From a culture of war to a culture of peace

Bruce Kent, an active peace campaigner, currently vice president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Pax Christi UK and the Movement for the Abolition of War, wrote an article recently on OpenDemocracy.net entitled "From a culture of war to a culture of peace". The article is brilliant, the ideas fresh and original and the issue covered being of the utmost importance in today's overly militarised world. His article is a must read for all.

He touches upon the importance of developing a "consciousness of global citizenship" where high school pupils should be given a copy of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He challenges governments in their role in peace and states that Bank Holidays should be replaced by more significant dates such as the signing of peace treaties. He encourages the celebration of peacemakers rather than war heroes and brilliantly concludes that "it is a task for all of us, if we are serious about building a culture of peace. Culture has to change. We are all part of the process of making that change happen".

Looting following natural disasters: Why?

The year 2010 seems to be the year of natural disasters. These past few months, an earthquake of magnitude 5.8 hit Northern Philippines, just a few days after an even stronger quake in Chile. Recently, another one in Taiwan. While Haiti is still recovering from its own major earthquake which took place near its capital Port-au-Prince in January, the Portuguese Madeira islands are struggling in the aftermath of major floods and landslides which occurred last month. A few weeks ago, heavy rains caused major mudslides killing nearly one hundred Ugandans, wiping out three villages in the East of the country. Chile experienced a second earthquake during Pinera's inauguration as the new President, following Michelle Bachelet's end of term in office recently.

Away from the obvious global warming debate and avoiding further comments on Borg Lomborg's "The Skeptical Environmentalist", which most of us have hopefully read by now, I am somewhat curious about the social analysis of what takes place within societies, affected by such disasters.

While the death and destruction resulting from these devastating natural phenomena are distressful, the instability, the looting and chaos in its aftermath, are of equally great concern. Haiti and Chile in particular, experienced serious occurrences of looting recently which begs the question: why does this happen and why in only some countries? Can we learn something about societies in their reaction to natural disasters? Are communities tested this way and what does this mean for policy-making?

Being an expert on conflict and post-conflict development, rather than having much knowledge of post-disaster recovery or disaster preparedness, I found striking similarities between post-disaster and post-conflict contexts: Power vacuums at both local and central government levels, lack of basic services, insecurity, sudden breakdown in social community structures, increase in informal and illicit economic activities, internal displacement and refugee crises, etc.

We often expect chaos and crime to result from conflict, however we seem perplexed when this happens during natural calamities, which are not caused by any man's malicious will, and which affects peaceful neighbouring communities. One would expect a sense of solidarity and national mourning, something that brings people together in their common struggle to survive the disaster, rather than the social unrest and looting we have witnessed.

With some further analysis and investigation, one begins to comprehend however, why this happens in some countries and not in others. Indeed, Chile and Haiti (as well as Southern USA during the Katrina disaster) are essentially quite unequal societies, with a distorted wealth distribution where a minority are privileged and the majority destitute or significantly more disadvantaged. According to the UN's Human Development Report in 2009, Haiti's Gini coefficient (which measures inequality and wealth distribution) was 59.5 (whereas 0 is perfectly equal and 100 unequal). In comparison, Norway's Gini was 25.8 and Belgium, 33. The United States was 40.8 (the highest for a developped country) and Chile, 52.7, also high relative to its GDP (as is the case for most Latin American countries).

The floods in the Madeira islands and the earthquake in Taiwan did not generate looting or widespread crime, both countries having significantly lower Gini coefficients and therefore more equal societies. Both Haiti and Chile in 2010 as well as the USA in 2005, relied on armed military personnel to ensure stability in certain urban areas, using force when necessary to prevent wide scale unrest and protect private and public assets from looting and theft.

While some studies suggest that levels of education also determine how a country's population reacts to a natural disaster, I am somewhat sceptical about such conclusions. I would rather lean towards the argument of inequality in the distribution of national wealth, lack of opportunities as well as social and economic discrimination, as a credible explanation for why social unrest and looting take place in some countries following natural disasters.

I would be curious to know whether disaster preparedness includes provisions for prevention and management of social unrest and crime in its aftermath, due to the fact that such preventive measures are indeed long term social and economic policies and reforms which need to take into account sustainable and equitable distribution of national wealth.

Just some thoughts...

Tennis players, wigs and Dubai assassinations: Welcome to the Middle East

In the past few weeks, while people in Europe and the USA have been distracted by Colin Firth's BAFTA award, Charlie Sheen's rehab admission or yet another school shoot-out in America, the Middle East has been passionately embroiled in the unfolding and still mysterious drama of the assassination of Hamas' military commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, suffocated in his hotel room at the luxurious Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh (source: Getty)

Almost perfectly planned and what seemed to be a successful assassination, now turns out to be a complete failure by Mossad (Israel's intelligence agency), whose plot has not only been completely uncovered, but its 20 or so agents involved, all identified. And to add even more drama to the story, the identities used by the agents were stolen from existing dual European-Israeli citizens, who for the most, have never set foot in the UAE. While Mossad still denies any involvement in the plot, most analysts in the Arab world, recognise Israel's signature. The European countries, in addition to Australia, whose citizens' identities were fraudulently used, have protested in anger to what is clearly a violation of international law.

The most ironic part of this story has to be CCTV footage of two of the agents, leaving the elevator next to Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, minutes before they kill him, dressed in full tennis garb, complete with sweat wrist bans, towels around their neck, a la Roger Federer, tennis balls and new shiny rackets. The British Telegraph newspaper published a few days ago a detailed account of how the Dubai assassination was orchestrated, an interesting read.

While the investigation continues, conspiracy theories abound on Arab TV networks, as is usually the case in a region fraught with suspicion and undercover operations...

To be continued...

Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto: Sense of Taste

The fifth and last sense to be tackled in my series on Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto is

The Sense of Taste

which is probably the most relevant of all senses in our discussion of culinary habits in conflict contexts. Indeed, taste, in my opinion is Mother Nature's most precious gift to us, whereas for the privileged, eating has become an art, rather than simply a means of survival. Food scarcity in some places I have had the chance to work in, has not been an obstacle to people's culinary creativity and their interest in enhancing the taste and aroma of their daily meals. Millions of women living in conflict affected countries toil each day in their kitchens, which for most are either make-shift huts full of smoke or holes in the ground with coal or wood and a metal grill in front of a refugee tent in the many refugee camps scattered around the world.

A few years ago, while distributing food aid in Eastern Congo for an international NGO and in the occupied Palestinian territories (Gaza and West Bank) for the UN World Food Programme, I came to realise how important taste was for both of these populations, despite their many hardships and the obvious struggle for survival. Ensuring that their meals tasted the way they always did, was an important way for them to keep a sense a normalcy and familiarity with their customs and norms, while war ravaged everything around them.

Dried sage leaves (known as maramiyeh in Arabic) which are grown in pots on windowsills in Palestinian houses in Gaza, are added to black tea, as a popular social drink for some Gazan fishermen, who hardly survive on the tiny income they make from the fish trade. They too will receive food aid at some point in their lives, the usual package of which includes chickpeas, oil, sugar and flour. The women soak the chickpeas overnight and then mix the soft chickpeas with tahini, a sesame oil based paste (smuggled through the underground tunnels dug between Gaza and Egypt as the only means to circumvent the Israeli blockade for essential goods), to make hummus.

In 2007, in the Congo, the UN agency assisting refugees, the UNHCR, distributed food parcels mainly to Congolese refugees returning from Zambia and other neighbouring countries, having fled their villages in South Kivu during the fighting between the militia groups and a number of African armies, ten years ago. One Congolese women I saw had walked for 2 days to the distribution site, bare foot. She placed the large white bag of 5 kilos of rice on her head, tightened the cloth that was holding her baby on her back, and turned back, to walk for another 2 days. She wore a t-shift with President Laurent Kabila's face, a t-shirt she most probably received for free during Kabila's campaigning in 2006 for the Presidential elections which took place there. That bag of rice, the cloth around her baby and the free t-shirt, was all she had. While she will simply boil the rice and add some salt (if she is lucky to have received some), other more affluent Congolese enjoy rice with Moambe which is a chicken and palm oil stew, more popular in urban areas, rather than in the poorer villages. The recipe for the Congolese Moambe can be found here.

Palestinian boy at a UN WFP distribution site in Gaza, Palestine in 2005 (a few months before the disengagement of Israeli settlements)

Children of refugees returned to South Kivu in Eastern DR Congo, 2007. Thanks to digital technology, the photo I took of these kids appears instantly on the small screen of my camera, allowing the children to see themselves and their friends, they usually scream of excitement... Wonderful experience.

Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto: Sense of Hearing

In my experience of conflict and post-conflict contexts, sounds and noises are probably what cause most of the fear and anguish. While most of us aid workers and UN officials remain protected from the line of fire of the actual conflict, we spend days and nights close enough to the fighting to hear the gun fire, the RPGs and the ambulances rushing back and forth with the dead or wounded. Our sense of hearing therefore dominating all other senses. In a culinary context, hearing can also influence the other senses and is also subject to cultural differences...

The Sense of Hearing

While Indians wait to hear poppy seeds crackle in the hot oil before adding the rest of the ingredients to curry sauces, the Lebanese listen to the bubbling sound of the water at the bottom of a shisha pipe, as they eat hummus and other mezze. Palestinians enjoy the sound of Turkish coffee being poured into tiny handleless cups while Ugandan children listen to their mothers sing as they pound dried maize into flour, for hours, always at the same rhythm, and always smiling. And while the Congolese dip their fufu into crushed chilli sauce (made from very hot African chillies), you can almost hear their hearts beat from the fire of the spice...

A shisha pipe repairman in Shatila refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon in 2008

Coffee merchant grinding cardamon pods and Costa Rican coffee beans in Nablus, West Bank, Palestine in 2007. The coffee is boiled in metal pots over the fire, constantly turning it to the right consistency, augmented by lots of sugar and poured into small cups, also known as Turkish coffee.

A Ugandan mother digs her field with her children, in Mbale, Eastern Uganda in 2003.

The red roundish ones are the chillies found in the DR Congo... Some of the hottest chillies in the World. The Congolese crush it with garlic and salt and use it as a condiment for fufu or chicken.

Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto: Sense of Smell

The third chapter of this culinary series of eating and cooking in conflict, is dedicated to the

The Sense of Smell

It is quite intriguing how the scent of something can bring back vivid memories of a place or of someone. Smell can enchant or disgust and it can attract or repulse. Smell is also subject to cultural differences. In the DR Congo, locals of its capital, Kinshasa, are delighted by the smell of a caterpillar stew simmering on the fire in their mother's kitchen. The Ugandans thoroughly enjoy the smell of a fresh cob of corn grilling on hot coal infront of houses in the villages. In Palestine, in the Muslim quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem, Palestinians are enchanted by the aroma of freshly baked knafeh, a sweet made with cheese, shredden Fillo dough, butter and sugar, originally from the city of Nablus in the West Bank. In 2009 the Palestinians set the Guinness record for the world's largest Knafeh (Read article in the Haaretz).

During Ramadan, the Palestinians also enjoy other pastries and sweets such as Qatayef, a small pancake, the smell of which reminds most of the Holy Month approaching. In 2007, a few days before Ramadan, while walking along the walls of the Old City in East Jerusalem, I came across an old man who was preparing Qatayef. He was very keen that I taste these delights and once we had chatted a bit about where I was from and what I was doing there, he handed me one for free, still warm and soft, it was sweet and melted in my mouth.

Nablus, a town which, in addition to being famous for Knafeh, is also home to the most delicious zaatar in the Middle East (dry thyme leaves which are ground with sesame seeds and salt) as well as olive oil produced from hand picked olives in groves which are centuries old. Unfortunately, with the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, its imposed curfews, closures and trade blocks, Palestinians struggle to make a living from this production and are unable to export any surplus produce. Furthermore, many olive groves are destroyed by the Israeli army in order to expand the land around illegal settlements, citing security reasons. A few years ago, I often travelled to Nablus from East Jerusalem for the UN, and therefore had the chance to enjoy Nablus' culinary delicacies, the olive oil in particular, which while on the subject of smell, has such an intriguing perfume, that just with a whiff, one can taste it.

Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto: Sense of Sight

The second chapter of Part I of my series on Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto, I will focus on the

Sense of Sight

Sight is associated to each culture's interpretations of esthetics. Only recently did the European Union repeal a 20 year old law which regulated fruits and vegetable sales within the Union, banning 26 types of odd and strangely shaped or discoloured ones! (Read very interesting BBC article on the subject: Click Here). The law basically stipulated that if your carrot was small and had a growth on the side, it was illegal to sell it. In addition to this esthetic absurdity, most fruits and vegetables in European supermarkets, have been coated with wax, giving them a shine, which makes them look like those fake plastic ones which are used for decorating kitchens with Made in China stamps on the bottom. Odd, absurd and frightening...

By contrast, in many developping countries, the more discoloured, deformed and dirty the commodity looks, the better it will sell. My experience in Eastern DR Congo gave me much insight on the cultural differences between "us" and "them" on issues of culinary esthetics.

While working with a humanitarian organisation in the Eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo a few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel throughout the Kivu, mainly South Kivu. A vast terrain bordering Burundi and Tanzania in the East, with Bukavu as its provincial capital, sitting on Lake Kivu. The province has suffered decades of conflict, with hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs. On a sunny day, I was in the town of Uvira, a sprawling city, which grew ten fold in only 2 years due to the return of refugees, during the years of relative stability then. I had the chance to visit the local market there, which, as you can imagine, was busy, smelly and full of flies. While making my way through the many stalls, I came across, what my Congolese colleague wispered to me as, a regional delicacy...

While my European stomach began to quiver, the goat's head's seller, was convincing me to buy it because once cooked, this meat (including the insides of the head and eyes), were deliciously tender and nutritious. Obviously, I kindly declined and went on my way, trying to steer straight through the crowd, until the smell of the meat was well behind me... Back at base however, my curiosity to taste this beast won over my stomach's desperate appeals and I took a bite from the grill, amusing most of the Congolese around me. I had just one thing to say after that: "Absolutely delicious". Teaching me a valuable lesson that "les apparences sont parfois trompeuses".

Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto: Sense of Touch

Away from politics and the struggle against injustice... I thought I would write about another passion of mine: The Art of Cooking.

Living and working in conflict countries, or isolated villages in African jungles... definitely doesn't make that activity one of the easiest which, come to think of it, is what is most challenging and therefore interesting!

From India and Nepal to DR Congo and Uganda, through Palestine and Lebanon, I have had the opportunity to experience how different cultures enjoy food, how they prepare it and how it brings people together in a way which, in my opinion is still highly misunderstood and underestimated by conflict resolution experts.

It is the process of creating something that has the power to arouse all our 5 senses, which is what probably has me hooked. To begin the series of Guns, Checkpoints and Pesto, PART I will be dedicated to these senses: Touch, Smell, Taste, Hearing and Sight.

The Sense of Touch

Most Western cultures have completely lost the concept of touching food. Indeed, we hold on to metal instruments to lift the food from our plates to our mouthes, and the process ends there. At a young age, our parents make sure to teach us that touching food is bad and we get punished when, rebellious, we attempt to grab the stuff to lick it off our fingers.

On a moonlit evening in mid-June 2001, (15 days after the massacre of the Nepali Royal Family by the Crown Prince, in a Romeo and Juliette style drama of impossible love and feuding families), I sat on the floor of a mud and brick built kitchen with a family of 3 generations in a small village just outside Kathmandu. The dinner was being served by the grandmother and her daughter, assisted by her two granddaughters. The grandfather had slaughtered a small chicken in honour of my visit. The meal consisted of basmati rice (baht), lentils (dal) and the most tender chicken I have ever eaten in my life, cooked in a curry sauce, with crushed chillies and garlic. The plate now infront of me, legs crossed, sleeves up, all eyes on me to dig in first, I akwardly and with perfect clumsiness, scooped some dal baht in my right hand (the left hand being considered less clean, used for purposes which are outside the realm of the subject of this posting), and brought it all up to my mouth, praying for some divine intervention so it does not fall down onto my lap. The giggles of the children was proof enough of how ridicule their honoured guest must have appeared to them. Once I had chewed and swallowed my first mouthfull of the little food I did manage to salvage, the family took their eyes off me and started eating. With much relief, this gave me an opportunity to practice the art of hand eating, and after multiple attempts, I began to master it. From discomfort and clumsiness, it became pure joy and fun. The synergy that is created between you and the food, when you are using your hands, cannot be explained in words. It can only be experienced.

Green and red lentils, the staple food for most South Asians. Delicious and wonderfully nutritious

Indian Basmati Rice has the most enchanting almost nutty flavour

The Never Before Campaign for Palestine

A Lebanese colleague of mine, who is passionate about the cause for Palestine, runs a campaign called "The Never Before Campaign for Palestine" which has produced some brilliant short video montages, all posted on You Tube (Click here).



According to the campaign mission statement:

"The Never-Before-Campaign for Palestine is a Beirut-based campaign launched by individuals of different professional backgrounds, including sociologists, political scientists and communications experts.

The Never-Before-Campaign calls for a new approach to support Palestine, and its people, their cause and their resistance movements. This new approach veers away from the traditional competitions for victim-hood which usually seek to elicit the worlds pity. Pity only yields sympathy.

For decades, Palestinians have been treated, at best, as poor unfortunate beings who might deserve charity and maybe some humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, Israel decides, at its own leisure, which bits of the usurped rights to give back.

The Campaign aims at commanding respect. The world does not respect the meek, rather the powerful and the confident. The Palestinian people are victims here, but they are also resilient and determined. The Campaign seeks to communicate this image to the world.

In addition, the image of resistance, that has been suppressed for fear of being confused with terror, is also and integral part of the campaign. No cosmetics, no facades. A masked gunman is the current image of the Palestinian resistance, whether we like it or not. It is this masked freedom fighter facing the might of the Israeli army that makes us proud. The campaign does not succumb to Western sensitivities of the post 9-11 era.

The West and the whole world are at fault here, not the Palestinian people or the resistance movements. The Campaign addresses that issue: Palestine will not wait for Western remorse that always comes too late, such as for the Holocaust, Rwanda and South Africa.

The Campaign recognizes growing awareness about the Palestinian cause all over the world and builds on it. It targets different sets of audiences at the same time.

The Never Before Campaign has no political or religious affiliation, it only has one enemy. All those fighting for the same cause are allies to the Campaign. Our purpose is to make those allies as numerous as possible and to share the credit with them once our cause is victorious."

Lebanon as a new non-permanent member of the UN Security Council

Yesterday, the UN General Assembly elected 5 new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for a period of two years, beginning in January 2010. Lebanon received 180 votes out of 192. 

The last time it had a seat on the UNSC was in 1954 and while some may see recent developments as a blessing, others see it as a curse. Indeed, President Suleiman believes that Lebanon will now be in a position to uphold the rights of Palestinians and fellow Arab countries in this World body. On a less positive note, some experts disagree and argue that while Lebanon remains a divided country, whatever side it takes on strategic decisions in the Security Council, will always be politically risky due to the polarised nature of Lebanon's internal politics....A country which, 5 months after general elections, still has no established government, due to ongoing disagreements on a cabinet formation (see posting 10 September 2009).  

Lebanon's Daily Star has recently published an interesting editorial on the negative aspects of Lebanon's new seat on the UNSC, read it here.

New Book: UN Ideas that Changed the World

The United Nations today is launching a new book titled: "UN Ideas that Changed the World" by Richard Jolly, Louis Emmerij and Thomas G. Weiss (click here)

The book provides a synthesis of findings and lessons learned from more than ten years of research by Jolly, Emmerij, Weiss.
The project’s central message is that over its entire history, the UN has played an important and often overlooked role in nurturing and pioneering a set of key action-oriented ideas. Many of these ideas have driven international agendas and catalyzed initiatives aimed at improving the quality of human life. Some examples include: providing an international economic framework for national development policies; setting global goals like the eradication of smallpox, around which action could be mobilized; and promoting a human development approach that emphasized going beyond basic needs to integrating economic and social development, human rights and elements of human security.

Lebanon without a Government: 3 months and 3 days

Following Lebanon's general elections on June 7th 2009 (see posting below dated 8 June 2009), the March 14 alliance, Hariri's led group which includes Geagea's Lebanese Forces and Gemayel's Phalangist Kataeb party, won a majority in Parliament with 60 seats. The opposition group, known as March 8, led by Hezbollah and Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement won 57 seats.

Saad Hariri, PM designate














What most people outside Lebanon don't realise is how small this country is and subsequently how small the electorate is: 1.6 million people. That is the population of Brussels.

The twist in the story comes as follows. After the elections, the leader of the majority, Saad Hariri, son of slain Rafik Hariri, became PM designate. He was thus tasked to form his government and present an agreed upon cabinet line-up to the President of the Republic, Michel Suleiman.

This is the Middle East after all! Things are not that simple. Indeed, the opposition group, March 8, keen on being included in the future cabinet, demanded a fair amount of ministerial posts, including the strategic Ministry of the Interior as well as Telecommunications.

Telecommunications?! Would be the first question of a well educated, well politically versed Westerner... Of couse! Would be the response of a Lebanese, so used to the political ramblings of his/her country. I shall explain.

Michel Aoun has three daughters. No sons. In a country of family dynasties associated to political clientalism and power, that is a problem indeed. One of Aoun's daughters married a man called Bassil. Bassil, a somewhat short and clumsly looking fellow was pushed onto the political scene thanks to his father in law. He became Minister for Telecommunications in the previous government. Bassil was not re-elected by his constituents in the June 7th elections and therefore did not win a seat in Parliament. Aoun, being part of the opposition, demanded that Hariri include in his cabinet, Bassil once again as the Minister for Telecommunications, despite his lack of a constituency. Hariri categorically refused.

So why is Telecommunications such a strategic post? Well, do you remember Lebanon's 3 week crisis which led to the Doha agreement in May 2008? (see posting below, and followoing posts on the same subject, titled "Unrest in Lebanon: Day 3" on Friday 9th May 2008). The uprising of Hezbollah at the time was caused by a row over issues pertaining to the group's monopoly on a telecommunications network and its exclusive use, for security and intelligence purposes. Aoun is an ally of Hezbollah and his son in law, Bassil was Minister, apparently often sharing with Hezbollah, individual files through the ministry's capacity to intercept information from emails, phone calls and other forms of communication.

So voila, that is why that ministry is so important, and that is why, Lebanon has not had a government for the past 3 months. While Somalia is visibly a country without a government, Lebanon continues to function well. The Lebanese both don't really notice the lack of a government and don't really miss it.

This will sound strange to Western ears (we who are used to rules, structure, fines and punishment for bad deeds), but it is the lawnessness here that creates this sense of false stability. It is the lack of rules and regulations that oils the wheels of this country, while life goes on uninterrupted.

A few days ago, Hariri went ahead and presented a cabinet line-up (which had not been agreed on by the opposition) to President Suleiman, responsible for reviewing it and then accepting it. Of course, the opposition vehemently rejected the proposal and Suleiman, of couse, could not and would not sign it.

As a result, during the Iftar (the break of the fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan) organised yesterday evening at the Prime Minister's Office in the Grand Serail, Hariri hinted at stepping down and offering his letter of resignation to the President...

The United Nations' General Assembly will inaugurate its 64th Session in 5 days, on 15 September 2009. All heads of states members of the United Nations, address the General Assembly each year. How can Michel Suleiman address the United Nations without an effective government in place?.... Let's see if that is an incentive enough for majority and opposition to come to a consensus and quickly agree on a cabinet... an agreement which some say will be pushed by Syria and Saudia Arabia, on both fronts of the Lebanese divide....

The Official White House Flickr Photostream

Since the beginning of Obama's election campaign last year, he has pioneered the use of modern technology to reach as many people as possible. In our day and age, that is pure genius. From daily email updates, to a personal website, to social networking sites and video and message sharing websites, Obama revolutionised the concept of political campaigning. When he was elected president, he took his revolution to the next level and continues to use the internet as a powerful tool to bring people within his realm of decision-making.

One of those projects is The Official White House Photostream on Flickr, which is strategically brilliant. The White House shares with the people of the World (not just the USA), the life and work of the President and his closest advisors. The tool is so powerful that even I find myself smiling when I browse though most photos of Obama...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse

President Barack Obama leads his daughter Sasha through the Kremlin after the family arrived in Moscow, Russia, July 6, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The Least Free Places on Earth - Photo Essay by Foreign Policy Magazine

Foreign Policy Magazine has published an amazing photo essay on the "least free places on Earth". Most of the photos are taken from Reuters, AFP and Getty Images. The text is taken from Freedom House's "Worst of the Worst" in its World Report.

Click here for the link to the photo essay

Below are some of the most poignant photos:

Chad














Cuba













Zimbabwe

Sudan (Darfur)














Uzbekistan

Lebanese Parliamentary Elections - 2009

It has been a strange build up to Lebanon's parliamentary elections these past few months. Strange because most experts predicted wrongly and most polls were way off what actually happened. Massive security measures were put in place yesterday preempting major security mishaps, which in fact never took place. Indeed, the Lebanese people peacefully exercised their civic duty and flocked to the polls, got their thumbs inked and quietly returned home.

Today, Monday, was declared a national public holiday, again in anticipation of possible security concerns, in the event that the defeated parties contest the results, which also still has not happened.

This morning I woke up and read that early results show a lead of 71 seats out of 128 for the ruling coalition, March 14th, Saad Hariri's group. As final results emerge today, let's see how a possible national unity government could be created while avoiding any future political crisis, which brought the country to a political standstill 2 years ago... We are also expecting reactions from the various international allies of both groups, namely the West including the USA for March 14th and Syria and Iran for March 8th.

On election day yesterday Sunday, I walked around Ashrafieh (the Christian area of East Beirut) to capture a few photos of this historical event:

Two young supporters of the Tayyar Party (orange party) of Christian leader Michel Aoun in Ashrafieh, pose for me with their inked thumb, sign they just voted. Michel Aoun has split with other Christian parties (who are part of the majority March 14th group) and formed the March 8th opposition coalition with Hezbollah...















Security measures were put in place. I took this photo, one street down from our flat in Ashrafieh.














Soldiers were also placed at strategic areas such as infront of polling stations.














Posters of parliamentary candidates were hanging from buildings and some walls were painted in the colour of the party, seen here for Michel Aoun's Tayyar Party. In the background, there is the beautiful maronite church.

Below is a poster of the late Gebrane Tueni, son of Ghassan Tueni who is still the Editor of An-Nahar newspaper and former minister as well as former Lebanese Ambassador to the UN in the crucial years in the beginning of the 1980s when Israel invaded Lebanon. I am reading Ghassan's book "Une guerre pour les autres" which he wrote in 1984 and which is dedicated to his son Gebrane, slain during the war. The woman next to Gebrane is Nayla Tueni, running for a Christian seat in Beirut 1 district, where we live. She is the daughter of Ghassan Tueni. She is one of few women running for parliamentary seats, most of whom are daughters, sisters or wives of Lebanon's political dynasties. As the title of a recent documentary on Al Jazeera English says: "Lebanese Elections: A Family Affair"...

In Lebanon, confession and religion plays a central role in public life. Indeed, even civil marriages are not recognised. When a Lebanese citizen registers a new born, he declares the baby's confession. When adult, that person will vote as a Christian Maronite for example, or as a Sunni Muslim, not only has a Lebanese. The Consitution was written in 1932 and was based on granting equal participation to the 18 official sects and no population census has taken place since then. Seats in parliament are divided equally between Muslims and Christians. As a result, relgion and state are intertwined, religious leaders have tremendous political power and lines between confessional beliefs and public policy are blurred.

Today, as the hours advance, official results are confirming that March 14 has a clear majority. The Israeli foreign minister has already made a statement stressing the importance for the new Lebanese government to prevent attacks from its territory towards Israel.

Until now, Hezbollah has been reacting positively to the election results, admitting defeat. Hezbollah MP Fadlallah made some quite mature and peacefull statements today calling for national unity and respect for diversity. Let's hope Lebanon's political leaders can all overcome past grievances and move on with building democratic institutions with full accountability to Lebanon's people.

Beirut commemorates: 4 years since Hariri's assassination

Saturday 14th February marked the fourth year since former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination in 2005. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese filled the streets of Beirut and congregated in the Place des Martyrs in the downtown area. Lebanese politicians took the opportunity to address the crowds. I was among them. Here are the photos I took. The most incredible scenes were the convergence of thousands of people from each part of this divided city. A flow of people from East Beirut on one side and thousands more from West Beirut, all walking towards Martyr's Square. It was breathtaking.

UN Secretary-General in Gaza

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivers remarks during a press conference on 20 January in front of a damaged warehouse belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Headquarters in Gaza (Credits: UN Photo, Eskinder Debebe)

Gaza Conflict Day 22: Unilateral cease-fire and Crimes against Humanity

On Friday evening, the staff unions of various UN agencies working in Lebanon organised a vigil in front of the UN building in downtown Beirut following the tragic and devastating loss of innocent lives in Gaza.

Last night, at 2am local time, after a long cabinet meeting, the Israeli government finally decided on a unilateral cease-fire. The question is, a cease-fire with who? As Israel does not recognise Hamas, it cannot negotiate any kind of deal with the group. Another question is how a cease-fire can be unilateral? If only one party agrees to halt fighting, how does this ensure that the conflict actually does stop? And in the case of Palestine, what about freedom, the right of return for the refugees, the right to land and to control of their own borders? What about the right to be free of occupation? And finally, what about the right to an independent state?

Well this morning's events proves these questions to be relevent. Indeed, as reported on Israel's English daily The Haaretz online, IDF and Hamas gunmen traded fire after Hamas launched more rockets into Israel, despite the cease-fire. Furthermore, according to Ehud Olmert, Israeli troops will remain in the Strip (occupying once again that land) as long as Hamas continues to fire rockets.

When I read international media, I find it surprising how this conflict is portrayed and even more surprising how Hamas and its actions are described. Why does everyone think that Hamas is firing rockets just because it feels like it and just because its members are blood thirsty terrorists? Even European media does not get to the bottom of the story. That is actually the problem with journalism, short stories portraying some facts (not all) and never reminding us of the root causes and the history. In the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, history is very important.

Since Israel's onslaught on Gaza, international law professionals and intellectuals, including Richard Falk, the Princeton professor who was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, have brought up the issue of potential legal action against Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This of course all depends on how the US will veto these attempts.

According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Crimes against humanity, "are particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. However, murder, extermination, torture, rape, political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but may fall short of falling into the category of crimes under discussion."

War Crimes are grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions which includes among other acts, harming civilians, destroying property, directing attacks at UN and humanitarian facilities and staff, settling on occupied territory and using poisonous weapons. Does this not sound all too familiar lately?

The Gaza Conflict - Day 16

I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to CNN and BBC, to watch yet another day of genocide in the Gaza Strip. How privileged am I to wake up in a comfortable apartment in Beirut, after a long night's peaceful rest with the prospect of a nutritious breakfast. I also swiched on my computer to read more of the many emails I receive from Palestinian friends and colleagues, following the events closely.

Last week, when the UN Security Council finally came to an agreement on a resolution, the US abstained and both warring parties "brushed it off". A stir of emotions flooded me, perhaps due to my naive belief in International Law and binding UN resolutions. I started to think that perhaps, in this region, the UN has no effective role to play. I then began existentially questioning my own function in the UN here. Is the UN relevent anymore?

I read today that last week, the Democratic-led U.S. Senate enacted - via a cowardly voice vote - a completely one-sided, non-binding resolution that expresses unequivocal support for the Israeli war, and heaps all the blame for the conflict on Hamas. Senator Harry Reid proudly proclaimed: "When we pass this resolution, the United States Senate will strengthen our historic bond with the state of Israel." On its website, AIPAC (the pro-Israel lobby in Washington) is already patting the U.S. Senate on its back "for conveying America's unequivocal and steadfast support for Israel's right to self-defense." Here is the resolution referred to as "revolting" by most pro-Palestinian intellectuals: Click here.

Hezbollah also warned Israel once again that it is well prepared to defend Lebanon against any attack on that front.

There is enough reporting and analysis on Gaza for me not to write more on it here. So I thought of suggesting two books which are very relevent today and which I read a few months ago:

1) Zaki Chehab's "Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of Militants, Martyrs and Spies" publised by I.B. Tauris in 2007. Brilliant account of the birth and life of Hamas. Chehab was born in Tyre in South Lebanon as a Palestinian refugee, his family having fled Northern Israel in 1948, living in Rashidieh Refugee Camp. His is now a brilliant international journalist. He gave a passionate interview a few days ago on the BBC when interviewed on the Gaza crisis. This book should be read by all trying to follow and understand current events in Gaza.

2) Augustus Norton's "Hezbollah: A short history", published in 2007 by Princeton University Press. Professor Norton's blog is linked on the right of this blog as recommended reading on this region. Norton was a military observer for the UN's mission in South Lebanon in the 1980's. His knowledge and description of Hezbollah and its history is very impressive. I found this book very well written and full of interesting information and anecdotes. This book also helps one to understand Hezbollah in relation to Israel and therefore very relevent in today's hightened tensions.

The Gaza Conflict - Day 13

On the 13th Day of the crisis in Gaza, Israel continues its assault. Since yesterday, 3 hours have been granted to allow a humanitarian corridor and a temporary cessation of hostilities. Analysts say that this short reprieve is only a way for Israel to buy more time to complete its operations in Gaza as well a public relations stunt to reduce internation pressure on Israel.

There are concerns here in Beirut, that the crisis could spread to Northern Israel on the border with Lebanon.

As reported in the above BBC article, today, Palestinian groups in South Lebanon fired 5 Katyusha rockets into Israel. Israel fired back in response. Hezbollah said it did not plan to start a new war with Israel, but it seems like today's event shows that Palestinian groups are the ones who could start a conflict. There is a heavy UN presence in South Lebanon after the cease-fire in 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel, but it seems as if they would not be able to stop an escalation if there is one. This also means that if it is the Palestinians who are causing trouble, they could be targeted in an Israeli retaliation. There are many Palestinian camps around Beirut and around the country. They are already suffering terrible living conditions as well as social and economic discrimination. Further deterioration of their living conditions will only plunger more into destitution.

Rashid Khalidi, a respected Palestinian scholar in the United States has published a brilliant Op-Ed in the New York Times: Click here. The NYT, with its overly Israeli supportive readership, has published this article in a rare moment of truth about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

Jimmy Carter also spoke out in an article in the Washington Post today: Click here. He recently visited the region under the auspices of his Carter Center, in attempt to spread peace in the Middle East. He gave a lecture at the American University of Beirut which M and I attended.

Robert Fisk wrote an opinion piece in The Independent yesterday which I also recommend reading: Click here. In reference to the bombing of the UN school earlier this week he writes: "What happened was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas."

The Regional Implications of the Gaza Conflict

Overview of the Crisis

On 19 December 2008, an Egyptian brokered cease-fire between Hamas and Israel came to an end after 6 months of relative calm. Continued unmet demands from both sides, saw an escalation to open conflict, now in its 12th day. With over 550 Palestinian deaths and 1 Israeli soldier killed, the ensuing humanitarian crisis and potential regional implications are significant. The already dwindling public infrastructure has been further damaged and in some cases destroyed by Israeli bombardments and artillery shell, including UNRWA facilities and government buildings. International diplomatic efforts have been underway to bring about an immediate cease-fire. After a number of unsuccessful attempts by the Security Council to reach an agreement, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy jointly proposed a plan on Tuesday 6 January which would bring together all the main parties and take all measures to end the conflict in Gaza. The plan envisages the resumption of the delivery of aid to Gaza and talks with Israel on border security.

The regional implications of this crisis are mainly political. Indeed, the humanitarian and economic crisis in Gaza, while it affects Gaza and its inhabitants tremendously, does not have much spill-over effects on its neighbours. Furthermore, due to the movement restrictions imposed on the Palestinians in Gaza, they are unable to flee the war and therefore this crisis has not created a large scale refugee problem that neighbouring states would have to cope with. The following describes other regional implications.

Regional Impact

Peace Process

Recent efforts to revive the peace process were made in 2007, when the Arab League renewed its commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, presented in Beirut in 2002 by the Crown Prince King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The initiative which includes a return to the 1967 borders and a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital was widely accepted by Arab countries, including the Palestinian Authority as well as support from Israel. The PA recently published the details of this peace plan in Israeli print media, in an effort of rapprochement to inform the Israeli population. Parellel initiatives were pushed by the United States last year, namely the Annapolis process which lead to a Conference in November 2007, aiming to produce a substantive document on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict along the lines of President George W. Bush's Roadmap For Peace, with the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.

The current crisis in Gaza will have dire consequences on the ongoing peace process, as previous confidence building efforts between the Palestinian Authority and Israel on one side, and third party brokered cease-fires between Hamas and Israel on the other side, would have been in vein. This crisis will also create a potential for further radicalization of certain groups within Palestinian society, leading to increased risk of continued violence and conflict. The marginalization of some key Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria, as a result of their response for some and silence for others during this crisis, will also further burden any future efforts for renewed peace talks. On the other hand, the recent joint efforts made by Arab States at the Security Council on pushing for a cease-fire, shows a potential for unified efforts and support for peace.

The crisis will also have negative consequences on internal reconciliation efforts between various factions within Palestinian society. The failure to convene the Palestinian Reconciliation Dialogue in Cairo last November, already demonstrated its fragile grounds. Since Hamas’ election in 2005, the group has been in a power struggle with the Fateh party, led by Mahmoud Abbass. In July 2007, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, ousting Fateh, which currently controls the West Bank. Following the take over of power in the Strip, continuing internal fighting between various Palestinian factions had intensified. The current crisis however has resulted in increasing Palestinian support for Hamas.

Neighbouring states

Egypt

In 2005, after the Israeli disengagement of Gaza, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority were responsible for controlling the Rafah Crossing in the presence of EU monitors, following an agreement on Movement and Access with Israel. As a result of the abduction of IDF soldier, Gilat Shalit in 2006 and continued military aggression from both Israel and Hamas, Rafah, as all other crossings into Gaza were restricted and under the control of the Israeli authorities.
Egypt’s position first as an ally of Israel and second as a country with a border with the Gaza Strip, has faced difficult times, especially more recently with the conflict that has erupted in Gaza. Egypt’s initial decision to deny access to its country to fleeing Palestinians has been criticized by most of the Arab world. Egypt’s current responsibility for the movement of Palestinians, its obligation to deal directly with Hamas to solve the border crisis while it continues to maintain ties with the West and with Israel, has created an environment of uncertainty and instability. On the other hand, its direct links to Hamas, does provide a third party mediator between the warring parties.

Lebanon

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces which took place in the summer of 2006 is a reminder that continued tensions exist between two well-armed foes. Hezbollah’s leader has recently spoken out against Israel’s actions in Gaza, as has most Lebanese political leaders. More recently, Israel’s Prime Minister has confirmed that its forces are ready in the North for any possible retaliation from Hezbollah. Speculation as to ties which exist between Hezbollah and Hamas, especially in terms of arms supply and training, has increased further these tensions. Lebanon, which is recovering from a tense previous 2 years, is not in the position to suffer from further instability, if an escalation were to take place between Israel and Hezbollah.

Humanitarian and Economic

Gaza has been subject to a blockage for already 18 months prior to the beginning of the current crisis, crippling its economy to a state of almost entire dependency on humanitarian and external aid. The effect of the ongoing bombardments and land operations on its infrastructure, water supply systems and basic utilities, will be unprecedented once a damage evaluation is undertaken when a cease-fire is put in place. This region is already burdened by crises of even higher proportions such as the ongoing displacement situation as a result of the Iraq war, the continuous inflow of refugees into Egypt mainly from Sudan, but increasingly from Iraq as well, the Palestinian issue in Lebanon which resulted in the destruction of a refugee camp last year in the North, the recent conflict in Yemen and ongoing tensions between Syria, Iran and Israel. In addition to these crises, the global economic crisis has also affected the countries in this region with high inflation rates and drastic decreases in oil revenues. Therefore, in these difficult times, enhanced regional cooperation cannot be overemphasized. It is the regional nature of this conflict that should be taken into consideration when Arab states decide to take action. Furthermore, the financial crisis will also result in western donor governments’ aid fatigue and therefore will require increased support from Arab states to assist in the recovery of Gaza in the short term and the economic development of the Strip in the longer term. This crisis is an opportunity for the Arab world to demonstrate its capacity to unify and work together on this important issue.

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