Social Media and the Arab Spring

I was working on a presentation for class today about social media's affect on the Arab Spring.

As I was doing research, I stumbled upon a BBC documentary about the Arab Spring and how Facebook changed it.

I realize that many people do not understand what exactly the Arab Spring is, so I thought I would share the documentary.  It is captivating and provides a history of the Arab Spring as well as how social media influenced it.

It is on Youtube in four parts. The first part of the video is below.

If you liked that you can find the other parts here:

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

What did you learn about this revolution, that you were unaware of before?

A Taste of the Palm Market

The project I was working on at the Palm Market was pictures for a slideshow and audio to go with it.

Go here to see an audio slideshow of what the Palm is about.

Once I work it out, I'll also put a video up of us making bread.

Palm Market Brings New Friends

The Palm Market in Erie, PA

Today was pretty amazing if I do say so myself.

I went with my friend Katie to the Palm Market today to get pictures and audio for a class project.  I expected this to last a couple hours -- six hours later I returned to school with quite the adventure.

The Palm is a local international food store and restaurant that specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine.

I arrive at the market and I had free reign to take pictures of them working in the restaurant.  During this, two hour process I had the opportunity to make bread and sample many different foods.

To make the bread, I learned how to flatten the dough and stick it to the side of the mud kiln.  Let me note that this is a fast process. They stick the bread onto the sides of this kiln for it to cook, which is a lot hotter than they make it look.  The woman I was working with could easily stick her hand in and grab the bread out.  I am very impressed by her.

After we were done at the Palm Market, Katie and I went to our friend Dhia's house where he was making us lunch.  We committed to this lunch true Arab style.

It was an incredible experience.  Lunch consisted of tilapia (and I don't mean that prepackaged stuff. I saw the fresh fish and he stared at me as I ate him), a large mixture of rice and vermicelli, and a bowl of tomatoes and onions soaked in lemon juice. We topped it off by drinking Alwazah Tea.

Preparing to slap the dough on the side of the kiln.

We sat on the floor, shared the same plates and ate with our fingers.  I scooped up rice and tore apart the fish. I have never been such a messy eater in my life!

Dough falling off is mine - I chickened
out because it was so hot in the kiln!

Dhia also gave us incense and currency from different Middle Eastern countries when  we were there.

The people I met are some of the kindest people I have ever met.  They encouraged me to come down and practice Arabic with them and told me other dishes they want me to try sometime.  I definitely plan on visiting these new friends of mine more often.

Women in the Middle East: Why Do They Hate Us?

My brother called me the other day to tell me about an article he read in the magazine Foreign Policy (FP).

The article is titled Why Do They Hate Us? and is about women in the Middle East.

Why Do They Hate Us? is written by Mona Eltahawy, who, according to FP is an Egyptian-American columnist who went through her own hardships in the Middle East.  In November 2011, Eltahawy was beaten by Egyptian police and sexually assaulted. The incident left her with a broken left arm and right hand.  After this she Interior Ministry and military intelligence detained her for 12 hours.

Eltahawy explains that even though women in America have problems concerning equality, it does not compare to those in the Middle East.

She tells stories of atrocities committed against women and what they must live with every day.

Eltahawy explains how Arab countries are not even ranked in the top 100 for the gender differences and a country's wealth doesn't have much to do with that.

Not a single Arab country ranks in the top 100 in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, putting the region as a whole solidly at the planet's rock bottom. Poor or rich, we all hate our women. Neighbors Saudi Arabia and Yemen, for instance, might be eons apart when it comes to GDP, but only four places separate them on the index, with the kingdom at 131 and Yemen coming in at 135 out of 135 countries. 

Additionally, Eltahawy provides facts though startling and personal connections. These include:

• In Yemen, 55% of women are illiterate, 79% do not participate in the labor force, and one woman serves in the 301-person parliament.
• In Egypt, more than 80% of women said they'd experienced sexual harassment and 60% of men admitted to harassing women.
• In Egypt, more than 90% of ever-married women in Egypt have their genitals cut in the name of modesty.

She tells true stories about atrocities, such as 15 girls dying in a school fire in Mecca because "morality police" barred them from fleeing the burning building because they were not wearing headscarves and cloaks required in public.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't expect the article to be taken at face value, but start a conversation. I know it's going to be a controversial topic, but see how others feel about this issue and learn more about it.

This behavior and treatment toward women is not acceptable in any country.  See what you can do about injustices  whether it is internationally or in your own neighborhood.

"Love and respect woman. Look to her not only for comfort, but for strength and inspiration and the doubling of your intellectual and moral powers.  Blot out from your mind any idea of superiority; you have none." --Giuseppe Mazzini

Teaser for Your Next Arabic Lesson

Here is a music video for you, Habibi Ya Nur Al-Ein. Listen to this catchy number that everyone studying Arabic must be familiar with.

Don't know what they're saying? No worries. Next post, I will teach you useful words and phrases - some that you can hear in this song.

Get excited, folks!

Listen to this enough, and you'll be singing and dancing along in no time!

Mercy Corps works in Gaza

My dad sent me a video the other day that introduced me to what Mercy Corps is doing in the West Bank and Gaza to provide opportunities to young people who are surrounded by conflict and lack of jobs.

Mercy Corps already works in West Bank and Gaza through economics, food security, youth development and various other ways.  There is also a fairly new program that works with youth and technology.

They partnered with Google and  the Source of Hope Foundation to create the Arab Developer Network Initiative (ADNI).  According to Mercy Corps, this program gives youth the ability to work in the "global digital marketplace" through means such as training, networking, and mentoring.

In the first year, over 1,000 Palestinians worked with this program.

The video below, is Alaa's story about her experiences with this program and her interests in Information Technology (IT).

Mercy Corps updates their website frequently about this program in Gaza and is worth checking out.  They have information such as new affiliates, personal stories, speakers and much more.

You can also find out the history of Mercy Corps's work here.