Libyan Female Writers

Beirut has been chosen as the World Book Capital this year, and the bookworm that I wanted so much to be there and immerse myself in all these books on display but I had other commitments.

There has indeed been a flurry of Arab novels in the last few years not only in the Arab world but also on the international scene. Recalling the hit books by Arab authors that reached international fame, I found myself nodding in agreement with the statement that “”The West likes Arab novels that deal with political oppression, women, or sexual taboos. “”…

Algerian writer Ahlam Mosthaghanemi is not far from this thought
when she notes that:

“Arabic writers are accepted in the West only if they criticise their homeland or their culture and religion. The West only promotes Arab writers who criticise their own people and culture. Mosthaghanemi, who has more than 2 million readers in the Arab world, said her works are not well received by the Western world because of her great respect for the Arab culture and her religion.”

Something tells me that’s how our very own Hisham became famous but that is not today’s topic so put those filed tongues back where they belong he he he….

What I had been thinking about all along was… are taboos really stiffling Arab women writers as this article implies ? which is again what Mosthaghanemi whom I respect immensely states :

” [..]as women writers are forbidden from using personal emotions as a tool of creative writings, most of the works of Arab women lack the warmth of real life. “We have to take great risks to portray the basic emotions of human beings like love, lust and romance””.

It vividly brought to mind a chat I had with a great Arab blogger friend of mine (let’s call her A) about why with all her talent, head firmly on her shoulders and great humour does she not write a book. A told me that she shelved her dreams of writing novels because everything she wants to write about could be unacceptable.

This led me to have a short look at Libyan blogs after all even blogging is writing n’est ce pas?

And so I discovered that poet Lolitta’s blog was no longer available… a week after she made this post :

Lolitta is Libyan and she writes beautiful daring poetry in English. Is it social pressure or is it because she has gotten married and simply moved on?

In a ranting from back in January, it was with surprise that I noted Shahrazad complaining that :

” Many Libyan female bloggers have either left the blogspehere all together or have made their blogs open to invites only [because]hey have been put into the so called pressured social paralysis situation where either the parents or some other family member has read the so called blog and disapproved of it existing . On the other hand these fanatic members of family read other blogs and enjoy them as well[.]Many fathers have given consent to their daughters writing a blog and quite a few are so proud of them and encourage them continuously until they get entangled in the dos and don’t of a young lady still unmarried whose future hubby might not approve of her blog!”

I’m all for sharing everything with family but it’s difficult enough to be a blogger so why bother to tell anyone? (personally I regret telling some people – who are not family about it but I was happily surprised that one of my brothers who stumbled on it by chance loved it and was so proud of me he actually wanted me to stop being anonymous). Use the blogosphere as a sandpit to hon in your writing skills ladies – and don’t tell anyone yet

I don’t think that the Libyan males are against their sisters, mothers, wives etc. writing but more as social pressure and the 3ayb part – as in what cannot be seen then does not exist… or that the precious females maybe recognised and their ideas misintepreted and God forbid their reputation ruined because Libyan dudes would be trolling their website/blog . This was indeed confirmed in the comments from various Libyan female bloggers on that post here.

I think that’s why controversial Libyan Violet’s blog is hardly known and people who do comment do so almost shyly because most of her writing is about love or sometimes blatant erotica and all one anonymous commenter could tell her was ” u’re longing for an orgasm “.

Then I checked Luna and she echos Shahrazad ” we Libyan bloggers especially the women face tremendous pressures from family ,work and all who are close. Is Blogging such an awful thing ??I never in my mind thought it to be till I got into trouble with needless to say the closest people to me.” Again some of the comments confirm the suspected weird behaviour that prompted some bloggers to go underground or in this case in ‘restrict’ mode.

This is a pity as we readers loose so much by not being able to tap into their ideas, experiences, emotions plus someone could actually be the next Nobel or Pulitzer prize winner.

We have tons of talented ladies!

So I guess if you keep to cooking recipes, mothering and crochet tips ( which I think is absolutely fine as topics as well) you are OK. If you venture into more mature ground whether you are blogging or being in the printed media – about your life, fantasies or hopes then you have two choices : (1) if you bash your own strongly enough then you will be celebrated in the West a la Hirsi Ali or (2) move to Beirut otherwise the climb is very steep!

Facebook in Libya

Many of the earlier Libyan bloggers are hardly writing anymore, rumour has it they have moved to Facebook. I am not sure how you can blog on FB but I understand they just want to talk among each other as their real selves.

Over the years I’ve had dozens of requests to join FB. It seemed like all my friends were suddenly incapable of writing emails. Email became the new snail mail.. and I was left with a dwindling inbox. I still fought back the urge to join the community, until a great friend asked me to do so and I accepted to try it for fun. After creating the account and adding him I browsed and found that as I initially thought the Libyans were populating FB fast. So many bloggers were there, so many people. Young men and women and not so young either. I found one of my brothers had an account too and I toyed with adding him as friend but decided against it as his account was gathering dust….

Also, I did not like any of the add-ons, pokes and applications so avoided them like the plague. So there you have it the number of friends in my account are counted on the fingers of one hand and I have forgotten the password!

What brought FB back to my mind to warrant this post ? it’s just that I’ve seen a few Libyan bloggers/readers mention it…

Dream Libya thinks the facebook era is quite evil ” Facebook is a way to spy on your friends, what they do, who their Friends are, the more you put on your facebook account the less privacy you will have.” and from him I found out that there is a large community of Libyans online there.

While Libyan Violet has discovered that it has now replaced the traditional informal way of investigating about the bride or the groom before the engagement “Don’t tell your parents about her yet man, why dont you probe about her on facebook, check her profile, pictures, list of friends and who sent her flowers. Then investigate in Hi5 and it won’t be wrong to Google her name see what comes up … I mean I don’t have anything specific on her, but you never know!”.

Personally I think that this tool is OK to have; as a master data of friends and acquaintances all in one place where you can check on them from time to time. Also for finding long lost classmates and friends and satisfy your curiosity about what happened to your high school crush . For the security conscious I think there is nothing to fear, FB will dish out whatever you feed it and you can put as much info as you wish and you can ask your friends not to upload photos of you as well and usually if they are your friends then they have no business doing so and if they are not your friends then they would put your photos online regardless of being on FB or not! If you are paranoid then you should not be online in the first place!

But the main point is that I’m glad the bloggers are still around but simply in another place and I’m glad Libyans are networking too! I may join them at another time …

The Mysterious Libyan Coins

In my last post related to the economy in Libya, Khadijateri said “Are Libyans too lazy to carry coins? Are they [the coins] too heavy to lug around? Or is the problem that they are so difficult to count?”.

I don’t think any of these choices is the right answer

But it is not the first time that this issue has been brought to my attention….

Last year Khadijateri had already noted : “Another thing I can’t understand is why people here [in Libya] hate using coins. When they raise the prices on goods in the shops they usually add a quarter of a dinar because that is the smallest banknote used here. When I first came to Libya, in 1989, using coins was common. It certainly would be better if they went back to using them again and then only raising the prices a few cents at a time instead of in big chunks.”

I can’t really state that Libyans hate using coins or are too lazy to do so, because we do use them overseas and we know how to and we also use them when available. The fact that at least in 1989 i.e . 20 years ago and some years after for sure, they were available is proof enough that we do love our coins. Are we too lazy or are the coins too heavy? Surely that can’t be the case for all Libyans?

Our salaries are not always a perfect round number but would be something like this : 300 Dinars and 0.631 Dirhams, if I get this in cash then I would either receive 0.500 Dirham or 0.750 Dirham depending on the mood of our cashier. But most of us receive our money in our bank accounts and so those precious Dirhams accumulate and I like it this way. We also would love the prices not to rise in such increments as mentioned above because the smallest paper denomination is 0.250 (or 25 ) Dirhams. Why buy 5 breads instead of one only ?

“Until 1975, old coins denominated in milliemes (equal to the dirham) circulated. In 1975, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dirham which bore the coat of arms of the Federation of Arab Republics. These were followed in 1979 by a second series of coins, in the same denominations, which bore a design of a horseman in place of the arms. ¼ and ½ dinar coins were issued in 2004. [1] 1, 5, 10, and 20 dirham coins are rarely used, if ever, as units of exchange. However, they still retain their status as legal tenders. [source]

See the old and new sets of coins here – but you need to scroll down to Libya:

The next logical question is why has the circulation of coins dwindled in Libya?

Theories:

(1) In the late 80’s I remember reading in the local newspapers about the caravans of cisterns filled with coins that were busted on their way to cross the border to Egypt. Someone had been smuggling our coins outside the country. You can imagine how many coins can one cistern carry? But what would Libyan coins buy you in Egypt I used to think ? nothing really their value lay in the quality of the alloy they were made from.

(2) Greedy Libyan merchants were hoarding coins in order for the price increase to be large. Instead of 5 or 10 Dirham they would ‘have’ to raise it to 25 at least.

(3) The country was not minting enough coins.

Whatever it was the circulation of coins continued to decrease slowly but surely. At one point coins became so rare that I started collecting them each time I actually came accross some. I have a small jar full now. We learn to live with that especially during the sanction years, afterwards people were too busy consuming and becoming materialistic in their outlook. But now when prices have become astronomical due to inflation and our extreme hurry to catch up with capitalism many are wondering where are those elusive coins?
In my quest for the Libyan coins I saved an article from the Oea newspaper of November 8th 2008, issue no. 068 : ” who is responsible for the non-circulation of coins? where have the coins that the Central Bank of Libya issued disappeared? Is it true that they are smuggled out of the country to be recycled? Is there a mafia that melts the coins to make sewage covers?”.

The author confirms that at least one old man he knew had started throwing the coins in the rubbish as too heavy too carry around especially since they are useless with the spike in prices. Also the merchants have been hoarding those coins for decades as this is to their benefit, and yes a ‘mafia’ was busted smuggling coins because the alloy could be smolten into other useful things or sold as scrap metal and they would still make loads of money.

Once again this is a vicious circle, sometimes you don’t notice things and when one does its quite late in the day.

For sure though that the following is true :

(1) The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has been taking steps for some time now to combat this shortage by putting new coins into circulation at regular intervals. We’ve seen from the Wiki article above referenced that at least till 2004 some new coins have been punched out. Moreover, the CBL’s website has a link to money issued and money taken out of circulation, and one of the sublinks refers specifically to coins. See the photo below, courtesy of CBL. We can see that there are 8 denominations ranging from 50 Dirhams to 1 Dirham and all are valid!

(2) The merchants have been exponentially increasing prices following anticipated pay rises and that means for sure that they have been hoarding coins for a long time.

The lack of coins actually hurts our economy because it affects:
(a) salaries
(b) purchasing power
(c) accounting
(d) it wastes public money

So it’s definitely a combination of circumstances but I can’t believe that as stated at the beginning of my post that we are so irresponsible as to throw money or are simply lazy.

For the last 3 months or so it has become very very common to get change in coins at least in 25 and 50 denominations which I’m always happy to accept and use, I’ve been surprised with a few 5 Dirhams as well in some government offices. Basically there is an effort and the supermarkets cashiers are full of shiny gold coloured coins. Hopefully this a good sign !

The significance of foreign currency reserves, imported goods and inflation

“Libya had $44 billion balance of payments surplus in 2008[and]Libya’s foreign currency reserves were at $136 billion at the end of 2008 [...]Oil producer Libya is among the few countries which are free of any foreign debt”.[Reuters]

This all sounds like great news to me (regardless of the political system which is not my concern in this post.).

It’s good to have liquidity in these high risk financial times. I still maintain that the OPEC countries though should stop pegging their economies to the US$ and diversify a little to spread the risk. Although I’m not sure at the safety of their respective countries from physical demolition if they do take that step. But the global financial crisis and credit crunch gripping most nations could be used as an excuse to divest from the US$ and stockpile gold bullion as in not put all the eggs in one basket). Maybe then the US will run less high trade deficits and get away with it! but this is not my concern today either

What I was wondering about was the central bank governor in the same article I quoted above was saying i.e. that “average inflation is expected to fall sharply this year as a result of the decline of prices of food and other imported goods as well as the fall of the euro-Libyan dinar parity,”.

Again I’m no economist so I’m not able to project into the future but would appreciate someone explaining this to me.

Does he mean that in quarter 2 or quarter 3 of the financial year prices will drop ? Because I thought that many commodities have definetely increased – check On the Edge “I couldn’t BELIEVE how much food items have gone up ! A small jar of coffee that used to be 3.50 is now 6 dinars and the large would be 10 , when it was only 7 something last month“. This is imported goods that she is talking about.But maybe supermarkets in Libya are making their own prices unrelated to the global situation. I think the eggs are cheaper but for sure car fuel has gone up it is now officially at 20 dirham per litre. To be honest I was embarassed at the gas station when I asked him to fill up my car for 5 Dinars and that barely reached half of the car tank. I thought the employee was cheating and regretfully it showed in my faces (even though I did not voice it) and he had to explain that prices had gone up.

So basically if inflation goes down, will fuel, bread and food commodities decrease too ? How does this work ?

The Gaza Aid Convoy in Libya

“Thousands of people have contacted me to say that they have marched, cried at the television pictures and feel helpless in the face of the suffering.

That’s why I have launched a major initiative in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I will be leading an aid convoy from London to Gaza leaving on 14 February and travelling through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and through Rafah and into Gaza. It will bring material aid and raise the banner of Palestine in all the countries that we visit.

The convoy will be led by a British fire engine, ambulances, and many trucks full of practical aid given by the various communities in Britain.

It is quite an undertaking, which I anticipate will have a high public profile throughout its journey and on its arrival in Gaza, god willing, some 30 days later.” George Galloway

I was aware from media activity that the Gaza Convoy initiated by George Galloway was going to pass through Libya, but since I was not following the news closely I was not aware it had arrived.

So when I was driving in Tripoli yesterday afternoon I noticed a humongous traffic jam on the coastal road. I assumed there must have been some visiting VIP or a road accident. But as I got closer I noticed too many trucks too count and all had a Viva Palestina banner. Only then did I remember about this planned convoy.

I mean many of us had already donated to the various charities and movements collecting money for Gaza even to the Viva Palestina cause . But it was one thing to read about it and another to see the sheer number of trucks and people surrounding them live. Can you imagine more than 5 lanes of cars stopped in the street – litterally parked alongside the trucks !

I was talking at that time to my best friend and mentioned the trucks to him, he suggested I take a photo with the cellphone and I really did want to join the group and shake some hands and take a few photos but I was driving on the other side of the road separated by concrete – it would be suicidal to stop and run accross the road.

It was definetely a great sight anda lump rose in my throat…not just for Palestine but also the incredible emotions of my Libyan brethrens. I knew that the visitors would have a grand time in Libya – because being hospitable is what we do best and I’m not counting the trucks filled with goods that Libya has donated to this cause this time again.

Reading the testimonies online was an added bonus:

“This is the best welcome we received. What is different this time is that the authorities did not try to stop the people mingling and getting close to us, nothing was orchestrated, it was natural and spontaneous..” [Viva Palestina website].

I’m happy to hear that they will be allowed into Gaza from Egypt! Well done to all.

Movie reviews

The bootleg industry is great to watch those movies that you would miss in cinemas. In Libya a DVD is about 3 Dinars for a superb copy just as good as what you would get at any Virgin store. While for 1 Dinar I can get the CD and still be able to enjoy the show.

Between September 2007 and January 2009 I bought many movies here the list of the ones I watched so far and what think about them. This would probably serve me as an aide memoire not to buy the same movie again ( I tend to do that with books as well)….

The films are not in any particular order: the scale is from 1-5 stars, ( 5 being the highest)

Ironman: 5 stars
Mirrors ( Kiefer Sutherland): 3 stars
The love guru: 4 stars
Baby Mama : 5 stars
Anthony Warrior of God ( foreign movie): 2 stars
Body of lies: 5 stars
Arn (foreign movie) : 3 stars
Flags of our fathers: 4 stars
What happens in Vegas: 4 stars
Mamma Mia: 5 stars
The secret life of bees: 5 stars
Live free or die hard: 5 stars Bruce always delivers.
The dark knight: 5 stars- although I did not think that the Joker was overshadowing Batman as some reviews stated.
PS I love you : 5 stars very good to watch with chocies and a cup of tea
Tropic Thunder: 3 stars I failed to see the humour – but the twist is OK
Death Race: 2 stars – the trailer was the nicest thing about it
The notebook: 5 stars another classic romance
In the valley of Elah: 5 stars- It’s good to know about the hidden things
Burn after reading: 1 star – I cant’ believe Brad and Clooney would star in such a miserable thing.
Nights in Rodanthe: 5 stars – marvellous but I wish it ended differently
Wanted ( Angelina Jolie): 3 stars – more hype then when you see the real stuff
Zodiac: 4 stars not bad
The Day the Earth stood still ( Keanu Reeves): 5 stars – good topic on environment etc..
Frost/Nixon: 5 stars
Xiii the conspiracy : 2 stars – some idea but not sure what it was all about
Casino Royale: 5 stars, I did not like the first half hour but then I understood the story.
Quantum of Solace: 5 stars – Daniel Craig is so gorgeous once more. I will be watching Bond movies again
Masjoon Transit ( Egyptian) : 5 stars – that was a good idea
Wa7ed min al nass ( Egyptian) : 5 stars – another good issue tackled
Hassan wa Marcus (Egyptian): 5 stars- excellen portrayal
Kasf hesab ( Egyptian): 5 stars – quite enjoyed it
Cabaret ( Egyptian): 5 stars – the story lasts all night long up to the next day and shows the different facets of the people in a cabaret, the owner the prostitute, the singer the guests, the Gulfies and even the wannabe terrorist. Good finale
The House bunny: 5 stars a feel good movie
Twilight: 5 stars – I never stopped loving vampires and this one gorgeous
Original sin ( Banderas- Jolie) : 4 stars and quite racy definetely over 18- good concept
Miss conception : 5 stars a cute story about a girl who discovers she has early menaupose.
American Psycho: 3 stars – too gory- I still can’t understand why?
Ocean’s 13: 4 stars
Breach: 5 stars
Babel: I gave it 2 stars first then I watched it again and gave it 5.
Jarhead: 5 stars
Deja vu: 3 stars even though Denzel is so hot
The Marine: 1 star – the only good thing about this movie is the title
The forgotten: 5 stars
the sentinel 5 stars
the departed: 5 stars
300: 5 stars
Tristan and Isolde: 5 stars
The number 23: 5 stars but I was so scared
Caramel ( Lebanese): 5 stars stuff that happens in a beauty center in Beirut and the lives that cross each other there. I liked the
Mr Brooks: 5 stars
Home of the Brave: 5 stars
The Good Sheperd: 5 stars and my super favourite
WallE: 5 stars – I was reluctant to watch this kiddie movie but now I’m a fan.
No country for old men : 1 star – I hated it
21: 5 stars
Gone baby gone: 3 stars
1000 BC: 5 stars overall.

I still have a huge list to be watched but at least I’m finally catching up.

Which movies did you like and why ?

Nine souls: Lessons of a dying cat

Just as the muezzin had finished calling for the dawn prayer her eyes finally glazed over after a night of agony. I started to unfold the large blue kitchen tablecloth and holding her up slowly from her feet and arms, I gently placed her on the cloth then proceeded to wrap her in it (she will be buried later that day).

A this point I allowed myself to cry out all the feelings I’ve holed up for the last weeks, because no matter how much you prepare yourself for imminent loss.
Being in the presence of a soul that is dying is not only solemn you actually feel the cold creeping in and become close to a near death experience. You are brought face to face with all the questions that you usually repress at the back of your mind.

Why we are on this earth and what happens after we die? Is dying painful or is it a release as we would like to think?

The incredible sadness of the loss is tearing your heart out. In her case it was tearing my heart several times until dawn. Each time I would think she has exhaled the last sigh and last breath. She wakes up again looks at me with forlorn expression, screams in pain, kicks her legs, opens her jaws to the point of breaking, yawns and makes a unearthly sound from the deepest part of her throat and stops breathing. The last heave was the strongest.. I did not know it was possible for a soul to take so long to die… nine hours –. No amount of calling the veterinary or Adib was this time going to change anything.

Whoever said that cats had nine lives is right! I spent nine hours helplessly watching her die, nine times over.

It’s been a while now since she has left us hopefully to a better place, yet I still hear her bell on the stairs at night, and I still think she is sitting near the heater. I still call her in the morning then remember that I don’t need to fill the bowl of food anymore, and the bed is very very cold without her cuddling on my feet.

Pet loss and all the emotions entailed are acknowledged in the literature and with a variety of coping mechanisms.

I find myself agreeing with this statement: “For someone who has truly loved a pet, however, the loss of that animal can feel just as devastating as a human loss, if not more. The very things that make animals different than humans often make them more endearing. An animal who doesn’t talk can’t pass judgment or give you the silent treatment or withhold companionship and love. For many, pets provide a source of unwavering love, affection and companionship. The qualities of a beloved pet are hard to match in human form. The loss of that companion can be heartbreaking.”

This again led me to think that if I felt that much pain for my longtime pet, how much are parents feeling for the loss of their child. I think what made her death even more intolerable and led me into a downward spiral is that it came at the time when the recent 22 day war on Gaza was taking place so I could only focus on daily death toll from that attack and every photo of the injured or dead especially children became unbearable.

Some families lost more than one child. I shudder and can only imagine by proxy the pain of feeling helpless for your own child. You have given birth and raised him/her only to have that erased in a jiffy.

I also discovered that both camps cared about their pets as well in the middle of the carnage.

For example these Israelis devastated at the possible loss of their dog and the Palestinians who despite sustaining a heavy death (if I believe the news it is 13:1300) were able to attempt to save some pets. ( see photos right and left)

Pets are therefore family members.

The most obvious lesson that I learned from my dying cat is that DEATH is inevitable and we are ALONE when we die; it is also extremely painful for the dying and for those left behind – regardless of the process being swift or protracted.

It was also one more death in the family that needed to be promptly dealt with 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 it looks like everyone is dying all of a sudden and there is no time to stop and grieve because the emotional toll would paralyze you.

I also remembered impending death, a painful realization consciously accepted a while back, there was no way to avoid the mental anguish. Will it be lonely, peaceful or messy? Denial was never an option.

Where are those nine lives when you need them ?

Support a Gazan, international calls are free to Gaza!

Global Voices Online recently reported that “Bloggers are calling upon their readers to pick up the phone – and call the residents of Gaza to show them support.” Check the post and support the bloggers as well.

This is a super idea, and comes to reinforce the generous step that the General Posts and Telecommunications Co (GPTC) in Libya had taken..

We received an sms on January 7th, informing us that in solidarity with Gaza, calls to the Palestinian Territories will be free of charge from any landline or mobile in Libya from now until the end of February 2009!

I have several Palestinian friends but I never dare call them because their number starts with +972 which is the code for Israel so we chat on skype instead.

I know that the Palestinian Territories have been assigned their own international code of +970 a few years ago but had no idea how widespread it was as there was some controversy and objection over that.

Ordinary Libyans and Palestinians living in Libya have made use of the GPTC offer and phoned their families and friends or even made random calls, some and I have first hand report of that have even fallen in love with someone at the other end. Amidst all the carnage there is still hope.

What are you waiting for ? go and pick up that phone

“A bleeding homeland of a bleeding people”

I have been trying to avoid making such a post since before Israel began pounding Gaza a week ago. This post is not about who started what when or whether the egg came before the chicken and the whole painful story spanning over six decades. It only brings bitterness, and I no longer have hopes for a swift and just solution (so I won’t talk about that). I won’t even draw parallels between Gaza 08/09, Lebanon 2006 and Iraq 2003.

What I’m sure of is that Palestine more than any place in the world evokes strong connotations in the Arab world. As someone paraphrasing the famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish said “Palestine is [..] a metaphor – for the loss of Eden, for the sorrows of dispossession and exile, for the declining power of the Arab world in its dealings with the West.”

In this context, Libyan cities have witnessed a number of demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian people, the latest of which took place this morning in Tripoli.

Moreover, Libya has always been generous with its aid. Suffice it to say that it was the first Arab country that in defiance of the sanctions imposed on Gaza since 2007 attempted to send a boat to the Gaza strip last year only to be ordered back by Israeli warships with the advice from Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor that “anyone wishing to transfer humanitarian aid into Gaza is welcome to do it in coordination with Israel and through the regular crossings. They can also contact Egypt.”
This time Libya heeded this advice and sent planeloads of humanitarian aid via Egypt, that were barred on December 28 from landing, probably until further clearance is obtained from the necessary authorities in Israel, Egypt and maybe the USA. I did not follow the diplomacy at work behind the scenes but I’m relieved to read that the next day whatever problem was seemed to have been resolved and the consignment was delivered thereby forming the first link to a chain of aid over the next days.I hope it does reach the Gazan people as it gives one the selfish feeling that at least we are doing something.

As the blood once again spills into our living rooms – especially now with the ground assault that started on the evening of Saturday 3rd January, emotions are consequently running high in our region, with tolerance levels sometimes verging on the non-existent.

It will serve no purpose to mention casualties and body count from the Palestinian side in this latest episode because numbers are always ridiculously and unbearably high, and I’m sure someone else has already recorded them.

Hence, whilst all 32 dead and 600 wounded Israelis and their families, victims of Palestinian rockets since 2001 up to now do get my sympathy and while I do understand the plight of those Israelis suffering post traumatic stress syndrome, having been myself exposed to a relatively limited but intense experience 22 years ago; I must admit that the plight of the Gazans who I’m sure are now beyond ‘mere’ PTSS strikes a totally different chord not only within me but within many others.

In this regard Darwish’s 1988 poem “O those who pass between fleeting words” which I always associate with any occupying army ( so do not dare call me anti-Semitic!) has been playing not only on my Ipod for the last two years but also in my head. To me it has a timeless quality and the metaphors so beloved by Mahmoud Darwish make it possible depending on one’s mood to be interpreted or misinterpreted.
Below is one English translation from “Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising Against Israeli Occupation”, courtesy of the following gentlemen: Zachary Lockman and Joel Beinin.

O THOSE WHO PASS BETWEEN FLEETING WORDS

0 those who pass between fleeting words
carry your names, and be gone
Rid our time of your hours, and be gone
Steal what you will from the blueness of the sea and the sand of memory
Take what pictures you will, so that you understand
That which you never will:
How a stone from our land builds the ceiling of our sky.

0 those who pass between fleeting words
From you the sword,from us the blood
From you steel and fire,from us our flesh
From you yet another tank,from us stones
From you tear gas,from us rain
above us, as above you, are sky and air
So take your share of our blood, and be gone
Go to a dancing party, and be gone
As for us, we have to water the martyrs’ flowers
As for us, we have to live as we see fit.

0 those who pass between fleeting words
As bitter dust, go where you wish, but
Do not pass between us like flying insects
For we have work to do in our lands
We have wheat to grow which we water with our bodies’ dew
We have that which does not please you here
Stones or partridges
So take the past if you wish to the antiquities market
And return the skeleton to the hoopoe, if you wish,
On a clay platter
We have that which does not please you: we have the future
And we have things to do in our land.

0 those who pass between fleeting words
Pile your illusions in a deserted pit, and be gone
Return the hand of time to the law of the golden calf
Or to the time of the revolver’s music
For we have that which does not please you here, so be gone
And we have what you lack
A bleeding homeland of a bleeding people
A homeland fit for oblivion or memory

0 those who pass between fleeting words
It is time for you to be gone
Live wherever you like, but do not live among us
It is time for you to be gone
Die wherever you like, but do not die among us
For we have work to do in our land
We have the past here
The first cry of life
We have the present, the present and the future
We have this world here, and the hereafter
So leave our country
Our land, our sea
Our wheat, our salt, our wounds
Everything, and leave
The memories of memory

For my Arabic speaking readers here is the link for عابرون في كلام عابر and a bonus link for those of you who may also want to enjoy it in Syrian diva Assala Nasri’s voice.

The Libyan blogging scene: Reflections on 2008 and The Highlander Award for Excellence

First of all Happy New Hijri (Islamic) Year 1430!

I have not been blogging as much as I had planned too. Also it’s been the year where many of the Libyan bloggers contracted the Libyan Disappearing Syndrome ™ Chris in Manitoba

In fact back in October I wanted to write a longer post about this phenomenon but only managed this brief mention.

Many bloggers have not updated for months and others for over a year. We can see this in Khalid’s very convenient aggregator called All Libyan Blogs.

There are also some blogs who have become ‘open to invited readers only‘, so only a few enjoy the bloggers wit, which is as good as being closed anyway. Some bloggers have deleted their blog. Others have requested not to be linked to anymore.

I know and understand that it is the blogger’s personal choice, this is their space and that sometimes life interacts with the best plans. Yet I still feel saddened when one part of the mosaic is missing.It means to me that one conversation that could enrichthe rest of the world about us Libyans is missing. It also means we are not able to keep in touch. And yes I do miss each blogger. One more thing is that we have all linked to each other and when the blog is unavailable the link and hence a good story is irrevocably gone.

I liked A. Akak’s gesture, he has gracefully bowed out of the scene last month without burning bridges and has left his blog for us to peruse and check fond memories. Miss you.

Still all in all, Libyan bloggers have had many adventures and new experiences, some have gotten married, engaged, graduated, had children, moved abroad to study, moved our emotions for a cause, others have gone through heartbreak, lost loved ones or have fallen ill. They have all kept us riveted to their story.

I have lived to see a rise in blogging physicians and interns from Libya. They are keeping the tradition alive along with the older iconic generation.

I’m especially proud of the Libyan bloggers who are making the effort to write in English which is not their mother tongue and which they they only studied at the public school in Libya (I have yet to see a foreigner of non Asian origin blogging in Arabic ).

The end of 2008 and specifically the Internet cut ten days ago, has witnessed a resurgence of Libyan posts. As if we needed to feel the web slipping to be jolted back from our lethargy. Some of us made a spectacular comeback after being MIA for a over a year. A big welcome back to Romana and Lost Libyan, superb posts both of you.

To compensate for not doing the monthly roundups that I used to enjoy mulling over the last couple of years, I started my Libyan blogs competition last year calling it the Highlander Award for Excellence ( how corny is that eh ?). You can check last year’s results here.

So the top Libyan bloggers for 2008 according to Highlander are:

(1) Anglo Libyan, he has been blogging non-stop, thru thick and thin even when the global economic crisis affected him on a personal basis and he was made redundant. He has kept his humour and civility and entertained us all. Good luck job hunting Anglo.

(2) Enlightened Spirit, who is now blogging from the US while she is doing postgraduate studies in medicine. I loved her spirited posts ( pun intended) and how she presents herself honestly and with no affectation.

(3) The Dregias, who warmly share their home and life with us and who have magnificently navigated through a 2008 which was full of blessings and pain.

(4) Khalidjorni, who is a genius at bringing out controversial stories on Libya

(5) PH, who is a genius at bringing out Western political controversial stories, and then follows with a joke in the next post to lighten the mood.

(6) Lebeeya, whom we sadly cannot read for the moment but who guarantees a good laugh each time she posts. Lebeeya expert at multitasking, handling a successful career, top notch postgraduate studies, a life full of fun and activities and still managing to share all her passion with us. She was last officially seen at the hairdresser and we miss her very much.

The top adopted Libyan for this year remains Ibeebarbie. … While Khadijateri is runner up for the cute cameos about her life in Libya, but also the innovative approach to show us the negative aspects about Libyans.

From the non Libyan blogosphere my favourites are: (1) the Angry Arab, especially now that his comment section is closed and we can actually enjoy his posts without the rubbish that some commenters were posting. (2) Kabobfest and (3)Global Voices.

The Top Highlander fan for 2008 was Mitchell who has unfortunately deleted his blog.

On the personal side I have managed to meet some more bloggers this year, Libyan, Arab and foreign and the experience was refreshing. If I have not met you yet, then be patient it will come slowly but surely. I have been guilty of commenting very little; I don’t really have an excuse, but I do hope to be forgiven because I have read all your posts
On the other hand I think I need to read more blogs in Arabic, the talent is palpable and I have no excuse at all.

I don’t promise to be going back to the roaring blogging days of 2006 [that is over] but I promise to keep blogging.

Many emailed to ask where are my political blogs, didn’t I care about Palestine or Iraq? Where are my opinions about the West etc.. I still have them, it’s just that many others are expressing them better than me … I’m also a bit war weary and need to recharge the batteries.I will get back to more of these type of posts as soon as I’m done with the Libya related ones lined up to be published.

Happy New Year 2009

Love

Highlander