Inspired by Mideast Youth

I recently came across a very interesting, informative, and inspiring website (thanks to my aunt and my sister sharing links on facebook). MideastYouth.com is a youth-run website created by Esra’a Al Shafei which is a grassroots network and platform for people in the Middle East and North Africa to discuss the struggle against oppression and serve as an alternative media. In an interview on TED.com, Esra'a Al Shafei explains that she began this MideastYouth.com in 2006. "At that time I was really just exploring how to use the Internet. I realized right away that it was going to be the tool, the weapon, with which we can advocate for change." (This makes me think of the inspiring youtube call to action that started the protests in Egypt). The authors are from many places, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Morocco. Their message is peace, solidarity, tolerance, and freedom from oppression. "Listen to us now, because soon ours will be the generation in charge."


MideastYouth.com covers a variety of topics that we do not hear about in the mainstream media. I am certain that I will spend many, many hours on this website and the many offshoots of this website. It discusses the Arab Revolution, the desire for peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel, homophobia in Middle Eastern and African countries, ignorance, extremism, and so many other topics. Okay, so I'm linking a lot. That's because I want you to really check out this website! Those are just some examples.

There are many projects stemming from MideastYouth.com. I will highlight a few. CrowdVoice is a user-powered service that tracks voices of protest from around the world. Apparently it has been censored in Bahrain, but it has documented many of the recent people uprisings. I was unaware until I came across BahaiRights.org that in many countries people of the Baha'i faith are denied human rights, as basic as the right to live. KurdishRights.org focuses on the need for basic human rights of Kurds, the uprisings in the Middle East, and preventing further genocide of Kurds in the Middle East. FreeKareem.org is focused on pressuring officials to free Kareem Amer, an Egyptian blogger who has been sentenced to 4 years in prison merely for expressing his opinions on his personal blog. There is MigrantRights.org, Israelis for Palestine, and many more. A new website they have started is Ahwaa.org. It is a place for discussion within the LGBTQ community in the Middle East and North Africa. This is a topic that is not only taboo in many places in the Middle East and Africa, where in many countries homosexuality is illegal and sometimes punishable by death, but it is also a topic that has been ignored by mainstream media (I'm talking BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, and so on).

Here is a fun one: MideastTunes.com. It supports underground activist musicians in the Middle East! Here are a few interesting songs I found...

Bin Laden-Dead? And the Wars Rage On.

I watched the news tonight.  I never watch the news but my coworker turned the TV on to hear about the supposed death of Osama bin Laden.  What is everyone celebrating?  A friend of mine commented, "It looks like a kegger outside of the White House."  First of all, I don't know that I believe this news.  Second of all, I still believe 9-11 was an inside job.  It's hard to dispute when you look at all the facts.  I'm not saying I think Osama bin Laden was a decent fellow, but was he trained by the U.S., put in power by the U.S.?  Of course this has been denied, but there is evidence that it was so!  Set aside conspiracy theories about bin Laden and the U.S. having a deal (you take the blame for 9-11 and we'll have a reason for war, which will gain us oil and ultimately power), or of Bin Laden being a CIA agent or a character created by the U.S. government (the latter which Fidel Castro and many others around the world have suggested--Fidel points out "Any time Bush would stir up fear and make a big speech, bin Laden would appear threatening people with a story about what he was going to do.").  Just take a look at this timeline composed of facts taken from reliable sources, mainly government sources and mainstream media (which are linked to the timeline for you to view).  Put it all together, and the story does not add up to what the U.S. government would like us to believe.  Regardless of what the truth is about Osama bin Laden, as U.S. military analyst Mark Kimmit said, "Capturing or killing bin Laden has more iconic value. It will have symbolic value, because it has been a number of years since bin Laden has exercised day to day control over operations. We still have an al-Qaeda threat out there and that will be there for a number of years."

Now let's talk about Timing!  What stories are we not hearing about now? That is what I ask every time there is a big story taking over the media.  It's hard to find.  Have you heard about all the people who have died in Libya while the U.S., British, and French governments are "trying to remove Gadhafi" ("An Unfortunate Accident"-NATO, of the casualties).  Here are some articles highlighting civilian deaths--Libyan Civilians Killed by U.S. Missile Strikes, U.S. Chopper Shoots 6 Libyan Civilians, Civilian Casualties Over 100, Drones Kill Civilians in Libya and Pakistan. And perhaps you heard that Gadhafi's youngest son and 3 grandsons were killed in an assassination attempt just yesterday?  What a convenient time to kill off Osama bin Laden!  Now they have Americans thinking "Success!" "Justice!"  And the Wars can rage on!  I appreciate that Obama stated and reiterated that the U.S. is not at war with Islam (here is the text of Obama's speech tonight)  However, I was sickened to hear Obama say that "Americans understand the costs of war".  Do we?  We aren't the ones being invaded and bombed.  Many of us understand what it is like to have friends and family members return from war a changed person, and some of us know what it is like to have lost a loved one to a war on foreign land.  But compared to what War looks like on that foreign land, we do NOT understand the costs of war!  Have you seen the wikileaks video of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan?  You can see it on www.collateralmurder.com.  Try living in that world and then say you understand the costs of war.  I know I don't fully understand it because I have not lived it.
The people in Afghanistan do not want us there (and no wonder: 2010 Deadliest Year for Afghan Civilians, not to mention the Kill Team--warning:disturbing photos!). 
The people in Iraq do not want us there (and no wonder: www.iraqbodycount.org)
The people in Libya do not want us there.  (The Libyan People against al-Qaeda, US, France and England)

The people of Africa do not want the U.S. there!   As the International Action Center wrote, "Britain, France, and the U.S. possess the most destructive military machines on earth. Despite their internecine rivalries for plunder, despite the rejection of their plans by most African countries, despite the misgivings of their key NATO ally, Germany, they are at war."  African Redemption through Resistance (click this link!).  People, not drones and armies and bombs, can overcome Gadhafi.  If the U.S. had honest intentions to remove Gadhafi and help liberate the Libyan people, that would be another story.  But the U.S. has an obvious track record with these situations--and always has ulterior motives.  POWER.

On an even more controversial note, there are those who say that this is an information war against Libya, that reports of violence by Gadhafi against the Libyan people were "greatly exaggerated" www.newsfrommiddleeast.com
And some sources are saying that the people of Libya largely support Gadhafi.
Youtube: What You Don't Know About the Libyan Crisis
Facebook: The Truth About Libya
This is troubling!  What media can be trusted?!  There are people in Libya condemning al-Jazeera for their reports on Gadhafi's "genocide".  It seems to me that Gadhafi is a tyrant, a dictator, and has committed horrible acts against his people. However, I have read in several reports that the rebels the U.S. governement is supporting has links to al-Queda!  Shall we bring this back around to al-Queda/Osama, then?  Here are a couple articles about this: Libyan Rebel Commander Admits his Fighters have al-Qaeda Links, al-Qaeda May Already Be Among Libya's Rebels, Connections Between al-Qaeda and Libyan Rebels Run Deep, U.S. to use al-Queda as Allies in Libya.

There is another anti-government uprising that we have not been hearing very much about: Iraq!  It is the Least Reported Unarmed Revolution in the Middle East. And from this article, a great point is made:  There is real possibility that this change can come about without an armed people's revolution. It would behoove the international community to pay attention and to think now about how to join with them hand in hand in their struggle for justice and an end to oppression which is carried out in the ruling parties current domestic policies and backed by the western country's foreign policies. If we pay attention now, maybe our children and our grandchildren will not have to be faced with the decision to use military force to drive out yet another entrenched dictator where more killing will be one of the few tools left to stop killing.  

http://www.libyanpeopleneedhelp.com

Rant.

The Tunisians are uprising.
The Yemenis are uprising.
Now everybody is uprising.

Not the Americans, we’re all too busy.
Tear gas doesn't always make a success story, anyway.
"It take 7 people to flip a cop car!" How many people does it take to flip a government?

How do Americans live with themselves?
Denial. "Ignorance is bliss" is our country’s motto
Like it or not.

The movement we all look back to, up to, is the Civil Rights Movement.
How many people marched on Washington that day?
And elsewhere, how many people took to the streets? Boycotted the bus system?

It used to be called the Freedom Movement.
They killed it when they dubbed it the Civil Rights Movement.
That was all they were willing to give, and still it has not been given.

A penguin stands up and says "Where are all the fish?"
Is there a god who gives an answer?
Is it explained to the penguin that due to the careless and selfish nature of humankind, the world is getting too hot and the fish have had to move on to other waters...and still they wash up on foreign shores? Where is the Lorax?!

Well, there's this anarchist collective called the Lorax full of young drunk commies here in town...
"I ride bikes" says So-And-So defensively.
The penguin stares blankly and repeats, "Where are all the fish?"

"You know what I think," says I,
"Any of us who have ever driven a car or paid for rides in cars or buses should put our mouths around an exhaust pipe
And inhale deeply what the rest of the world should never have had to experience.”

I make excuses for driving because I feel guilty daily.
My main excuse being:
I have chosen to live this part of my life within society, against so many of my beliefs, because I need this stability to stay off the drugs!

Or do I?
I don't know but my family relies on me to get them places--to school, to stores, and I have to get to my 12 step meetings and well
Sometimes my knees just hurt!

A homeless man helped me fix my car today.
I thanked him, he didn't mind.
Perhaps he walked away feeling good about himself (such feelings are fleeting) but I rather doubt it stuck in his mind.

Of course it was significant.
Everything is significant.
Still, are most things not forgotten?

All good samaritans are homeless.
They are good samaritans because they are homeless.
Is that what it's gonna take for the average American to become good samaritans? for the average American to be homeless?

Blackbirds are falling from the sky.
Turtle Doves are flying too high to breath.
Who says this is not a sign? Don't be stupid!

How soon can we forget...
The government wants us to forget--
There are WARS to fund!

I don't have time for any of this,
It just goes through my mind while I am walking
To pick my daughter up from school.

If I limit my thoughts to three lines each
It still doesn't seem to control
The voracity of my anxious mind.

Back to MY present moment! Walking in the sunshine in Eugene, Oregon and it is so beautiful.
I want so badly to share this experience and I want so desperately to hold on to this moment
So I reach for my Android pocket phone...

And I...check facebook.
And I...look at pictures.
And I...check for texts.

And I have lost this moment.
I look up from my phone, recognizing the outrageousness of my reaction to serenity.
I say a quick little prayer, try to hang on to it.

I walk past a crossing guard who says hello to me.
I reply with an earnestness for sincerity
And for a fleeting moment I experience a feeling I felt as a child in the summertime but only during the "ah" part of "hi."

Still, I sense the eternity of that feeling
And feelings are eternal,
Good or bad.

Is my present moment any different from the crossing guard’s?
From the Tunisians, the Yemenis, the Egyptians?
The penguin?