Mich Café

Egypt: From camel to tear gas warring

2012-02-06T11:30:00.000+04:00

February 2012: Battling tear gas

February 2011: Confronting camels

With protests against the military rulers continuing in central Cairo, Port Said, Suez, Alexandria and other parts of Egypt, I am reminded of a guest post at Mich Café in February 2011 about “The Camel versus Facebook” in Egypt. It focused on the faceoff in Tahrir Square between supporters and opponents of former president Hosni Mubarak. A year since, tear gas has replaced the camel.

Clashes in many Egyptian cities -- between police and the security services commanded by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on the one hand and demonstrators on the other -- have not subsided since 79 football fans were killed and several hundreds more injured in Port Said on February 1, 2012.

The confrontations erupted as the dust was still settling on the deadly pitch invasion in Port Said Stadium. There, supporters of local team al-Masry set on the visiting al-Ahly team and fans after al-Masry had unexpectedly won the match 3-1.

Port Said Stadium, February 1, 2012 (Photo by Reuters)

Police react at Port Said Stadium (Photo by Reuters)

With most deaths believed to be al-Ahly followers, hardcore fans known as “ultras” accused police and military authorities of planning the killings because they had stood up to them during last year’s revolution.

The question raised then – “Where is Egypt heading?” – is just as relevant today.

When Mubarak was ousted 18 days into the January 25, 2011 uprising and his powers shifted to SCAF, my sole observation online was: “How can military rule be compatible with democracy?” The question is just as fitting as well.

Camels have now been replaced by tear gas to fight off demonstrators in cities that have been sharing in the “Occupy” movement.

Wikipedia photo

At the end of last year, sadly “occupy” and “tear gas” were the words most commonly used and searched for on the Internet. The media analysis company Global Language Monitor lists “Occupy” in the top 10 list.

It is no surprise the use of CS in war is outlawed under the terms of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by most nations in 1993 with all but five other countries signing between 1994 through 1997.

Only five states have not signed the Convention and are therefore unhindered by restrictions on the use of CS gas. They are: Angola, Egypt, North Korea, Somalia and Syria.

Use of pepper spray too is also banned in wartime under Article I.5 of the Chemical Weapons Convention. It forbids the use in warfare of all riot control agents, whether lethal or less-than-lethal.

Having lived through the Lebanese civil war and covered various turbulent zones during my career as a journalist, I was fortunate not to be exposed to these gases. Wars, in the pre-Internet days had a different feel, especially as it took days sometimes for news of to travel and reach the world at large.

With enough to follow in our region, I hadn’t paid much attention to the Occupy protest movement directed against economic and social inequality. What started in Occupy Wall Street and Occupy San Francisco last September had by the end of 2011 taken place and/or is still taking place in over 95 cities across 82 countries and over 600 communities in the US, according to Wikipedia.

The Occupy movement has hit closer to home with the recent events in Cairo and Port Said where the use of tear gas and pepper spray is common. CS gas, an aerosol of a volatile solvent, is also being used to control Occupy participants and demonstrators in Egypt, alongside tear gas and pepper spray.

Broken promises

Egypt's military rulers have failed to live up to their promises to uphold human rights. Instead, they have been responsible for a catalog of abuses that sometimes exceeds Mubarak’s appalling record, Amnesty International said in a new report released last November 21.

In Broken Promises: Egypt's Military Rulers Erode Human Rights, Amnesty documents a woeful performance on human rights by SCAF.

"By using military courts to try thousands of civilians, cracking down on peaceful protest and expanding the remit of Mubarak's Emergency Law, the SCAF has continued the tradition of repressive rule, which the January 25 demonstrators fought so hard to get rid of," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Acting Director.

"Those who have challenged or criticized the military council -- like demonstrators, journalists, bloggers, striking workers -- have been ruthlessly suppressed, in an attempt at silencing their voices.”

Amnesty said that by August, the SCAF admitted military courts had tried some 12,000 civilians across the country. At least 13 were sentenced to death.

Dealing with tear gas

Tear gas irritates the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs. A chemical reaction to the sulfhydryl group of enzymes may cause the irritation. The results of exposure are coughing, sneezing, and tearing. Tear gas usually is nonlethal, but some agents are toxic.

One of many tear gas canisters from the streets in Cairo

Exposure to tear gas gives: stinging and burning of the eyes, nose, mouth, and skin; excessive tearing; blurred vision; runny nose; salivation (drooling); exposed tissue may develop a rash and a chemical burn; coughing and difficulty breathing, including a feeling of choking; disorientation and confusion, which may lead to panic; and intense anger.

The best defense against tear gas is a gas mask, but if one is not on hand there are other steps you can take to lessen harm: You can soak a bandana or paper towel in lemon juice or cider vinegar and store it in a plastic bag. You can breathe through the acidified cloth for several minutes, which should give you enough time to get away.

Fleeing tear gas in Cairo (Photo by AP)

Goggles are a great defensive gear. You can use tight-fitting swim goggles.

Don't wear contacts anywhere you might face tear gas. If you are wearing contact lenses, immediately remove them. Your contacts are a loss as is anything else you can't wash.

You can wear your clothes again after washing them, but wash them separately that first time.

If you don't have goggles or a mask, you can breathe the air inside your shirt, since there is less air circulation and therefore a lower concentration of the gas, but that is counterproductive once the fabric becomes drenched.

First aid for eyes is to flush them with sterile saline or water until the stinging starts to subside. Exposed skin should be washed with soap and water. Breathing difficulties are treated by administering oxygen and occasionally by medications used to treat asthma. Medicated bandages can be applied on burns.

Anonymous Press has also put out a guide for “Defending against tear gas” that might help.

Stay safe!

Egypt: “The camel versus Facebook” – February 4, 2011

Vicky: My mother, my child…

2012-01-31T11:48:00.002+04:00

My mom Victoria

Those telephone calls you dread… I got one in June 1984. It was to say my mom, Vicky, was in hospital and risked going into a coma.

Although always there, the memories came flooding back this week when a close and loved relative went into a coma. As my thoughts and prayers are constantly with the family, it took me back to those difficult months 28 years ago and the eight years that followed.

I was in Cannes, with my sister Asma, already dealing with a misfortune when the phone rang. My magazine had asked a London friend to reach me. I had to fly back to Beirut as quickly as possible.

That was easier said than done. I had left Beirut with much difficulty. Lebanon was still in the grip of a civil war and Beirut airport was closed. I had to fly out from Damascus and make the return trip the same way – by plane to Damascus then by road to Beirut.

My magazine, Monday Morning, made all the arrangements. I flew to Paris and then to Damascus where I arrived at night. My colleague, Nadim Abu-Ghannam (who has since passed away), met me at the airport. We drove to Beirut by night, passing through Syrian and Lebanese checkpoints manned by different factions. I think the state of my puffy eyes eased our way through the lot.

A neighbor who had our house keys got worried when, by noontime June 23, she didn’t see Vicky leave the flat. She decided to check on her. She found mom slumped on her bed. She quickly alerted the neighborhood and called an ambulance that whisked her to the American University Hospital (AUH).

Mom had suffered an aneurysm at the base of the brain. I had no idea what that was. The next 24 hours, I was told, would be crucial. She would either regain consciousness or have spasms and go into a coma.

During the journey back to Beirut I was praying for the first scenario and hoping at least to make it back before the second. It was not to be. She did go into a deep coma before I arrived.

By coincidence, while in Cannes, I read an article about a child in a coma in a village in Latin America. The whole village had rallied to take turns caring for the little boy. They were talking and singing to him and trying to trigger something that would wake him up.

We are talking about a time when there was no Internet, no Google search, and no telephone lines, electricity or water in Beirut… Hard to imagine, I know.

The first shock of seeing Vicky with tubes all over and helpless was devastating. Mom was strong, opinionated and full of life. She was the soul of any gathering, the busy bee of the family, always on the move and with something to say.

With Vicky in hospital

But there was no time to feel sorry. Acting on what I had read in that magazine, I got the hospital room looking homely in case we were there for the long haul and started the agonizing days of trying to bring her back to us.

I was very lucky in that my friend and soul mate, Zepure Hamparian Mansour, was at the time, and until a few months ago, the head of radiology at AUH. Zepure, her husband Yorki and her team at the radiology department, especially Elo Artinian and Seta Kazandjian, were good Samaritans. They did everything to help me overcome the absence of my sister and brother from the war-torn country.

There was no question of my going to work, a decision I paid for dearly. I lost my job at Monday Morning, which had changed ownership. It also meant having to move to London eight months down-the-line.

Strange how with one phone call, your whole life is shaken, stirred and turned upside down. Nothing would be the same again. It was a time to dig deep for all the strength the human body and mind can muster. That’s when love and caring take over.

Spending whole days in a hospital and losing contact with the real world are never easy. The hospital becomes your world, and one I got to know well along the years with long spells at AUH in Beirut and Charring Cross Hospital in London. I was there for more than 16 hours a day despite arranging for a night nurse.

The hardest part was leaving Vicky at night. It took me three to four hours each night to say good-bye and leave the room.

The days were one long, continuous soliloquy. Zepure, Elo and Seta helped relieve the pressure and we would joke and talk and involve Vicky in all our conversations.

We also kept up a chain system of massaging Vicky’s legs and arms to keep them mobile and avoid thrombosis. We had to turn her every couple of hours to prevent bedsores, keep an eye on of all the electronic devices Vicky was hooked on, make sure mucus did not gather in the tubes and choke her, as well as other innumerable tasks.

It was also our mission to keep it happy. I alienated a number of “aunties” who came into the room crying over Vicky. They were quickly shooed out.

Do people in a coma hear you? We didn’t know then and I still don’t know now. But there is always the hope and conviction they do.

Vicky was in a coma for five weeks, which felt like five years. Then one morning, I got a phone call from my cousin Dalal to ask about her. I told mom, “Come on, wake up and talk to Dalal.” Suddenly, her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes. Panic followed. Hanging up, calling the nurses, paging the doctor…

The first test was to find out how alert mom was. The scans showed that one of her front brain lobs had been drowned in blood, but we didn’t know the exact effects.

One question puzzled us during the five weeks. I couldn’t remember where she had hidden her little box of jewels. So I asked, “Mom, where is the jewel box?” And she looked at me exasperated and said, “You know it is behind the cartons on the balcony.” So that was that.

Celebrating so many things in September 1984

Vicky had lost her recent memory. She had no recollection of anything that happened since the aneurysm. She didn’t realize she was not well, which during the next eight years would prove to be a blessing. At first, they didn’t want us to leave hospital, because they thought it was a matter of time for her. But Vicky proved the doctors wrong and fought for eight years in which we could bask in her warmth and love.

It is an experience that makes you appreciate every second of your life, your health, your family and friends. It puts many concerns in perspective and you learn to let go of trivial issues.

After five weeks, my mom was back, but more as a child.

When the coma patient wakes up is when the tough work begins. It is exactly like having a child on your hands. It is particularly difficult when you leave hospital and have to cope without the gamut of doctors and nurses and equipment.

The eight months after we went home were hard. As were the eight years that followed. They were dedicated to getting a child on its feet and trying to recover a mother. There were many complications along the road, especially in a country ravaged by civil war. And perhaps one of the many blood infusions she received when blood banks were still slackly controlled infected her with Hepatitis C. But all that is for future posts.

For now, I wish our patient well and my relatives patience and strength.

Related posts:

Dearest Mom – March 21, 2011

Soulmates for life -- November 2, 2010

My quarrel with SOPA and sister PIPA

2012-01-19T10:33:00.000+04:00

From Gino's Blog

I am protesting against SOPA/PIPA -- the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate – and blacked out Mich Café all day Wednesday (January 18) because I oppose censorship. I believe in freedom of speech and in keeping the Internet open and free.

I also believe the two bills would stifle creativity and innovation. If passed in the U.S., they would surely trickle down to other countries. Typically, when America sneezes, the world catches a cold. In this case, the world would be exposed to life-threatening pneumonia!

It is also a fight between the big players in the movie and music industries and the “little people.”

If SOPA/PIPA became law, the Internet would no longer be free and open. In the words of Wikipedia, which blacked out its English service yesterday (January 18) for 24 hours, “SOPA and PIPA are real threats to the free and open Internet… Among other serious problems in the current draft of the bills, the requirement exists for US-based sites to actively police links to purported infringing sites. These kinds of self-policing activities are non-sustainable for large, global sites -- including ones like Wikipedia. The legislative language is ambiguous and overly broad, even though it touches on protected speech. Congress says it's trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the ‘cure’ that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease.”

U.S. President Barack Obama said January 17 he would not support SOPA. The bill is maybe killed for now, or for the duration of his administration. But PIPA is slated to go before the U.S. Senate next Tuesday (January 24).

“Any provision covering Internet intermediaries such as online advertising networks, payment processors, or search engines must be transparent and designed to prevent overly broad private rights of action that could encourage unjustified litigation that could discourage startup businesses and innovative firms from growing,” the White House said in a statement. “We expect and encourage all private parties, including both content creators and Internet platform providers working together, to adopt voluntary measures and best practices to reduce online piracy.”

Both SOPA and PIPA try to combat online piracy by preventing U.S. search engines like Google and Yahoo from directing users to sites distributing stolen content. Both bills would also enable people and companies to sue if their copyrights were infringed.

Under PIPA, sharing a video with anything copyrighted in it, or what YouTube and Twitter do, would be considered illegal behavior.

PIPA would disrupt the Internet, stifle innovation, shut out diverse voices and censor the web. It is bad for freedom of expression, creativity, and does not protect our rights. Gone will be the open libraries for music, videos and books, for example.

Fight for the Future is leading the protest. It says, “We're living during a global shift as big as the industrial revolution… We, as a society, are literally building a new world. Fight for the Future is here to bring the most essential human values back into the debate about how society uses technology. We believe there's hardly anything as important as ensuring that our shared future has freedom of expression and creativity at its core.”

Fight for the Future wonders, among other things:

After spending thousands of years building libraries of donated books, why do governments try to tear them down when they happen spontaneously online?
Why can't I give money directly to every musician I like, instead of paying Apple or Spotify and leaving virtually nothing in the pockets of the artists?
Why does the US pay so much for cellphone service? And for slow Internet?
How is it possible that singing "Happy Birthday" in public is still illegal, and why does anyone stand by these laws?
Will every kid growing up in every developing country have access to every book ever made, as soon as they get a Smartphone? Or will the books cost $12, an impossible expense for a poor kid?
Why have we all been sitting idly while the movie and music lobbyists have been systematically advancing legislation that strips freedoms, blocks innovation, and exclusively advances Hollywood's financial agenda?

Keep the Internet free, please!

Related sites:

SOPA and why a Lebanese should care – by Lebanese freelance programmer Mireille Raad

The Oatmeal

“Olives” -- the book variety that is

2012-01-16T10:27:00.000+04:00

The very mention of olives can make me drool. Black ones, green ones and especially those from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. They are the best. And the closest I got to them while living in the UK where jars of little black olives from Nice, France.

But this is not a post about the eatable kind, but Olives by Alexander McNabb, the self-published novel that has just hit the bookstores.

I felt esteemed and privileged, when my author friend Alexander McNabb emailed me a PDF of Olives to read.

We had just spent an amazing day together in Beirut. I joined him on a trip and for lunch in Shemlan where he was researching his next release, Beirut. We spoke a lot about both books but I wasn’t expecting to get an advance copy. We were joined later that night in June by our friend Naeema Zarif, the very talented Lebanese graphic artist who created the Olives cover.

I was reluctant to start reading Olives. Books are very personal and one of the most important aspects of daily life to me. I read profusely for my own pleasure and enlightenment. To give an opinion to an author was going to be challenging and embarrassing. Also reading a “foreigner’s” take on contemporary events in the region is usually something I try to avoid.

But, I did start reading Olives and gave up three precious nights out in Beirut to finish it. In daytime, I often found myself looking forward to the evening’s reading. To my mind, that says a lot about a book.

Yes, Alexander is a foreigner. But he is a foreigner who after working and living in the Middle East for over 25 years has made the effort to integrate with the people of the region, learn their customs and traditions, some of the language and a lot of the mannerisms.

I started reading Olive, set in Jordan and Palestine, with my copywriter hat on. I forgot about it after about 30 pages, as I got engrossed in the novel.

Olives author Alexander McNabb

I have met so many men like Paul Stokes and fallen in love with quite a few, as you do with the main journalist character of the thriller. They are mostly out of their depth in the turbulent waters of the Middle East and often not to be trusted. Middle Easterners love conspiracy theories. So the spying part in Olives falls right into the mold. For us, every foreigner is a “spy suspect.” It is also easy to recognize yourself in Aisha Dajani and her extended family.

Olives makes for compulsive reading as you get taken in by the romance, and by Alex’s tackling of the more serious themes, including the fight for the region’s water resources, the effects of Israel’s construction of the “security wall,” Palestine, and Jordan.

The politics are so well mixed with the romance that the narrative could be taking place in any trouble spot and usually does. The characters – the English girlfriend, the embassy representative, the Swede -- are all well placed and credible.

The ending might shock some, but it is Olives – A Violent Romance. I found it very credible as I have had such an ending in my life and know a lot of other people who have. It is the kind of ending that affects hundreds of people every single day in the quick sands of the region.

What I didn’t know when I read the PDF version is that the book starts with a quote by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. Any “foreign” author who can do that is surely worth a read.

Thanks Alex for the kind words

Another surprise in the hardcopy is the “Thanks” page at the end of Olives where my name is mentioned. I’ve finally made it into a book! That blew me away and brought about a few tears.

Thanks Alex and I can’t wait to read Beirut.

Related reading:

Alexander McNabb’s blog Fake Plastic Souks

The Olives website

Back on the streets of Beirut – June 24, 2011

Dubai bird to sing Zayed’s name

2012-01-09T11:55:00.001+04:00

Congratulations to Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammad
on the birth of Baby Sheikh Zayed (Photo by Emirates 24/7)

As a sign of the times, the number one birth in the United Arab Emirates was announced on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.

“Princess Haya and I were blessed with a baby boy… We named him ‘Zayed’,” is how HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai welcomed the arrival of his second child with HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan on Sunday (January 7).

The announcement on Facebook

Sheikh Mohammad and Princess Haya, who married in 2004, had their first child, Sheikha Al Jalila, on December 2, 2007. (See Dubai sheikha’s likeness to her mom, April 7, 2011)

By Tuesday morning, the good news had been shared 1,407 times on Facebook, with 33,700 likes and 13,322 comments congratulating Sheikh Mohammad and Princess Haya.

Baby Sheikh Zayed is named after the founding father of the UAE, HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004), loved, respected and admired by the people of the Emirates and the international community.

The proud parents leave hospital with Baby Sheikh Zayed
(photo Sukar)

I wish baby Zayed well. I will be teaching my little bird to sing his name. Congratulations to his parents, his sister, his family and citizens of the UAE.

Related post:

Dubai sheikha’s likeness to her mom – April 7, 2011

Lebanon to protest rape law

2012-01-08T11:40:00.002+04:00

Nasawiya, a collective of feminists working on gender justice in Lebanon, is organizing and mobilizing for a January 14 march against Lebanon’s antiquated rape law.

The march, according to Nasawiya, will be to demand the following:

We, the women who reside in Lebanon, excuse ourselves from playing the decorative role that has been imposed on us.
We take to the streets today to say that we are aware and knowledgeable about the methodical war that state and society have waged on our bodies and our safety through their political parties and leaders.
From now on, we will not accept empty promises that are heaped upon us every time we call for our rights.
We will not give in to patience. We will not bite our wounds and postpone the battles of today to tomorrow.
Our voices will be louder than the bickering between your parties and your sporadic yet connected wars.

Nasawiya also calls on Parliament to:

Pass the draft law for Protection from Domestic Violence as it has been written and with no delay.
Intensify punitive measures against rapists and those who attempt rape, amending the respective law.
Treat verbal harassment as physical harassment, especially in the workplace, making it a crime subject to judicial penalties.
Deal with complaints related to sexual violence with rigor and consistency.
We call on the Interior Ministry and the Municipalities to also apply those measures. The three bodies should work to make our streets and neighborhoods safe, especially at night, by ensuring proper street-lighting, and allowing us to carry tools of self-defense, like taser guns and pepper spray.
We extend this invitation to all women and girls who have been exposed to rape or attempted rape or harassment in all its forms, to all so-called “housewives” that have been subjected to beating and verbal abuse, to all those employees, teachers, activists, workers and union leaders who experience sexual abuse time and time again, and to all those who feel the injustice and lack of equality.
The march starts at 12 p.m. at the Interior Ministry near Sanayeh Garden and will proceed to Parliament at Nejmeh Square.
We women no longer possess anything but solidarity with one another. We must stand shoulder to shoulder and unite. What lies before us is the last of our battles: the defense of our rights, bodies and security.
We have nothing to lose but our chains. The time is now.

For Nasawiya, a collective of feminist activists means not having a traditional NGO structure of boards, staff, and volunteers. It is a member-driven collective where everyone is equal and supports the other’s activism. “We believe we are stronger together,” it says.

Nasawiya believes:

Sexism -- a devastating result of the feudal/patriarchal culture that we live in -- is a major social problem that we should work to eradicate, especially since it is deeply related to other social problems, such as classism, heterosexism, capitalism, racism, sectarianism, etc. Therefore, we must fight all forms of violence, discrimination, and exploitation that are based on gender, sexuality, able-bodiedness, ethnicity, race, religion, class, etc.
As women, we have the right to a positive self-image and an emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy life.
As women, we have the right to our bodies and our sexualities. In other words, women should be free to express their sexuality, free to make a choice about engaging or not engaging in sexual acts and/or relationships, free to choose whether they want to marry or not, whether they want to undergo an abortion or not. Women must also have easier access to helpful and non-judgmental sexual health services, as well as sexual education.
We must work to eliminate all forms of harassment, and all forms of gender-based violence, verbal, physical, and sexual, wherever they happen.
All women should have equal rights of employment, and equal treatment and pay in the workplace.
Women should be encouraged to enter the fields of study and work that are currently dominated by men, such as sciences, sports, etc.
Domestic migrant workers are employees and should have all the rights of employment, starting with respect and equality.
We have a responsibility to be smart consumers since what we buy and where we buy from are political as well as personal choices that affect us all.
We should encourage women to start women-friendly, workers-friendly and environmentally friendly small businesses. Women must play an active role in the political process, and lead the way in political reform.
Women must have all their citizenship rights.
Women must assume more leadership roles, in the private and public spheres, to reflect their central role in their communities.
We have to promote feminist art, women-friendly media, and women’s studies courses and institutes.
We should respect our natural environment, as exploitation of nature is parallel to the exploitation of women.
We should support other feminists in the Arab world, the global south and the rest of the world, who are working towards a similar vision of a better world.

If you are in Lebanon, do join the march on January 14, spread the word and support in any way you can.

Related posts:

Gino’s Blog: Names and Faces of MPs Who Are NOT Against Rape + Protest on January 14

Lebanon’s 2012 Twitter honor list

2012-01-04T11:59:00.003+04:00

There are so many lists that come out at this time of year -- looking back at 2011 and ahead into 2012. The one I always look forward to is Youssef Alam’s on his blog Joe’s Box.

For the second year running, I am there, under my twitter handle @mich1mich. It’s like being on the Queen’s Honor List! Queen Elizabeth’s honors are bestowed twice a year -- at New Year's and on the British monarch's official birthday in June. Most of the honors go to people who are not in the limelight, for services to community or industry, but they also reward a sprinkling of famous faces.

Joe gives a rundown of people to follow on social media platform Twitter. He says in his blog post on January 2:

New to Twitter? You don’t know who to follow? Here are some of my favorite tweeps with different interests. They share information, positive energy, interesting and funny stuff…

This year make sure to follow 12 “Lebanese Birds” who tweet regularly and make the timeline special and 100 percent Lebanese:

Funky bird: @funkyozzi Serious Funky girl tweeting about technology, communication and writer of many interesting blogs.
Designer bird: @mayametni Visual communication consultant and creative director twitting only creativity.
Artist Bird: @Halamoubarak Activist with an artist’s touch. Make sure to follow her blog.
Friendly Bird: @mich1mich spreading only kindness and positive energy.
Beirut bird: @beirutspring Tweeting everything about Lebanon, including politics.
Marketing bird:@sdarine Tweeting interesting marketing links.
Funny bird: @Uxsoup Tweeting technology tips, tricks, trends and some (R-18) quotes.
Social Media bird:@pas_M Tweeting very interesting social media and marketing links.
Photographer bird :@Footnem Nice photography tweets.
Smart bird: @_Archangelus_ Smart and funniest tweets.
Intellectual bird: @NasriAtallah Our man in Beirut.
Hummus bird: @Hummusnation Takes daily Lebanon news by the ankles and dangles it from the highest floor in Burj el-Murr until it cries for mercy.

I would definitely add Joe to this list and make it a lucky 13!

You can check out Joe’s 2011 List "11 Birds to Follow in 2011" and add your views and comments on his blog, at @JoesBox on twitter, or JoesBox on Facebook.

Thanks Joe, it’s a real honor to be on the list and in such good company!

Ring out 2011, ring in 2012

2012-01-01T02:48:00.002+04:00

Dubai rings in the New Year... at Burj al-Arab

Adieu 2011, Bonjour 2012. My friends and I ushered in both years on a beach in Dubai watching fireworks from two of the most iconic buildings in the world – Burj al-Arab and Burj Khalifa.

In the same way as fireworks, the New Year kicked off with sparkles and explosions interspersed by intervals of quiet and some darkness. But as with sparklers, you always look forward to the next bang.

The Old Year was thought-provoking on the personal and general levels. The Arab Spring, the continuing economic meltdowns, the Acts of God, the new challenges and innovations and the people we lost or welcomed to the world during the past 12 months… are now locked in our minds and hearts.

On a personal level, the Old Year was stimulating, with its ups and downs.

Dubai's Burj Khalifa rings in 2012. Photo by my friend Derrick Pereira

Luckily, my sister, my brother and his family, my extended family and friends are in good health and working, which is the biggest blessing. I hope that carries into 2012.

After a difficult start to 2011, I was fortunate to spend six months on and off in Beirut on a job. I learned a lot and rekindled my love affair with the city I had left for 20 years thanks to the kindness and generosity of family and friends.

The fireworks at Burj al-Arab

And when the sparkles and fireworks fell silent for a few months in September, they shone again and I was offered another opportunity in Dubai that is going well.

Mich Café in the Old Year was a continuous challenge, enjoyment and passion. You, the readers, have been most generous with your time on the blog. This encourages me to keep going. I thank you one and all.

I look forward to the coming 12 months and all the adventures along the way.

Happy New Year, Happy 2012!

Ali Ferzat: Cartooning for freedom

2011-12-27T11:28:00.001+04:00

Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat (photo by AFP)

The world tipped its hat twice this month in honor of Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat.

The first time was on December 8 at the Le Monde auditorium in Paris. The second was on December 14 at the European Union Parliament in Strasbourg.

In Paris, Reporters Without Borders and Le Monde, with the support of TV5MONDE, awarded Ferzat the 2011 Press Freedom Prize, naming him the 2011 Journalist of the year. The 2011 Media of the Year prize went to the Burmese publication, Weekly Eleven News.

The second was on December 14, when at a formal sitting in Strasbourg the European Union Parliament conferred the 2011 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Ferzat and four other Arab Spring activists – two men and two women.

The two men are Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia, whose death in January helped spark the Arab Spring, and Libyan dissident Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Senussi who spent 31 years in prison for opposing the Gaddafi regime.

The two women are Egypt's Asma Mahfouz, a founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, and Razan Zeitouneh, a lawyer, writer and human rights activist who documented human rights abuses on her website “Syrian Human Rights Information Link.”

Pen and paper have been Ali Ferzat’s armory since his teens. A political satirist and head of the Arab Cartoonists' Association, his works have been published in countless Syrian, Arab and international publications. His more than 15,000 comic strips have been reviling injustice, repression, despotism, violence, and corruption for decades. Arab governments, including in his native country, repeatedly banned his creations, which are typically without captions. But Ferzat never stopped censuring the abuse of power or championing freedom and democracy in Arab countries and at home. So when the Arab Spring reached Syria last March, he quickly put his shoulder to its wheel.

Ferzat after his August 25 beating

Five months into the Arab Spring in Syria, masked men seized Ferzat in Umayyad Square in Old Damascus while he was heading home in the early hours of August 25. The “spooks” beat him up badly, breaking two of his left fingers and maiming his right arm and one of his eyes. They then bundled him out of their van by the side of the airport road and drove off with his attaché case.

The attack came days after Ferzat published a cartoon depicting Bashar Assad thumbing a ride with Moammar Gaddafi, who is shown driving a getaway car.

When working as a journalist alongside two renowned Arab cartoonists -- the late Imad Shehadeh and the late Mahmoud Kahil – I realized that, much as a picture, a cartoon is worth a thousand words.

To me, breaking a cartoonist’s fingers or hand is like smashing a runner’s legs or impairing a surgeon’s vision.

The 60-year-old Syrian cartoonist rose to prominence in the 1980s with his satirical yet nondescript images of bureaucrats, bullies and Big Brother. His first professional drawings appeared, when he was 14, on the front pages of al-Ayyam newspaper, shortly before the ruling Baath Party banned it. In 1969, he started drawing comic strips for the state-run daily al-Thawra. In the mid-1970s he moved to another government-controlled newspaper, Tishreen.

International recognition followed in 1980, when Ferzat won the first prize at the Intergraphic International Festival in Berlin and his caricatures started featuring in France’s prestigious Le Monde. His 1989 exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris set off a death threat from Saddam Hussein.

Ferzat launched his own satirical newspaper – al-Domari or the Lamplighter – in 2000. Styled like the French weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, it was the first independent publication in Syria since the Baath Party takeover in 1963. The 50,000 copies of the first print run of its first edition in February 2001 sold out in less than four hours. By 2003, however, frequent government restrictions, censorship and lack of funds forced Ferzat to close down al-Domari.

Presenting the 2011 Journalist of the Year award in absentia to Ferzat at the Le Monde auditorium in Paris on December 8, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said:

“This year we are honoring a courageous journalist who has been the victim of brutal repression by an obsolete government. Ali Ferzat fully deserves this award. His cartoons target the abuses of a desperate regime with its back to the wall and encourage Syrians to demand their rights and to express themselves freely.”

“I would have liked to have been with you this evening to take part in this beautiful event,” Ferzat said in a letter read out by the French cartoonist Plantu. “I dedicate this award to the martyrs, to those who have been injured and to those who struggle for freedom. May thanks be given to all those who have turned the Arab Spring into a victory over darkness and repression… I salute all those who take to the streets, everywhere in the world, searching for freedom, democracy and dignity.”

The European Parliament in turn honored the five Arab Spring recipients of its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought at an award ceremony held in Strasburg six days later, on December 14.

The Sakharov Prize is named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The European Parliament established it in December 1988 to honor individuals or organizations committed to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. Past winners include South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, and former UN chief Kofi Annan.

Speaker Jerzy Buzek told lawmakers, “2011 will go down in history as the year of the Arab Spring. The European Parliament recognizes the efforts of all those who struggle for dignity, basic freedoms and political change in the Arab world.”

Ferzat thanked the EU parliamentarians for his Sakharov Prize through a video message, saying he felt “extremely bitter and very sad” about the mounting death toll in Syria. “People are demonstrating in the streets at the moment. They don’t fear death... They are telling us liberty is beyond price.”

Syrian lawyer and blogger Razan Zeitouneh was also honored, but could not attend the award ceremony because she had gone into hiding after being accused by the regime of being a foreign agent.

“It is not possible to stop the march of this people to freedom and dignity,” Zeitouneh wrote in a letter to the EU lawmakers, dedicating the prize to “Little Ghiyath,” the newborn son of an activist who was killed by Syrian security forces in September.

You can view the jam-packed archive of Ferzat’s cartoons on his website.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:18:00.000+04:00

Merry Christmas to all my family, friends and readers.

I wish you good health, peace of mind and happiness on this glorious day.

If Santa didn't pass by, maybe he's stuck on a beach in Dubai! The weather is so nice and sunny here, he might have decided to sit it out on the beach.

But no worries. Christmas is all about giving and there are so many worthy causes to share the goodwill of the season with:

-- Samar Maree, a 10-year-old little girl in Ramallah on the West Bank, needs an urgent, life-saving operation by January 19, 2012. To help her get to Florence in time, please check all the links at It’s Christmas, let’s save a life.

-- My friend George Elkhabbaz is raising funds for children fighting cancer. For his 32nd birthday tomorrow (December 26), George (@UXSoup), has launched an appeal for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Lebanon. To contribute to his birthday wish, please visit George Elkhabbaz's Birthday Wish.

Thank you for your generosity, enjoy the day and Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas, let’s save a life!

2011-12-22T11:29:00.001+04:00

Help save Samar Maree's life this Christmas

It’s the season of goodwill. It’s Christmas in three days. What better way to celebrate the birth of Christ than by helping to save the life of a little 10-year-old girl.

Samar Maree is dying. She needs life-saving brain surgery. She will not live to see the New Year if she is not operated on within a month.

Samar lives in Ramallah on the West Bank where the operation cannot be performed. She has to be flown to Florence, Italy, where pediatric neurosurgeons at the Meyer Children's Hospital can treat her.

The problem is that Samar needs around $21,000 to receive the treatment that will save her life. And what better Christmas present can we contribute to?

Add caption

Donations as at Thursday (22 Dec.) morning

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) has set up a dedicated emergency giving page to receive donations. They have already raised around $6,600, thanks to your generosity. But they still need $15,000 by January 19, 2012.

Please help make Samar’s Christmas and include her in your presents. Every donation, big or small, counts. Thank you.

Related posts:

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

Save Samar at A Naboulsi Story

Dying at Fake Plastic Souks
Help by buying one of Gerald D's prints here

Sansour art: Alligator bites olive tree

2011-12-21T23:49:00.001+04:00

“So that alligator bites after all!” That’s what my friend Nadine Toukan exclaimed on Facebook Tuesday night, December 20.

Larissa Sansour "too pro-Palestinian" for Lacoste

The alligator in question is the French clothing brand Lacoste that has demanded the removal of Jerusalem-born Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour from a major photographic competition for being “too pro-Palestinian.”

How, I wonder, can you be “too pro” your nationality? Would an American be labeled “too pro-American,” or a Venezuelan “too pro-Venezuelan…? Would a Canadian depicting a Maple tree be dubbed “too pro-Canadian?” Would an English person be called “too pro-English” for drawing the Tower of London or St. Paul’s?

The Lacoste-sponsored competition is for the prestigious €25,000 ($33,000) Lacoste Elysée Prize, which is now in its second edition and is awarded by the Swiss Musée de l’Elysée.

Sansour was one of the eight artists shortlisted for the 2011 award.

Last November 9, she wrote on her website: “Very excited to be nominated for the Lacoste Elysée Prize 2011.”

But in a press release dated December 20, the artist reveals that Lacoste has demanded her nomination be revoked. The French brand justified their refusal

to support Sansour’s work by tagging it “too pro-Palestinian.” The winner is to be selected by a special jury in January 2012.

Sansour’s work is immersed in the current political dialogue and she brings into play video art, photography, experimental documentary, the book form and the Internet.

The artist, who studied Fine Art in Copenhagen, London and New York, borrows heavily from film and pop culture. Sansour describes her work as “approximating the nature, reality and complexity of life in Palestine and the Middle East to visual forms normally associated with entertainment and televised pastime.”

Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour

Her grandiose and often humorous schemes clash with the gravity expected from works commenting on the region. So why then was she named then shortlisted for the award, when it was obvious what her work was about?

As a nominee, Sansour was granted a bursary of €4,000 ($5,200) and given a free hand to produce a portfolio of images for the final ruling. In November, three photos for Sansour’s Nation Estate project were accepted. The prize administrators also congratulated her on her work and professionalism.

Sansour’s name featured on all the literature relating to the prize and on the website as an official nominee. Her name has since been removed, just as her project has been withdrawn from an upcoming issue of contemporary art magazine ArtReview introducing the nominated artists.

Sansour says an attempt was made to mask the reason for her dismissal, when she was asked to approve a statement saying she was pulling out from the competition “in order to pursue other opportunities.” She refused.

She adds: “I am very sad and shocked by this development. This year Palestine was officially admitted to UNESCO, yet we are still being silenced. As a politically involved artist I am no stranger to opposition, but never before have I been censored by the very same people who nominated me in the first place. Lacoste’s prejudice and censorship puts a major dent in the idea of corporate involvement in the arts. It is deeply worrying.”

Sansour's Nation Estate: The lobby of the Palestinian state skyscraper

Sansour’s shortlisted work, Nation Estate, is conceived in the wake of Palestine’s bid for UN membership. Nation Estate depicts a science fiction-style Palestinian state in the form of a single skyscraper housing the entire Palestinian population.

Sansour describes the project “as set within a grim piece of high-tech architecture where the narrative photo series envisions la joie de vivre of a Palestinian state rising from the ashes of the peace process.

In this dystopian vision, Palestinians have their nation-state in the form of a single skyscraper -- The Nation Estate. Surrounded by a concrete wall, the colossal hi-rise houses the entire Palestinian population – finally living the high life. Each city has its own floor: Jerusalem on 3, Ramallah on 4, Sansour’s own hometown of Bethlehem on 5, etc. Traveling between cities, previously marred by checkpoints, is now by elevator!

The elevator doors on Jerusalem floor 3 open onto the Dome of the Rock

Another floor has an olive tree

Aiming for a sense of belonging, Sansour has the lobby of each floor reenacting iconic squares and landmarks. The elevator doors on the Jerusalem floor open onto a full-scale Dome of the Rock, for example.

Regretting Lacoste’s decision to censor Sansour’s work, the Lausanne-based Musée de l’Elysée has offered to exhibit the Nation Estate project outside the confines of the Lacoste sponsorship.

Sansour's work features in galleries, museums, film festivals and art publications worldwide. Recent solo shows include exhibitions at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Galerie La B.A.N.K in Paris, DEPO in Istanbul and Jack the Pelican in New York.

She shared in the biennials in Istanbul, Busan and Liverpool. Her work has appeared at the Third Guangzhou Triennial in China, LOOP in Seoul, South Korea, Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and PhotoCairo4 in Egypt.

Her short film A Space Exodus was put up in the Best Short category at the Dubai International Film Festival.

Among the exhibitions of 2011 are LIVING at Louisiana Museum of Contemporary Art in Denmark and the Incheon Women Artists' Biennial in South Korea.

Never before did anyone in the art world consider Sansour’s work “too pro-Palestinian.” So what happens when the alligator bites an olive tree?

Update, Thursday 22 December

Larissa Sansour announced “amazing news” on her Facebook page on Thursday 22 December: “The Musée de l'Elysée has decided to cancel the prize and side with the artist instead of the big corporate sponsor.”

A press release announced that the Musée de l’Elysée has decided to suspend the organization of the Lacoste Elysée Prize 2011.

“The Musée de l’Elysée based its decision on the private partner’s wish to exclude Larissa Sansour, one of the prize nominees.

“We reaffirm our support to Larissa Sansour for the artistic quality of her work and her dedication. The Musée de l’Elysée has already proposed to her to present at the museum the series of photographs “Nation Estate,” which she submitted in the framework of the contest.

“For 25 years, the Musée de l’Elysée has defended with strength artists, their work, freedom of the arts and of speech. With the decision it has taken today, the Musée de l’Elysée repeats its commitment to its fundamental values.”

Bravo!

“O Little Town of Bethlehem”

2011-12-15T11:16:00.001+04:00

The birthplace of Christ (Wikipedia)

There are only 10 days left to Christmas. Having given up on the commercial side of the holy day, my thoughts at this time of year often turn to the birthplace and Bethlehem…

It is like going back in time, when the merriment was simple and all about rejoicing in prayer and the birth of Christ. It was a time when we visited my paternal grandmother, Teta Rose, and my paternal relatives in the town where Jesus was born.

With Asma and Mom at the Grotto of the Nativity

This year the memories came flooding back when my sister Asma sent me our picture standing with mom Vicky at the entrance to the Grotto of the Nativity. By coincidence, my cousin Peter Hazou emailed me a set of pictures of Teta Rose (taken a couple of years before her death in 1979) and my Aunt Mary, with whom he spent Christmas in 1986 at the family home in Bethlehem. So many snapshots to share...

Teta Rose

Built over the birthplace of Jesus, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously open churches in the world.

To assimilate this as a child was magical. Visiting my grandmother and the extended family in Bethlehem was like a life-size, unbroken reunion of relatives and friends to the backdrop of this biblical site.

Aunt Mary at the stone house in Bethlehem..

...and her teapot

Aunt Mary making Shish Barak

Granny’s stone house was on the second floor. It had a roof extension where we had breakfast in spring and summertime while waiting for farmers to pass by with basket-loads of whatever fresh produce was in season and was just picked from the fields.

Running around the old and winding alleyways of Bethlehem was like playing hide-and-seek. When I got lost, which happened so often, I would stop at one of the bijou grocery or retail shops, tell them my name and wait for someone to guide me back home.

My cousin Peter Hazou

On our last trip before the 1967 Six-Day War, it was as though my parents knew that it might be our last vacation there for a while. So we toured all the landmarks in the Holy Land, among them the Church of the Nativity.

The church, on Manger Square, is about eight kilometers (five miles) from Jerusalem. It is built over a grotto where the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine I, started the groundbreaking work on the first basilica. Construction went ahead in 327 under the supervision of Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem in 327 and was completed in 333.

The large fortress-like exterior of the church stands as a testament to its turbulent history. For centuries, it was one of the most fought over holy places, seized and defended by a succession of armies -- including Muslim and Crusader forces. It is now controlled jointly by three Christian denominations: the Armenian Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.

The present building, the oldest church in Palestine, was reconstructed in the 6th Century by Emperor Justinian (527-565) and further repaired by the Crusaders.

The Door of Humility

You enter the church through a small rectangular entrance known as the Door of Humility. For a child it was fun to have a door your size and watch all the grown-ups bend over to enter. It was created in Ottoman times to prevent carts being driven in by looters, and to force even the most important visitors to dismount from their horse as they entered the holy place. The doorway was reduced from an earlier Crusader doorway, the pointed arch of which can still be seen above the current door.

The Silver Star: Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est

The Altar of the Nativity sits below a silver and gold chandelier. Stairways on either side of the main altar lead to a grotto. A fourteen-point Silver Star embedded in white marble marks the birthplace of Christ. An inscription reads, Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"). Fifteen lamps burn around the spot -- six belong to the Greeks, five to the Armenians and four to the Latins. It is hard not to be touched by the view of the Silver Star and let your mind travel to those ancient times. And that is where our picture was taken.

Elvis Presley sings "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

The altar is denominationally neutral, although it features mostly Armenian Apostolic influences. Another altar in the Grotto, which is maintained by the Roman Catholics, marks the site where traditionally Mary laid the newborn Baby Jesus in the manger.

The grotto is under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church. The traditional midnight mass celebrated on Christmas Eve is held in St. Catherine's, the Roman Catholic Church next door to the Church of the Nativity.

It is in Manger Square, a large courtyard in front of the Church, where we would gather alongside the crowds on Christmas Eve to sing carols and await Christmas Midnight Mass.

President Bill Clinton in Bethlehem

On December 15, 1998, then President Bill Clinton, wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea accompanied Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat and his wife Suha on a tour of the Church of the Nativity. They then joined a Palestinian children's choir in singing a hymn in Manger Square against the backdrop of a towering Christmas tree. The Clintons each placed a Christmas ornament -- a heart, a bell and a large gold ball -- on the tree.

Would I recognize Bethlehem after all these years? Santa seems lost!

A UNESCO report in 1997 found that, because of water leaking from the roof, most of the mosaics and paintings, some dating from Byzantine times, had been "damaged beyond repair."

The World Monuments Fund placed the basilica on the 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. It stated: “The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire…”

Even back in 1461, a visitor wrote: "In the roof the timbers that were constructed in ancient times are rotting, and this structure is falling daily into ruin.”

The memories come flooding back while looking at all these pictures and each time I hear the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem” – let alone a yearning to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem once again.

God, Santa, Fr. Paolo and Syria

2011-12-07T11:52:00.000+04:00

Father Paolo Dall'Oglio

After promoting interfaith harmony for 30 years, a Jesuit priest is being asked to leave Syria.

He is Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, an Italian cleric with a Ph.D. in comparative religion and Islamic studies. He championed Christian-Muslim dialogue for three decades in a region where the line between state and religion is often blurred. He did it from his monastery some 80 kilometers north of Damascus. “I have worked to create a monastic community dedicated to the service of harmony between Islam and Christianity,” he says.

Fr. Paolo lives and works officially under the aegis of the Syriac Catholic church in the Monastery of St. Moses the Abyssinian, or Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi. The monastery has stood at the eastern fringes of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains since at least the sixth century. University of Toronto archeologist Robert B. Mason thinks it was built on the remnants of a Roman watchtower. Today it resembles a storybook castle perched on the edge of a steep precipice overlooking the Syrian Desert.

A fortnight ago, Fr. Paolo posted a Christmas message on the monastery’s web site. The message did not go down well in Damascus. According to the Vatican Insider, the Syrian government promptly asked the ecclesiastical authorities to eject Fr. Paolo from the country.

“I suggested to Syrian authorities that I would commit less to politics and culture and more to spiritual matters, to avoid expulsion from the country,” he told Vatican Radio.

What ruffled Damascus’ feathers is Fr. Paolo’s Christmas message, dated November 25 and published on the monastery’s website and by the Society of Jesus’ monthly magazine “Popoli.”

The message is titled “Christmas call 2011.” Here is the essence of what it declares:

…Christ and his family’s sufferings, including persecution and suffering, show us the right way in the current conditions.

Our country is in danger. Some of us have sided with one party, others with another. Let us ask ourselves: where is our duty as a community obeying the Gospel? Is not our role to speak for harmony and reconciliation, now as in the past?

Many predict a rapid end to the current dramatic events through the victory of one side over the other… Others expect a rise in violence and finally a permanent partition of the country...

Whatever the result, we will stay in solidarity with every Syrian, regardless of his or her political, religious, ethnic and native tongue roots. We will stay in solidarity with our neighbors, without discriminating between one neighbor and another, other than in the defense of justice and the oppressed.

It is not the time to apportion blame or judge fellow citizens in conflict. We must tell everyone that we wish to promote reconciliation. There is no way forward other than reconciliation.

In these terrible days full of hope and sadness, fervor and gloom, courage and fear, sacrifice and crime, we don’t know what form our country will finally take. We do not know if the nation will keep its unity, and how. Will citizens gain more freedom, or lose the little they have? Will they achieve a pluralistic, civilian, consensual democracy, where everyone is respected? Or will the opposite happen, with citizens being oppressed by a rigid majority?

We feel our role in this crisis is to encourage dialogue, communication, reconciliation and bridge building… Reconciliation is between enemies, not friends! It can succeed through an agreement that considers the reasonable demands of all sides. This is why we offer, in all humility, our service as Christians, not as a party but as mediators…

Rear banner at Homs demo hails Fr. Paolo's support of justice (via Skynews.com)

But reconciliation requires several fundamental conditions. In their absence, it would be tantamount to submission and surrender. The most important of those conditions are to accept pluralism, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, and respect of citizens’ dignity and basic rights…

Our salvation will not come from the mantra of plots. It will come by seeking cooperation with every free individual of goodwill in the region and in the world. This can occur only through access to Arab and international media in all their diversity. Truth springs up from media pluralism and independence. We also suggest cooperation with independent humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross or Red Crescent to help in stopping armed clashes and protecting unarmed civilians.

Dear Christians, the third point comes from the manifesto and teachings of the Oriental Patriarchs, and from the commandments of the Bishops’ Synod for the Middle East, held under the Pope’s direction in 2010. They determine that our existence, side by side with the Muslims in harmony and understanding, is a condition that God wants…

Interfaith collaboration and bridge building is what the six monks and nuns of Deir Mar Musa work for with their assistants. They team up with Muslim leaders to improve opportunities for young people, promote ecological awareness, and arrange theological discussions between religious leaders. And when the call to prayer sounds from the muezzin, a Muslim visiting the monastery’s church, kneels and performs his or her prayers.

Deir Mar Musa (Wikipedia)

Although the monastery’s church was built in 1058 AD, Deir Mar Musa's reputation and restoration is due much to the efforts, resolve and belief of Fr. Paolo. After completing a doctorate in comparative religion and Islamic studies at the Pontificia Università Gregoriana in Rome, he single-handedly restored the site, setting the first stone in 1982.

"I came here as a student of Arabic and lived in Lebanon and Syria beginning from the 1970s. I asked a priest in Damascus if he knew of a place where I could go to study and pray. He suggested I come here, and here I am today," the priest explains. He was awarded the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean award for interfaith dialogue on behalf of Deir Mar Musa in 2006.

The 6th century monastery

The monastery was founded by Mar Musa al-Habashi, or Saint Moses the Abyssinian, who, as legend has it, was the son of an Ethiopian king. Refusing to accept his future as laid out before him, Saint Moses decided to become a Christian monk and later travelled to Syria where he lived as a monk in Qara and then as a hermit in the valley of what is today the monastery. Byzantine soldiers martyred him there. The story says his family took his body, but the thumb of his right hand was separated by a miracle, and was left as a relic, now conserved in the Syrian church of Nebek.

The Deir, on fringes of Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Last July, Fr. Paolo also wrote a think piece titled “A Democracy of Consensus for the Sake of National Unity,” which you can read in full here. In it he offered the idea of a “democracy of consensus.” He said that this, “with prayer and fasting, is my contribution to the constructive dialogue, which is necessary to escape from the cycle of bloodshed and revenge.”

Will Fr. Paolo be made to leave his home in the mountains or will he be granted leave to stay and continue championing national reconciliation and interfaith harmony?

Advent and Burbara herald Christmas

2011-12-04T11:35:00.000+04:00

The countdown to Christmas began with the November 27 start of Advent, followed by Eid al-Burbara, or St. Barbara’s Day, on December 4.

Many shops and high streets have been in full swing since October though. When living in London, such early start removed all the magic from the season when everything in town went into Christmas mode three months ahead of time.

Santa or Mrs. (Mich) Claus?

December used to be a month I wished I could sleep through to reemerge on January 7. Not only was it the “silly season” of Inebriation and useless spending, but also the time of dark days, when lights had to be switched on as of 2 p.m., and of inclement weather, when you only wanted to hole up.

Luckily in Dubai, the season of spending and gluttony and intoxication is made bearable thanks to the sun and the heat. You can get away with Christmas lunch and then go back to work.

But there are some events in the buildup to Christmas that remain fond memories, such as preparing the Advent calendar and Burbara.

Advent, from the Latin word adventus meaning coming in Latin, is observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on the fourth Sunday before December 25, which fell on November 27 this year.

The progression of the season is marked, mostly by children, with an Advent calendar. We used to make these at school and take them home just in time to start opening the little windows and see the holy image and story leading up to the Nativity.

"The Little Town" Advent Calendar first published in 1946

The origin of the Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th century, when religious families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve. The first known Advent Calendar was handmade in 1851. The first printed ones were made in 1908 by a Swabian parishioner son, Gerhard Lang (1881-1974). He produced little colored pictures that could be affixed on a cardboard each December day.

The Advent Calendar’s popularity started to spread worldwide, but World War II terminated the success of this German tradition. The cardboard was rationed and it was forbidden to produce calendars with pictures.

Advent Calendar 44 by Richard Sellmer

The first printed calendars after the war were by Richard Sellmer of Stuttgart in 1946. He resurrected the commercial Advent Calendar and is responsible for its widespread popularity. His company, Richard Sellmer Verlag, today maintains a stock of over 1,000,000 calendars worldwide. Advent Calendars filled with chocolate were already available in 1958.

The second fond memory I have leading up to Christmas is of Eid al-Burbara, or Saint Barbara's Day. It is celebrated on December 4 in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine to honor Saint Barbara, who disguised herself in many different characters to elude the Romans who were persecuting her. Thus children wear masks and go around the neighborhood, much as in Halloween, and are offered a porridge-like delicacy called Burbara.

Burbara awakens all the senses with the smell of spices and smooth hot texture. It is made of boiled wheat grains, pomegranate seeds, raisins, anise and sugar and is offered to the children. It gives off a wonderful warm smell that I still remember.

Eid al-Burbara signals the countdown to Christmas. And although Advent is a period of fasting, Burbara is something that can be eaten during this lent period because it doesn’t include dairy or meat products.

The Eid al-Burbara story tells how Barbara supposedly ran through a freshly planted wheat field, which grew instantly to magically cover her path.

St. Barbara (Wikipedia)

Accounts place St. Barbara in the 3rd century. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, she continues to be recognized as the patron saint of artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because of her old legend's association with lightning. Many of the 13 miracles in a 15th-century French version of her story hinges on the security she offered her devotees, who would not die without making confession and receiving extreme unction.

Various versions differ on the location of St. Barbara’s martyrdom, which is given as Tuscany, Rome, Antioch, Baalbek, and Nicomedia.

According to tradition, Barbara was the daughter of the pagan Dioscurus. On discovering that she became a Christian, her father tried to kill her, but she was miraculously transported out of his reach. Dioscurus denounced her to the authorities. Despite being tortured, she refused to denounce her faith. Her father beheaded her and was immediately struck by lightning and reduced to ashes. As a result of her father's fate, St. Barbara's prayers are especially sought as protection against thunderstorms and fire.

If you would like to try your hand at Burbara, I found my Mom, Vicky’s recipe. We used to make a lot to share with all the neighbors, so I have cut the ingredients to make a large bowl or six-eight generous servings.

Burbara (photo)

Ingredients:

250g crushed peeled or shelled wheat
250g dried apricots
250g raisins
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground
2 teaspoons anise seeds, ground
10 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
100g crushed walnuts
100g almonds (peeled, halved, soaked in hot water)
1 pomegranate, seeded

Cooking:

Wash wheat and soak overnight. Drain, place in a pot and cover it with cold water just above the wheat. Bring to a boil until the wheat is tender. Drain the wheat and boil again in clean water.
When it boils, reduce the heat and add the spices -- cinnamon, fennel, anise and sugar.
Wash raisins, dice apricots and add to the boiling mix. Boil for another 10 minutes or until the wheat and raisins puff up.
Serve hot with almonds and crushed walnuts and pomegranate seeds on top.

There’s still time to make your own Advent Calendar, if you don’t have one already. And once you’ve tried Burbara, the countdown to Christmas Day is truly on.

Lebanese and Halloween by Elie Fares – October 31, 2011

Happy 40th to the UAE

2011-12-01T14:22:00.000+04:00

My accolade goes to the Dubai Civil Defense

It is the sixth year I celebrate UAE National Day in Dubai.

In the current times of social, political and economic turmoil in the region and the world at large, it is a breath of fresh air to see a country happy, united and supportive of its leaders.

As one of the tens of thousands of expatriates who were lucky to land on the sunny, blissful and safe shores of the United Arab Emirates, I wish the country, its leaders and its people a Happy National Day.

Friday, December 2, marks the formal independence of the UAE from the United Kingdom and the 1971 unification of its seven component emirates – namely, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Fujairah.

The seven fellow members of the Federal Supreme Council

The “Spirit of the Union” is derived from the vision and leadership of the father of the nation, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It now lives on through UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and their five fellow members of the Federal Supreme Council – Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi (ruler Sharjah), Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi (ruler of Al Fujairah), Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi (ruler of Ras Al Khaimah), Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla (ruler of Umm Al Quwain), and Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi (ruler of Ajman).

Preparations for this year’s National Day got underway on October 24 and culminated on December 2, when celebratory events across the seven emirates marked the 40th milestone.

My friend Yahya Almarzooqi at National Day celebrations

Villas, apartments, offices, gardens, parks, public roads, cars… practically everything is decked out in the colors of the UAE national flag, under the slogan “Spirit of the Nation.”

An Emirati businesswoman went as far as to customize and decorate her BMW X6 with 150,000 individual Swarovski crystals. She had to get special permission from the RTA (Road Transport Authority to drive it. And she also customized her abaya (full story and pictures in 7Days, 28 November 2011).

The Al Manara Civil Defense Station

My accolade on this 40th National Day goes to the Dubai Civil Defense. I wish to thank them for all they will be doing to keep the city and its residents safe as they celebrate the occasion.

I pass the Al Manara Dubai Civil Defense Station on my way home every night. The sight there of the yellow fire engines and rescue cars, always ready to move, is a great comfort. I couldn’t help but notice the proud display of a giant UAE flag and decorations on the center, all through the countdown to December 2.

Lights all over the Station...

... in the colors of the UAE flag

The Al Manara Civil Defense Station, headed by Air Force Major Othman Mohammad Ahli, was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in November 2010, when Civil Defense teams performed field parades highlighting their readiness to intervene in emergency situations.

The Civil Defense fleet at the ready

Corporal Youssef Hussein shows me the equipment

I was welcomed and given the run of the Civil Defense Station by Corporal Youssef Hussein who spoke with pride of the courage and dedication of the Civil Defense team and its preparedness to answer the dangerous calls it gets. He was also proud to show me the fire engines and other rescue and support vehicles, all fitted with the latest equipment and technology made in the Emirates. (Join me at the Al Manara Civil Defense Station in photos here).

Corporal Hussein says the Station is always pleased to welcome guests, families, children, schools and anyone interested to learn more about the Dubai Civil Defense and its operations.

The Operations Center van...

... equipped with the latest technology

Among the functions of Civil Defense are to search for victims, rescue and deliver casualties and provide needed help; participate in the rehabilitation of afflicted areas and the resumption of public utilities services; supervise implementation of industrial safety measures in industrial and commercial establishments; and oversee fire preventive measures in private and public institutions.

Happy National Day to the enlightened UAE leadership, to the brave people at Civil Defense and to all my Emirati friends.

16 Days against gender violence

2011-11-25T12:03:00.001+04:00

The 16 Days Campaign calling for the eradication of all forms of violence against women starts today, November 25.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign emanating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute (WGLI) sponsored by Rutgers University Schools of Arts and Sciences’ Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) in 1991.

I am surprised not to see any activities planned in the region, where reports about gender violence abound. Or maybe there are activities in the pipeline of which I am unaware.

I was happily brought up in a family without violence, where females were loved, respected and treated on a par with males. I was fortunate to enroll at university, although my academic pursuits were cut short by civil war. I was also lucky to realize a childhood dream by landing a career in journalism and falling on an editor who believed in gender equality.

It was not easy for a woman to be accepted as a full-fledged journalist in the early Seventies in the Middle East. On the job, my female colleagues and I were often derided, looked down upon and mocked. We repeatedly came back to our magazine workplace in tears because of the way we were treated. But we persisted and rapidly earned the respect of our readers and of the people of public interest we were writing about and interviewing.

The 16 Days Campaign participants chose November 25 (International Day Against Violence Against Women), and December 10 (International Human Rights Day) to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.

This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates, including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day; December 1, World AIDS Day; and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

The 16 Days Campaign calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

Raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels
Strengthening local work around violence against women
Establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women
Providing a forum where organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies
Demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women
Creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women.

Since 1991, over 3,700 organizations in approximately 164 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign.

Patricia, Maria Teresa and Minerva Mirabal*

International Day Against Violence Against Women was first declared in 1981 by the first Feminist Encuentro for Latin America and the Caribbean to commemorate the violent assassination, by the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, of the Mirabal sisters on that date in 1960.

As a result of extensive marshaling by women’s rights organizations, the UN General Assembly officially designated November 25 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women [A/RES/54/134] in 1999.

The theme for 2011 is: From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let's Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women!

To explore some of the deeper social structures that promote and perpetuate violence against women and girls, the CWGL last year launched a multi-annual campaign theme on the intersections of militarism and violence against women. While there are many different ways to define militarism, “our working definition outlines militarism as an ideology that creates a culture of fear and supports the use of violence, aggression, or military interventions for settling disputes and enforcing economic and political interests,” says the CWGL.

“Current world events -- including military interventions, femicides, attacks on civilians participating in political change, ongoing conflicts etc. -- exemplify the distinctive way in which militarism influences how we see our neighbors, our families, our public life, and other people in the world,” it adds.

This year’s 16 Days Campaign will delve further into five priority issues for those working on the intersections of violence against women and militarism:

Bringing together women, peace, and human rights movements to challenge militarism: There are many international tools and mechanisms that can help hold governments accountable for protecting and respecting rights (e.g. the Beijing Platform for Action, CEDAW, international humanitarian law, the Human Rights Council, and Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960 on Women, Peace, and Security, and more). These approaches and tools provide entry points for social movements to reframe security as a human rights issue instead of a military issue.
Proliferation of small arms and their role in domestic violence: Domestic violence is a reality in every country of the world. According to the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) Women’s Network, women are three times more likely to die violently if there is a gun in the house. Consequently, this year the 16-Day Campaign will also look at the sale, trade, proliferation, and misuse of small firearms.
Sexual violence in and after conflict: Rape is often used as a tactic of war to drive fear and to humiliate or punish women and their communities.
Political violence against women, including pre/during/post-election violence: The use of violence to achieve political goals has specific gendered implications. Governments that use force against their own civilians, suspend rule of law in an “emergency” period or use “anti-terrorism” laws to suppress pro-democracy movements or to silence human rights defenders also employ militaristic ideologies that attempt to pass off violence as “security” measures.
Sexual and gender-based violence committed by state agents, particularly the police or military: Even in places where there is no recognized conflict, militarized violence against civilians by uniformed personnel takes place.

The 2011 16 Days Campaign is an opportunity for reflection and conversation about what the global women’s rights movement can do to challenge structures that allow violence against women to continue at all levels. It is also a crucial time to reach out to and involve more men, boys, faith-based and traditional leaders, and other key partners in this work towards building a more just and peaceful world.

A crucial aspect of the 16 Days Campaign involves listening to the stories of women around the world and standing in solidarity with one another, but it also underscores the value of working locally to transform violent or militaristic mindsets.

During these 16 days and beyond, let’s focus on how “peace in the home” extends and relates to “peace in the world.” Every nonviolent value can influence family, friends, communities and governments. Let’s now put our shoulders to the wheel.

[* Original images of the Mirabal Sisters owned by the Mirabal Family]

Related post:
Rest in Peace, Myriam Achkar -- at Nadine Moawad's blog "What if I get Free?" -- November 25, 2011

Wise up, reckless drivers!

2011-11-20T11:25:00.000+04:00

Most of us know at least one Road Traffic Victim… I wish this weren’t so!

Today, November 20, is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people every year and injure or disable as many as 50 million more. They are the leading cause of death among people aged 10-24 years.

Dad Esa -- Jeddah, 1950

It is a day I didn’t know was commemorated. It is very dear to my heart as I lost my dad, Esa, to a drink driving accident in December 1973. He was 65. Dad had just retired from a long spell as a civil servant and had embarked on a new life in his preferred profession of being a lawyer in Bahrain when he was hit one night by a young man driving under the influence of alcohol.

To be robbed of a husband and father because of a drunk driver, in Bahrain out of all places, is beyond words or words that can appear in print.

Reckless and drink driving is something that happens on the roads all over the world. But I was shocked at the speed of driving and recklessness and disregard for all highway codes in Dubai since I have been in Dubai.

Why don’t drivers signal? Why do they blind you with their headlights (I had one accident because of that)? Why do they drive so fast? Don’t they have families? Why? Why? And why do drivers have to use their mobiles on the road? What is so urgent?

In October 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on governments to mark the third Sunday in November as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The day was created to give recognition to victims of road traffic crashes and the plight of their relatives who must cope with the emotional and practical consequences of their unexpected and tragic loss.

WHO and the UN Road Safety Collaboration encourage governments and NGOs around the world to commemorate this day to draw the public’s attention to road traffic crashes, their consequences and costs, and the precautionary measures liable to prevent them.

In May 2011, the international community marked the start of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. Governments acknowledged the threat of road traffic deaths to health and development, and committed themselves to the Decade goal of saving five million lives and preventing 50 million injuries. Some used this occasion to release national Decade plans and new road safety legislation targeted at drinking and driving, speeding and using helmets, seat-belts and child car seats.

WHO says 3000 people die on the world’s roads every day and several million are injured or disabled each year. About 124 people are dying every hour and hundreds are severely disabled and injured. It notes the Middle East and North Africa have above average road accident rates.

In Dubai, I found that the Suraya Foundation, a non-profit road safety organization, has partnered with educators, the media, the creative community and families who have been affected by tragic accidents to help spread the awareness of safe driving and educating the community on how safe driving can save lives.

Founder Mohd Shahnawaz knows first-hand what it is like to lose a loved one due to a reckless driving accident. His younger sister Suraya (read her story) was killed in a hit and run accident in March 2009. In honor of her memory, he has made it his goal to spread awareness on the dangers of reckless driving.

By spreading emotionally compelling messages through awareness campaigns and mass media, the Suraya Foundation is hoping to change the attitudes of rash drivers and get them to drive safely.

One of the Suraya Foundation campaigns is “Take the Oath,” a project where you take a vow to be a safer driver on the road using a checklist as a guide.

WHO says UAE residents are seven times more likely to die in a car accident compared to UK inhabitants. Road accidents are the second major cause of deaths in the UAE, where car accident deaths have been increasing every year (except in 2009 when fatalities dropped 10 percent).

Most car accidents in the UAE, it says, are due to heedless driving. Experts suggest educating drivers and teaching them traffic safety and courteous driving rules could change this.

Indeed, last week I read about another accident, this time involving a cyclist… It was the case of another family robbed of a loved one.

An article in Daily Tech quotes UAE Police as saying traffic accidents dropped 40 percent in Abu Dhabi and 20 percent in Dubai in October, when millions of BlackBerry users around the world were disconnected for about four days.

On this day of remembrance, maybe it’s a good time to take the oath and be a safe driver. Please drive carefully and responsibly and be safe.

Sweet memories of King Hussein

2011-11-14T16:05:00.001+04:00

I'm wearing sunglasses on the extreme right in this snapshot of the 1978 wedding

Jordan today marks the 76th birthday of the late King Hussein.

The online community and social media platforms have been flooding timelines with pictures, quotes and messages of respect. And I was reminded of a very special day in 1978 with His Majesty.

I was honored when my magazine in Beirut, Monday Morning, chose me to cover the wedding of the late Hashemite monarch to Liza Halaby. King Hussein married Queen Noor on June 15, 1978.

I traveled to Amman with our photographer, Krikor (Koko) Ohannes, to cover the event. We were offered a royal souvenir silver box, which is unfortunately packed with the rest of my memorabilia.

Both Koko (who was killed during the Lebanon civil war a decade later) and I were fortunate to get very close to the happy couple. And Koko was the only photographer who dared call out to the late King Hussein and his bride, Queen Noor: “King, King! Kiss together.” Koko was Armenian and his English was not exactly Shakespearean. Both the king and queen smiled and obliged.

It was a magical day I will never forget.

At the time of his death on February 7, 1999, King Hussein was the longest serving executive head of state in the world and the 40th generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

I read that in his final years, King Hussein “enjoyed surfing the Web and developed a strong appreciation for the power of the Internet as a force for progress and understanding.” I thus think a blog evoking sweet memories on this day is fitting.

God bless your soul, King Hussein

Twitterians for Lebanon government

2011-11-11T13:17:00.005+04:00

The French Revolution originated in the “French literary salons.” That's where middle-class intellectuals and liberal nobles discussed the works of Voltaire and Rousseau and pondered the ideas of civil society and social change, progress, spiritual-versus-government authority and government reform...

A “Lebanese political salon” opened this month on Twitter with both former Prime Minister Saad Hariri (@haririsaad) and his successor Najib Mikati (@najib_mikati) taking to the social media platform to communicate with the online community.

Hariri went online November 4 to take questions and explain his position on various current affairs topics. He addressed issues connected to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, his anticipated homecoming, the fortunes of his Future Movement, the Syria Spring, his children and scuba diving…

He also spoke about Harley Davidsons (thanks to George Elkhabbaz, @UXSoup) and Batman (thanks to Angie Nassar, @angienassar)!

“I miss Beirut and I miss Lebanon, but mostly I miss the people,” he tweeted. Hariri has been out of the country for about six months.

With many people still skeptical about whether it was Hariri in person tweeting, he said, “It’s me, Saad, you are talking to. Believe it.”

Premier Mikati joined the social media fray 48 hours later by engaging in a twitter Q&A session that involved the British ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher (@HMATomFletcher) ahead of his November 7 meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

If only several hundreds knew about Twitter in Lebanon, tens of thousands do now. By November 8, Mikati followers had jumped to 5,050. Hariri’s were up to 13,518 by then. And by the time he finished his nightly session, he had 14,279 followers and 20,231 this Friday morning (November 11).

This outbreak of digital politics got me thinking of suggesting to Mikati, Hariri or whoever heads a new Lebanese government in future to co-opt an “Advisory Cabinet” of Twitterians.

I am sure I missed many Twitterians when drawing my list of candidates for such a Government Advisory Cabinet. So please feel free to add or delete nominations. We might eventually propose an ideal lineup.

MY ADVISORY CABINET NOMINEES

(My list of “portfolios” is drawn from the Government of Lebanon website. I just omitted the Office of the Minister of State. The short bios are taken either from Twitter or the person’s blog)

Energy

Najib Mitri (@LeNajib) – Blogger at BlogBaladi.

Defense

Samer Chami (@_BiGsAm_) -- Do I really need a bio? Tech freak should be enough...

Displaced Persons

Saad K. (@SeenKaf) -- In communications; an aspiring documentary producer, embraces human rights, activism, reform, film, photography, street art and cultures.

Post and Telecom

Antoine Naaman (@_Ant1_) – Digital marketer obsessed with mobile phones, video gamer, movie buff, tweeting mostly about technology.

Amer Tabsh (@arzleb) -- Consultant, TV producer and journalist; tech and science addict.

Foreign Affairs & Emigrants

Octavia Nasr (@OctaviaNasr) -- CEO at BridgesMediaC, Middle East expert, blogger and social media advocate.

Environment

@BeirutBilArabeh -- Trying to make a damn difference... but what difference does it make?

Sana Tawileh (@SanaTawileh) -- Founder of vary8.com.

Information

Mustapha Hamoui (@Beirutspring) -- Blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005. Originally from Tripoli and living and working outside of Lebanon. A computer geek, especially when it comes to experimenting with web programming and design.

Liliane Assaf (@FunkyOzzi) -- Software Developer/SEM/SEO womosapien. Liliane writes more blogs than can be counted, among them Lebanon Aggregator, started in 2006 “about Lebanese blogs, gathering different opinions from different backgrounds, a variety of perspectives and interests written in different languages; politics, art, photography, paintings, comics, recipes, and poetry. From Lebanon, to Lebanon and about Lebanon.”

Industry

Youssef Alam (@JoesBox) – “I have a passion for marketing, food, photography and all things social media related. Living and loving Lebanon.”

Rawan Abu Salman (@rawanabusalman) -- Marketing and social media specialist. Passionate about technology, gadgets and the online world.

Justice

Paola Salwan Daher (@CafeThawra) -- An Arab, Lebanese, resistant and feminist author.

Joelle Hatem (@Joellehatem) -- Runner, biker, reporter, activist, feminist, existentialist.

Youth and Sports

Mohamed Harb (@figo29) – “I watch football.”

Hussam Al-Oueini (@sam_lb) -- A tech-geek, hardcore Apple fan, snowboarder and adrenaline junkie enjoying life.

Culture

Samer Chehab (@meetsamer) -- Collector of words, casual traveler, takes photos at times, content strategist in daytime.

Labor

Nadine Moawad (@nmoawad) -- Full-time activist, blogger, researcher, organizer, feminist, leftist and secularist.

Tourism

Brigitte Khair (@Brigitte_khair) -- Head of UNHCR's External Relations Hub for the GCC-Abu Dhabi, blogger, skier, a lover of politics and an unrepentant chocoholic.

Higher Education

Magda Abu Fadil (@MagdaAbuFadil) -- Veteran journalist, blogger, director of the Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut.

Public Works and Transport

Rami Fayoumi (@Plus961) -- IT Auditor who tweets and blogs about everything.

Interior and Municipalities

Assaad Thebian (@Beirutiyat) – Journalist, blogger, social media consultant, activist and photographer.

Racha Ghamlouch (@LebaneseVoices) – “…Because those that should be heard have no voice, but those that shouldn't have media stations...”

Finance

@Buzz81 – FMB, 10 years in the financial markets, FX, futures, socio economy.

Walid Khalife (@Dashkoun) – The online community’s accountant!

Agriculture

Ghassan Deeb (@gabdallah) -- Engineer, cook and traveler along with a never-ending smile.

Economy and Trade

George Elkhabbaz (@UxSoup) -- UX consultant, interactive manager, blogger, Wamda.com and Gigalb.com contributor. An IxD/Mobile/Apple fiend.

Alexandra Tohme (@alextohme) – Digital strategist in bed with the Middle East startup crowd; likes tech, innovation and communities.

Public Health

Paty M. (@PatyAMag) – A licensed dietitian and nutrition consultant who is passionate about food and nutrition.

Georges Azzi (@AZZI) -- Medical doctor, MD.

Social Affairs

Darine Sabbagh (@sdarine) -- Passionate marketer and traveler, a dabbler in professional translation, copywriting and amateur photography; a firm believer in SEO, wishful thinking and chocolate.

Naeema Zarif (@Naeema) -- Integrated media consultant, enthusiastic supporter of open culture. Utilizing visual and social strategic skills to advocacy projects around the Middle East region, and beyond.

Should we maybe add these advisors too?

Internet

Mireille Raad (@migheille) -- Words I don't like: minion, consultant, entrepreneur, cloud computing; words I like: avant-guardist, hactivist, grid computing, freelancer, art, infographics.

Photography

Fadi Nammour (@footnem) -- Tweeting about tech, photography, music, football and F1. Adrenaline junkie, extreme sports lover and living in my own Matrix Universe.

Abir Ghattas (@abzzyy) -- An activist, photographer, media planner and a gamer with the superpower of Software Engineering.

Mher Krikorian (@krikorianM) – Takes photos mainly of Lebanon and chiefly Beirut. “I like to take photos nonstop, I call it my passion. I love doing it and sharing it.”

Rita Kamel (@ritakml) -- Street photographer, social activist, geek, HR marketing with a blog!

Sweets

Gustav (@LeGustav) -- Offering some of the finest desserts in town.

Poets laureate

Pascal Assaf (@PascalAssaf) – Narcissist, liberal, existentialist and your friendly neighborhood writer. “I believe Time is my friend and Angels are us. “

Mohammad Badr (@mhdbadr) – Marketing and branding consultant, poet and photographer.

@maeiva – “I have as many names as my moods, I wear identities as if slippers forgotten under the bed and mimic the faces of life, I live as an actor caught in play by the strings of imagination. The spotlight sometimes follows and some days I just bathe in utter darkness.”

Nightlife

Gino Raidy (@GinoRaidy) -- A militant biologist… if that makes sense!

Restaurants

Ziad Kamel (@ZiadKamel) -- Beirut-lover, founder/CEO of The Alleyway Group. Treasurer of the Syndicate of Restaurant Owners in Lebanon.

Universities

Mohammad Hijazi (@mhijazi) -- A passionate marketer, blogger and president of AUB’s Online Collaborative.

Misho Richa (@MishoRicha) -- Working very, very hard at the Lebanese University to become a doctor.

I am sure there are many more names to be included here. These were chosen from my timeline. Please suggest, add or delete as you deem fit in the comments section and we should be able to get this cabinet right.

P.S.: I didn’t link the twitter handles to their pages. You can do so by putting the @name following http://twitter.com/#!/_______.

Related posts:

❊ The Big Fat Guide To Lebanese Twitter Users -- Beirutspring.com

❊ Lebanese Prime Ministers Play with Twitter – Beirutspring.com

The Zu’ama Discover Twitter… -- by Elias Muhanna (@QifaNabki) and Maya Zankoul (@MayaZankoul)

Saad Hariri & Ziad Baroud on Twitter -- BlogBaladi

Hariri & Mikati playing on our Twitterground -- From Beirut with Funk (by @FunkyOzzi)

Camel and Corvette thru a Nokia lens

2011-11-09T11:56:00.007+04:00

The next-door visitor

On my way home on Sunday evening (November 6) I couldn’t believe we had a next-door visitor – a most beautiful camel.

It was Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, and one of the families was having a party. They must have arranged for the camel and its handler to take children for rides. What a great idea.

The children were running in and out of the villa to take turns riding the camel.

I had to stop and take pictures. It was a good opportunity to test my new Nokia N8 camera.

Up close...

The camel was all decked up in its best finery. When I got up close, it was as though the camel was talking, the eyes were so expressive and it was making a kind of purring sound. I am not sure whether it was moaning and groaning sounds, pitched bleats, loud bellows or roars or simply a rumbling growl.

The camel and its handler

Two boys get up on the hump

Off they go for a ride around the block

Not a usual sight around Umm Suqeim

It was a good occasion to try out my new Nokia N8 camera, and I got clicking. But there wasn’t much time. Two boys jumped up on the hump and off they went for a ride around the block.

I still haven’t mastered how to transfer the photos from the phone to the computer via Bluetooth, so I had to email them to myself one at a time.

None of the kids seemed interested in the Corvette

There were all kinds of fancy cars around, and a topnotch Corvette. The kids, however, were definitely more interested in the camel… just the way it should be.

Hello again, with a Nokia touch

2011-11-07T12:43:00.001+04:00

My new blue Nokia N8

I know you won’t believe this. Most of my friends giggled when I told them or showed it to them: I am finally the proud owner of a smartphone! And above all, it was gifted to me. Cool, no?

Earlier this summer, on an evening out, at one point I sat next to my friend Carla Eid (@CarlaEid). She nearly fainted when she saw the mobile phone I was using. It was a Nokia all right, but an antiquated model and Carla works at Nokia Dubai. Right there and then, she promised to get me a smartphone -- one I could also use for Mich Café photos.

We both traveled a lot after that, and kept missing each other in Dubai… That’s until about a fortnight ago, when I went up to the 27th floor to finally pick it up from Nokia’s smart offices at Dubai Media City.

To my great surprise, it was a Nokia N8 – and a blue one to boot to match the colors of my football team, Chelsea FC!

At first, I really didn’t know what to do with my windfall. I was overwhelmed. But as most of my friends know, I am not techy. I spent a week opening and closing the box, just looking at the phone. I read the instructions pamphlet, but still did not dare to go ahead and switch it on. I then started carrying it around, hoping to meet a friend who would set it up for me.

A week later, I finally decided to switch SIM cards and try it. I was encouraged by my friend Uzma Atcha, better known as @Lhjunkie, sitting two desks away from me at work. We did that together and I was on.

From one phone to another... with a difference

Consulting the manual, I changed the time, date, ring tone, created an Ovi account, set up my email and connected to the Internet, by Wi-Fi, as I use pay-as-you-go.

At home, I entered the wrong numbers for the Wi-Fi connection and didn’t know how to delete that and enter the correct one. As you would expect, I am getting used to the touch screen mechanism and my fingers tend to stray all over the place. It took a few days, and then I found an excellent site – Top 67 Nokia N8 tips and tricks – that helped me and I now keep consulting.

My biggest thrill was to test the camera. The N8 is dubbed the “best camera phone in the world.” It has a 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash.

I was eager to try it out and had occasion to do so at a gathering for a friend’s birthday. But when I checked the pictures they were terrible. Problem is I had forgotten to remove the transparent paper covering the back of the lens!

My first N8 picture... of Uzma

A couple of days later, I tried again at work, with Uzma’s moral and technical support. I took a picture of her, tweeted it and it worked like magic!

So far, I love my new smartphone because:

It is such a valuable gift
I feel sophisticated and au courant
It fits well in my hand and I love the color
I can go online wherever there is a Wi-Fi connection
I can take first-class snapshots on the go

I can’t elaborate on the N8’s other specifications. One, I don’t understand them, and two I’ll have to try them out first. I am looking forward to testing the maps, check-ins, videos and so many other features of the N8.

Meantime, I am enjoying it and taking it one step at a time. Hopefully posts in future will have outstanding pictures taken with my new smartphone. Thank you Carla!

Related sites:
Phone tipsandtricks.com

A little light on Eid al-Adha

2011-11-01T11:47:00.001+04:00

The Kaaba, in the Holy City of Mecca

Talk of the Hajj and Eid reverberates around Dubai in the countdown to Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, due to begin Sunday, November 6.

I was particularly absorbed into the excitement this year through my friend Nada Dabliz. Nada and I have coffee together every morning at Dubai Media City, before heading to our respective office buildings.

This year, Nada’s sister Abeer, who lives in Qatar, is going on the Hajj pilgrimage with her husband. Nada will be babysitting her nieces and nephew, having been to the Hajj herself in 1997.

My friend Nada Dabliz

Although I was initially thinking of nothing other than the Eid break, Nada passed on the thrill about the pilgrimage. She shared her experience with me, recounting how the Hajj changed her life as it does to most pilgrims. Our mornings have been mostly taken up by talk about the buildup to the impending feast.

Literally, Hajj means “to set out for a place." For Muslims, that place is the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. And we got into the history and symbolism of the place and the upcoming festival. That in turn set off my Internet search for supplementary information for this post. There was a lot to read and I found the Saudi-sponsored Ministry of Hajj website particularly helpful.

More than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Adha to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead. The sacrificial meat is divided into three parts: one-third for the family; another third for relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third to the poor and needy.

The Hajj pilgrimage route

Eid al-Adha is celebrated annually on the 10th day of the 12th and last Muslim month of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar. Celebrations start after the Hajj, when Muslims descend from Mount Arafat. Arafat Day this year falls on Saturday, November 5.

Mount Arafat

Mount Arafat, about 70 meters high, is a granite hill to the east of Mecca. It was on Mount Arafat that Adam and Eve, separated for 200 years following their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, recognized each other and were reunited. There too God forgave them for their transgression. It is where pilgrims must spend an afternoon in a state of Ihram.

It is professed that when Abraham was ready to return to Canaan he was to leave behind his wife Hajar and baby son. Hajar asked him, “Did God order you to leave us here? Or are you leaving us here to die.” Abraham was so sad he fell silent but pointed to the sky. Hajar said, “Then God will not waste us; you can go.”

Soon Hajar's meager provisions of dates and water ran out and both mother and child became thirsty. Hajar was desperate to find water. She ran up and down between two hills -- Al-Safa and Al-Marwah -- seven times in her desperate quest. Exhausted, she finally collapsed beside her baby and prayed to God for deliverance. Miraculously, a spring of water gushed forth from the earth at the feet of baby Ishmael. With this secure water supply, known as the Zamzam Well, they were not only able to provide for their own needs, but were also able to trade water with passing nomads in exchange for food and supplies.

Years later, Abraham was instructed by God to return from Canaan to build a place of worship adjacent to Hajar's well. Abraham and Ishmael constructed a stone and mortar structure -- known as the Kaaba. It was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in God.

One of the main trials of Abraham's life, at 99, was to fulfill God’s command to devote his dearest possession, his only son Ishmael, then 13. Upon hearing this command, he prepared to submit to God's will. During this preparation, Satan tried to dissuade Abraham and his family from carrying out God's commandment, but they drove Satan away by throwing pebbles at him. In commemoration of their rejection of Satan, stones are thrown at symbolic pillars signifying Satan during the Hajj rites.

As a reward for this sacrifice, God then granted Abraham the good news of the birth of his second son, Isaac: “And We gave him the good news of Ishaaq, a prophet from among the righteous.”

Muslims commemorate Abraham’s ultimate act of sacrifice during Eid al-Adha.

Ishmael married the daughter of the chief of the Banu Jurhum, a tribe that had settled in the Mecca valley. When Abraham died, Ishmael continued to perform Hajj each year and to look after the Kaaba. After Ishmael, the Kaaba came into the possession of the Banu Jurhum tribe for many centuries until the Khuza'ah tribe took it over. Throughout this period, the Kaaba was vulnerable to flooding and was virtually destroyed.

Seeing the Kaaba in a state of disrepair, Qusay bin Kilaab (born around 400 CE), of the Quraysh tribe, rebuilt it, according to the original design but he added a roof to protect it from the extremes of weather.

The starting point for the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba is where Abraham placed the Black Stone in the eastern corner. The Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad) was brought from Paradise by Archangel Gabriel and was set into one corner of the Kaaba.

The Black Stone

In the course of their Hajj, pilgrims will kiss or touch the Black Stone because the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) kissed it. On the roof of the Kaaba is a gilded waterspout (al-Masabb) protruding from the northwestern wall.

To complete the upper part of the Kaaba walls, Abraham stood on a large stone block, which he moved along when each section was completed. When the Kaaba was finished, the large stone block was left outside, close to the eastern wall of the sanctuary. It became known as the Maqam Ibrahim (the station of Abraham).

Nearly opposite the Black Stone, near the Maqam Ibrahim, is the Zamzam Well.

The Kaaba is a large stone structure constituting a single room with a marble floor. It lies at the heart of the Holy Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram). It stands some 60 feet high and each side is approximately 60 feet in length. The four walls of the Kaaba are covered with a black drape that is 45x135 feet -- the Kiswah.

Every year, a new Kiswah is prepared, embroidered in gold thread with the Shahadah and verses from Qur'an and carried to Mecca by pilgrims. A recent estimate of annually producing the Kiswah put the cost at about $4.5 million. During the Hajj, the black Kiswah is replaced by a white cloth, matching the white robes of the pilgrims. At the end of Hajj, the newly woven Kiswah is placed over the Kaaba. The old one is cut into small pieces and given to pilgrims from different Muslim countries.

As Nada’s sister joins the more than 1,222,474 pilgrims in Mecca (as at October 26), I wish all my readers celebrating the occasion a happy and blessed Eid al-Adha.

(Credit for the photos goes to the Ministry of Hajj at http://www.hajinformation.com/index.htm)

Fish’n’Sustain

2011-10-24T11:24:00.000+04:00

While on the subject of food and the environment for my last two posts, and as part of the research and reading, I came across an interesting book to help protect the future of UAE fisheries.

The book is produced by the Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wildlife Fund (EWS-WWF) at their Choose Wisely site. “Sustainable Fish Recipes” includes 20 recipes by volunteers to help cook with sustainable choices of fish.

EWS is a national environmental NGO associated with the WWF, one of the largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. They work with people and institutions in the UAE and the region to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable living through education and conservation initiatives, among them Choose Wisely.

I don’t eat a lot of fish, except when I go to Bu Qtair, my favorite fish restaurant in Dubai. Although when growing up, my dad Esa insisted we have fresh fish every Saturday, on market day. And we HAD to eat it! When my mom Vicky was away, I had to clean it! Enough said…

Nevertheless, there is a problem of overfishing, or catching more fish than the oceans can sustain.

The Emirates have a high demand for fish: 66% of residents eat fish at least once a week. Choose Wisely says studies show the overall number of commercial fish in the country has declined by 80% in the last 30 years and many species are being taken out well beyond sustainable levels.

Choose Wisely is the consumer awareness campaign of the Sustainable Fisheries Project launched in April 2010 to raise awareness of the heavy exploitation of UAE fish resources and encourage consumer action to curb the demand on overfished species.

They classified fish using a traffic light rating system of red, orange and green. With this rating system, EWS-WWF developed an easy-to-use consumer guide focusing on the most popular local species found fresh in markets and stores across the Emirates, for which stock assessments were carried out by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD).

In the UAE, 60% of the total catch is made up of species fished beyond sustainable levels. Eight of the most valuable commercial fish are being overexploited, including Hamour, Shaari, Farsh and Kanaad and others shown in the red section of the UAE fish consumer guide. Hamour, or Orange-spotted Grouper, is fished out at over seven times the sustainable level and is the most overfished species in the UAE, Choose Wisely says.

The book's cover

The 20 “Sustainable Fish Recipes,” which you can download here, are easy to follow in either English or Arabic. They include the name of fish to cross-reference with the guide and a picture of the fish to easily identify it when shopping. They all look delicious, among them the Roasted Faskar with Rosemary Potatoes by Irini Savva; Tamil Nadu Fish Curry with Ebsimi by Edna Joseph; the famous Lebanese Samkeh Harra (fish tagine) using Shaari Eshkeli by Rana Bayat; Fish Cakes by Jenny Hill with Shaari Eshkeli and many others.

Worldwide, as well as in the Emirates, too many fish are being taken out too soon, leaving them little opportunity to reproduce. Unless a more cautious approach to fisheries management is adopted, studies predict a collapse of all species fished out for food by 2048.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says 80% of the world's main fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion.

An environmentally sustainable fishery is one in which species are not depleted. This is done by monitoring fishing activities and ensuring the methods used to catch the fish do not destroy marine habitats or catch non-target species that are then discarded.

The easy-to-use EWS-WWF consumer guide

Commercial fishing in the UAE is carried out using a variety of traditional fishing equipment and technologies. Multi-gear artisanal fisheries catch over 100 species of fish from more than 35 families. The "gargoor," a dome-shaped wire trap, is by far the most important type of traditional fishing gear. In 2009 alone, these traps caught 736 tons of Hamour and 346 tons of Shaari in Abu Dhabi, making up 43.2% of the total fish catch in the emirate.

It’s perhaps a good idea to print the guide and keep it handy when buying fish. Maybe we can help -- one fish at a time!

Do you have any recipes, using the sustainable fish in the guide? Please share them if you do.

Abu Dhabi world wonder needs you – October 19, 2011

Food for thought – October 16, 2011

Abu Dhabi world wonder needs you

2011-10-19T11:35:00.001+04:00

Bu Tinah Island (photo via www.butinah.ae/en/)

What are the seven things you can remember?

That’s what we will find out on November 11 after more than 100 million votes would have been cast to select what represents global heritage throughout history.

The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World were all man-made monuments, selected by Philon of Byzantium in 200 BC. Today, only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt remain. His selection of wonders was essentially a travel guide for fellow Athenians, and the stunning sites were all located around the Mediterranean basin, the then-known world.

Today, rather than being chosen by one person, the New 7 Wonders of Nature will be picked by millions of people worldwide.

Bu Tinah Island, a UAE natural treasure, is the only finalist from the Arabian Gulf in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.

Building the Bu Tinah Experience dome on Abu Dhabi Corniche

The Bu Tinah dome at night (photo by Khaled Akbik)

If you have visited Abu Dhabi recently, you might be wondering what the giant white dome on the Corniche is. You’re in for a wonderful surprise.

It’s a project by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) to bring Bu Tinah Island to the general public. It includes a turtle rehabilitation center and a mangrove nursery.

Off the western coast of the UAE capital, Bu Tinah is restricted to visitors, except for scientific research. It is a protected marine area where nature is respected and allowed to flourish. Bu Tinah is an important ecosystem that has thrived through protection of the island’s unique environment, and the conservation of its habitats and inhabitants.

Bu Tinah is part of the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve (MMBR), a UNESCO-recognized site and the region’s first and largest Marine Biosphere Reserve (MBR). Such sites are vital to promote more harmonious partnerships between natural and human activities. They are key to the future of sustainable development.

In 2007, the MMBR became the first site in the UAE to be recognized as a biosphere reserve. It covers an area of some 4,255 square kilometers and includes Marawah, Jenanah, Salahah, Al Buzm al Gharbi and Bu Tinah islands.

The MMBR is unique in that its inhabitants thrive under some of the highest temperatures and harshest living conditions in the world. Lessons on how to withstand global warming and climate change learned from this biosphere are highly relevant to the region and the world.

The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program is a collaborative effort of scientific communities worldwide to study the relationship between humans and the environment and to provide solutions for global scientific, environmental, societal and developmental issues. Since being established in the 1970s, there are currently 580 biosphere reserves in 114 countries. These sites are essential to achieving sustainable development in future.

Bu Tinah Island Dugongs (www.butinah.ae/en/)

Bu Tinah Island has the highest density of Dugongs per square meter in the world. The Dugong, the island’s shyest character, is a gentile and graceful marine mammal also known as the Sea Cow.

One of Bu Tinah's Hawksbill turtles (www.butinah.ae/en/)

Green and Hawksbill turtles thrive on the island with three species of seagrass and over 21 species of marine algae. The endangered Hawksbill Turtle returns there every year to nest. Over 600 have been born on Bu Tinah this year alone, .

Model of the Socotra Cormorant in the dome

Several bird species spend their winters on the island. Osprey, the Western-reef Heron, and the Bridled and White-cheeked Tern stopover and breed there too. It is also where the Socotra Cormorant has found its home, with approximately 20,000 to 25,000 birds making it their annual retreat. There is a long stretch of mangroves along the backwaters that reach an average height of five meters.

The New 7 Wonders of Nature finalists (new7wonders.com)

Bu Tinah has been shortlisted as a finalist from almost 500 sites of outstanding natural beauty from around the world in the environmental prize of prizes, known as the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The global campaign began in 2007 to vote for a new list of seven natural wonders. From 440 nominations, from over 220 countries, based on beauty of the nominated site, ecological substance, historical legacy and geographical location, the list was narrowed down to 77. It is now down to 28 finalists.

The competition closes on 11/11/11, so there is less than a month for a final push to support conservation and protect the UAE’s natural heritage by voting for Bu Tinah.

Because of the importance of conserving Bu Tinah, activities on and around the island are limited. That’s where the Bu Tinah Experience comes in – and the dome on the Abu Dhabi Corniche.

Model of a dolphin inside the Bu Thinah Experience dome

A turtle in the dome's lagoon (photo by Khaled Akbik)

The island has been recreated for people to catch sight of what life on Bu Tinah is like. This initiative by EAD is to raise awareness on the UAE’s biodiversity. Inside the dome there is a lagoon with live endangered turtles from UAE waters and a mangrove nursery. The turtles are part of a rehabilitation initiative that rescues injured animals before releasing them back in the areas they were found.

In the UAE, you can support Bu Tinah by sending an SMS with the word “BuTinah” to 3888 as many times as you like. Supporters around the world can also vote online on www.butinah.ae

EAD was established in 1996 to preserve Abu Dhabi’s natural heritage, protect the future, and raise awareness of environmental issues. It is Abu Dhabi’s environmental regulator and advises the government on environmental policy. It creates sustainable communities, and protects and conserves wildlife and natural resources.

EAD regularly monitors the turtles’ nesting and foraging habitats – providing vital information on clutch size, incubation period, hatching success and nesting patterns. It also investigates the species’ main causes of mortality in the region which have been identified as drowning in abandoned or illegal fishing nets (48%) followed by boat strikes (25%).

A robotic egg-laying turtle in the dome

Of the seven species of marine turtles in the world, two predominantly occur in Abu Dhabi’s waters: the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the endangered Green turtle (Cheloniamydas mydas). Worldwide, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies the Hawksbill turtle as “critically endangered.” In Abu Dhabi, turtles nest on at least 17 offshore islands from mid-March to mid-June.

The dome has an eco-cinema where visitors can view episodes of The Environment Show with Ask Ali series. The first episode was dedicated to the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle. A new episode of the series will be screened every week until November 13.

Ali Al Saloom introduces The Environment Show with Ask Ali

Each episode of the series will cover critical environmental issues of relevance to the Emirates. The series is part of a long-term collaboration project between EAD and Ali Al Saloom (better known as Ask Ali), EAD’s Environmental Awareness Ambassador and UAE cultural ambassador and columnist.

The dome is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until November 13. Entrance is free.

If you haven’t voted yet, have a look at the video below!

Good luck to the UAE and to Bu Tinah.

Turtles tutorial at Orange House – September 16, 2011