From a different day: a gorgeous sunset on one side and a looming thunderstorm on the other. Next time it's going to be a sunrise.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
city strollin'
Everyone should walk around a city by themselves at least once. It doesn't seem exhausting when you're strolling without having to reach a certain destination by a certain time. And nothing can beat walking to the memorials in DC on a late Sunday afternoon. It's one of the few parts of the east coast that reminds me of the calmness of California.
From a different day: a gorgeous sunset on one side and a looming thunderstorm on the other. Next time it's going to be a sunrise.
From a different day: a gorgeous sunset on one side and a looming thunderstorm on the other. Next time it's going to be a sunrise.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Inspired
A few women who inspired me this week, and thanks to whom I may be narrowing down my focus:
Forough Farrokhzad: an Iranian poet living in the early part of the 20th century; feminist; thinker; independent.
Fariba: a friend of a friend; Iranian human rights activist; protester; mother; incredibly sweet.
Lara Logan: CBS Chief Foreign Correspondent; extremely passionate; feisty; actually cares about ethics in journalism.
Forough Farrokhzad: an Iranian poet living in the early part of the 20th century; feminist; thinker; independent.
Fariba: a friend of a friend; Iranian human rights activist; protester; mother; incredibly sweet.
Lara Logan: CBS Chief Foreign Correspondent; extremely passionate; feisty; actually cares about ethics in journalism.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Power in numbers
02/16/96 - 05:11 PM ET - Click reload often for latest version
Washington's great gatherings
The number of people at the largest gatherings in the nation's capital, according to the National Park Service:
Event Date Crowd
Vietnam War moratorium rally Nov. 15, 1969 600,000
Iran hostage welcome Jan. 27, 1981 500,000
Vietnam War 'Out Now' rally April 24, 1971 500,000
Million Man March Oct. 16, 1995 400,000
March on Washington for Gay April 25, 1993 300,000
and Lesbian Rights
20th anniversary of Civil Aug. 28, 1983 300,000
Rights March on Washington
Solidarity Day Sept. 10, 1981 250,000
Civil Rights March on Washington Aug. 28, 1963 250,000
Source: National Park Service; USA TODAY research by Cindy Hall
Monday, June 9, 2008
Flying high
It is the time of year of commencement speeches – and despite their attempts to be original, they end with the same point: the power of youth is unimaginable. Speechmakers seem to give advice freely and enthusiastically. Excel in math and science to become superb engineers in order to surpass competitive countries. Keep troops out of battle, and do not enter another world war. Save the world from poverty. In short, do not make the same mistakes your predecessors have made.
Youth has a lot of faith in itself. Perhaps it is not as visible in the United States, where graduating classes have become accustomed to finding their own niche and generally agreeing that the distance from point A to point B does not necessarily have to be the shortest, and that they will eventually save the world, but in their own way. Yet, youth as a collective force, as something with the power to change the course of a country’s history is not just an idea posed during a ceremony, but a reality outside the U.S. It is a necessity, even.
An op-ed in today’s The Daily Star, written by a student at AUB, argued for students as the solution to Lebanon’s problems. After almost two decades of political stalemate and little change in the country, it is not surprising to place hope in a young generation that will not abide by the same rules, same games. We all know this is not a new idea. Youth movements have played crucial parts in at the very least establishing dissident voices in places like Pakistan, Iran, India, and Egypt. These expressions of dissent are not limited to rallies, protests and sit-ins. They have been realized through a “revolution of ideas” – blogs, radio, television, and surprisingly music. Laal, a band from Pakistan, for example, recently released a music video written by a poet speaking sarcastically of the country. Perhaps it wouldn’t be effective without the added pictures of Bhutto’s recent death and the chaos that followed. Similarly, Dam expresses the destitute and the hurt inflicted upon people by political institutions in Israel and Palestine. Again, what makes the video powerful are the pictures – regardless of whether they represent Israel or Palestine, they are effective in saying: this has got to stop.
The message is not new either, but essentially what the op-ed rests upon is collective memory and the hope placed in time to enable youth to forget this memory. In the case of Lebanon, it is essential for younger generations to find a political agreement that breaks away from a confessional system based upon religious identities people may no longer recognize. The differences between Sunnis, Shias, Maronites, the Druzes, and the Greeks only make sense for so long. The younger generation can move beyond these differences of which they have no collective memory. In that sense, it becomes easier to find political reconciliation that is not based on emotions. Well, that is the hope.
But then there is the issue of collective memory in another part of the world – Pakistan and India. Ironically, perhaps the memory that the older generations had should be passed along to the younger generations – that of having known a time when the two were friends, were one nation even. We may be entering a time in which the present and future generations will not be able to recall the costs of partition, or the social and political complexities surrounding it. Technically the younger generation does not have a literal memory of partition, but with the continuing Kashmir conflict, they are constantly reminded of everything that came after, not what had come before. But despite this, at least there are movements within both countries to improve their nation, however it stands now.
All right, so what has changed if the youth still go and protest oppressive regimes or bullying governments? The 1970s already gave us memories of listening to the Beatles, protesting in communist rallies, being pummeled by a rowdy crowd…have we been able to offer anything different?
So here, let’s bring in another factor – expats. It is difficult to avoid the progressive movements among youth in the United States, concerned with Pakistan, India, Israel, and Palestine. Their work has been crucial in many instances; for example when students tried to mobilize against and raise awareness about the BJP in India using Hindu Student Councils in the U.S. to raise funds for specific (problematic) endeavors…And yet, it is interesting to think about what type of collective memory the young generations of different diasporas hold outside of their home countries. At times, their views seem more hostile than of the youth residing in the countries in question:
I would never bring a Pakistani home.
Indian culture is better than Pakistani culture.
India is a right-wing Hindu state. It is not a democracy.
Progressive movements in the U.S. for causes elsewhere have become increasingly popular, as they should. But it might be possible that the reality they perceive is slightly different than what those in the country see. So really, who is right: The young generation fighting for national ideals caught up in the spirit of causes, or the young generation fighting for more jobs, more food, and less chaos? Both are important in their own right.
Youth has a lot of faith in itself. Perhaps it is not as visible in the United States, where graduating classes have become accustomed to finding their own niche and generally agreeing that the distance from point A to point B does not necessarily have to be the shortest, and that they will eventually save the world, but in their own way. Yet, youth as a collective force, as something with the power to change the course of a country’s history is not just an idea posed during a ceremony, but a reality outside the U.S. It is a necessity, even.
An op-ed in today’s The Daily Star, written by a student at AUB, argued for students as the solution to Lebanon’s problems. After almost two decades of political stalemate and little change in the country, it is not surprising to place hope in a young generation that will not abide by the same rules, same games. We all know this is not a new idea. Youth movements have played crucial parts in at the very least establishing dissident voices in places like Pakistan, Iran, India, and Egypt. These expressions of dissent are not limited to rallies, protests and sit-ins. They have been realized through a “revolution of ideas” – blogs, radio, television, and surprisingly music. Laal, a band from Pakistan, for example, recently released a music video written by a poet speaking sarcastically of the country. Perhaps it wouldn’t be effective without the added pictures of Bhutto’s recent death and the chaos that followed. Similarly, Dam expresses the destitute and the hurt inflicted upon people by political institutions in Israel and Palestine. Again, what makes the video powerful are the pictures – regardless of whether they represent Israel or Palestine, they are effective in saying: this has got to stop.
The message is not new either, but essentially what the op-ed rests upon is collective memory and the hope placed in time to enable youth to forget this memory. In the case of Lebanon, it is essential for younger generations to find a political agreement that breaks away from a confessional system based upon religious identities people may no longer recognize. The differences between Sunnis, Shias, Maronites, the Druzes, and the Greeks only make sense for so long. The younger generation can move beyond these differences of which they have no collective memory. In that sense, it becomes easier to find political reconciliation that is not based on emotions. Well, that is the hope.
But then there is the issue of collective memory in another part of the world – Pakistan and India. Ironically, perhaps the memory that the older generations had should be passed along to the younger generations – that of having known a time when the two were friends, were one nation even. We may be entering a time in which the present and future generations will not be able to recall the costs of partition, or the social and political complexities surrounding it. Technically the younger generation does not have a literal memory of partition, but with the continuing Kashmir conflict, they are constantly reminded of everything that came after, not what had come before. But despite this, at least there are movements within both countries to improve their nation, however it stands now.
All right, so what has changed if the youth still go and protest oppressive regimes or bullying governments? The 1970s already gave us memories of listening to the Beatles, protesting in communist rallies, being pummeled by a rowdy crowd…have we been able to offer anything different?
So here, let’s bring in another factor – expats. It is difficult to avoid the progressive movements among youth in the United States, concerned with Pakistan, India, Israel, and Palestine. Their work has been crucial in many instances; for example when students tried to mobilize against and raise awareness about the BJP in India using Hindu Student Councils in the U.S. to raise funds for specific (problematic) endeavors…And yet, it is interesting to think about what type of collective memory the young generations of different diasporas hold outside of their home countries. At times, their views seem more hostile than of the youth residing in the countries in question:
I would never bring a Pakistani home.
Indian culture is better than Pakistani culture.
India is a right-wing Hindu state. It is not a democracy.
Progressive movements in the U.S. for causes elsewhere have become increasingly popular, as they should. But it might be possible that the reality they perceive is slightly different than what those in the country see. So really, who is right: The young generation fighting for national ideals caught up in the spirit of causes, or the young generation fighting for more jobs, more food, and less chaos? Both are important in their own right.
sometimes you don't have to read past headlines
"Revenge of the Nerdette" - Newsweek
"China Scolds Western Media" - Businessweek
"Syrian Anthem Played for Lebanese" - BBC
"Hen living at McDonald's finally captured" - CNN
"China Scolds Western Media" - Businessweek
"Syrian Anthem Played for Lebanese" - BBC
"Hen living at McDonald's finally captured" - CNN
Sunday, June 8, 2008
epiphany
I realized this weekend that I come to conclusions too often…and have a habit of voicing them.
Monday, June 2, 2008
One of those flings
It was raining leaves, and they probably didn't even realize it. But from where I stood, the amphitheater seemed to be showering its petals down on the graduating class. I hadn't ever noticed it before, probably because when I was sitting in their place, I was also just focused on the speaker, waiting intently for the ceremony to be over. But sitting at a distance was wonderful - I finally got to enjoy Swarthmore for its beauty, without the stress of work, or the emotional burden of graduation.
Swat is insanely beautiful - one of the most beautiful places I've seen in all its simplicity. There is nothing grand or overbearing about it. A couple of friends and I spent some time under the shade of a massive tree, and I remembered reading the Masnawi with my class under a literal curtain of cherry blossoms. Discussing poetry under a tree seems so annoyingly collegiate in retrospect but at the moment you couldn't help but think, "wow, this is why I love this place
." We walked through the rose garden (if only I could take everyone through that rose garden), and a group of parents walked by, all talking about how beautiful the garden was. I heard one of the men say "I'd like one of those !" and I couldn't help but smile and think that it was mine, and that I had owned a part of it. That reminded me of how a friend of mine had compared Swarthmore to a romance in his The entry is somewhat corny, but it made me happy to go back to Swat. I ignored the changes of course, like the new New Dorm, and I had hoped I'd be able to walk through the crum one last time (I didn't really do that senior year and somewhat regret it). But what was also incredible was sitting with friends and talking about all the ways we had changed, and not being phased by it. Transformation just seemed to be expected and natural. As one of my friends put it, we all seemed to be having the same experience but in different places.
Graduation was nothing less than chaotic, but memorable in all its craziness. It's somewhat funny to hear some of the graduating seniors talk about how sad they are and what a wonderful time they had, and how they are never going to get it again. And I want to be able to tell them that it gets better after, but they won't believe me until they actually live it. Thank god college isnt the best four years of your life, but it definitely is four years worth going through. But really, I can only say this now.
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