Sometimes news from the Middle East hits me in strange places.
Today, many people kidnapped at a Baghdad research institute and Al-Jazeera is going worldwide with the United States’ favorite language, English.
Dr. Hameed Alshaibi (Sama’s father who was so gracious to us in Amman…and with my lost bag) was a professor in Baghdad. Then he moved to Jordan where he is still a professor, and lives with his lovely wife Intesar and their two young sons. All of Intesar’s and most of Dr. Alshaibi’s family still live in Iraq. They have lost many family members lately; you can see it in their faces. Intesar still finds ways to go back and visit.
Dr. Alshaibi’s brother, a world-famous scholar and translator died not too long ago. He studied at Harvard. He came home to Iraq and accomplished even more. He did not die from a violent act. We lost one of society’s greatest minds because of medical neglect. He became very ill, very fast and there were no resources left to help him. The world says “we are bringing you peace and freedom” (which to some that alone is debatable), but we obviously cannot provide basic needs.
Wars, coup de tats, revolutions, genocide, civil uprisings…..one thing history shows is that the academics, thinkers, artists, leaders, and cultural workers are among the first to disappear. Whether it is in a targeted act of violence such as the visible assault on a university today or the quiet disappearance caused by destroyed infrastructure and lack of medical resources.
On another note: our friend Zuzu (“Joseph” in English) got a job!
He is now a cameraman for the new (English) Al Jazeera. It will be launched tomorrow and NPR says news reporters from ABC, CBS, and CNN (of all ethnicities) are already jumping ship to be a part of this cultural experiment. NPR says it is a “coup.”
They could have gone with any cameraman in the West Bank, even one with Israeli citizenship who could navigate checkpoints with no problem, so we are very proud of our friend and honored to know him. And maybe next time we visit he’ll be able to haul us around a little more easily.
Will it change how I feel about him being a journalist in the West Bank? Not really. When I read or hear the news about a demonstration or violence caused by any inner or foreign regime in the West Bank, I think of the safety of my friends….but then that thought always cycles into, “My friends got work and made a living today!” Its hard to find work in the West Bank. The boys’ jobs are dangerous and there have been bullets and fists. But they do what they love; and any friend has to support that. Now they will get a better spot for their camera and mic when Condi comes to visit Ramallah again.
I am reminded that I have to finish writing about the first trip, before the next one.
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