Foreign Culture

I find it amazing how different our society is from the society Tony Horowitz writes about. From carrying around “jambiyas” to chewing qat daily, it seems completely foreign to me. Qat is used so naturally and socially, “We must get to know each other, he said, we must chew qat” It is used to become acquainted with new people. This seems incredible in comparison to how unspoken drugs are in our culture. And the jambiyas are extremely natural as well. I understand that they are for protection and to remember their past but it still seems strange to always carry a sharp dagger at all times. It interests me just how different their culture could be. The differences portrayed in “The Road to 9/11” documentary also struck me as outstanding. I found it incredible how they almost became a westernized civilization and then went completely in reverse and almost undid all the changes they had made. I never knew so much about their history; it is really very interesting to me. - AB

Protection

"Israel Puts Webcams at Disputed Site" (and Palestine overreacts)

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2007Feb15/0,4675,IsraelHolySite,00.html

I picked the article because it contained information on Israel. I am sick of reading news on the Middle East that is only about Iraq, Iran, (the U.S.’s involvement); oil etc. so I thought one of Israel and Palestine would be interesting. My biased in favor of Israel opinion is that the Palestinians against the cameras discussed are overreacting. Even after Israel’s willingness to go along with every procedure and inspection by Turkish government officials, some Palestinians are not happy. They both want the disputed location, so a slight feud is predictable. However, the fact that the stubborn side-Palestine-is also the side harassing the other more does not seem just to me. Had Israel literally just stolen the land from Palestine, not agreed to any evidence handed out or inspections made, then Palestine would have a legitimate argument. Anyway, those were just a few quick thoughts. Someone who is willing and have the time, please respond, or else it will remain a boring subject! Sincerely,
C.A.S.

Living in the Real World

While reading the first few chapters of the novel Baghdad Without a Map by Tony Horwitz, the lifestyle perceived to me sounded like the stereotypical lifestyle of an inner city. Horwitz describes the importance of guns, weapons and drugs. He describes the feeling he got while waking up the roar of gun fire as a father is teaching his son to shoot a rifle. While reading, it seemed as if everyone owned a gun, not just for “looks” but to protect themselves. Life is not at all at constant peace, and living in a situation where there are not strict laws could result in crossfire on your way to school or work. As I read about the muggers and thieves that roamed the streets, I got the feeling that it was an “everyone for themselves” type lifestyle. If you weren’t armed, you got stolen from, or even killed. Guns and knives were of course worn by men for protection, but in some cases for a sense of pride. In a way, your weapon marked your “social status.” The prettier weapon, the wealthier you are; which means more power. Besides weapons, one thing that caught my eye was the use of the drug Qat. Like in the United States, many people rely on drugs to “escape their daily dilemmas” because they want control over something in their life. In both countries unfortunately, drugs often find their way towards to the poor. Horwitz explains how people spend up to 20 dollars a day on Qat. So far, it seems that Horwitz gets a real life experience while traveling to Baghdad, and begins to think more about what he has rather than what he doesn’t.
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Yemen Pride

The People of Yemen go about their daily lives in a very different way in relationship to the way that Horwitz leads his life. They carry weapons and dress in turbans, sandals and a robe with pants and a dagger below the waist. Horwitz needed a way to dive into this culture and used Qat as a tool to be accepted by the Yemenis. It allowed him to socialize with the locals and by doing so, he learned a great deal about life, the people, and culture of Yemen. The people of Yemen are individualistic from those of other Middle Eastern countries. Because most people revolve their life around a hallucinogenic drug, life seems to be much slower and easy going than life here in America. Horwitz even engaged in a conversation with Mansour which describes just that. "I think Americans like drugs that hit fast and hard and then wear off, such as whiskey and cocaine," he said "They could never get used to something that makes you sit around all afternoon doing nothing." What Mansour is saying makes complete sense because to the Yemenis, drugs are used for an entirely different reason than for the reasons they are used here. Kids use drugs to get high fast and others use drugs either because they are addicted or because they want to hurt themselves. In Yemen, they use a slow drug that passes the time, it is used socially, and even to become closer to Allah. The Yemenis that Horwitz met in the Yemen chapters seemed to be very proud of their Qat chewing pastime. Not only are they proud of Qat, but they seem to think that many important things have derived from Sanaa. In a Qat induced conversation, Mansour says that the stucco/adobe style that characterizes New Mexico and much of Mexico, was a variation of the Yemen Mud-Brick architecture. Mansour says that steam baths were invented in Yemen and had the idea stolen by the Ottomans. He even says that William Shakespeare was a Yemeni who was really named Sheik Zubayre. Regardless of whether Abdul and Mansour awere revealing one-hundred percent true facts to Horwitz, it is the interest and love they have for their simple lives that makes them individual. M.A.D

Wives or Pets?

"Islam allowed a man to have up to four wives, but marrying more than one was frowned on by the younger generation And though technically a husband could divorce a wife by saying "I divorce thee" three times, but this too was discouraged, unless the wife was barren."(p.57)The Islam men said its frowned apon to have more than one wife and to divorce here when they please but they still have four wives. It almost seems as if to them wives are like pets, you love them but you can get rid of them when you please and can have more than one. The younger generation frowns apon this but in ten years will it actually change? Probably not because it's a part of their culture. Wives can be even gambled off like they are of no need to the men of course because they probably have three more. Woman also have to cover themselves head to toe when out in public and they have a certain way they must conduct themselves out on the streets. Once again they are like pets, they are like on a leash by their husbands telling them how they must conduct themselves. "Women must be protected and cared for because they are controlled by emotions."(p.57) All humans whether man or woman have emotions but this is saying woman because their emotions controll them but have a man to protect and care for them. Woman in this culture are said to be unfit to live on their own. The women are the men's pets, they are owned. -ak

Guns, Daggers… and More Guns

Weapons are an everyday part of life in Yemen, and it seems that not even Tony Horwitz finds it strange. “I awoke the next morning to the sound of automatic gunfire,” (page 40) was the thought that starts Tony’s day after his first night in Saada. It turns out that the gunfire is coming from a father teaching his son how to shoot. It seems as if guns in the Middle East could be related to a game of catch in America. However, guns aren’t the only things that are commonly found in Saada. Daggers, or jambiyas, are also seen with almost everybody in Yemen. Abdul, a Yemeni, tells Tony “Yemenis carried daggers the way Western men carry wallets.” (page 34) Even Tony eventually buys a dagger of his own. Guns become such an ordinary possession, that nobody even looks twice when a small boy of ten is seen carrying an AK-47. -mg