http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_en_ot/breaking_the_veils
HRH Princess Wijdan is one of the organizers, Amman local Nawal Abdullah’s work is included.
Maybe old news to some, but it was new for me and I am proud!
Amazing what you can learn from WordPress creating random links to your own blog. From the NYT. It is heartening to hear this good news.
Jessica sent a link to a list of 30 Fulbright scholars who want to make their voice heard and see the Gaza students grants reinstated.
Well done!
Jo Ladies and Amal already covered this NYT article about the Gazans denied entry travel to go study in the US.
It caught my eye as my friend Gaza Girl had made inquiries to the Amman Fulbright program about applying for such a scholarship, and was told she could only apply from Gaza (or wherever, over there). But in order for her to go back, she had to risk not being ’let out’ again, and getting stuck like she did one year and missed a semester of uni in Jordan. Don’t get me wrong, I have great respect for the folks with Fulbright in Amman, but a very worthy recipient missed the chance by not fitting the bill due to circumstances beyond her control.
What simple way to build trust and gain goodwill, at least one-on-one. An opportunity lost, and seven more families hardened against any hope for a better future.
For the first time, I am at a loss for words. So rather than blog, I will pray for Palestine.
Update: Part of my loss of words is just not feeling adequate to convey feelings about a human tragedy that is not just past history, but present-continuous-tense suffering. One that has affected all my friends in Jordan. I am surrounded by it, and all the words others have blogged have provoked solemn silence. Mommabean, on the other hand, found some great words to share, so I invite you to read them here.
Have you seen the new “Field Guide To Jordan”? If i can use a very VIVA term, it’s a MUST-HAVE!!!
At only 15JD, it is a wealth of words and images capturing the fine details of this unique land that is Urdun. If you are looking for gifts for far-flung Jordanians that will make them cry with homesickness and come back, this is it. Available at Readers, and all the usual places. (hat-tip: Desertmom, my flora & fauna resource). Who would have known the Maani clan are so multi-talented? Not only can one of them run a city really well, they are amazing artists.
Can you tell i’ve been shopping for gifts? More ideas for the thrifty minded:
* for wrinkling middle-aged sisters-in-law, $20 tubes of RetinA are only 5.5JD at Cozmo.
* Al Afghani Bazar (Bizarre? Bazaar? Bazaziir?) ) has cool ‘frig magnets.
* an even cheaper “Mish Normal” knock-off at Duwwar Hawuuz has Cold Water Creek blouses for 2JD
(Sorry I’ve been such a bad blogger. But I’ve been a good mom, so priorities are in order)
What is it about black BMWs and Mercedes drivers that they just MUST exceed the speed limit? Yesterday, one of each sped through a residential area when kindergarten kids were getting out. Had a child run into the street, he/she would be quite dead, not enough of a body left for proper washing and burial.
Later in the day in a different area, when another school was getting out, this particular BMW passed me three times as if on crack while school children lined both sides of the street. It was being driven by a young man, his shirt even appeared to be one of the local private school uniforms. There were young children in the car, not buckled.
The third time, I braked in the middle of the road to make him stop so I could get a look at the license plate. This is it. I hope someone does something about it.
How many more lives will be cut short due to stupidity?
**UPDATE: Ali blogs about a four year old boy who was killed by such a driver yesterday. On his birthday. I am ready to start a MADD group - Mothers Against Delinquent Drivers.
That is my new phrase of the day, and my decision of the day to ponder. What do you think I should do?
One thing I HATE about living here, is being forced to be someone I am not. I am not by nature an aggressive driver, I follow the rules and give people lots of room who don’t. But here, if I want to get in the flow of traffic, when NO ONE will move left to a clear lane to accommodate new traffic, where no one uses the nifty European ‘zipper’ method of merging, I will go fast with a big car and force my way in. It goes against my nature, and I resent it.
Another thing I hate is men who think I would be attracted by their staring, gross tongues, and grosser sexual invitations. Even in front of my kids. In order to appear ’strong’ and not weak, I have to get in their face and act like a you-know-what to defend my honor. I am a nice person, a moral woman of deep faith, a faithful wife, and their innuendo makes me want to throw up (all over them).
My latest thing I hate is the attitude of a certain magazine owner who has chosen not to pay his free-lancers for four months, letting his admin girl be the fall-gal to deliver the: ‘insha’allah next week’ refrain. For twelve weeks I had been kind, understanding and cooperative. But to him, a mild-mannered marshmallow to take advantage of. This marshmallow finally got singed to the point she is discovering her inner-Erin Brockovich.
A month ago ago I called a couple of the other free-lancers and discovered they were getting the same run-around. We decided to stop submitting articles until we were paid. It didn’t help, the mag just started advertising for more suckers to string along. I decided we may be stronger as a unit than as individuals, and began to think class-action. One of them asked me to start a union for them. Chuckle. Me, the Republican, Right-Wing Bottom-Feeder, starting a free-lance writers union. 
Mostly, I just want to handle this like Jesus would want me to.
I used my developing super-sleuth /journalistic skills to track the guy down, and discovered he is hardly a starving entrepreneur. He is a man of means and assets. I brought little Kinz with me and waited for him to open his store (I figured he wouldn’t yell at me if I had her with me). I sat down and kindly explained there must be some mistake, I’m sure he just forgot, but he has been remiss in paying his free-lancers, and it is time to make it right. He frowned: “How do you know them?” I said: “We are all bloggers, we have websites that thousands of Jordanians read”. He looked startled, then stood up and said: “Next week, insha’allah”. I told him, with a smile, I am tired of insha’allah, my trust has been broken and I would be happy to take goods from his store in the amount I am owed. He sat back down and smiled and said: “But no, you will have a check next week”.
A week passed. No call, no check. I asked blogger El 3atel what he thought I should do, since he had been well-acquainted with the non-paying-company-syndrome. He said “Be a lion”. ROARR!!! I roared to God in prayer asking for wisdom, hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but it seems a part of my character development He desires done.
I sent and email yesterday saying exactly what I wanted. I got one back saying the check would be ready Sunday, but that they forgot the raise per piece they had given in December and didn’t include the latest issue’s work. I sent an email back saying I wanted the full amount as I submitted the latest issue’s work early and they were the ones who were late to print.
Today, I got the answer to my prayer. Two actually. One friend who has royal wasta said she could arrange a little phone call. The father of another friend offered his company legal counsel and advised me to file an “Inthar 3adileh”, to give the man two weeks notice before I actually start legal action against him for all the free-lancers, including fines, interest, and reimbursement for Tylenol. I sent the owner another email saying if the full amount I requested was not available Sunday, we would proceed to file the Inthar 3adileh on Monday. One of the other writers laughed that I seem to have more wasta than he does. Bizarre.
This is so scary (not nearly as scary as previous Mafia connections. But that is another story :D).
But, I think I am doing the right thing. If any of you have anything to add, please speak up! And what does Inthar 3adileh mean, anyway?
After seventeen months of blogging, 425 or so posts, 84,000 or so views and more than 30,000 spam comments, I just received my 5,000th comment!!
Gila Weiss is a new linker, an American-Israeli blogger who lives in Tel Aviv. She is a survivor of a bomb attack there, which is why she started her blog ‘My Shrapnel”
In the last month, I’ve been linked by three American women living in Israel. It has been an eye-opener, and a reminder why we need to be ‘in touch’ at many levels to hear stories from every side of the issue. I trust we can all ‘be nice’ to one another as we connect on-line and bump into painful areas.
Thanks to all who continue to make this blogging experience a fun, instructive and stretching part of life.
I first read Mona’s writing at Natasha’s blog, then rediscovered her at the Sudanese Thinker. I just love how this woman thinks, how she calls it what it is, how she articulates tough topics and has never (that I have seen) resorted to the slash and burn contempt tactics that shut down dialogue for good. Here is her latest post, about Iraqi Christians.
Between Mona, HM Queen Rania and some of the American Muslims ladies I read and have now met (Umm Zain, Umm Farouq, Umm Omar & Umm oops, inseet, Bama Bedouin) I am beginning to think that it is going to be the strong but feminine voice of Muslim women that correct wrong perceptions of their faith, AND correct those Muslims who are reinforcing those perceptions.
They remind me of of the biblical account of Abigail, whose husband made some deadly choices. She, with winsome humility, spoke great wisdom to David and saved her family’s lives.
You go, girls, I’ll be cheering for you.
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