In the last week of August of 2005, the city of New Orleans was devastated by what turned out to be one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of the city and killed 1,836 people. One man who decided not to leave the city was Syrian-American Abdulrahman Zeitoun. He stayed behind to protect his property and his business.
Abdulrahman's experiences were brought to light by best-selling author Dave Eggers who published his book Zeitoun in 2009. In the aftermath of the hurricane, and when most of the city was underwater, Abdulrahman paddled silently in a canoe, delivering supplies to those who needed them and helping those whom he could help.
A film version of the book is now in the works and is due to be released in 2011. The film is an animated film that carries the same title, Zeitoun. American filmmaker Jonathan Demme is the director. The New York Times Arts Beat blog interviewed Demme about this back in October, 2009:
“I was staring at the book,” Mr. Demme said in a telephone interview, “and there’s this wonderful line drawing on the cover, the character of Zeitoun in his canoe, paddling through a submerged neighborhood. And I suddenly imagined, What if we could do an animated film and visualize the experiences of the Zeitoun family and all of New Orleans?”
In a recent report on this, the Arabic-language news portal syria-news.com said [Ar] that the production is by Syrian-American businessman Jamal Daniel and that the cost of the film will be around $20 million.
The syria-news.com report also said that Abdulrahman Zeitoun is the brother of the Syrian swimming World Champion Mohamad Zeitoun about whom Syrian blogger Abufares had this to say, on his blog:
There's a tomb at the far end of the Corniche in Jableh, Syria. It is the resting place of 23 year old Mohamad Zeitoun (1941-1964), by far the most accomplished Syrian athlete of all times.
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Mohamad Zeitoun, Syrian long distance swimmer, went on to become an international legend as 3 times World Champion (1960, 1961 and 1964).
Abdulrahman Zeitoun was also born in Jableh, Syria in 1957. He worked in construction according to syria-news.com. He then traveled and worked as a sailor on Greek ships in 1974. In 1988, he settled in New Orleans, Louisiana where he worked as a contractor. There he met his wife Kathy and they had four kids.
It is no secret. I am big fan of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and I oppose all efforts to marginalize it and to replace it with the regional spoken dialects of the differnt countries in the Arab world. And I consider all moves by the regionalists as nothing else other than lack of knowledge of MSA and its capacity to capture the pulse of life on the Arab street. Yes. The spoken Damascus dialect is beautiful. Yes. The Egyptian accent is cute and popular. Yes. The Moroccan accent is intriguing to us, Levantine Arabs for the fact that it uses terms and phrases we are so unfamilar with. Yes. Gulf Arabic is so interesting to listen to when you get used to it (with its own regional variations!). But Modern Standard Arabic is the only version of Arabic that has the potential to pull us all together in communicating using our one Arabic language.
The British, the Irish, the Americans, the South Africans, the Aussies and the Kiwis all use one written English language, generally speaking, in their literature and general mainstream media, and we should be doing the same in the Arab world! Modern Standard Arabic is already an excellent medium of communication that has proven its capacity to accommodate the explosive growth of knowledge and information that we are witnessing today globally. This is clearly evident by the many existing pan-Arab media outlets (some of which are wildly popular across the Arab world) and that exclusively use MSA as their language of communication.
I cringe when I see arguments defending the use of the local spoken dialects in Arabic writing and literature and I especially puke when I see a defense of the use of foreign-language terms in daily life communications amongst Arabs, wherever they may be. The usual justification levelled against us, the proponents of Arabic in general (and MSA in particular), is that the spoken Arabic (sometimes mixed with English or other foreign-language words) better captures the meanings, because it is more commonly used by people in their homes and on the street. This in my opinion is nothing other than the result of what one gets used to growing up. I grew up watching children's programming in Syria in Modern Standard Arabic and I am totally comfortable with using that Arabic in communication. I can express myself perfectly in it and I do not feel that I lose anything by using it as opposed to using the local spoken dialect of the region my parents came from in Syria (which happens to be Sweida, in Southern Syria). It is one thing to know MSA very well and use it effectively when needed while at the same time strive for excellence in knowing and using other languages (such as English or French for example), and quite another not to be taught MSA well growing up, and then hide behind the thin veil of convenience and conformity with the customary in defending the use of a local spoken dialect admixed with foreign-language words and phrases.
I thought of all of this as I read this piece [AR] that was published recently in the Al Arabiya [AR] news website, reprinted [AR] from the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas [AR]. Thanks to Egyptian blogger Tarek Amr (@gr33ndata) who brought it to my attention by retweeting a link to it on Twitter.
Here is an English translation of that piece which was written by Kuwaiti writer and blogger Dalaa al-Mufti [AR](pictured below)(I added some hyperlinks to the translated text for completion and for additional references):
"Hi .. keefak .. ça va?" is a phrase that people borrow and say jokingly from the spoken language used by the youth in Lebanon. The phrase mixes the three languages (English, Arabic and French) in one sentence [Keefak means "how are you?" in Arabic]. The problem however is no longer confined to Lebanon alone. The reason for this is that the foreign-language invasion has spread to all Arab countries from one end of the Arab world to the other. Squeezing in some foreign-language words in one's speech has become a sign of development and modernity. And those who speak Arabic only (oh, pity them), on the other hand, have become associated with backwardeness and ignorance!
Charbel Rouhana, a fine Lebanese artist, has written and recorded a song titled "Hi .. Keefak .. ça va?" in which he criticizes those who cannot complete a conversation in Arabic without stuffing it with foreign-language words. He calls on people to express their feelings in Arabic. He says: "Hi .. keefak .. ça va .. where did you get this from, oh Lebanese? What's wrong with marhaba [hello in Arabic] or sabah el kheir [good morning in Arabic]?". I remembered this song when I heard an anchor on a private Kuwaiti television channel as she struggled to use a language that was a mixture of Arabic and English .. she kept repeating the word "coin" without being able to find its Arabic equivalent ('umla ma'adaniyya عملة معدنية). Most of our anchors have become like her, reliant on foreign-language terms in their television programs, leave alone the names of the programs themselves, most of which have become foreign-language names per se.
The misfortune in all of this is that "Arabish" (or Arabic mixed with English) has become common in all Arab countries and in all parts of society, even amongst those who speak no other language; some for example would use a few foreign-language words to show off in front of people. Most adolescents write Arabic in Latin charaters in their electronic communications and on Facebook.
Experts say that the side to blame first and foremost in this is the family. The reason for this is that it is customary for parents to use a foreign language at home in their communication with their kids. And when the kids go to school, they face difficulty in learning Arabic (and the teachers suffer the most because of this). Some parents even find it necessary to cancel Arabic language classes from their kids' curricula if they were holders of foreign passports (despite the Arab blood running in their veins!).
There are those howerver who are blowing the whistle.. In Morocco for example, there is a Moroccan blog called "Bla Francia!" [AR] ("Without French!", in Arabic) that aims to shine the light at the gravity of the situation that the Arabic language has reached in Morocco. The blog calls on companies and the media in Morocco to spread the use of the national language (Arabic) in public life and in education. And in Lebanon, a campaign was launched by a society called "Feil Amr" [AR] (name literally means "command verb") in association with The Arab Thought Foundation [AR] to protect the Arabic language. The campaign was called "Behkeek min esh-shark, betred min el-gharb" [AR] «بحكيك من الشرق بترد من الغــرب» ("I talk to you from the East, you reply from the West") [this is a spoken dialect proverb that is used when your answer has nothing to do with the question I am asking- it is used here though with pun intended]. The campaign aims to strengthen the native (Arabic) language amongst people of the new generation, and to motivate them and encourage them to use Arabic in speech, in reading as well as in writing.
Our speech is now foreign, as are our actions, our meals, the names of our stores and malls, and our television programs .. And until our Arabic language regains its glory of a bygone era, we might as well all sing with Charbel Rouhana .. "Express your happiness in Arabic, express your sadness in Arabic, sing about your love in Arabic .. talk about your nation in Arabic".
*via the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper
And perhaps nothing is more fitting than to end this posting with Charbel Rouhana's "Hi, keefak? ça va?". Here it is. Take a listen:
The Damascus-based Syrian news website, DayPress, published today a report about a Syrian woman who was on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla ship Mavi Marmara that was attacked yesterday morning in international waters off the Gaza coast by a large Israeli force in front of the watchful eye of the entire world. The attack resulted in killing up to 19 civilians on the ship and injuring tens more. The story of the Syrian participant was originally published in the Syrian newspaper al-Watan.
The Syrian al-Watan newspaper said that Israeli forces arrested Syrian citizen Shatha Barakat, the only Syrian who was among 700 activists of different nationalities who were on board the ships of the Freedom Flotilla. Her husband Ayman Bkairati said in an interview with al-Watan that the last communication between them was the day before yesterday while she was on board the Mavi Marmara ship that was raided by Israeli commandos yesterday morning. He said that he saw her on television screens when the Freedom Flotilla was still on its way to Gaza and that she was in good health. He has not heard from her since she was taken to Ashkelon Prison because she refused to sign a form committing not to return to Gaza in the future.
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Regarding whether she was hurt during the Israeli attack on Mavi Marmara, Bkairati said that he received assurances from families of the Turks who were with his wife that she was not hurt during the attack, pointing out that it was the Turkish families who told him that Barakat was taken to Ashkelon Prison.
And regarding any official Syrian measures, Bkairati said that he has not been contacted yet by Syrian officials, attributing this to the fact that no one knew that his wife was heading to Gaza. Even her siblings did not know about this until the moment she arrived at the DamascusInternationalAirport. He added that he was confident that the Syrian government would place great importance on the welfare of citizens like his wife had they known that a Syrian national was participating in the flotilla. His wife was the only Syrian who was accepted out of 10,600 applicants of different nationalities. The Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation approved only 700 of those applicants.
Bkairati also said: When my wife was at the DamascusInternationalAirport on her way to Turkey to join the Freedom Flotilla, a security officer at the airport stopped her because she had a large amount of medicines to treat eye conditions. He asked her about the reason she had all these medicines with her. She told him where she was going. He then helped her carry her luggage into the airport.
Mrs. Shatha Barakat was born in Idleb in 1965 and she resides in Damascus. She is a mother of three and has participated in national issues in the past. She works currently as a director of an institute that teaches computer systems. She also worked as a teacher in the past and has many writings in journalism and fiction.
Update 1 (June 1, 2010):
An official Syrian source said according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that there were three other Syrians who were with the Freedom Flotilla along with Shatha Barakat. They are Archbishop Hilarion Capucci Bishop of Jerusalem in exile, Hasan al-Rifai & Mohammad Satleh. At the time of this writing, there are reports that Israel has agreed to release the Gaza Freedom Flotilla detainees within 48 hours.
Update 2 (June 2, 2010):
SANA reported today [AR] that the four Syrian activists with the Freedom Flotilla have arrived safely today at the Naseeb border crossing in Dara'a, Syria. Archbishop Capucci said that he was assaulted by the Israeli soldiers who handcuffed him and that one of the soldiers attempted to throw him on the ground. He emphasized that he would do this again along with all the activists to achieve the main goal of lifting the seige on Gaza. Mrs. Shatha Barakat said that the Israeli soldiers treated them in a brutal manner. She said the blood on the shawl she was wearing was that of a Turkish activist who was killed by the Israelis. She said some of the Turkish activists were thrown off the ship immediately after being killed. Syrian activist Hasan al-Rifai said that the decision to attack the activists on the ship was predetermined. He said that there were tens of dead and injured activists in the first 30 minutes of the attack; the soldiers were shooting directly at the activists and they killed two of the activists by direct shots to the head. Activist Mohammad Satleh expressed his satisfaction about what the Freedom Flotilla activists did and how it exposed the Israelis in front of the entire world.
Musicians from the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra made the appearance on the show, as reported today by Alex Young of the American music publication Consequence of Sound, and performed "White Flag" with British band Gorillaz. White Flag is the third song in the newly released album by Gorillaz, Plastic Beach. In the album, the song is listed as "White Flag (Feat. Bashy, Kano And The National Orchestra For Arabic Music)"
Without further ado, here is "White Flag":
During the live performance, a video of a whirling dervish was showing with Arabic-language phrases that the computers at BBC2 could not display correctly! The words were written from left to right in disconnected letters. The phrases meant to say the following:
Ana Lastu Hatha أنا لست هذا (I'm Not This)
La Youjad Illa Wahed لا يوجد إلا واحد (There's Only One)
wal-Kull Huwa Nahnu والكل هو نحن (And The Whole Is Us)
You can listen to the album Plastic Beach for free, courtesy of The Guardian, through this link.
If you are reading this, then you probably already know today is Earth Day. In today's world in which many of us pretty much eat, drink and breath online, there is very little chance not to know what "Day" it is today. So, let me paraphrase .. if you are alive, you probably already know that today is Earth Day!.
How can one not know it is Earth Day when Google's logo looks like this today?
As I write this, "Happy Earth Day" is the top Trending Topic on Twitter, worldwide
Every day in the morning, I stop to buy hot tea before heading to the office to start working. I work at the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) in Winnipeg. In most days, the hall in front of the gift shop next to the Thorlakson Building has a variety of stands that sell different things. One of the tables today featured a small exhibit by the "HSC Energy Management Program" on the occasion of Earth Day.
The poster presentation lists 10 actions and encourages the reader to "start with one ..." .. I took out the iPhone and took quick snapshots of the actions. Take a look .. How many of these do you do?
Many Syrians have been irritated in the past few years by statements that the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party and prominent leader of the Druze community in Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt, said regarding Syria. Some of the statements were quite provocative to say the least. It is perplexing to many of us how Mr. Jumblatt changes his positions so dramatically and talks about opposite things with the same passion on two different but very close occasions. But let's enjoy the moment for now as the tide in Mr. Jumblatt's thinking these days happens to be in Syria's favor.
The most recent episode started when Mr. Jumblatt declared on Al Jazeera Arabic (in the March 13, 2010 episode [Ar] of the program Hiwar Maftouh, or Open Dialogue) that his previous remarks were "indecent, out of context and go beyond the political manners". About two weeks later, Mr. Jumblatt traveled to Damascus to meet the Syrian President.
Imad Marmal of the Lebanese Arabic-language newspaper As-safir wrote a piece [Ar] today quoting Jumblatt saying that he has regained his "inner peace" by his reconciliation with Damascus. I find some of the other quotes by Jumblatt interesting. Here are some
«A personal and political solicitude has been taken off my shoulders»
«همٌ شخصي وسياسي أزيح عن كاهلي»
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«In all honesty I have to say that [President al-Assad] won the battle of the past 5 years with all its Lebanese, regional and international challenges»
«والصراحة تقتضي الاعتراف بأنه انتصر في معركة السنوات الخمس الماضية وتحدياتها اللبنانية والاقليمية والدولية»
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«Forget the issue of [Hezbollah's] weapons .. this is not the time»
«يطلعوا منها قصة السلاح.. هذا ليس وقتها»
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«Tasteless»
«بلا طعمة»
[Addressing the issue of Hezbollah's weapons, that is]
In his piece [Ar] Marmal alludes to the technical glitch in the brakes of Mr. Jumblatt's car on his way back to Beirut from Damascus and how Mr. Jumblatt was initially worried about it. But his worries dissipated when he remembered that the accompanying car ahead of him was a Hezbollah car. Jumblatt was laughing when he told Marmal about that "technical detail". But the screaming symbolism in this story did not escape Marmal: Hezbollah has become a personal and political "security valve" for Mr. Jumblatt. Marmal also writes that Jumblatt has become ecstatic about his reconciliation with Syria. Jumblatt's reconciliation "was not only with Damascus, but also with himself and with his history."
In the March 13, 2010 episode [Ar] of "Open Dialogue", program host Ghassan bin Jiddo alluded to Mr. Jumblatt's flip-flopping in his introduction using a very politically-correct language: Mr. Jumblatt is "a generator of variable felxibility peculiar to him" «ولّاد مرونةٍ متحولةٍ خاصةٍ به». What is the next position that will come out from Mr. Jumblatt's "variable flexibility"? Your guess is as good as mine.
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