A few years ago, I wanted to intern at a local magazine, and thinking that JO was one of the strongest I sent them to inquire about the issue. I was told that I needed to have a journalism background or experience, which was somehow the point of me asking for that internship. I did not push or follow up, but you can see from the following few pictures from different JO issues from this year and last year that their editor in chief has almost always been a foreigner with many foreign contributors and interns. Interns who for the most part are foreigners residing in Jordan for a while as they study Arabic or volunteer with the peace corps or any other organization, many with no background or experience in journalism, their only advantage is being fluent in English. It’s becoming a pattern, half of the names are foreign. It has not only become an industry easy for them to infiltrate and find a job at,  they also get a priority over any local.

I afterwards went to intern at Al-Faridah, with Viva magazine, Trendesign magazine and Layalina magazine which came with the package. An American intern was allowed to write pieces while I went to pick up items to be photographed; searched for images of dresses and the likes and on occasion  wrote some of the horoscopes and a ‘kitchen talk’. The editor in chief at Viva and Trendesign was an American, the other English writer was a Jordanian who needed help writing in Arabic and transferring data from a recorded interview she made in Arabic into written text and translating it into English.

The following pictures are from different GO magazine issues this year and last year as well. Go magazine defines itself as the “go to monthly guide for what’s going on in Jordan”. It shows almost the same model of foreign names taking over. I am not saying that they don’t do a good job, but why is it that foreigners lead such magazines, isn’t it possible that locals might just know a bit more about Jordan than expats? How hard is it to find a Jordanian with good English and local roots that can really let you know about Jordan?

What really got on my nerves this week was seeing this in Akhtaboot, Al-Faridah’s English editor post is for those who graduated from US or British universities only! So basically someone who has spent the past 4 years of their life outside of the country studying is the best candidate for a Jordanian magazine!  Bottom line is, if you’re an expat or a graduate from a foreign university, even if you studied sports or law or anything at all, you’re always a better candidate than any Jordanian can be! I simply cannot make any sense of it! What to do?

منطقة الشميساني، الساعة التاسعة صباحا، طفلة في أعلى درج منزلها، وحارس مصري من الحي في اسفل الدرج. يلعبان الكرة..فسحة امل غير زيادية

انقطاع في الكهرباء يترك شاعرا اعمى يتكلم في ميكروفون صامت لبضع ثوان، سلسلة احداث لا ترحم حتى في ابسط المتع والأمور. الأضواء كانت لا تزال مشتعلة

خاتم بقي في يدي ثلاث ايام.. لم أشعر به او يدايقني سوى عند خلعه في اليوم الرابع

 انا أعيش في بلد - رغم وبسبب- كل سيئاته، يمكن لعائلة جمع ذمم مالية مدتها سنتين كاملتين في شركة الكهرباء ومواصلة الحصول على الخدمة..وعمل انثى لا تحمل شهادة توجيهي في روضة غير مرخصة لدعم عائلتها بما يقل عن الحد الأدنى للأجور… قوانين لا تطبق أو تفعل تؤدي للتدهور.. واخرى لا تطبق أو تفعل تترك مساحة للتنفس وفتحة في الحائط للهروب والبقاء في اللعبة

جلست أستمع لطلال ابو غزالة حيث وصف جامعته الجديد ب ‘ديمقراطية التعليم’ وعرف الدمقراطية بأنها الماساواة ومن ثم فسر بأن افتتاحه لجامعة رقمية بشهادات عالمية مثل كامبردج في الاردن هو الماساواة بحد ذاتها حيث من حق الجميع بلا استثناء الحصول على شهادات وتعليم جامعي عالمي وقوي. لم اعلم إن كان الأخ بحاجة لفهم انه لم يكن من الضروري إعطاء فلسفة غير منطقية لجامعة لا تحتاج لفلسفة سوى التعليم، ام انه بحاجة لفهم ان مساواة الأغنياء الاردنيين بالأغنياء الإنجليز ليست مساواة

The 4th WANA Forum took place on the 29th and 30th of May-2012. The theme: Identity. My skeptical persona shines brighter than ever at times like these and I like to see what things are all about. The event had several panels on Identity and several sessions from “Region in transition and the concept of identity” to “Identity and religion” , “Identity and social cohesion”, “Multi-layered identity”, “Identity and the environment” and a few others. The speakers were from all over the world as were the 150 attendees whom stayed at the Kempinski for the duration of the forum.

The familiar faces were very few, Prince Hassan Bin Talal (Chairman of the Forum), the all too precious Munir Fasheh, Aroub Soubh, Dima Khatib and Raghda Butros. Other than that, to me and I suppose most of us here in Jordan, the rest of the faces and names were very foreign and new. People from Taiwan, Tajikistan, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Malaysia, Bangladesh and a few other countries where speakers. They do not represent the West Asia and the North Africa region the Forum is entirely about, nor do they relate in any way to ‘our’ identity. I’m not sure to what identity the forum was entirely about because it was not in Arabic either. Many Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese and in general Arab speakers spoke in English although there was live translation for foreigners and as far as I recall only 3 speakers insisted on speaking in Arabic connecting their language to their identity. I’m not personally one that is too hung up on the language   issue (Hello, i’m writing in English) but I found it a bit interesting that a forum on identity took place when the only things that were  identity related were the couple of Indian sari’s, the Omani dishdasha and a Palestinian embroidered dress the attendees/speakers wore. The event was closed to mostly international invited high profile/active individuals from the public, private and civil society sectors around the entire world.

The talks were very varied, many were mostly introduction pieces about the area/background the speaker was from and were mainly not too deep or related to the idea of identity but to the identity of the speakers themselves. I personally expected things to be more on an intellectual level than on an introductory level between different backgrounds.

One of the talks I found most interesting was that of ArabNet founder Omar Christidis on “Identity and social communication”, who went through several quotes that introduced perspectives on identity related issues. He mentioned transitions in identity, how some movements/events challenge our identity and turn us from mere observers or an audience to an agent of change in which identity is redefined into something that we sense we belong to considering we took part in its creation. He talked about altered expectations and about events that get mixed up with their own causes and get linked over time and space to create shared narratives and stories, and eventually identities. He mentioned the ‘arab spring’ but his talk unlike many others did not speak about him or his experience but more about his thoughts which was certainly admirable.

Another was Munir Fasheh’s talk entitled “Identity: A modern invention.” Fasheh connected Identity to our knowledge about ourselves and our lives and to the wisdom gained through our daily life and interactions and not from talks and discussions and dialogue on identity itself. In the war of حوار vs. جوار Fasheh repeats in many of his talks, ‘jiwar’ or neighboring wins every single time over good old dialogue -the concept of the forum itself.

Lebanese Ziad El-Sayegh was one of the most well ordered and straight to the point speakers. He also separated his talk from his own background and story. He talked about “The minority illusion”, how being a minority is more about mentality and perception than about truth and facts. “The distention of the majority”, when the majority ensures its right at full governance and the exclusion of any partnership or pluralism. “The sagging of the Liberals”  and “The fragility of social, economic and political justice.” His talk concentrated on the civil state,  values and citizenship as an identity.

Kurdish Bakhtiar Amin from Iran talked about “The Kurdish Identity: From Denial to Digitalization.” His talk indirectly made it clear that our identity as Arabs is a collage that is very hard to break apart even if we take it down to the mere geographical factor disregarding everything else.

Many other speakers talked about their mixed identities, others considered themselves to sort of be citizens of the world, another group shed some light on certain -mostly negative- experiences that were caused by their identities and it seemed to me like all talks portrayed how complex it is to find a definition or a measure for Identity.

On a personal level, I found it interesting to interact with and listen to people from across the world, but I failed to see the point, I failed to understand who is targeted with such an event, did the audience really learn anything new? What are the outcomes? How have these random and no so well structured talks helped us find ourselves or move forward at such a critical time. The forum carries itself as an event that facilitates debate and the exchange of ideas whilst the attendees were all from sectors that are well aware of most of the not too deep issues that were brought up throughout the 2 days. The youth were for the most part excluded from the event, the chairman barely stuck around to listen to the speakers and the general atmosphere during the talks was somewhat boring and monotonous.

I’ve come out with a few things to play around with in my head about identity, but the question that remains is how long will we continue on this road of dialogue about things that can not be discussed deeply at this level nor will really give us any push towards actively rising with our communities? If events that directly come from the royal palaces with endless resources and capabilities for real change are sticking to dialogue then what are we commoners to do?

What got my attention lately is their “30 days of GOOD” challenges they do every month. Last month was on “Financial Fitness”, the one before it was on “Microphilanthropy”. February is on “GOOD Citizenship”. The idea is that if you register for any monthly challenge you get daily tasks in your inbox with regards to that specific subject.

The tasks so far (It’s still the middle of the month) vary from things you can do with a little research or in the comfort of your own home like “Learn the history of your neighborhood” or “Read two opposing opinion pieces on the same topic” or even “Make a list of issues you’re passionate about.” From simple things as “Get a library card” to “Register to vote” or “Register to volunteer”. They even included the all too famous “Help someone today.”

I am not sure if the “ten commandments” are the best criteria for being ‘good’ or a good citizen nowadays l but I have no clue what else applies. I don’t think I’ve ever sat down to think about who the good citizen is. Most things that pop into my head and that might circulate and be heard around are things that a good citizen ‘would not’ do, passive sentences. Do not throw trash out on the street. Do not put on loud music in the middle of the night. Do not park in 2 parking spots. Do not hit a fellow human being in the head if you disagree on something. Do not.. do not.

The list GOOD is working on is made up of DO’s that are truly simple things one should work on to become a better citizen.

If I’m to make a mini list it would include the above mentioned things from GOOD with an addition of: Do correct peoples’ mistakes if they will have bad consequences (Even if it’s not your job). Do remind people to constantly be GOOD. Do stand up to evil/wrong doing. Do consider all things/spaces to be your own. Do look at things the way they’re supposed to be and not the way they are. Do interact. Do get our of your bubble. Do constantly redefine and reassess your thoughts and your actions. What are your thoughts on this? Also, can one be a good citizen but not necessarily ‘good’? A few questions to sleep on.

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Lately I’ve only been able to think when I’m writing. So even with silly things, some power seems to put down this massive brick over my brain stopping it from all activity. The ears would barely be processing any input as well. I have to pick up a pen and write. Then, and only then am I able to comprehend and then If wanted/needed analyze.

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I wish I could analyze more thoughts.
I wish I can explain to you/in words about the different kinds of pain.
I wish I can show you how my fingers almost bleed as I go at my typewriter with all the strength I can pull together.
I wish I can.

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I am making a list, of things to think/write about -since the 2 actions are to be connected from now on-. So maybe for future titles I can have: On craved attention. Or: On true excellence. On stringed conversations. On exhausted imaginations. On imperfect masks. On semi-controlled daydreams. On failed experiments.

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I was thinking. All the big writers are old ones. No -present- thing or person is yet to touch their writings or come even close. I can imagine all old writers typing their literature straight onto a typewriter. And I can see them fussing over minor mistakes, ink and straight lines. At the other end of the spectrum lies the time the typewriter gives you to think as you type. You can think things through. It’s a slow -and may i add again, finger hurting- process. It also provides space for lost connections between thoughts which can be used effectively to enhance the readers’ imagination. So writers nowadays seem to not be writing at all. And maybe even way back then, maybe these great names weren’t writing either. Maybe it was just fingers, time and an old typewriter. Maybe that was just it.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,500 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The first edition is out and you can download it by clicking on the image below.

Also check out these interesting posts on the work and the launch which was in Amman here and here. I personally can’t wait for more.

لاتبك ِ فأحزان الصغَر تمضي كالحلم مع الفجر

وقريبا ًتكبرُ ياولدي وتريدُ الدمع َفلا يجري

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إنْ سهرتْ أمطارٌ معنا أو غطى البردُ شوارعنا

فالدفءُ يعمّرُ أضلعنا ولهيب الشمس بنا يسري

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وإذا بحّـتْ لك َ أغنية ٌ أو أنـّتْ قدم حافية ٌ

فشموس رفاقك َ آتية ٌ وستشرقُ من غضب الفقر

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قد أرمى خلف الجدران وتحنّ ُ لحبي وحناني

فانظرْ في قلبك َ ستراني لنْ يقوى القيد ُعلى الفكر

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سأضمك َوالصدرُ جريحُ وسأعشقُ والقلبُ ذبيح

مهما عصفتْ بيّ الريحُ لن أحني َفي يوم ٍ ظهري

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وإذا ما الدهرُبنا دار ومضيتُ إلى حيث أوارى

أكملْ من بعدي المشوارَ لاتــُخْـلفْ ميعاد الفجر ِ

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ِلن يسقي َ دمعٌ أشجاركْ لن تبني َ بالآه ِ جدارك

ِفاصرخْ بالخوف إذا زارك ْ لاتخشى النارُ منَ الجمر

ياولدي

ياولدي