Talkin' bout a Revolution

"Don't you know pump it up, you've got to pump it up"

I still can't get used to the fact I've to pump up water every day so that I can use the shower. Think it's fascinating.

Cairo is not like any city. It’s big. Very big. And dirty. Throughout the Middle East they seem to find it extremely hard to put garbage in a bin, everybody just throws it on the street. It took a while to get used to this, but there are few things that surprise me anymore after three weeks in the region. I’ve heard that there live 21 million people unofficially in Cairo and it shows. The traffic is a mess and there is almost no public transport. One out of the three cars you see is a taxi and this actually comes in quite handy, because it’s rare to wait for more than 2 minutes on a cab. Our way of transport is always the taxi, whether it’s going to the supermarket or Tahrir Square, walking is not really option; you’ll get lost before you know it and the distances are far too long.  This brings me to a funny anecdote. I went to the biggest mall in town alone to activate my internet usb-stick, because they had forgotten to do this the day before. On my way back I negotiated a fixed price for the taxi ride of 10 pounds, which comes down to around 1.20 euro. This may seem extremely cheap for a 20 min ride, but it’s average. After we drove for 2 minutes the guy started asking for 25 pounds, to which I answered it was 10 pounds or I would leave the car. 5 minutes later he turned on the radio and said it was 25 pounds now. So I replied in the same manner and asked him to turn off the radio. He didn’t give up. A few minutes later he closed the windows and put on the airco, again asking for 25. My reply was the same and the guy was starting to get frustrated. He tried once more, pulling a very sad face asking for 20, but it didn’t work. When we arrived at my home, he asked again for 20 and when I gave him 10 he drove away angry, probably cursing me.

From the above it may seem that I’m a tough bargainer. Well as you probably know, I’m quite the opposite; a soft boiled egg. I got hustled big time. After two weeks of travelling my clothes got really dirty and I decided to bring my clothes to the dry cleaner. The owner of our apartment, which we call the general, offered to let a local kid bring my clothes away and pick them up. The kid would be back after evening prayer, around 8pm. Well the kid showed up at midnight, while I was vast asleep and when my roommate told him to return the next day he just insisted to wake me up. Sleepdrunk as I was, I got out of my room and asked the kid how much I had to pay him. He demanded 100 pounds, or 11 euros. I knew this was far too much, but he pretended to be East-Indian deaf everytime I tried to lower the price. So I just gave him the 100 so that I could go back to sleep again. The kid was even so bold to ask for some more money because of the services he provided me, but I was smart enough to reject that. The next day, the general came to me and asked me how much I paid the kid. When he heard the amount, he actually became angry with me and told me I paid a ridiculous amount of money. He felt responsible and called the dry cleaner. The bill was only 50 pounds and thanks to Amir, my Egyptian friend, I even got this back. The general told me to sort out matters with him next time and I guess I’ll just do that. On the one hand this situation shows how easy it is to get hustled in Cairo. Believe me, they are professionals. On the other hand it shows how much the Egyptians care about the well-being of the tourists. They’re proud of their country and truly want tourists to have a great experience.

One thing that can’t go unnoticed in this story is the Revolution. It has left such a deep impression on the people and it actually still is the talk of the day. Through my internship, I got to see some art galleries about the Revolution and the pictures speak for themselves. It intrigues me so much, that I’ve decided to have interviews with locals from Cairo. Ideally I will start with this next week. Hopefully I will get a good idea of what has happened and possibly use it for my master’s thesis. Maybe I will even join a protest that is planned in two weeks. Sounds as quite the adventure and an opportunity to witness the atmosphere and environment in which these protests take place. 

“Don’t you know you’re talking about a revolution. It sounds like a whisper. Poor people are gonna rise up and get their share. Wasting time in the unemployment lines, sitting around waiting for a promotion. Don’t you know you’re talking about a revolution”.

Enough for now.

Fields of Gold

“I want to stand with you on a mountain, I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to live like this forever, until the sky falls down over me”.

Today I thought a small wonder occurred; after two weeks of diarrhea it seemed that the tenderloin steak from yesterday night really did its work. However, I celebrated to early. When I got out of the plane, my stomach turned to its old self again and we will have to see what my time in Cairo will bring in this respect.

I’ve been travelling for just over two weeks now and I’ve experienced an overload of impressions, which makes it hard to tell everything in one story. So I won’t.  The transition from Kurdistan to Jordan was not easy to make. Jordan is not as politically interesting as Iraq, the people are not so kind and daily life is orientated on tourism. We came from a setting in which we met very interesting people every day and lived to get to know a culture, to plain holiday. People who know me, understand that this was no problem to me. Birkenstocks on the feet, white 3/4 pants, camera attached to my belt, pink t-shirt, sunglasses and a blue bandana; I like being a tourist.  

Jordan has six million inhabitants from which most of them live in Amman. The country mainly exists of desert and there only a few big cities. However, its historical and touristic sites are incredibly  beautiful. We went to the holy Mount Nebo from which you can see Jerusalem on a bright day and to Kerak, a small town with a spectacular Crusader’s Castle. We had our own guide, but it was nice to have Jordy with us, who studies history and has a great memory for ‘anecdotal stories’, as he mentions himself. We spent a whole day in Petra and saw the sunset in the desert in Wadi Rum.  In Aqaba we snorkeled and experienced our own Hangover 3. We took some shots and set out for the Saudi-Arabian border at two o’clock in the morning. We never reached it. We drove back with a guy named ‘The Turk’, who just happened to be walking along the beach, one kilometer before the border. When we got back we paid our taxi driver with ten Jordanian dinar and five American dollar, because that was all we had. The next day we tried to get rid of our hangover in the Dead Sea and yesterday we spent the day in Amman. I find it hard to describe some of the beauty I’ve seen in the past week. I have posted some pictures on facebook to give an impression and will try to upload some more when I’ve a proper internet connection. The country might not have oil, but sometimes it truly feels you walk among the fields of gold.

However it’s not all ‘biscuit and egg’. After a week it’s been enough. Amman is not a very special city and throughout our travels there’s something that has been bothering me. It really upsets me how girls are treated. In Kurdistan this was better, although this could also have been the case because there were always boys around. We were walking in Aqaba in our beach outfit and the local guys were constantly looking and making insulting comments to the girls. We went back to our hotel, because we felt uncomfortable and didn’t find it appropriate to spend more time at the beach. It’s just incredible to see how girls are treated without any form of respect. Of course one might say that you shouldn’t project Western images about gender and girls on the Middle East, but this is just a simple matter of respect. I don’t believe religion is the cause per se, but it is clear that this is a very negative aspect of a man-based culture. I don’t judge, but I think mutual respect is always the minimum component that should be present in society. The people we have met certainly were very respectful, also to the girls, but in daily life on the streets this definitely was not always the case.

This morning I arrived in Cairo and I will write later on this, but I can say already that this is the most sloppy apartment I have ever stayed in. It is old, the kitchen is not suited for cooking, to use water a machine has to pump up water from the ground first and the table in my room functions more like a diagonal plank. I guess that’s just the beauty of it all and there is really no incentive to complain. 

Life is good.

The Kurdistan Paradox

“Lately I have been running on faith, what else can a poor boy do? Lately I have been talking in my sleep and imagine what I had to say”.

I have to say a lot. Internet access is rare, so I try to encompass as much as possible in this update.  The past few days in Kurdistan have been incredible. We have met Fouad Hoessein, chief of staff of the Kurdistan president Barzani. We also met Barzani’s son, who is head of the Security Forces of the Kurdish Regional Government, multiple NGOs, the ministry of Tourism, Christian parties, and a KDP newspaper. We went to Suleimanya, the other big city in Kurdistan and visited the independent news station NRT, representatives of the Islamist Union, Ahmad Mira the owner of the independent magazine Lvin, Head of PUK (dominant political party in Suleimanya) Politbureau and opposition party Gorran. We went to the American army base and had a picnic with a barbecue in the mountains. We have been in the newspapers, on the internet and our visit to the president’s son was even broadcasted on television. Just now when we went through the security check at the airport, we have been recognized as the delegation that visited Barzani. It’s hard to describe how unique this all is, but I can tell you that it has left a deep impression. In the first sentence I mention Eric Clapton, who has been ‘running on faith’. It’s something that’s almost impossible here. Stories from the coalition parties are completely opposed  to stories from the opposition and there are no statistics available to check it. One thus has to run on faith. I’ll try to describe this weird situation through what I describe as the ‘Kurdistan Paradox’.

In the Kurdistan region there is a clear distinction between the public and private. People say one thing in public, but say or do differently in private. This is true for almost every layer of society. The representatives of the political parties drafted a constitution that protects citizens’ rights, but there’s no law enforcement so over the past few months more than 200 journalists have been arrested, threatened or otherwise violated because they were openly criticizing the regime. They are working on fighting corruption, improving equality and gender issues, but they still control every layer of society and honour killings still occur. Girls can’t walk the streets alone and their dormitories are locked at 7pm while the boys ‘dormitory closes at the 12pm. Although the intentions behind this our good, it is still something that is hard to imagine being in the West. NGOs say they are independent, but they are being financed by the government and don’t always have their own agenda. Independent media say they cover the news independently, but one outlet uses self-censorship on issues like religion, culture and royal families, while the other only supports opposition and can’t hardly ever bring up multiple sources to cover their stories. Ahmad Mira notes he has been arrested because of the publication of a story and when I ask the Head of the Politbureau one day later why this was the case and Mira was not protected by the Law on Journalism, he answers that Mira was not arrested and that he was even given a gun to protect himself. On another level, a lot of houses are being built, but hardly any is finished. I can continue with this for a while, but it seems there’s always a duality attached to every issue in society. This does not mean however that all actors involved don’t want development or progress, it’s just that it’s very hard to believe someone.

After having spoken representatives of almost every political, non-governmental and external parties present in the region, the only thing that can be concluded is that there’s almost only ‘black’ and ‘white’. It’s extremely hard to form a proper opinion because there are no facts and researches present. The ‘truth’ most certainly lies somewhere in between in the ‘grey’ area, but it is impossible to define where this is. It’s an issue that intrigues me after having spent almost a week in the region and definitely makes it very hard to judge any party.

We also laughed a lot. Especially our program coordinator Sinan can be hilarious at times. A few days ago he certainly was the owner of the quote of the day. During our meeting with the Islamist Union we got into a discussion about the implementation of Sharia and its compatibility with liberal democracy. When the debate got overly heated and some assumptions were made, Sinan decided to clarify the situation: “It’s not that we are pro adultery, it’s just that we are against lashes!” You understand this solved the situation immediately.

The stomach is enduring some hardships as well. After ten days of Kebab, it seems to have had enough. Fifteen minutes after every meal I have to run to the toilet to release the Statema Falls. This is sometimes quite the experience when you’re sitting above a ‘hole’ or in the bushes. I decided not to take Norrit, because I want to become ‘immune’ for the rest of my journey. After seven days of diarrhea I gave in and started to take the pills, it’s too bad they are without effect. Haven’t figured out how to solve this situation yet, but for now I just keep on saying: “Never trust a fart!”

Just an hour before our departure to Amman, I realize I’ve been part of something really special. Yesterday when we were driving home after our picnic, we sang songs together with the Kurds and spoke some words of appreciation.  We have truly learned about their society and their characters and I believe they actually also learned something from us. Their efforts have been immense and I can only thank them from the bottom from my heart. We have made new friends and I hope we will be able to receive them in Holland to show them our country.

I would like to finish off with a quote that was written on our bag we received in Halabja; a city that has been the victim of the chemical weapons of Saddam:

“Piece is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away”.

I sincerely hope Iraq and Kurdistan can find its peace.

Long Day Journal 04-06-2011

For the ones who are interested. This journal is actually obligatory for the exchange and a tool do describe what we encountered. Every student needs to describe one day and I decided to do this on my birthday. This journal is purely content based and quite long. So, if you have time; read on If not; don't.

Day journal 04-06-2011

Jort Statema
Kurdistan Hawler

For me the day actually started at midnight. The 4th of June is my birthday and together with the guys we enjoyed a few whiskeys at the rooftop of our dormitory. When we woke up we started the day with a visit to the Bazaar. To mingle in Kurdish society, Jordy, Shafiq, Umut and I decided to buy a traditional Kurdish suit. Umut was joyful again, after having retrieved his suitcase from the airport in the morning. Buying a Kurdish outfit  is not something you do in a few minutes. It requires time, patience and some devotion as well. We were brought to different places to find the suit, a matching belt and typical Kurdish hat. When we finally had everything, we immediately became the talk of the town. Everybody was so delighted that we wore this dresses, that we received a lot of compliments, took a lot of pictures and at some times were the target of friendly laughter. The thing that furthermore caught my attention during the Bazaar trip was the friendliness of the people. They we so eager to help and assist and were in no way pushy. This made the walk really comfortable and allowed us to truly enjoy the experience.

After lunch we went home to change clothes, because we had a very special visit to the foreign department of Kurdistan. I call it a department, because foreign affairs is in principle the responsibility of the central government in Baghdad and therefore not a ministry. Out of diplomatic considerations Mr. Bakir enjoys a ministerial rank, but his office is a department and not a ministry.

Mr. Bakir first explained the importance of academic mobility and a dialogue between international students. When Mr Bakir was young it was his dream to become a university professor. This dream was destroyed by the Baath regime of Saddam Hussein and this is how he got interested in politics. He does not like it when Kurdistan is addressed as the northern section of Iraq, because the Baath regime used to call Kurdistan 'our beloved North' when they were using toxic gas to eliminate the Kurds. This operation, known as the Anfal operation, destroyed 4.500 Kurdish villages, killed 185.000 Kurds and druing this operation 12.000 Kurds ' dissapeared'. This history is what made the Kurds strong. They have always fought to survive and are the largest nation in the world without a state. Mr. Bakir realizes it is not easy to achieve a independent Kurdistan, because you can not easily change the boundaries of five states. However he sees a window of opportunity if the whole region democratizes and stops the use of violence. As he said himself: " it is crucial to use reason above unreason". He went on by describing that the process of turning from a revolutionary movement to formal governance is not easy. When the Kurdish Regional Government took over in 2003, people did not have food nor elektricity and hated the police. It is therefore a tough challenge, but they are on the right way.

After a question from Umut about how the department functions and what its priorities are, Mr. Bakir went on to describe the department as an organization with its objectives and targets. The department was established in 2007 with the aim to run the International Relations of the KRG. The priorities are to represent the Kurdistan nation and identity in foreign countries and coordinate policy with Internation Organizations. The KRG wants to have a democratic and pluralistic Iraq with respect to for the Kurdish language, equal rights to all and federalism as its constitutional form. Shia, Sunni and Kurds can go together under federal governance, as long as there is tolerance for religion, people's background and sectarianism. A culture of tolerance must be established. The foreign department now enjoys ties with twenty countries around the world, including Jordan and Egypt. When Umut asked again about the priorities in taking care of the KRG interests, Mr. Bakir gave some very specific answers. The foreign department wants a proper understanding of the Kurdish situation by other countries. They especially want to have good relations with their neighbours. They don't want others to interfere with their internal affairs, or in other words respect for sovereignty. They also want good relations with the International Community in general and Arab countries. Mr Bakir explained that the Kurds have dealt with the Arabs in a respectful manner and he believes the Arabs in Iraq understand this. They realize that the Kurds were fed up with the regime and not the Arabs.

Then Paul asked two questions. One about foreign policy and if the US forces should leave or not and one about Turkey, which Paul described as their most difficult neighbour. Mr. Bakir first answered with regards to the US policy. He stated that business is not completed and that they can't determine if they should stay or leave. He did say Iraq is not capable of defending itself, because their might be an increase of Iranian influence if US troops leave. Nobody dares to say that Americans need to stay because of the public opinion. Military commanders should report to Iraqee leaders that the American should stay and then Iraqee leaders can anounce it publicly. Mr. Bakir further stated there is not necessarily a need for a lot of American troops, but commitment from the Americans is crucial. To summarize this in my own words: there is a discrapancy between the private and public and there must be found a way to address that problem. People privately say they want the Americans to stay, but will not admit this in public. If the Americans leave, the likelihood of a civil war drastically increases. There could be tension between Shia and Sunni groups and between Arabs and Kurds. Iraqee leaders need to stand up.

Then the ' Turkey-issue' . Mr. Baker indicated that the Kurds have shown to Turkey they are stable and a good neighbour. No harm is done and they pose no threat. It is their believe to act peacefully and use democratic tools. Turkey tried to deal with Baghdad and Mosul, but were not able to get issues solved. They also need to have a good relationship with the Kurds and recognize them as a legitimate power. In 2003 Turkey still had a very negative stance against the KRG, but in 2008 they realized the KRG is a legitimate entity. Turkey invited Barzani and recognized him as the president of Kurdistan. Mr. Bakir stressed the fact that the Turks are important to the Kurdistan region, because the most active companies in the area are Turkish. He spoke of a win-win situation. The policy of denial is over and he believes they can become mutually beneficial.

When some questions were raised about the Arab Spring and the uprisings in Kurdistan, Mr. Bakir explained that the KRG has justed started the journey to democracy. They still have faults and flaws and no true experience in governance. Opposition is new and they are trying their best. He acknowledged that their should be a better distribution of public funds.

Afterwards Camaran raised a question about Foreign Direct Investment in Kurdistan. The question was if Kurdistan can bring in other industries to produce Kurdish material and start to export and therefore industrialize? The answer of Mr. Bakir was that Iraq is still seen as a warzone, which has a very negative impact. It is the result of capitalist cowardice; if their is risk, they will not come. But the KRG focuses on agriculture, tourism and oil and indsutry to try to develop the nation. The point is not Kurdistan, it are others that need to have courage, but he believes in the energy of the private sector.

Then there were some critical remarks made about the difficult relationship between Iran and Kurdistan and that this is something that need to be paid attention to in the future. The discussion came to an end and we made some pictures to remember the fantastic setting. Our meeting was also mentioned on the website of the KRG website which was really nice to see.

After our meeting with Mr. Bakir we went to the Citadel. It is a six to seven thousand year city which lies about thirty metres above the city of Erbil. Its long diameter is about 430 meters and its short diameter is about 340 meters. Its overall area is slightly more than 10 hectares. We got a short introduction and then received a guided tour through the ruines. The city is being renovated by UNESCO and it is the aim to occupy the city with people again in the future. The state of the city nowadays is really worn with age and it requires a lot of attention and money. Its potentional is huge: it could serve as the pride of the Kurds and also become a big tourist attraction. lets hope money will be spent and renovations will proceed faster.

When the tour was finished, we set out to have dinner. It was amazing to have a birthday together with everybody and share this day with such lovely people. It is really a privilege to be in such diverse company and share thoughts. It was a birthday I won't every forget.

Jort
 

Birthday Blog

I like the alliteration. Yesterday it was my birthday. It’s hard to describe it in words. It started with a whiskey on the rooftop of our dormitory and ended with smoking a waterpipe after a fantastic dinner. Meanwhile there happened a lot in between. Before I start: thanks for the calls and messages, it really means a lot to me. “I can’t lose as long as you follow”.

We started off with a visit to the Bazaar. I got a traditional Kurdish suit as birthday present and most of the other guys also bought one. We immediately became the talk of the town. In Holland there’s a certain image of Iraq in general, but the Kurds are extremely nice, friendly and helpful. They appreciated it so much that we bought a traditional suit that many of them wanted to make a picture with us. They are so proud of their nation, that it meant a lot to them that we were wearing these outfits. I hope I am able to upload some pictures the coming days; they speak for themselves. 

It also got me in a strange situation. I wanted to go on the picture with some military guards and when I asked them, they were very happy to dress me up ‘properly’. They redid my belt, fixed my hat up and at the end put a gun between my belt and trousers. Nice picture.

We also visited the minister of foreign affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government. It turned out all the other guys took off their traditional outfits, so I was the only to be dressed like that. Even in this very official setting, it was very much appreciated. Minister Bakir is a charismatic man and really spoke off the record to us. Therefore I can’t really elaborate on what he said, but it was nice to hear hes believe the time of violence is gone and the time of dialogue has started. 

The Kurdish region has a troubled history and this is also reflected in society. I would like to express this in a dichotomy of revenge versus forgiveness.  Most of the Kurdish people feel deep resentment towards the Arabs, because their constant denial of their identity and nationality. However, it’s how you cope with this. Move on or stay in the past. Revenge or forgiveness. Violence or dialogue. It’s a choice. In the group of students we have met, these thoughts are also divided. Some realize it’s hard to move on without forgiveness, some feel old debts must be settled. It’s not easy. “Tomorrow’s rain will wash these tears away, but something in our mind will always stay. Nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could… On and on the rain will say how fragile we are”.

Something which is quite remarkable to note is that although many of the students have different backgrounds and have different political views and perspectives, they are all good friends and accept each other's opinion. For me it's the essence of democracy.

It is not important to know the truth, it’s important to realize there are multiple truths. A good conception of the other’s truth gives you an advantage over the one who only believes in his own truth.

More later.