December 23 2003

M6 Concert

Well, I must say it was a great concert. The singers, the atmosphere, the organization, everything was so great. And above all the beauty of the Médina. When you get inside it you can’t but believe it’s an old town, not a place built in the shape of an old town. It’s wonderful. The colors they painted the walls with, the structure of the whole town and even the streets of it were all made in the ways older generations used to make.

Other than the fact that a group of the most successful French singers were present, there was this new little talent that was shown to the audience. A little Tunisian girl called Amal, she sings and plays the guitar. She had a great chance to sing around 4 songs before the concert actually began. She has a wonderful voice, and sang in Arabic, French, English and Spanish I guess. I loved her style, and I loved her voice, plus her playing on the guitar 🙂 .
I guess this concert gave her a very big chance to express herself, and I hope that they’d take care of her talent so that it wont be wasted or used like a lot of other voices, to be a means of collecting money.
Now to the funniest part. This concert will be shown twice on two different television channels; so imagine you’re clapping and singing along with a certain singer, and then you see him go back to behind the stage, the show introducers jumping on stage again, and introducing the same singer with the same song he’s gonna sing once again, and last but not least, imagine how the crowd would clap and scream again as if it’s the first time this singer will appear on stage, loool, that was really funny. Yet what I couldn’t stop laughing about was the new year countdown. God it was funny, see what I mean, here I am laughing my head off again. Every time I recall the picture of us and the rest of the audience looking at the stars on stage and counting: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1!!! Then shouting: HEEEEEEEEEEEY, and watch them all exchange new year’s greetings and kisses; And 2 seconds later the stars are asked to go to where they came from the first time, and we’re asked to count again and again 10 …..3-2-1 ; HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY, and then watch them greet and kiss again, in the same excitement and same happiness of the first time, till I actually believed it was 2004 already!!! God, that was funny.
Oh, and one more thing worth sharing is this false idea people have about Tunisia and some other Arab countries about being warm day and night all around the year, loool. It’s true the weather is warmer than it is in Europe and other parts of the world, but at night, in winter, and in December, it can be nothing but freezing!! But still we saw the show introducers and the stars all dressed in summer clothes, some were almost naked and I bet they’re on their dying bed right now… and funniest of all was while they were shooting and saying to the camera: “Oh Tunisia, the weather is so warm, we can’t even stand coming near each other from the heat”. And of course they were wearing veeeeery light clothes, their bodies as well as their voices were shaking from cold, at the very same time that we, the audience, were waving to the cameras and singing along with nothing appearing from us but our faces and red noses, loool. Give me a break; who would believe them when they say it’s warm, when all what people would sea is hats, thick jackets and scarves all over the place!!!
Anyway I enjoyed myself a lot; but I must admit that I woke up really late next day, thank God it was a Sunday! And up till now I feel the need of getting more sleep. We spent all the time standing up, that isn’t something very relaxing you know.

December 8 2003

Horray Miss Afghanistan

A lot of people have paid attention to what was happening in Afghanistan when the war on it took place. But as soon as the end of war was pronounced, they forgot about the misery of its people, and they no longer care to know the latest news. A very imprtant fact is that there has never been an end put to the war in Afghanistan, exactly the opposite, what Media announced as the end was nothing but the begenning of the real war. A war that aimes at destroying more, showing off power in the worst way ever by killing more and more innocent people. Only on Saturday 9 innocent children were killed by “mistake” in south Afghanistan while they were peacefully playing in a RESIDENCE in Makur, 85 km south west the city of Ghazni.
This happened as the american army was chasing some “terrorists”, when authorities pronounced officially that they weren’t even there!!
Another MISTAKE thath caused the death of innocent citizens. That’s all we heard about ever since they claimed the end of war. Nothing but more destruction, more victims, more chasing, and more mstakes. What did Afghanistan win? NOTHING BUT A “MISS AFGHANISTAN” that was able to participate in Miss Wormd competetions. Miss Afghanistan who was so proud to wander almost naked in front of people, so proud as she broke the chains of Taliban and proved that women are SEX OBJECTS.
I’ve never been with strict limitations of Taliban. Women weren’t having their full rights, and this is against Islam. Islam is a religion proud of women and wants all to respect them as equal members of society and wants to protect them from being looked at as hotties! And Islam is a religion that believes in being modest. Taliban were too strict, but still that doesnt mean showing off a woman’s body is the right way to prove her freedom. As I see it, it proves nothing but failure in protecting the human dignity in general and the women pride in specific.
But it doesnt matter as long as the whole world seem to be encouraging this.
Anyway, i wish to hear one positive, really positive act taking place in Afghanistan as well as Iraq. For up till now there is nothing to please anyone with a sense of logic. All we can do is wait and see, and while waiting there will be more “army errors” , and then we hear apologies and things get back to normal afterwards. But what if any other country killed some american citizens by mistake as well, would their apology be accepted, or would there be another war to stop the “terrorist attacks”…

November 19 2003

A Prison In Disguise!

I’ll just end my post with this last Israeli “creation”: THE PRISON. Yes it isn’t just a wall as everybody calls it. It’s meant to put Palestinians in a kind of prison. To isolate them, and cut food, water and energy. To steal their land while they’re watching. To take their belongings and to pull them back to the ancient decades of human life.
I remember when I studied the German history how proud, happy and pleased Germans were when the wall separating east and west Germany was destroyed. On the other hand I came across how miserable, hopeless and lost they were while it stood.
That wall separated families and broke a lot of hearts. The wall in Palestine is separating families and breaking hearts as well, but it’s built to pull them backwards, to make them surrender, to kill them slowly and to produce new illiterate generations full of fear and loneliness. Not to forget controlling their own water resources and land.
All I can say is building this wall is nothing but a sign of how strong Palestinians are. They’re too strong to be stopped by tanks, guns, bombs or false media, so the thought they need to be isolated to be controlled. What they don’t know till this moment is that their wall wont stop Palestinians. It will not make them give up. They will keep on struggling till they get their rights and get back their land.
Their land that was once like heaven on earth, and is nothing but wreckage because of war nowadays.
This prison will not weaken Palestinians, it will not let them down. It will show the world the real intentions of Israelis who claim they’re doing all this to protect their land… Israel. Which when looking at the maps of before wont be found, all what one could find is a peaceful word addressing a peaceful land called Palestine.
And a wall built to trap people will not frighten them and will not erase Palestine from anyone’s memory.
This prison will be the castle in which Palestinians will be united and prepared to stand up again.
Palestinians’ strong will, their determination, their devotion and their spirits are too high to hold back with a …wall!
God be with you all the way Palestine…

November 13 2003

We’re All EYES For You Iraq… Sorry

“People will continue to suffer and will continue to live in those bad conditions for 100s of years due to this war”.
I heard this on Radio in the news bulletin on my way to home. They were talking about IRAQ. Iraqis are already suffering from terrible life conditions. No drinking water available, they’re drinking polluted and dirty water. No healthy food, low life standards. More people are killed on daily basis, and that’s all because of three little letters:
W A R !!!
War that was “supposed” to “help” Iraqis and provide them with a “better” life.
War that aimed at giving them “Freedom”. War that wanted to put a “smile” on the face of every Iraqi child.
I guess war did exactly what it always does anytime and anywhere. Nothing but destruction, more ruins, more pollution, worse food… if any that is! Awful injuries, corruption, fear, instability, insecurity, chaos, more homeless people, and an endless list of both old and new diseases that will keep on torturing their victims for years and years to come, with no budget to afford medicine.

What makes me feel so “proud” is the fact that everyone is WATCHING… as usual! Most of us don’t even think of helping in any way possible. We forget, or better say WE CHOOSE TO FORGET that every member of every society no matter how old or young, no matter what they do in life, we can all do something even if it was so small or considered to be useless.
Other than “thoughts”, which seems to be the only good thing we can all offer in such situations, there are clothes, medicine, money, food… ANYTHING! They don’t need anyone watching in front of TV with 100s of Klenix next to them and going like: Oh look at the blood… God poor kid, he’s crying… Oh, they’ve cut the poor woman’s head in front of her children!! Ah, all that shooting, how can they sleep?! Hey sweetie turn around I don’t want you to watch those disgusting scenes and have nightmares afterwards… THEY DON’T NEED THIS!!
A single plaster might help ease the pain of a wounded person and make him tolerate his pain till it’s his turn to be checked by a doctor. A milk bottle could feed one or two little babies and save them from starving to death. Some seeds could give hope to farmers and help them produce food, trust me on that.
We can do anything. But we prefer being ignorant, for we’re safe; for we keep on forgetting that a simple help can make a difference, and because we keep on forgetting that there is nothing to guarantee our safety for a lifetime. We could become victims of war any minute in such a time when negative power is thought of as the solution for all our problems.
But that’s the way it is I guess. We’d only feel sorry for others, as long as we’re far away from danger.
Once we’re the ones in need, things suddenly change.
Iraq and Palestine before it, we watch them both burn in front of our own eyes. We sigh and might cry as well every time we watch some live broadcast of what’s happening over there, but the minute our favorite comedy series begins, it all blows away, our houses are filled with loud laughs, and we’re too busy with our huge invitations to think of the “poor people”. As if nothing has happened at all.
Just a quick reminder: first it was Palestine, then Afghanistan and now Iraq… Any idea who’s next?!

October 14 2003

95% SEX

In the time sex has become the first and most important topic of concern, I can’t but feel sorry for our generations and the ones to follow. And I’m talking specifically about entertainment. Sex has become the main attraction. The presence of Sex as a word or a scene or act is 95% in most of the means of entertainment. Nowadays it’s so hard to find a successful movie that has no sex scenes in it. I don’t know why is that actually! I mean a strong movie should prove itself without the “help” of sex-appeals and sexual acts! But no, seems like all movies MUST contain some sexuality in one way or the other to make it a cool attractive movie… whatever!
Not only movies but even programs like “L’EREDITA'” and many other programs as “Raccomandati” in the Italian channel Rai Uno, I still don’t get why do knowledge-testing programs include half naked women dancing, what’s the point?! Suspense? Don’t those dancers feel cheap showing their naked bodies and shaking them just to please the audience! Don’t they feel humiliated to be a means of cheap pleasure?! Oh I forgot, why be humiliated if it will bring them a fast way to wealth, fame, popularity or even being celebrities one day! Anyway, Rai Uno is only one of SO MANY other international TV channels that use sexiness to gather more fans.
Other than movies and TV programs there is this really funny but yet pathetic phenomena: songs! After being the international language for all kinds of people and even those who are not able to speak, Music has turned to be a means of provoking sex and marketing it easily. All you can hear nowadays is: “Hey Sexy Lady”… “Shake that thing” … “Dirty”… ” Let’s Get Back To Bed Boy”… “Sex Me”… “I’m Too Sexy for my Love”…”Would You Go To Bed With Me”… “Gonna Lick You Up & Down”…”Boom Boom Boom Boom, I Want You In My Room”… “We were both butt naked”… “Shake Your Asses”…”It’s really hot in here, so take your clothes off”… “Kiss me and then just touch me, till I can get my SATISFACTION” … “Sex Bomb”… I can go on forever! Isn’t this a BIG SHAME!!
Poor song writers, I guess they’re out of words!! Or what could be their problem? Anyway, in the middle of all this nonsense you can’t help being proud and full of hope when you hear about some people who do really care about what’s going on in this world. Important things that most of us almost forgot, issues that affect us all, either directly or indirectly. Things like WAR, I love that song: “What Are We Fighting For”- Live, or the one about money obsession: “Lots Of Money And Things” – Shania Twain. We need songs like that to wake us up, I wish we’ll have more like those.
Actually I wish all entertaining sectors will end this pathetic cheap mess and go back to sweet and good materials to provide us with, we’re human beings after all, we need to feel respect for our dignity and brains, not to feel we’re treated like animals and provided with things to provoke animal instincts, or what?!

October 13 2003

Environmental Issues

Caring for the environment started out as a hobby, then with the increasing environmental problems and the loss of some huge green masses it became a matter of concern, and now I believe it became a MUST. It is our duty now to put an end to the dangerous human acts towards the environment and to try to fix the problems we already caused. Enough messing with nature, and enough ruining our surroundings.
A lot of countries were aware of the critical situation our environment is experience, and now many developing countries joined the club. They started working on that seriously, and I thought that some of the environmental activities in those countries are impressive and worth talking about. So here you go some info that would help spread environmental awareness …

The Global Environment Facility/ Small Grants Program (GEF/ SGP):

“Protecting Global Environment Through Community Action”
This program was launched in 1992 to assist developing countries urge their communities to play a role in the protection of global environment in relation to four focal areas: biodiversity, climate change, international waters and ozone layer depletion, as well as land degradation, desertification and deforestation.
The program is based on the belief that global environmental problems can only be addressed adequately if local people are involved, and that with small amounts of funding, local communities can undertake activities which will make a significant difference in their lives and their environment.
The GEF/ SGP is administered by the UNDP, and is currently offered in over 50 countries. It has promoted awareness regarding global environmental concerns; built capacities of communities and NGOs to address those concerns, and provided a mechanism for demonstrating community solutions of global environmental problems.

More information about the GEF/ SGP are available at:
Click Here

Recycling Coalition:

The (RC) was launched in 1998 among: Jordan Environment Society (JES); Arab Women Organization (AWO); and The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN). The (RC) was supported by the (GEF/SGP).
The Recycling Coalition undertakes activities that involve people in the collection and separation processes of recyclable and production of eco-products. Other than that (RC) spreads awareness through media in addition to direct contact by lectures and workshops. Not to forget the training it offers through workshops and study visits.
The (RC) collects: paper, plastic, and metals. It encourages schools, NGOs, and different enterprises to collect the recyclables and it provides them with the needed containers. On the other hand the (RC) hires workers to separate and sort recyclables at special separation centers. As for the different recycled products, they are produced and also marketed by the (RC).
Wanna know more? Contact the Recycling Project Director from the Jordan Environment Society:
jes@go.com.jo

More information about the Recycling Coalition can be provided by the following:
Arab Women Organization
awo@nets.com.jo

Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature
rscn@nets.com.jo