How Nancy Wished Everything was an April Fool's Joke

According to a friend, Rabih Mroue is as good as it gets when it comes to Lebanese theatre. Although I know nothing about theatre, I enjoyed seeing a play by him when I was in Beirut. It dealt with how ordinary people became caught up in the sectarianism of the civil war - a topic normally avoided in public discourse, so the piece had been subject to censorship.

I don't know where exactly they're planning to take the "Nancy" play, but if it is coming to a location near you it's definitely worth checking out. The article also contains a remarkable incident of the culture minister's personal intervention in order to lift the customary censorship (the play had originally been banned in Lebanon). If it's that easy to change something, why not go for it and change a few of the other problems as well?

Spendenaufruf/Call for donations

English translation at end of post.

http://www.hier.geblieben.net/
Aktionsprogramm "Hier Geblieben!"
Für das ganze Bleiberecht!
Für die vollständige Umsetzung der UNO - Kinderrechte!

Liebe Kinder und Jugendlichen,
sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

hiermit sende ich einen recht ungewöhnlichen, aber nicht um so weniger
wichtigen Hilferuf aus dem Kreise der "Jugendlichen ohne Grenzen" weiter.
Paymana - die den Aufruf geschrieben hat - ist eine der sehr engagierten
Jugendlichen, die durch ihr Engagement immer wieder auf das Bleiberecht
aufmerksam gemacht haben.

In der Hoffnung das dieser Aufruf nicht ungelesen bleibt - sondern
Unterstützung erfährt, verbleibe ich mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Philipp Harpain

vom GRIPS Theater Berlin

"Jugendliche ohne Grenzen"
----------
" Hilfe für Lisa Saify "

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren und Liebe Freunde,

hiermit möchte ich mich mit einer dringenden Bitte an Sie wenden.

Meine Name ist Paimana Heydar. Ich bin 23 Jahre alt und komme ursprünglich
aus Afghanistan. Zur Zeit lebe ich in Deutschland und mache eine Ausbildung
zum Gesundheits-und Krankenpflegerin. Mit 5 Jahren musste ich mit meine
Familie aus Afghanistan fliehen.Nun lebe ich seit 11 Jahren in Deutschland.
Wenn ich mir die Kriegsgeschichte und Unterdrückung dieses Landes
anschaue,so bin ich froh, dass ich sie seither nur aus Büchern und
Erzählungen kenne.
Seit einigen Monaten habe ich durch Mühsamen Suchen den Kontakt zu der
Familie eine damaligen Nachbarin und beste Freundin gefunden. Die Familie
Saify hat es nicht geschafft wie wir damals aus Afghanistan zu
fliehen.Dementsprechend haben Sie wie tausende afghanische Familien auch
dafür einen großen Preis gezahlt.
Der Vater und die älteste Tochter der Familie ist von den Taliban entführt
und ermodert worden. Die alleinstehende Witwe und ihre 5 Kinder (Töchter)
haben nach dem Tod des Vaters und der Schwester in vielen Flüchtlingslagern
Pakistans unter extrem schwierigen Lebensbedingungen überleben müssen, da
die Mutter weitere Entführungen ihre Töchter in Afghanistan befürchtete.
Ich hoffe, ich muss nicht ausführlicher erklären, wie es in den
Flüchtlingslagern in Pakistan zu sich geht. Es hat uns sehr viel Zeit und
Geld gekostet sie da rauszuholen und eine winzige Zimmerwohnung und deren
Lebensunterhalt gelegentlich zu finanzieren.

Eine Tochter der Familie (nach dem Tod der ältesten, die zweitälteste) mit
dem Namen Lisa hat sich beim Arbeiten als Reinigungskraft eine Fraktur des
Mittelfusses zugezogen. Diese Fraktur wurde mit Nagelung versorgt, es kam zu
einer Pseudarthrose mit Entzündung des Fusses, so dass dringend eine
operative Versorung indiziert ist ( eine Tripelarthrodese des Mittelfusses),
die finanziellen Mittel dieser Familie aber bei weitem hierfür nicht
ausreichen. Zur Zeit lebt Lisa unter ständigem Schmerzen und braucht ständig
starke und teuere Schmerzmittel. Eine operative Versorgung ist die einzige
Möglichkeit ihr Fuss noch zu retten. Sie ist u.a. die Säule für das
Überleben ihre Familie.

Mit Hilfe einer Ärtztin habe ich die CT- Bilder einem deutschen Chirugen
vorgelegt, der sie befundet hat- den Bericht habe ich beigefügt (siehe
Anhang).
Des weiteren habe ich den Kostenvoranschlag der pakistanischen Klinik
beigefügt, die diesen Eingriff vornehmen wird. Mit den Kollegen der Klinik
habe ich persönlich telefoniert. Der Arzt hat mir mitgeteilt, dass er eine
Biopsie der Wunde entnommen hat und es sich um eine bakterielle oder
tuberkulöse Entzündung handelt,so dass das Mädchen aktuell operabel wäre.
Die Kosten belaufen sich ingesamt auf etwa 3500 Euro.

Ich fühle mich für diese Familie verantwortlich, weil ich selbst ein
Kriegskind bin und mir lieber nicht ausmalen möchte in welchen
gesundheitlichen Bedingungen ich leben müsste, wenn meine Familie mich nicht
in sicheren Deutschland gebracht hätte.
Ich kann aber dennoch sehr mitfühlen, wie es Lisa in ihre Lebenssituation
und gesundheitlichen Zustand gerade geht. Daher bitte ich Sie mir jegliche
Hilfe zukommen zu lassen, damit ich Lisa helfen kann wieder auf den Beinen
zu kommen und sie widerum ihre Familie versogen kann.

Wir kümmern uns um unsere Gliedmaßen als Teile unseres Körpers.
Warum nicht um die hilfbedürftigen Menschen als Teil der Menschheit?
Helfen Sie mir, helfen Sie Lisa !!!

In aller Hoffnung Paimana Heydar
p.heydar@hotmail.de

Gemeindekonto
Berliner Volksbank
BLZ : 10090000
KontoNr. : 1734585013
Betreff : Hilfe für Lisa Saify

Ansprachpartner für die Kontoführung
Pastor Dieter Begaße
Gorkistraße 127
13509 Berlin
Tele : 030 / 434 21 45

:: in English ::

The text above has been forwarded to me by a group of people campaigning against the deportation of asylum seekers and other "aliens" from Germany. I worked with them for a few months in 2005. In the forwarded message, Paimana, a 23-year-old woman whose family is from Afghanistan and who was been living in Germany since she was 5, calls for donations. She is trying to raise funds for a family friend, Lisa, who was not as fortunate as Paimana and had to stay in Afghanistan. Lisa's older sister and father were kidnapped and then killed in Afghanistan. She, her mother and 5 other sisters have since been living in harsh conditions in refugee camps in Pakistan. Lisa had a work accident and urgently needs surgery on her foot, which has become infected and might have to be amputated unless she is treated soon. The surgery costs USD 3,500 and the family have no money. If you can donate, contact me or leave your contacts in the comment section, I can find out the IBAN and SWIFT codes.

Photo w/ Lili

Auf dem Kreuzberg...

Munich this June w/ Silke

Some pics from our flat - Julia's b-day, March

Martial arts slide show

Almost there....

For what seems like weeks, the Lebanese army has been saying that they are about to clear out the "remaining Fatah al-Islam" fighters.

This is from today's As-Safir newspaper, translation courtesy of NOW Lebanon:

"The Nahr al-Bared camp witnessed yesterday the heaviest artillery shelling since the clashes started 67 days ago as the army artillery pieces targeted the remaining geographical location that is still under the control of Fatah al-Islam militants (an estimated 40 % of the old camp surface area). Thousands of artillery shells fell on the area from around 4 A.M. yesterday until the evening at a rate of 10 artillery shells per minute, which represents a record since the clashes erupted on May 20."

So 40% of the camp's surface area are what remains of Fatah al-Islam's position. And ten shells per minute averages at one ever six seconds, right? No wonder nothing will be left of the camp.

Meanwhile, many pictures surface of the life of Lebanese army soldiers during the crisis (of course we still don't know much about the life of refugees still inside the camp, or inside Beddawi camp; this information remains confined to blog reporting, such as from Golaniya). This is an example taken from Beirut Spring:

Finally...

...someone (a Lebanese person) is saying something sensible about the situation of Palestinians in the country...

The problem of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is not an Arab or an international problem, it is a Lebanese problem and it is up to us to solve it once and for all. Urgently.

Rubber bullet watch site

In a previous post on this blog I had written about the German police's wish to use rubber bullets against protesters, after having met a guy who was almost killed by one. Now check this out - the UN bans the use of rubber bullets in Kosovo after accidentally killing two protesters with such bullets. They were well past their sell-by date. This is so typically UN - people get killed by inertia.

PRISTINA, Serbia, July 3 (Reuters) - The United Nations is considering banning the use of rubber bullets in peacekeeping operations after the killing of two protesters in Kosovo, U.N. police in the province said on Tuesday.

... The bullets were manufactured in 1991 and had a shelf life of three years. A police report said they had "probably hardened" with age.

Quote of the Day, if not the next 3 Months, if not the Year

I have always admired people who manage to find quotes by wise/experienced/dead/witty people to express what they want to say. Today one such quote has mysteriously made its way to me, courtesy of the Daily Star newspaper, a Lebanese daily otherwise famous (to me, at least) for its unintentionally funny headlines. Check out these words of wisdom from Abbas Zaki, the official PLO representative in Lebanon:

'Zaki stressed that the situation in Nahr al-Bared should resolve itself as quickly as possible and urged the Fatah al-Islam fighters to lay down their arms and surrender. "The Lebanese judicial system is the fairest in the world," Zaki said.'

It requires no further comment, I believe.

Rami Zurayk article

A large scale humanitarian crisis is silently unfolding as the Lebanese army is systematically destroying the Palestinian camp with artillery shelling.

How convenient!

In a statement Thursday, Lahoud urged all sides to form a unity cabinet in order "to save the country and confront any attempt to settle Palestinians in Lebanon and drive Lebanon into anarchy."

Heiligendamm, peacefully, for a change

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Excellent and easy-to-read backgrounder on the situtation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon 1948-present.

Day 17 of the current madness, and counting

"We can't reach people and we can't gain access to where the wounded are," said Igor Ramazzotti, a delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "There's a lot of rubble in the street. That's made it almost impossible to drive into the camp."

More Rostock

Burning cars with Black Block flags....



But we still kind of thought it would end peacefully...



...until the water cannon trucks came forging into the crowds...

40 Years of Occupation

Dear readers. (If you are out there). Forty years ago today, on June 5, 1967, the so-called Six-Day-War between Israel and several Arab states (Syria, Egypt, Jordan) started. Six days later, the newly founded (in 1948) state of Israel had gained enormous amounts of territory from its opposing states, more than its own original state territory: the Sinai peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, the West Bank from Jordan, as well as the Gaza Strip.

While the Sinai was returned to Egypt when a peace accord between the two countries was signed in 1979, Israel today, as you know, still holds the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as the Golan. The latter was simply annexed in 1981 and declared Israeli territory (in violation of international law, just for the record). The West Bank and Gaza Strip were initially directly ruled by Israel. As in the Golan Heights, many Israeli settlements were established there. New waves of refugees from the West Bank and Gaza fled to neighbouring states (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan) to swell the already significant refugee populations created when Israel was first established in 1948.

After the first Intifada (a civil disobedience campaign directed against the occupation) had started in 1987 and could not be quelled by military means, at the beginning of the 1990s negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians were begun and led to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and 1996. The PLO led by Yasser Arafat, the main Palestinian interlocutor in negotiations with Israel, recognised Israel's right to exist; the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was created as a proto-state agency, and given some (limited) power to rule things in the West Bank and Gaza. The goal of this exercise, it was declared, was to set up two independent states, Israel and Palestine, living in peace side by side.

Did it work? Obviously not. Although an independent Palestinian state was the declared goal in lofty speeches and negotiations, things on the ground looked very different. The West Bank was now divided into A-, B-, and C-type areas, where the PNA had control over area A, area B meant "shared" control, and C meant Israeli security control. In practice, the set-up of the different areas, the Israeli settlements on large and strategically located swaths of West Bank land, the system of "Israelis-only" roads and tunnels meant that the West Bank remained divided into small enclaves, under Israel's control at any time, and deprived of other criteria of stateness (control of its airspace; control of important water resources being used by Israeli settlements). Jeff Halper has called this the 'matrix of control'.Politically, the achievement of Palestinian statehood remained conditional on the resolution of the most contentious issues (control of Jerusalem; the return of Palestinian refugees; ...) that were supposed to be tackled in "final status negotiations".

So the situation on the ground was contradictory of the Oslo Accords' stated goals, and the proposed final status talks were never begun. Efforts to do this were made at Sharm el Sheikh and at Taba in 2001; but they collapsed (the Palestinians blame the Israelis for this, because the "state" they were being offered could never have lived and breathed for a single day, it was unviable; the Israelis, on the other hand, blame Arafat for rejecting their famous "generous offer" - for a debunking of this myth, see this.). Shortly afterwards, Ariel Sharon triggered the so-called Second Intifada with his visit to the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem... and the rest of the story (or, rather, the bits that reach our mainstream media) we all know from watching and reading the news. It keeps going from bad to worse....

....but let's not be fooled. Although one of the most long-running and seemingly intractable conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is actually fairly easy to solve. Solutions for all difficult problems have been proposed (at Taba, Sharm el Sheikh...) and need only be put into practice. "Only" being of course somewhat of an understatement. But still. The solutions are known. As time is ticking by, the situation is getting ever more explosive, people continue dying, and the Arab-Israeli conflict remains one of the most important mobilising and rallying causes for international terrorism.... we need to solve it. Two states living side by side in peace, as even the most unknowledgeable person will concede, is needed right now!

Lebanon is burning

Taken from Remarkz

Riot control

For those of you who read German, this is an excerpt of an interview with the head of Germany's police union (hat tip Tobi). His message: after this weekend's riots in Rostock, it's obvious that German riot police need rubber-coated bullets. After all, he says, these are successfully used in other countries.

By the way, at the demo in Rostock I met an Israeli from Anarchists Against the Wall who had lost an eye after being shot with a rubber coated bullet.

sueddeutsche.de: Sie fordern nun den Einsatz von Gummigeschossen gegen militante Demonstranten. Wann genau soll damit denn geschossen werden dürfen?

Wendt: Die Bilder im Fernsehen haben ja ganz deutlich gezeigt, dass die Polizisten nicht in der Lage sind, aus einer Distanz von 30 bis 40 Metern auf Störer einzuwirken, wenn sie mit Steinen und Molotowcocktails beworfen werden. Wir haben den viel zu kurzen Schlagstock und wir haben die Pistole. Der Schlagstock ist wirkungslos, den brauchen wir nicht einzusetzen. Und die Pistole will ja wohl keiner einsetzen.

Um zu verhindern, dass unsere Kolleginnen und Kollegen möglicherweise einmal in Panik zur Waffe greifen, sagen wir: Die Polizei braucht wirkungsvolle Distanzwaffen. Das sind Gummiwucht- und Gummischrotgeschosse. Damit müssen unsere Hundertschaften jetzt ausgestattet werden, um in Situationen, bei denen Steine geworfen werden, auf die Störer einwirken zu können.

sueddeutsche.de: Ein Schlagstock ist wirkungslos? Das überrascht...

Wendt: Über eine Entfernung von 40 Metern ist er wirkungslos. Da kann man mit dem Ding werfen, mehr aber auch nicht.

sueddeutsche.de: Wieso geht die Polizei dann eben nicht näher ran?

Wendt: Wissen Sie, unsere Einsatzkräfte schleppen 15 Kilo mit sich rum. So schwer ist die Sicherheitsausrüstung. Stellen Sie sich mal vor, Sie würden mit eineinhalb Kisten Bier auf den Rücken geschnallt hinter Störern herlaufen. Da haben Sie keine Chance.

sueddeutsche.de: Weil die Störer schneller und wendiger sind?

Wendt: Genau. Wir operieren aus taktischen Gründen nur in geschlossenen Verbänden, nicht mit einzelnen Leuten. Und geschlossene Verbände bewegen sich langsamer als Einzelpersonen. Deshalb brauchen wir auch die Distanzwaffen, damit wir nicht länger dieses Katz-und-Maus-Spiel haben.

sueddeutsche.de: Können Gummigeschosse töten?

Wendt: Gummigeschosse können vor allem sehr weh tun und auch Verletzungen hervorrufen. Aber Waffen, die wirken sollen, müssen auch weh tun dürfen.

sueddeutsche.de: Noch einmal: Kann ein Gummigeschoss, das einen Demonstranten am Kopf trifft, diesen töten?

Wendt: Nein. Ein solcher Fall ist nicht bekannt. Diese Waffen werden in vielen anderen Ländern sehr erfolgreich erprobt. Im Übrigen ist ja auch niemand dazu verpflichtet, Pflastersteine und Molotowcocktails auf Polizisten zu werfen. Wenn er das unterlässt, kommt er nicht mal in die Reichweite der Gummigeschosse.

Interesting connections

From the Daily Star, June 1, Lebanon politics section:

Separately, international talks are being held behind closed doors over the possibility of deploying UNIFIL troops along the Lebanese-Syrian border, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Thursday.
"This issue will be a priority after the UN Security Council approved the creation of an international tribunal," the report said. "Due to the current security developments in Lebanon, firm measures need to be implemented to monitor the border in a more efficient way."
Meanwhile, the UN's Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team started its evaluation of bordermonitoring capacities along the Lebanese-Syrian border. The team's work should be completed in two weeks, the CNA report said. The team arrived on Monday to evaluate reports of arms smuggling across the Syrian border in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. It was dispatched following the council's presidential statement of April 17, in which the council asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to send an independent group to assess security measures along the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The team is led by Lasse Christensen of Denmark and is composed of experts from
Algeria, Germany, Jamaica and Switzerland.