Sophia's Peace Work

2011-04-04T00:35:00.002+03:00

After watching men burning transformers along the banks of the Tanjero/Quilisan River in IraqNeglected River, Neglected MotherYou gave birth to a city that has turned its back on you.Abused River, Abused MotherYou washed us and gave us clean water to drinkBut we let the users and the rapers take you.Abandoned River, Abandoned MotherYou were our very source and life's bloodBut we grind your bones

2011-03-21T13:28:00.003+03:00

Protests come to Iraqi KurdistanThough its not covered much in the press the way Tunisian, Egypt, and others were, there have also been some significant protests in Iraq. I've been talking to people who were at the first protest in Sulaimani (Kurdistan, Northern Iraq). Friends had posted videos of the early protests that were quite disturbing and several people had been killded. The protests have

2011-01-08T10:59:00.001+03:00

Visit to BaghdadIt's been well over a year since I was in Baghdad but after my Xmas holiday, I got the call that I needed to get down to Baghdad to do a training for one of the ministries. I was the only foreigner on the flight into Baghdad and thus the only one who needed to have their visa processed at the Baghdad airport. I guess they don't have much call for that because I had to wait an

2010-12-30T17:10:00.008+03:00

The Spittin' Hasidims of Al Quds (Jerusalem)I recently came back from a holiday trip that involved traveling with two friends to Jordan and Israel/Palestine. We had a lovely trip working through Petra and staying at the Ammarin Desert Camp and then returning to Amman on the King's Highway, then on to Al Quds where we took one day to go down to Al Khaleel (Hebron) and Bethleham (Literally in

2010-12-08T09:54:00.002+03:00

Eco-Tourism in IraqRecently there has been a new effort to start an ecotourism project in Iraq. There is the development of a national park in the south and also talk of other such parks in the north (Iraqi Kurdistan) and if ecotourism could be started it would really demonstrate to the local people the intrinsic value of their local environment. Fish, birds, reeds, water would all have an

2010-11-14T18:13:00.002+03:00

Tree Planting? Is that all you can do?Last week, the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government of Northern Iraq) kicked off an environmental improvement campaign that will include the planting of over 2 million seedlings in the region. The opening ceremony for this campaign featured Prime Minister Dr. Barham Salih at the Hawari Shar Park near Sulaymaniyah.I'm really glad that these guys are getting

2010-11-09T07:38:00.003+03:00

Book IdeasI always marveled at all the people I knew who wrote books about their experiences in Iraq, some after living in the country for only a few months. I don't dispute the validity of their experiences or the worthiness of the final result; I just couldn't see myself doing it. I always felt, "How can I write a book about what's going on here. I hardly understand what's going on here!" In

2010-11-07T09:31:00.003+03:00

What is missing is outrageThe team had found lakes of oil in the desert caused by the SOC (Southern Oil Company of Iraq). I asked, "What are we going to do about this?" "We will talk to the Minister," said the Director, "These lakes are continuing to kill.""Yes, everyday!" said one of our staff, "We watched as Martins came upon the lakes, thinking it was water in the desert and diving down to

2010-11-06T09:57:00.003+03:00

There was a recent story on the Mesopotamian marshlands done on PBS (The Public Broadcast System of the U.S.) ... I noticed a comment on the story from an Iranian gentlemen named Parviz, that I just had to respond to. I've repeated these two exchanges below:parviz said: November 5, 2010 at 9:23 pmthis is wonderful to save and vivid that lands i am a Persian from south of IranBUT:can you Please

2010-05-19T16:22:00.001+03:00

I am in love with Massoud Barzani’s daughterThe big issue around here these days is the killing of Sardasht Osman, a young Kurdish journalist and a student. Osman was kidnapped and assassinated on the 4th of May 2010. His satirical poem “I am in love with Massoud Barzani’s daughter” written for kurdistanpost.info states that the only way to be successful in Iraqi Kurdistan is to marry the

2010-03-07T21:17:00.002+03:00

Election NightI've been in the office most of the day working on a report during the Iraqi National Election. Within the last few hours all hell has broken loose (but in a good way, I suppose). Everyone is shooting off their machine guns. I decided to take a break and go for a run in the local park but the shooting only intensified ... and it seemed that everyone was shooting in the direction

2010-02-28T20:49:00.005+03:00

Iraqi Election in the air (March 7th)This is in no way an endorsement but I was recently channel flipping in Sulaimani when lo and behold, an Iraqi election advertisement pops up for the Ahrar Party and there is Ayad Jamal Aldin on the television.I had been introduced to Ayad in the spring of 2004 by another friend and told that he was interested in learning English. I was teaching English at the

2010-02-27T19:15:00.002+03:00

Recycling in IraqToday I went out to a metal recycling place here in Sulaimani with a friend ... I wish I had gotten pictures but I forgot my camera. Amazing place. Occupational and environmental health nightmare. It is a place where they melt down scrap metals into bars for recycling. They get alot of stuff from pickers at the local garbage dump and from Baghdad (apparently they are one of

2009-12-25T18:29:00.001+03:00

Something in honor of Christmas in Iraqi Kurdistan - The Kurdish Wonderland (sung to the tune of “Winter Wonderland” ... the lyrics are from a friend here in Sulaimani but I added the environmental verse)Sleigh bells ring TalabaniPeople sing out BarzaniJust listen, you’ll hearA promise of cheerDreaming wistful dreams in KurdistanNow I know you’ve heard of itIt’s a brand others covetA thought you

2009-12-19T00:06:00.004+03:00

Pan Arab Conference on BiodiversityJust returned from a conference on biodiversity held in Alexandria, Egypt. Arrived a couple of days early and got to see a little of the city (with a very brief, rather surreal swing by the Pyramids in Cairo at night when we arrived). The old part of Alexandria was largely built by Italians and peopled by French, Italians & Greeks ... I heard several of the

2009-12-16T10:54:00.005+03:00

Dog Walking in IraqSome friends of mine are leaving Iraq for two and a half weeks and they want me to look after their dog. She's a small, shaggy dog of a certain breed I don't recall the name of. At first I was reluctant (you see I'm more of a cat person ... cats are just so much less effort than dogs), but I decided to go for it. My office environment is loose enough that I can take her in

2009-11-13T07:38:00.003+03:00

Working with Saddam?I'm back in Iraq now and we are finding more and more that companies are approaching us to do "comprehensive ecological baseline surveys" and Environmental Impact Assessments (aka EIAs) for big oil development projects throughout the country. I went on-line to a website for the Temple Group, an environmental and consultancy planning company and here is what they say about the

2009-10-22T04:32:00.002+03:00

Is there life after Gluten?Took a long working break from Iraq ... long enough to see a doctor who gave me a blood test and indicted that I have a wheat and gluten allergy and should cut these out for 6 months. Wouldn't be so bad except that I was also allergic to:eggs, butter, cow's milk, goat's milk, nutritional yeast (horrors!), coconut, strawberries, walnuts, kiwi, eggplant, vanilla, apples,

2009-05-24T15:57:00.003+03:00

"I hate Iraq""Excuse me, can you tell me where the exit is?" the teenage boy asked me. We were in the park where I go to run at night and I pointed him in the right direction knowing full well that his questions was simply a ruse to initiate a conversation with me.Soon he was sitting on the cement park bench next to me. Ah, well, I had intended to sit quietly for a few minutes to let my heart

2009-05-20T14:49:00.005+03:00

The New Pig HuntH1N1 has put the scare into a lot of people here in Iraq and there have been a flurry of newspaper articles about the threat of "Swine Flu" as it is mistakenly known. Most of these articles include statements by boasting government officials on how they have the problem in hand, no cases have been found in Iraq, etc. etc. etc. But many of them end with a statement about

2009-01-25T16:59:00.004+03:00

So we have a new president ...I left the U.S. when Bush was elected for his second term. Maybe it is safe to go home now.Attached below is a photo from our survey work in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq this winter. The folks in the background are part of our water quality survey team.

2009-01-01T13:14:00.004+03:00

I wanted to spread the word about this press release from the Free Gaza Movement. I was told about this project to take boats with humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza by Kathy Kelly, the Chicago-based peace activist that was a founder of Voices in the Wilderness (the peace organization that arranged for my first trip to Iraq as part of a Iraq Peace Team delegation). She asked me if I was interested

2008-12-23T09:40:00.002+03:00

Not many know that there is almost constant bombing going on by the Turkish army targetting simple villagers in northern Iraq. Here is the latest from the Christian Peacemaker Team on the issue:CPTnet - 8 December 2008 IRAQ: CPTers visit northern villages under siege.On 28 November, the Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq traveled to the village of Hardan and met some of the 450 families from

2008-12-16T11:55:00.004+03:00

Where is the Iraqi Shoe-thrower, Muntadar Al Iraqi (formerly Al Zaidi)?After calling President Bush a dog and throwing both shoes at him, Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who works for Baghdadiya News, may have gone missing. I hope he's ok.In an article yesterday on the BBC website, Muntadar's bureau chief stated, "Iam trying to reach Muntadar since the incident, but in vain. His phone

2008-11-26T01:40:00.001+03:00

The Art of ApologyA wise friend once told me that when in doubt, apologize. No matter where the fault is, apologize --- sincerely and without qualification (no, "I'm sorry for what I did, but ..."). Even if you believe you aren't to blame (most likely you are wrong about that anyway) just apologize. It will open all the doors and overcome all resistance. Apology, in short, if done right, is

2008-11-21T12:43:00.004+03:00

Mongo Pomegranates Appear in SulaimaniOver the last year a new phenomenon has appeared in the city of Sulaimani. Huge apples and pomegranates have been showing up all over the city ... as if dropped from some celestial tree. They are all basically the same size and shape and made out of some cement-type material (as is everything in Iraq these days).I first spotted them on the airport road into

2008-11-06T11:16:00.002+03:00

Surrounded by Iraqi 'Republicans'So we are about to have a new president named Barak Hussein Obama. The first African-American president for the United States. I'm excited at the prospect. I left the country in disgust when Bush was re-elected for his second term. All my life, having grown up in a family of democrats (well, my Dad says he is a republican, but only so he can vote in the

2008-10-27T11:19:00.002+03:00

Two standards?One of the staff (my roommate - a woman and one of the few who work for us) went home for the weekend to Baghdad and everyone seemed to blow a gasket. Emails are flying about, mobiles are ringing, people are wringing their hands, talk of firing the woman was in the air. I honestly didn't understand what all the commotion was about. She had spent the week, along with the other

2008-09-30T16:35:00.003+03:00

For my Mom ...Sorry for the long delay in posts and this one will be a departure from pervious topics. While on vacation in the U.S. my mother died and my stay was lengthened. The memorial service is in a few days and then I will return to Iraq. The following is an entry from my journal, written a few days ago.I have a very distinct memory of a time when I was a child contemplating the future

2008-07-02T09:56:00.003+03:00

Clarification from my DadMy father read my last post and asked me to clarify that his views on Islam are 'not' typical American views. His objections are basically two-fold:1/ Islams views of 'Non-Theists' (and Atheists) are deadly. If they are true believers, then they are 'obliged' to kill them. Their past actions speak for themselves.2/ True believers believe in Shariah Law, which does not

2008-06-27T09:04:00.005+03:00

Recently, we had some girl/boy trouble in our office and I was telling my father about it and he wrote:You should mention the ancient Greek play by Aristophanes called "Lysistrata" in which the gals didn't like the war that boys were fond of fighting and withheld any sexual contact until they until they would cease going off to war. Of course, it was a comedy, and we all know that the Muslims

2008-06-17T11:37:00.003+03:00

Honor KillingsLast night I had the opportunity to meet an American film team that is doing a documentary film on so-called "Honor Killings" - the killing of women to protect the families honor. I was able to see some of their recent footage and it was powerful stuff.They followed a local Kurdish women's rights group around as they followed the story of one such killing. A body of a young woman

2008-06-16T10:38:00.002+03:00

A recent email from a close friend who is a peace worker based out of New York CityAbout two months ago I had the opportunity to speak with a 6th grade class at a school in Brooklyn. Never having spoken with a group so young, I was very mindful of how impressionable I was myself at that age. How to bring the reality of Iraqi children to them? I asked myself. I passed pictures of children their

2008-06-12T19:34:00.002+03:00

Fed up with Iraqi MenOur girls are having problems again with the boys. We have two women from Baghdad working with us here (away from their families) and the boys seem to not understand how to relate to them in this non-traditional situation. They are either being pursued or vilified. They themselves probably don't respond to this treatment in a mature way. Instead of being strong in the face of

2008-05-10T10:24:00.004+03:00

Kurdish Rumor MillI've a Kurdish friend who has a crush on me. I'll call him Hemin in this story. Hemin is very sweet and a genuinely good guy but I just wasn't interested. The spark or whatever is needed to jump start a relationship wasn't there. For this and many other reasons, I told him that it just couldn't happen. But I have wanted the friendship to continue. He's a good buddy here in

2008-04-28T13:30:00.002+03:00

My peaches ...Was getting some suggestive SMS messages recently from a Kurdish guy, but then they seemed to have stop.Reminds me of the words to a Blossom Dearie song,"If you don't like my peaches, baby, why do you shake my tree? Get out of my orchard, baby, let my peach tree be."

2008-04-28T13:22:00.002+03:00

Protect the Marshes: Line them with clay & coat them in wax!At a recent ministry meeting a representative of a Baghdad ministry (who shall remain nameless to protect their honor) came up with a novel approach on how to protect the marshes from drying out. In all seriousness he proposed to coat the bottom of the marshes with clay and cover the surface of the marshes with a thin layer of wax to

2008-04-28T09:45:00.003+03:00

Rival Environmental Groups? What could be more asinine?About a year ago, a senior project manager split from our organization here in Iraq and took a portion of our funding with him. Since that time we've heard that he is starting a "rival" group to do the same things we do. Periodically, some of our staff disappear and crop up working for the former senior project manager. Most recently when

2008-03-27T12:12:00.002+03:00

A recent release from the Christian Peacemaker Team working in the southern West Bank near the small Palestinians village of At-Tawani. I was on the first CPT team in this village back in 2004 when the villagers asked for CPT and other internationals to come witness and try and help them deal with nearly constant threats from the Israeli Army and an illegal Israeli settlement near the village.

2008-03-13T21:47:00.003+03:00

Zalm (Oak) Tree with Zagros Mountains behind This is not really near Zalm (which is what I've come to call the areas where the Tanjero River feeds into the Lake Darbendikhan Reservoir), but on the way. A relect from the old oak forests that used to cover much of Kurdistan. Now these lonely oaks grace the occasional cemetary or village, where they had been protected from the axe.

2008-02-14T22:19:00.002+03:00

Blues Bar in SulaiA friend asked me if I wanted to go to a Blues Bar in town. I'm not really a big Blues fan but the sheer novelty that Sulaimani could play host to such a place peeked my interest. So on Wednesday night we went over to check it out. It's on the way to Sarchinar ... the western part of town that has many restaurants, coffee shops, the one and only chinese restaurant in town (

2008-02-01T11:13:00.000+03:00

Homeless American Woman gets the Royal Treatment from Kurdish MinisterSometimes my Arab colleagues say the darndest things. Yesterday one told me, "Look, you could be a homeless person off the street from the U.S.A. and the Kurds would still treat you like royalty." But the implied flip-side is, if your Arab, the Kurds will cast you out on the street.Since generally Americans are well liked in

2008-01-09T18:58:00.000+03:00

"There are small local crap farms in the area."My life at this point is centered around editing Iraqi research reports (written in some language somewhat loosely related to English). I spend hours at the computer numbing my mind with phrases like:“this site invert to salin graund in the july month (locals)”"around this site are found rice field and put its west in this marsh, to keep this marsh

2007-12-29T16:15:00.000+03:00

RespiteThe holiday season has usually been I time that I spend on my own ... it has just generally worked out that way ... and I don't really resent it. It's a time of reflection and thoughts on both the past year and the future. After some difficult months, this has been particularly important to go through now. I've felt alot of anger and frustration developing in me over over the lies and

2007-12-08T21:33:00.000+03:00

Cross-Cultural Adventures in the Land of the Crooked.Life working with Iraqis is by turns bizarre, hilarious and depressing. Witness my recent breakdown with a team member/friend on my project that has led me to resign from a project that I deeply loved and supported. It all started last May* .... but things began to deteriorate on my project during our summer work. There were some blow-outs (yes

2007-11-18T19:33:00.000+03:00

Got those "In Jordan Alone Again" BluesSorry for the long lag in posting ... my life is a roller-coaster at the moment. Having major personal/professional type problems. Iraqis and Americans just don't seem to be able to get along sometimes ... go figure. I'm in Jordan by myself at the moment but I'm going to a nearby country for a training and then starting a month and a half of grueling

2007-09-28T17:20:00.000+04:00

On my birthday Israeli Settlers were throwing stones ... RELEASE FROM THE CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER TEAM (CPT): Settlers enter village in the South Hebron Hills, assault PalestiniansOn September 23rd, shortly before sundown, ten Israeli settlers entered the village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills. The settlers threw stones, hitting a woman and

2007-09-28T07:51:00.001+04:00

Loving Kurdistan to DeathI had the great fortune to travel around Kurdistan, Northern Iraq for most of August this year. I travelled to many of the beautiful spots of Sulimani, Erbil & Dohuk, the three northern most governorates of Iraq, populated and controlled by the Kurds. The mountains of the north are truely stunning once you get away from the ugly cities. But even the pristine natural

2007-08-09T22:28:00.000+04:00

The Infrequent BloggerAn old friend reminded me that I hadn't posted in awhile and now that I log in I see that is since May ... how did so much time pass? All I can say is that I have been flat out busy since then ... field work, meetings, furnishing and fixing up to houses (to be used as office space here in Kurdistan) ... I even bought a car (or rather, with my a loan from my boss, I bought a

2007-05-19T21:38:00.000+04:00

The Path to Science in IraqOur staff meeting was an eye-opener ... even for me who could only understand bits and peices (I had lousy translation for most of the day). The Senior Project Manager, who has been running the show in Baghadd (and has just resigned), had divided up the staff into field people, lab people, and administrative/data management people. Field guys collected date, the lab

2007-04-23T09:59:00.000+04:00

ChangesWe are having a major staff meeting in Kurdistan soon ... we have about 20+ staff coming up for the meeting and we have to put them up in the house somehow. We need to make some hard decisions about who is coming up and who is staying in Baghdad. Last week we had a bad experience ... some "security police" invaded the office in Baghdad and put all the staff in one room while they

2007-04-09T10:31:00.000+04:00

Iraqi KurdistanI moved to Kurdistan in February to open our new office here. It's been a crazy time and I've had either no time or no internet connection to post. Our first major work here has been to conduct a biodiversity survey of the three Kurdish governorates (Sulaymaniyah, Erbil & Dohuk). It was more of a pre-survey ... since we are new here and need to learn the lay of the land. We

2007-03-09T14:55:00.000+03:00

Some additional photos With Kurdish friends outside an Assyrian Tomb. Dug into a mountainside of rock - the view into the valley below was incredibleThe Fish Market in Dokan VillageThe northern edge of Dokan Reservoir - aside from the obvious garbage, the water level in both of Iraqi Kurdistan's two main reservoirs (Darbandikhan and Dokan) is very low and troubling ... with little winter snow

2007-03-09T14:50:00.000+03:00

Some photos of the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan Bird Watching on Pera Magron Mountain Mine Field near the Iraq/Iraq Border 30 Meter Waterfall near Moat Mountain on the Iraq/Iran Border

2007-03-09T14:35:00.000+03:00

The Zoo of ErbilWe were taken to the zoo by the head of the Natural History Museum of the University of Salahaddin in Erbil. In my opinion, such places should be closed ... it seemed that it was filled only with sick and stir-crazy animals. If you can't properly care for and handle wild animals, the education value of having them in captivity isn't worth it. One boy was having a grand time "

2007-03-07T22:28:00.000+03:00

Relocated to KurdistanFinally moved to Sulaymaniyah or Sulaimani or Sulay ... whichever you like. I've been working straight ever since (and am actually checked into a hotel because I put my back out and caught a bad cold and didn't feel like recuperating in our newly purchased but cold and unfurnished house/office). Anyway, it's been a busy time and I've had no time to post so I'm sorry to say

2007-01-18T14:17:00.000+03:00

The Sinking ShipI was able to offer a friend of mine a job. The caveat? The job is in Baghdad with the strong possibility that it could move to the much safer area of Northern Iraq after a few months. My friend told me, "Best you not think of me for this job.""Why?!?" I asked, "This job has a lot of potential and will lead to more and better work for you.""I can not stay in Baghdad."After a long

2007-01-05T18:52:00.000+03:00

Some recent messages from friends in Iraq ...From a friend who was, until recently, working inside the Green Zone:"I will be interested in a job if it is at the north because I am planning to move to the north and have applied for some jobs over there and might travel to Arbile soon for that sake. I will still be interested to have a job at the north only because I have already left my job where

2006-12-30T17:25:00.000+03:00

An Eid Present?Over the past few days there was speculation that Saddam's execution we about to take place. Lawyers were voicing opinions in agreement or against. The Anfal case against him isn't even complete. Then today I woke up to the news that he had been executed at 6 am Baghdad time and the BBC, Al Jazerra and others are broadcasting footage to a subdued and black-coated Saddam being

2006-12-18T16:11:00.000+03:00

Have I become the Occupier?I was sitting here feeling a bit sorry for myself because I have been having trouble working with our Baghdad staff. They seem resistant to working with me sometimes, unwilling to share information and they often just ignore my emails. They are friendly ... that is when they take my phone calls, but reluctant to tell me anything. Poor me, I've been thinking. They

2006-12-12T00:25:00.000+03:00

Al Zawraa' - A voice for the Iraqi insurgentsAn Iraqi friend and her fiance came over for dinner tonight and they told me about the Iraqi insurgent T.V. network called "Al Zawraa'." We switched on the tube and quickly found it (broadcasted on Nilesat ... see pictures below). Most of it featured video footage of U.S. convoys being attacked by IED (improvised explosive device) or insurgets shooting

2006-11-25T12:27:00.000+03:00

A recent message from a friend in Suli ... that is, Sulimaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan)A block or so from where I am living is a wall graffitied with a message to the United States. The US is, of course, a common subject of concern when expressing oneself with spraypaint in the Middle East. "Down with the USA" is one of the less creative slogans, but a common one that pretty much sums up the sentiment.

2006-11-12T12:05:00.000+03:00

Changes or more of the same?Well, there has been quite a sweep in Congress during the last election. Now the question is, what, if anything, will change? I've spoken to a few folks here in Amman and they don't think much will be different. My old economy professor in college said that the American democratic system was designed not for radical changes but only for "changes at the margin." Perhaps

2006-10-23T14:09:00.000+03:00

The latest from the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) in Hebron, Israel/PalestineI haven't included an update from the Hebron Team in quite awhile. Honestly, I open their emails with some trepidation these days. I've noted a marked increase in the hostility and violence that they are seeing there. It is quite frightening and seems more and more on the verge of a major eruption every day. What is

2006-10-09T08:39:00.000+03:00

This is a bit old but I thought worth including after all my posts on Lebanon. A friend traveling in Syria last month writes:It was also good to be in Damascus to see what the mood was among the people. I've noticed both in Damascus and here in Amman that people are even more eager than before to speak to an American, a Westerner, and express with emotion their views on the current political

2006-10-08T18:07:00.000+03:00

A few pictures from more relaxing times ...I've had the opportunity recently to travel to Italy with some Iraqis for a training and also to see some of the beautiful sites in Jordan. Although I enjoyed these breaks in my work, I really have to thank my lucky stars that I am priviledged to be allowed them at all, when so many are living in such dire circumstances. I recently received an email

2006-10-07T18:36:00.000+03:00

Oil Spills ... and ResponseIn addition to seeing some of the bombing damage in Lebanon, I also went to look at the effects of the Israeli rocket attacks on the Jieh power plant located 30 km south of Beirut, Lebanon on the 13th and 15th of July. The fuel that didn't burn was spilled into the Mediterranean Sea and it was estimated that the resulting spill of fuel was between 10,000 to 15,000 tons.

2006-10-04T16:55:00.000+03:00

I don't mean to rain on your parade but ...Here we go again .... just another person intent on trying to wake me up from my utopian visions. :)Yes, another person telling me that there is something more important than "the environment." Come on, people ?... Do you think you could live on the moon and just visit "the environment" on the weekends?We put out our newsletter and broadcast it out to

2006-09-30T16:41:00.000+04:00

Bombing Damage in Southern BeirutSome photos of the bombing damage I was able to see in southern Beirut. These images were all taken by David Enders. What is hard to convey by images like these is the shear scale of the bombing damage. To walk through this neighborhood where entire buildings in some cases have collapsed, to sit in a Hezbollah media office with all the windows blown out, to watch

2006-09-30T16:21:00.000+04:00

Another event of the summer...In addition to a trip to Kurdistan, I was also able to go to Lebanon in late august right after the ceasefire was started. I had a couple of friends (a journalist named David Enders and his translator) there and I spend a few days with them driving to see the bombing damage and conduct interviews.David took the above image before I arrived of the coffins of the dead

2006-09-30T15:41:00.000+04:00

What's been going on for the past summerOk, this post (and the following ones) is an attempt to catch up on all the posting I should have been doing over the summer ... so it will be kind of a catch all of all my activities over the past few months. But first I want to start with a little side note. At the beginning of the year, the Iraqi Ministry of Environment published (with I believe World

2006-09-09T09:01:00.000+04:00

Ghani's Words Not MineOk, I've been remiss ... posting to my blog has been low on the priority list due to my work load. Soon I'll post up some things from my Lebanon Trip, I promise ... for now just a nice quote from Mohammed Ghani, one of Iraqis legendary artists. Many sculptures both in Iraq and in the region are his work.Iraqi art is brilliant" Ghani said. "Many people say that Iraq is

2006-08-12T12:37:00.000+04:00

Simmering AlongHere in Amman things are simmering along. Sometimes they boil over, like when my boss hired a Jordanian girl to work with me who speaks no English. Actually this is her first job and she really doesn't know how to do anything at all. Before she came I don't think she had ever even turned on a computer. And yesturday I had her cutting up some paper and she needed to cut a

2006-08-02T10:55:00.000+04:00

Everything here in Jordan is fine, but if you scratch the surface ...You will find that everyone is incensed over what is going on in Lebanon. My Iraqi friend was living in Beirut when the bombing started and it cost her $500 (5 or 6 times the usual rate) to drive back to Jordan ... fortunately the Jordanians let her in. She was living in the north of Beirut and said the bombing was incredible.

2006-07-28T20:28:00.000+04:00

The mess continues ...The bombs are still flying, Israel is calling up more troops, western peace activists are gearing up to go to Lebanon and the Bush, who could probably stop all this death and destruction with a single phone call, says there can be no return to the status quo (excuse me, but wasn't the status quo a hellava lot better than this?!? Personally, I vote for the status quo).In

2006-07-21T08:56:00.000+04:00

When even the peaceful are filled with rage ...My arabic class is truely multi-cultural. I am the only American in the group. We people from Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and South American (not sure which country Haskel is from). Our teacher, Samira, is a wonderful, sweet lady who is a great arabic teacher. She has even taught in the States. Last night during class we put the arabic

2006-07-12T21:12:00.000+04:00

The world my be going to hell in a hand-basket, but what the heck, Italy won!Recent celebrations in Jordan.

2006-07-07T18:31:00.000+04:00

A Request for Your Prayers ... from the Christian Peacemaker TeamDear all, Below is a letter from a young Palestinian friend in Baghdad who worked with CPT to another of my team mates. He is 21 years old and has received a death threat from the Badr brigade (a Shi'a group) and is very frightened. He is Palestinian (Sunni) and thinks the threat may have come because of his work with CPT in

2006-07-07T18:29:00.000+04:00

Sad Times ...for me personally and professionally.

2006-06-27T12:21:00.000+04:00

The Price of Low, Low PricesLooking for a good deal? Listening to this NPR story should be required before your next trip shopping trip.Jordan Accused of Harboring Sweatshop Factories

2006-06-26T10:52:00.000+04:00

A Post from a Good Friend here in AmmanDear friends,The Jordanian Police at the border gave the Iraqi mother a choice “You can cross over, but your children can’t.” Pregnant and with two small children under five years of age, she had traveled with a driver and her father the death defying road from Baghdad to Amman to be with her husband. He was already in Amman and wanted her to have a rest

2006-06-23T18:57:00.000+04:00

GrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrJordan drives my crazy sometimes ... I just had some good friends take the very long and risky journey to the Jordan border from Baghdad ... only to be rejected. The reason is not clear ... though there is a rumor that there is a new Jordanian law that no Iraqis are let in with new passports (or maybe it is that they wont let any Iraqis in who haven't been to

2006-06-23T18:47:00.000+04:00

Dear Mr. So & SoI'm sorry I haven't responded to you. I did have my assistant send you the information you requested. My director has also returned to Amman and I needed to drop everything else because of the workload he gave me. I must also be honest and state that I got the impression that you had more than just a professional interest in me. Not my work but me. I have a rule .... one that

2006-06-20T15:33:00.000+04:00

Only the "worthy" get Residency? Yeah, right!My boss just bought an expensive apartment here in Amman ... I think it's pricey enough that perhaps the Jordanians will grant him the much coveted residency (If you have the money and are willing to invest in Jordan, you have no problems getting residency and staying in the country).I laughed at him and said "The last person who needs residency,

2006-06-07T01:51:00.000+04:00

Planning a Park While Rome BurnsSometimes my work is a little surreal when I hear what's going on in Iraq. I work for an environmental NGO ... not a Chicken Little-type NGO, but one that is relatively forward thinking and solution-oriented. The work itself is exciting and well, strange to say, grandiose. Some of these projects have the potential (the potential, mind you) to have a major (and we

2006-05-21T13:03:00.000+04:00

AqabaLiving in a city like Amman gets depressing after awhile ... the noise, the traffic, the seemingless endless miles of concrete ... I'm not really a city girl at heart. Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Aqaba and I jumped at the chance to get the heck out of the city. I had my first opportunity to go snorkeling there ... actually I've done it before in the Pacific Northwest but I

2006-05-12T14:01:00.000+04:00

Rebuild IraqThere was just a trade show and conference on rebuilding Iraq (I think the 3rd one they have had) here in Amman, Jordan ... my boss thinks they are a waste of time, money and energy, but I was asked to go and talk to a specific exhibitor there. The trade show was kind of interesting ... there were exhibitors who make security equiment (flak jackets, helmets, police riot gear, armored

2006-05-12T13:11:00.000+04:00

How one kind of terrorism breeds another ...A friend of mine living in Jordan who has worked with the Christian Peacemaker Team in the West Bank of Israel/Palestine came over for dinner awhile ago. "Did you read the report about the Israeli settler attack on the Palestinian kids and their escort going to school?" I had to admit that I hadn't ... I get reports from CPT all the time, but I don't

2006-04-28T11:32:00.000+04:00

Nonviolent Peaceforce Sri Lanka (NPSL)If you listen to the news, you might have heard about a suicide bomb attack on a military official in Sri Lanka and that the Sri Lankan military has responded with airstrikes against areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ... the main Tamil military group. This conflict has been going on for (20+ years) and you probably don't hear

2006-04-25T10:34:00.000+04:00

Anatomy of a Project Gone SourFor the past few months I've been working with another Iraqi Environmental NGO (that's non-governmental organization) to bring them and a few staff from the Iraqi Ministry of Education to the U.S. in the summer for trainings in environmental education. I was able to set up a series of invitations for training at several excellant programs for a small group of Iraqis

2006-04-24T10:55:00.000+04:00

Meeting in DohukWell, as predicted, we survived the meeting and it was fairly productive. We were presenting our work over the last two years creating a plan for the restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshlands in southern Iraq. Though the whole thing started badly and for three days we got no sleep, our basic goal of presenting the finalized (almost) Plan to the Iraqi Ministries of Environment,

2006-04-21T08:24:00.000+04:00

Back in the Middle East and went straight to IraqKurdistan ... Erbil & Dohuk to be exact ... for a big meeting to present the final results of our work over the last two years and plan for the next year. Actually a big clusterfuck really. Everything that could go wrong with it, has gone wrong with it. We're pissed, the people coming to the meeting are pissed. Flights all messed up,

2006-04-02T16:54:00.000+04:00

Try, Try AgainI've been traveling in the U.S. seeing family and friends and trying to work as well (it's a major crunch time for my NGO ... big reports to write and edit to meet major deadlines for our grant projects). My life for the past few weeks (besides trying to spend a little quality time with friends and family) has been about searching for an internet signal so that I can keep the lines

2006-03-26T01:31:00.000+03:00

Proper ChannelsI'm still traveling away from the Middle East but I just got this update from the Christain Peacemaker Team in Iraq. It's an interesting read. I heard from an Iraqi friend that the border between Jordan and Iraq was closed due to a group of Palestinian refugees ... then I got a message from Beth after she had left the group and traveled back to Amman. Even in the midst of the

2006-03-19T22:21:00.000+03:00

Traveling ...

2006-03-06T08:50:00.000+03:00

The FluBird Flu was confirmed in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq a few weeks ago and I knew it would only be a matter of time before we'd here stories such as the one below from the Christian Peacemaker Team in Baghdad.22 February, 2006BIRD FLEW By Allan Slater, CPTYes, the fruits on this tree are delicious but we will not be eating them this year because of bird flu. This was the answer I got when I

2006-03-03T11:10:00.000+03:00

Environmental Action in HebronMy buddies in Hebron in the West Bank just sent out this update of their environmental clean up in the Tel Rumeida area of town where Jewish Settler families live above Palestinian neighbors. When I was there in 2004, I saw that in some areas in and around the old city of Hebron where the Settlers live literally on top of Palestinians homes and shops, they throw

2006-02-22T17:43:00.000+03:00

Salam Al Jabouri is released and ok ...But another Iraqi friend, Ali, has been detained by the Jordanian Police and deported for overstaying his visa in Jordan. As I write this now, the Jordanians have just dropped him off past the Jordan-side of the border and have told him to walk over to the Iraqi side. I met Ali before the war when he was working in the restaurant where I was staying. He

2006-02-17T12:28:00.000+03:00

Why is Salam Al-Jabouri still being held?An Iraqi friend and peace activist who as acting as a translator for a british journalist, Phil Sand, was kidnapped (along with Phil and their driver Abdullah) sometime (as I understand it) in December. They were freed in a U.S. raid that took place (as I understand it) in early January. Phil was immediately released but the Iraqis were not. The

2006-02-06T12:53:00.000+03:00

The Fight against Terrorism becomes an excuse for everything ...The following is a excerpt from a Christian Peacemaker Team update ... despite the fact that they still have four team members who remain kidnapped, CPT is still trying to continue its work in Iraq. This includes documenting what is happening to detainees in both U.S. and Iraqi detention camps and helping family members find