Déjà vu

The cover of 'Time' in 1982

This was the cover of Time magazine in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The striking resemblance is giving me shivers. Lebanon, my heart aches for your suffering. The admirable Lebanese people are known for being the ultimate survivors. They will rebuild their beautiful country and return it to the status it was just enjoying.

Hat tip: [euroarabe]

The mistreatment of animals in Jordan

Imad Hammo boxes a tiger The Jordan Times should be commended for Monday’s investigative report into the mistreatment of animals in Jordanian zoos. Here is an excerpt:

The inhumane treatment of animals in the country’s zoos is cause for concern, according to visitors’ complaints sent to the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the Humane Center for Animal Welfare (HCAW). The complaints, seen by The Jordan Times, expressed anger about what one visitor referred to as "horrendous sights" at local zoos.

Among the complaints listed were poor feeding, physical abuse and a lack of proper medical supervision. "The animals in these zoos are in a miserable state," stated Walid Bakri. "Most are starving, some are severely wounded and everywhere we turned not one zookeeper showed the slightest bit of care," his letter continued.

I believe the mistreatment of animals in Jordan generally is a major problem that needs highlighting and immediate attention. I have witnessed many disturbing scenes of violence to animals on the streets of Amman. I recall seeing children torture stray cats that for some reason still fill the streets of the Jordanian capital [you’d think they’d know to hide by now]. I’ve seen children kick cats, pull their tails and throw soda cans at them.

A trained hyena Humane behavior towards animals should be instilled in children from an early age. The situation must not be allowed to continue as it is now. Organizations like Humane Center for Animal Welfare (HCAW) should be really given credit for their efforts to spread awareness amongst Jordanians about the humane treatment of animals. I attended a number of their workshops while working for The Jordan Times, as I was assigned to cover their activities back then. Their primary goal is to spread awareness. Kudos for their efforts.

One of the more horrible stories related to me by an HCAW official was that they saw kids trying to blow up a cat with a tire pump simply for the fun of it! Horrific! According to The Jordan Times, Jordanian zoos are in dire straits. That was news to me, although it is not that surprising. The pictures here were taken by the husband during his visit to one zoo in Amman as part of his work as an editor at The Star. The first picture was taken inside a lion’s cage. The man boxing the tiger in the picture is Imad Hammo, the head of the zoo mentioned in The Jordan Times report. The second image is of a tamed hyena, which Hammo claimed to be the only one in the world.

Depressing Dahab developments

Dahab's hippies enjoy the day

I want to extend my condolences to the Egyptians and other nationals impacted by the terrible human tragedy that befell Dahab on Monday. More than 20 people were killed in a hideous terrorist attack that rocked the peaceful coastal city — the third in the Sinai in 18 months. When will this ever stop! It really is truly disgusting and just so terribly evil!

The husband and I went to Dahab a few years ago and really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of this place; everyone seemed content and simply at peace. I hope the bombings don’t change its unique atmosphere in the long run.

Here is a picture of Dahab I took during the trip that I called The Dahab Hippies. It was by the beach where people bearing all the hippie hallmarks hung out to get a sun bath.

The Prophet cartoon row rolls on

Editor Muhammad al-Asadi Yemeni lawyers have called for a newspaper editor to be sentenced to death for showing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, his paper says. Muhammad al-Asadi was arrested after his publication, the Yemen Observer, showed the Danish cartoons in February. He denies the charges of offending Islam, under which he is being tried. The English-language newspaper has had its license to publish suspended, although its staff have continued to produce material on-line. Lawyers leading a civil case against publishers of the cartoons — in addition to the public case — cited precedents from Muslim history when the prophet was insulted by a woman and then praised her killer. Source: [BBC]

The death penalty! Geez! This is just out of control. There is an interview with him from jail right after his arrest that suggests he is at least somewhat prepared. Meanwhile, as expected, the cartoon row seems to have played an integral part in a new survey highlighting the growing negative image of Muslims and Arabs. Her are some excerpts from the Washington Post’s front page story:

As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The poll found that nearly half of Americans — 46 percent — have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than in the tense months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when Muslims were often targeted for violence.

The survey comes at a time of increasing tension; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq show little sign of ending, and members of Congress are seeking to block the Bush administration’s attempt to hire an Arab company to manage operations at six of the nation’s ports. Also, Americans are reading news of deadly protests by Muslims over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

As a school bus driver in Chicago, Gary McCord, 65, dealt with many children of Arab descent. "Some of the best families I’ve ever had were some of my Muslim families," he said in a follow-up interview. "They were so nice to me." He now works for a Palestinian Christian family, whose members he says are "really marvelous." But his good feelings do not extend to Islam. "I don’t mean to sound harsh or anything, but I don’t like what the Muslim people believe in, according to the Koran. Because I think they preach hate," he said. As for the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, he said Arabs seem hypersensitive about religion. "I think it’s been blown out of proportion," he said. Source: [Washington Post]

Atwar Bahjat, rest in peace

I am really shocked by the horrifying news today of the murder of Alarabiya reporter Atwar Bahjat and her crew in Samarra, Iraq.

Screen capture of Attwar Bahjat Two gunmen pulled up in a pickup truck, shooting in the air and shouting: "We want the correspondent," The Associated Press quoted Al-Arabiya as reporting. "Atwar was in the news van and shouted to the crowd to help her."

"The crew tried to speak to the gunmen, but they snatched them and took them [to] an unknown location. By this time, night had fallen," Reuters quoted Al-Arabiya’s Baghdad correspondent Ahmed al-Saleh as telling viewers. Saleh said the bodies had been dumped near the town of Dawr near Samarra. All three were Iraqi citizens. Source: [CNN]

I met Atwar briefly last year in Doha, Qatar. I remember her as being so extremely friendly. I’m really just appalled by such a cold-blooded murder. May her soul rest in peace. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued a statement on the killings:

We are horrified by this appalling act. We will never stop repeating that journalists are neutral and vital observers. They are neither combatants nor targets to be shot down. Their work must be protected and respected, whatever their nationality and regardless of which media they work for.

… A total of 82 journalists and media assistants have been killed since the start of the war in Iraq. Seven of them have died since 1st January 2006, making this start of the year the most deadly in three years. Atwar Bahjat is the 7th woman journalist to be killed since the war in Iraq began.

The situation in Iraq seems to be getting worse by the day. When will all this mayhem come to an end once and for all!

RSF: Jordanian authorities ‘acrimonious’ since cartoon controversy began

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is apparently not satisfied with the Jordanian government’s handling of the Prophet caricature controversy. In a press release, RSF said:

The Jordanian authorities have been among the most acrimonious since the start of this controversy. Ten days ago, the Jordanian parliament called for the cartoonists to be punished. Now the judicial authorities are getting involved and have had a journalist imprisoned.

For my part, I’m really quite annoyed with the decision jailing the two Jordanian journalists, even though I understand that they violated the Press and Publication Law by publishing such religiously offensive cartoons. That said, I don’t see how you can justify the very presence of a press law in a supposedly democratic country. Arresting journalists and throwing them in jail before they get a fair trial is surely a step backwards in the kingdom’s supposed march towards a free press.

But the most upsetting thing for me is that these actions were taken while we Jordanians are being showered with promises of a free press via the highly anticipated reform program: The National Agenda. I was more optimistic several months ago, particularly after the launch of a campaign to end journalist imprisonment in Jordan. I truly believed Jordan was on the path towards embracing reform. Now it seems things are going in reverse.

In case you are wondering what became of the two journalists, well, they were re-arrested after an appeal from a civil prosecutor on Monday. This was one day after a judge released them pending their respective trials. The two could spend three years behind bars if found guilty. "It will be awkward that two editors walk freely while we are leading a national campaign condemning the Europeans who published the cartoons," said Deputy Hisham Qaisi, a member of the Legal Committee at the House in an article published the Jordan Times.

Jordanian blogger Khalaf has an excellent post about the emergence of a "slippery slope" that is developing in Jordan following the cartoon controversy. In his post he highlights recent calls to censor websites in Irbid Internet centers. These censored sites include "those that evoke sexual instincts, degrade religious feelings, or the system of government or encourage the use of illegal drugs."

Kahlaf makes a link between this call for censorship and the publication of the cartoons by the two Jordanian editors. He also mentions that some MPs have asked the government (in Arabic) to "reject the American pressure to license new Christian groups." Somehow MPs in their twisted logic see some sort of link between "new Christian groups" and the publication of these cartoons. Kahlaf ends with a powerful observation:

Of course, as this undemocratic rush continues, we can expect a lot of add-ons that would involve wish lists of all those involved. After terrorist attacks in Amman killed more than 60 innocent victims … people were afraid that the government would use this to limit freedom of speech. What the terrorists couldn’t do was achieved by some cartoons. Talk about [a] sense of proportion.

Well said, Kahlaf. Well said!

UPDATE: According to The Jordan Times, a number of international and national press watchdogs have also shown concern over the journalists’ arrest:

“We are deeply concerned by the jailing of Jihad Momani and Hashem Khalidi and the possibility that they could serve a lengthy prison sentences for what they published,” said Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "While we recognize the anger this controversy has caused, journalists should not be jailed for what they publish, even when it is considered offensive," she added.

The Amman-based Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) also denounced the arrest, saying it was a "violation of international standards of freedom of the press … We totally reject any offense against the Prophet and affirm that any offense or attack on religions contradicts human rights and freedom of expression," a CDFJ statement said. Also Tuesday, a group of 14 local journalists signed a letter expressing concern over the journalists’ arrest, agreeing to launch a campaign to collect signatures pressing for the editors’ release, according to the statement.