/s1600/scan0097.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Raeda at the beach in Tunis in the last 80s</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her hospitality, kindness and generosity made all the
difference to these trips that sometimes lasted for more than a month at a time.
Raeda was able to stay with me in London too once and spent Christmas with my
family in 1990 if I remember well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But all that is history and the future is Raeda’s seemingly
brilliant career in writing and performing. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Bravo Raeda! I hope I can see the play for myself sometime
soon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The following is the article, published on March 22, in <i>The
New York Times</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/world/middleeast/protegee-of-arafat-offers-in-show-ironic-take-on-a-conflict.html?_r=1"><span style="color: blue;">In
One-Woman Show, Arafat Protégée Offers Personal Take on Conflict</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">BEIRUT, Lebanon -- In a measured voice, the middle-aged woman
in the blue dress recalled how a colleague had come to her hotel room during a
work trip years before and tried to rape her, retreating only after she had
screamed to alert the neighbors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In tears, she hid in the bathroom to ponder her dilemma:
Should she tell her boss? Would that make matters better or worse?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Complicating her decision was the fact that her boss had been
a father figure to her since she was a child. He was also, as it turned out,
the iconic and controversial father of the Palestinian nationalist movement, Yasser
Arafat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With that story began the sold-out closing performance last
week of the autobiographical one-woman show “Where Can I Find Someone Like You,
Ali,” written and performed by the Palestinian writer Raeda Taha and directed
by Lina Abyad at the Babel Theater in Beirut.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha’s show has drawn large crowds and <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/23889"><span style="color: blue;">critical acclaim</span></a> since it
opened here last month because of its deeply personal and often ironic take on
a life shaped by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3M0HjCN7W04/VRWQO3GCmVI/AAAAAAAANak/fkzl9IpNdLI/s1600/Archive_1_new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3M0HjCN7W04/VRWQO3GCmVI/AAAAAAAANak/fkzl9IpNdLI/s1600/Archive_1_new.jpg" height="255" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the 1972 coverage of the hijacking</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha’s pedigree gives her a rare tie to the Palestinian
struggle: her father was a militant killed by Israeli commandos after hijacking
an airplane in 1972. Mr. Arafat then virtually adopted her and her sisters,
lavishing them with gifts as the daughters of a “martyr.” As an adult, she
worked as Mr. Arafat’s press secretary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">And in an unlikely twist, one of the Israeli commandos who
participated in the raid that killed her father was a young man named Benjamin
Netanyahu, who won an election in Israel on Tuesday (March 17) that will likely
give him a fourth term as prime minister.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha still hates him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Netanyahu is still my enemy,” she said before the show. “He
participated in the killing of my father.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha’s show, and its sympathetic portrayal of a hijacker
considered a terrorist by much of the world, was in no way controversial in
Lebanon, where highly destructive wars over the years have left most people
hostile toward Israel and supportive of those who fight against it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That feeling was clear in Ms. Taha’s play, but her focus was
much more on the Palestinians themselves and on the frequent clash between the
public celebration of those who die fighting Israel and the private suffering
of those they leave behind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wearing a blue dress and a necklace bearing a black and white
photo of her father, Ms. Taha, 50, took the stage before spectators ranging
from gray-haired intellectuals who remembered her father to bearded university
students born long after his death. Seated near the front was a group of
Palestinians from the West Bank sporting black and white kaffiyehs on their
shoulders.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha sat on a couch and addressed the audience in Arabic,
switching accents and postures as she embodied different characters and
recounted tales from her life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many were from the 1970s, making the play a time capsule from
a different Middle East. Palestinian militants led by Mr. Arafat planned
attacks on Israel from Beirut; Islamist movements like Hamas and Hezbollah did
not yet exist; nor did the Palestinian Authority. Nor peace talks aimed at
ending the conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dwelling in the background was the story of her father, Ali
Taha, one of four militants who hijacked a Belgian airliner on its way to
Israel in 1972, seeking to swap its passengers for Palestinian guerrillas
imprisoned in Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The plot failed. Israel secretly disabled the plane,
preventing the hijackers from fleeing, and a team of Israeli commandos
disguised as mechanics stormed the aircraft, capturing two hijackers and
killing the others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha’s father was among the dead, making him a “martyr”
and giving his relatives a status they struggled to make sense of. Ms. Taha was
7 at the time, and the youngest of her three sisters was 8 months old.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha recalled the family home filling up with people she
did not know, wailing and bearing photos of her father.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She said she saw her mother on the couch, devastated, but
surrounded by other women who tried to make sure she acted appropriately.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Red nail polish no!” she said they told her mother,
prompting laughs from the audience. “You are now the wife of a martyr.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She joked about men who flirted with her mother, mixing
slogans like “Revolutions need blood!” with compliments about her eyes and
hair, prompting more laughs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her mother was torn, she said, once saying that she wished
her husband had been a “radish seller” who had stayed alive rather than a
fighter who got killed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other stories talked about Ms. Taha and her sisters dealing
with their father’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At one point, they asked their school principal what “hero
martyr” meant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “He is the one who
dies as a sacrifice for the thing he loves most,” the principal said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Oh,” Ms. Taha replied. “My father loves Palestine more than
he loves me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At that, the principal started crying and Ms. Taha’s sister
quipped that he was jealous because “dad is the hero martyr and not him.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--938jV56oZk/VRWV1Q27leI/AAAAAAAANbY/LJ-sZGzgbLM/s1600/On_Stage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--938jV56oZk/VRWV1Q27leI/AAAAAAAANbY/LJ-sZGzgbLM/s1600/On_Stage.png" height="271" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raeda on stage<i> (Photo Mohammed Khayat)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Taha also poked fun at the attention she and her sisters
received as the “daughters of a martyr.” They were paraded about at official
occasions and traveled to countries that supported the Palestinians, causing
ironic jealousy among their friends whose fathers were still alive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In one story that drew hearty laughs, a friend of Ms. Taha’s
could not conceal her glee when her own father was assassinated by Israeli
intelligence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Now I can travel with you!” the girl said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The last part of the show narrated the quest by Ms. Taha’s
aunt Suheila to get the Israeli authorities to hand over Mr. Taha’s body so it
could be buried.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After trying multiple avenues, the aunt confronts Henry A.
Kissinger, then the secretary of state, who agrees to help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That story could not be independently verified; Ms. Taha said
after the show that it was “100 percent true.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After the family buries Mr. Taha, the show closes with a
video of Suheila, who still lives in Jerusalem, singing a song about her
departed brother.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After the show, some in the audience spoke of what had and
had not changed between Israel and the Palestinians in recent decades.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“The past was different in many ways, but the occupation is
still the same,” said Hanadi Abu Bakr, 50, who was visiting Beirut from the
West Bank city of Nablus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She had wanted to visit Beirut since she was a child, she
said, but tensions between Israel and Lebanon had always prevented her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chantal Hoyek, a Lebanese translator, said the play recalled
a time when many Arabs believed that armed struggle against Israel would help
the Palestinians return to their homeland. Ms. Hoyek, 28, still supported that
struggle but did not think it would succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s not a revolution anymore,” she said. “It is a hopeless
case.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807988042419728546.post-70540578590044145412015-03-02T11:39:00.000+04:002015-03-02T11:39:06.144+04:00I no longer...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v5uGxz_n5Xw/VPQSpH2O2oI/AAAAAAAANZQ/qSh2bX8jozI/s1600/Meryl%2BI%2Bno%2Blonger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v5uGxz_n5Xw/VPQSpH2O2oI/AAAAAAAANZQ/qSh2bX8jozI/s1600/Meryl%2BI%2Bno%2Blonger.jpg" height="400" width="387" /></a></div>
<br />
Couldn't agree more... Well said!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Michhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335355760098330471noreply@blogger.com