Category: Yemen

Categories
Culture Religion Yemen

Why are they so paranoid?

There have been several articles about Yemen dealing with other religions recently. They have arrested 9 Christians in Hodedia and now are talking about deporting 3 Ba’hais back to Iran where they will undoubtedly face some serious problems. All of these people have been arrested for proselytizing. What, exactly, is the big deal?

Yes, I understand that many muslims see people that try to convert people to other faiths as undermining the social fabric of Yemen. But come on… If people are strong in their faith, there’s no problem. If they aren’t… well, let me put it this way.. What’s worse, a bad muslim or a good Ba’hai or Christian?

On a more serious note, their desire to remove any competition from their culture is what makes it so weak, and so venerable to outside influence. It’s a bit of a catch 22, one that the powers that be don’t seem to get. They need to understand that no one can “force” someone to convert, that person has to decide. If they are on the brink, they are not going to be a good muslim, and they certainly are not going to be happy. Why is it so difficult for Yemenis (and muslims in Arab countries in general) to allow people to do what they like when it comes to religion? It smacks of desperation and fear, not things I would associate with people with a lot of faith…

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , ,

Categories
Culture politics Yemen

The fighting is over!

The president of Yemen has announced that the long standing fighting in the north has ended. Woo hoo! Now I can go back! Just kidding of course. I was talking with a friend of mine that I met in Yemen last night. I asked Dana if she missed Yemen. She said, “I did for a little while, but then I got over it. No really, I’m really over it…” I don’t think I’m there yet, but I can see that day approaching.

UPDATE

There is now a new press release (here) that says a couple of hours after the president made his declaration, the rebels seized a village where there has been sporadic fighting. I doubt that there will ever be a “neat” victory on either side, that part of the world doesn’t lend itself to that…

Technorati Tags:
, , , ,

Categories
Culture Yemen

I’ve decided…

I’m going to write a book about my time in Yemen. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, hell, I think that every westerner that goes there thinks about it. With a few encouraging words from members of my family I’ve decided to give it a go.

Now’s a good time to do this since there’s not really anything else to take up my time. The thing that has been holding me back is myself of course. Writing something as long as a book is an intimidating prospect. I’ve never tried anything this long before, of course I had never been that far out of the US before I went to Yemen, so what the hell. The only way I’ll know if I can do it is to start writing. Who knows what will become of this project. If nothing else, I hope that this will help me sort out what I learned over there. I’ve often approached creative works in the context of puzzle solving. I’ve found that taking pictures, sketching, and writing have helped me understand things better. Here’s hoping that this will do that as well.

Hey, it’ll keep me off the streets for a while:-)

Technorati Tags:
, , , ,

Categories
Culture teaching travel Yemen

Schools in Pakistan

I just finished reading a book called “Three Cups of Tea.” It’s about an American man named Greg Mortenson and his mission to build schools in impoverished Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has quite a story to tell and his accomplishments are really something. I never encountered danger like he did, of course he jumped right into that trouble with both feet while I have been more circumspect. Mortenson sounds like the guy we wish we all were, helping other people, facing insurmountable odds and making things happen in places that really need help. His Central Asia Institute (click here to go to the site) is one of the best charities I can think of. They do things the right way. Instead of swooping in and handing things out like so many charities do, he goes in, asks if they want a school, makes the village contribute to it, and also makes them provide sweat equity. That way the locals are invested in the project and he can be sure that everyone is on board with the goals.

The book isn’t great literature or anything, but it is a great story. I really identified with the urge to teach people in places like that a little about the world. He was dealing with much worse situations than I did, but the thought is the same… I also liked to see one of my theories in action, that is what we do makes a very large impression on people. Being in Yemen taught me a lot of things and I will always remember how grateful people were for me just being there. Having someone from the US actually come there and talk with them meant a lot to them and I like to think that their ideas about Americans moved in a more positive direction. They understood that Yemen was more than a little out of the way for us and they were very happy to share their culture with me.

It’s a good read, you should pick it up!

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Categories
Culture Yemen

Being at home weirdness #44563

I was sitting in the reception of my cousin’s wedding thinking to myself that I need to buy a suit. The last suit I got was for my mother’s second wedding, and that was a while ago. I have no idea if it fits, but I do know that I don’t like it. I also know that I need one for job interviews, etc.

My mind then drifted back to my last weeks in Sana’a. I remember hearing the shelling in the distance and wondering what would happen to that place. The bombardment had calmed down tremendously, but it was still ongoing… With all of the troubles the government has, with all of the problems the Yemenis have, I laid awake and listened and wondered.

Then my mind came back to the reception and I realized that I didn’t give a damn about the suit…

Technorati Tags:
, ,

Categories
food Yemen

Here we go…

This article scares me a little. They have closed down what we have always called “the sketchy Chinese restaurant.” This is the place over by Shamalia Hari. I have never heard of anyone eating there, but it was well known that you could buy alcohol there. I always figured that they had to be pissing off a certain segment by doing that, but you know that they were making quite a bit of money doing it.

As usual, that article leaves me with quite a few questions. The headline says Chinese restaurants, but it only talks about one. It also says that it is illegal to sell alcohol in Yemen, but I don’t believe that is the case. I believe that it is illegal to sell alcohol to Yemenis, but not illegal to sell to foreigners. There are other restaurants there that serve beer and other types of alcohol, but there are also bars like the Sheraton, the Movenipick, and the Russian club. I don’t know about the hotels, but the Russian club will not allow ay Yemenis in at all. They do a pretty brisk business, but if someone is looking for a lucrative business venture there, it would be very tempting to sell to the general public.

I have seen Yemenis drinking in a restaurant and I have seen them coming out of the one that was just closed. If this restaurant was closed for selling to locals and/or underaged folks then I can sort of, kind of understand the police closing it down. The worrying thing is that it seems to be widely believed that the new religious police were instrumental in closing this place down even before they are officially formed. It is a strong signal that the more conservative elements in Yemeni society are gaining strength.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

Categories
Yemen

Some new Yemen things going on…

First off, the American military has finally gotten around to charging one of its Gitmo prisoners with mastermining the Cole attack in 2000. It has only taken them 8 years to get to this point… It should be an interesting trial, the guy says that he admitted things under torture. It sounds like they can probably get him for helping with the Cole, the other stuff might get dicy for the prosecution because of the whole torture thing… Oh, and one more thing, why oh why do they say he’s a Saudi of Yemeni descent? Why don’t they just say that he’s a Saudi? Why drag Yemen into it whenever they get a chance? It’s just like how the western media always, always says that Yemen is Osama Bin Laeden’s ancestral homeland even though he was born in Saudi Arabia. Why does no one over here just say that they are Saudis? Why do we care where his father is from?

Along those lines, there was a letter sent to congress and the Canadian parliament by a large group of Americans and Canadians of Yemeni descent. You can read it here.In it, they outline the case that the Yemeni government, headed by Ali Abdulla Salah is in league with Al-queda and blame the Whahabi nation of Saudi Arabia for fostering terrorism. It’s a theory I’ve heard before from several people that should know about these sorts of things. The basic gist is that the government of Yemen uses the threat of Al-queda to extort money from various governments. Whenever something goes badly in Yemen, the government inevitably blames al-queda even though there is usually a better explanation. More than several people have theorized that the government is behind these newer, incompetent attacks in order to make sure the foreign aid keeps coming in. Al-queda also makes a convenient scapegoat for any civil unrest that goes on. The Yemeni government is loath to admit that it doesn’t have control of the country…

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , ,

Categories
Culture Yemen

Yemen is…

DSC00438

I’ve been back for a little while now and I’ve been trying to think of some way to “sum up” what I experienced in Yemen. I don’t think I can come up with a sentence like, “Yemen is X.” It’s just too complicated… It was a year and a half of my life after all. Even if it was boring (it usually wasn’t), summarizing a whole year and a half wouldn’t be easy.

There are a lot of good things about Yemen. The people are very hospitable, the country itself can be incredibly beautiful, and it is a fascinating place to experience. On the other hand, the political environment is rather unstable, there is a really rigid class system, and there’s always the crushing poverty to deal with as well.

I never did immerse myself into the culture. Call it being stuck-up, cultural elitism or what have you but I never felt that I should accept what I saw as the more negative elements of the culture. The racism, the sexism, what seemed like a love of ignorance at times, and let’s be honest, the general laziness. I’m not going to pretend that those things don’t exist here in the States, but the Yemenis take those things to a whole new level.

I’m not going to spend much time bitching here, you can read all of my older posts for that. I do feel like I learned some valuable things over there, but I’m not going to to be able to summarize them in a blog post. Suffice it to say, the whole experience was a positive one overall. I will continue to post things here about Yemen as they occur to me or as things happen in the news. Stay tuned, hopefully I’ll figure out what to do with these experiences over time…

Technorati Tags:
,

Categories
photography Yemen

New pictures are up!

I have put up the last of my pictures from Yemen. They consist of shots of my apartment (pardon the mess, I was packing), some jewelry, and a kid I saw on a dabob. You can see some of them by clicking on my “recent pictures” tab under “My Photos” on the right, and you can see the rest of them by clicking on, well the tab that says the rest of them… You can also get there by clicking on the link below that says my pictures… Enjoy!

My pictures

DSC01644

Categories
Culture food Yemen

A dazed Yemeni

There were many times I fantasized about taking a Yemeni back home in order to show them what life could be like. I always imagined that they would have been a bit overwhelmed by everything. The green everywhere, the variance in the weather, the different kinds of food, women you can see, etc. I wondered how they would take it all in. I think I have an idea now.

My father asked me to pick some things up at the grocery store on my way over to his place. I hadn’t driven in 6 months, it felt good to get behind the wheel again. Everything seemed so orderly, as if something was directing everything, and it was so quiet. I still haven’t heard a single horn since I got back. The intersections were particularly impressive. Everyone waited their turn and there wasn’t any question when people should go across.

I got to the grocery store and was blown away. This happened to me the last time I came back as well. There’s something about grocery stores here, there’s just so much of everything. I was sent to get some corn. i ended up wandering through the fruits and vegetables for about 10 minutes looking for the corn. I eventually asked someone where it was, it turns out that I had been looking at it the entire time but I hadn’t seen it. I then went looking for some potato salad with similar results. The deli section quite literally stunned me.

It was a sad thing, but I really was overwhelmed by the place. I’m still marveling over the flora, I can’t get enough of the trees and the grass that’s everywhere. I’m sure this will wear off in a little while, but all of these little things are really throwing me for a loop. With any luck, my system will get used to this again soon.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s all quite nice but I’m having some difficulty processing all of this. It’s as if my brain has been reset. I’ll try not to go crazy in the land of plenty…