The Times of London
8 jan 2009
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5474016.ece
The Israeli Army targets children and schools. I have huddled with hundreds of small girls in a Jenin girls' school as tanks pass by firing into the windows. A tank fired a shell at close range into a school, killing Riham Ward. Israel is repeating the massacre of the genus of Palestinians.
08 January 2009
07 January 2009
Letter to FT: Jihad guy photo, 6 jan 2009
The FT
6 January 2009
Re: Jihad guy photo
[Hamas faces a share of the blame, T Buck, 5 jan 2009]
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da9b89b0-db53-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
Sir,
I continue to laud the FT for its fair exposition of the facts so often conveniently eclipsed about Hamas, its activities, support for it, assassinations of its leaders, and more.
I will point out one fairly inconsequential detail.
The fighter in the photo represents Islamic Jihad, not Hamas.
Neither would mind the mixup, and even the name of the group looks similar in Arabic, with some of the letters hidden on the left [Quds Brigades, for Jihad, looks like the beginning of Qassam Brigades, for Hamas]. But you can tell by the tell-tale Jihad logo with a map of Palestine between the two fists. Hamas’s logo has evolved in time, though.
In any case, the photo gives valuable sociological information.
1. It is a professional photo, clearly posed, perhaps to be used for a martyr poster in that eventuality.
2. He is married so he has strong commitments to life on this earth, and to protecting his community, especially those in need most, such as women and children.
3. He is young and handsome – note the fine eyebrows and beautiful eyes, quite a contrast to the quizzical smirk in the photo accompanying Edward Luce’s lucid comment about “no presidents whatsoever” on the same page [Bush stops short of condemnation, 6 jan 2009].
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4dccc074-db91-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
4. He is courageous. He braves the colossal metal behemoths and superior technical weaponry of the heavily-helmeted occupying army, while he is bareheaded but for thin nylon.
Just a few observations.
Annie Higgins
Chicago
6 January 2009
Re: Jihad guy photo
[Hamas faces a share of the blame, T Buck, 5 jan 2009]
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da9b89b0-db53-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
Sir,
I continue to laud the FT for its fair exposition of the facts so often conveniently eclipsed about Hamas, its activities, support for it, assassinations of its leaders, and more.
I will point out one fairly inconsequential detail.
The fighter in the photo represents Islamic Jihad, not Hamas.
Neither would mind the mixup, and even the name of the group looks similar in Arabic, with some of the letters hidden on the left [Quds Brigades, for Jihad, looks like the beginning of Qassam Brigades, for Hamas]. But you can tell by the tell-tale Jihad logo with a map of Palestine between the two fists. Hamas’s logo has evolved in time, though.
In any case, the photo gives valuable sociological information.
1. It is a professional photo, clearly posed, perhaps to be used for a martyr poster in that eventuality.
2. He is married so he has strong commitments to life on this earth, and to protecting his community, especially those in need most, such as women and children.
3. He is young and handsome – note the fine eyebrows and beautiful eyes, quite a contrast to the quizzical smirk in the photo accompanying Edward Luce’s lucid comment about “no presidents whatsoever” on the same page [Bush stops short of condemnation, 6 jan 2009].
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4dccc074-db91-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
4. He is courageous. He braves the colossal metal behemoths and superior technical weaponry of the heavily-helmeted occupying army, while he is bareheaded but for thin nylon.
Just a few observations.
Annie Higgins
Chicago
Letter to FT: One State, 6 jan 2009
The FT
6 January 2009
Re: One State
Letter: Powerful case for one-state solution, Prof Ure, 6 jan 2009]
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3084c7c8-db91-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
Sir,
Professor John Ure is convincing, that there is “a powerful case for [the] one-state solution,” as articulated by Edward Said. This was the one point where my contrarian self found its nature in response to the Gaza gamble leader of the day before; however that piece was so true to so many realities and needs, that I felt I could keep mum on this. I do feel, however, that politics eventually follows the logic of human life. This may seem overly hopeful, but I think it is ultimately practical. Humans are not so clearly divided as politics, or governing authorities, try to make them. For instance, during one of the periods of repeated house to house searches in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, a resident received daily phonecalls from her Jewish Israeli employer, checking on her and expressing grief over her government’s actions. Ties like this outlast political tangles. Another example: in better times, Jewish Israelis would visit a coworker’s family in Jenin Refugee Camp, and this coworker was a political leader with a militant group. Both hosts and guests see farther than their governments, and their governments may eventually reach the level of human cooperation of their people.
While the small everyday individual transactions may seem insignificant to the larger picture, I feel that these little dots will eventually redefine the picture itself.
The one-state idea needs time to take form in peoples’ imaginations, even as an impossibility, before it can be considered as a possible possibility. Thank you for giving it space as a response to the leader, which surely received many varied responses.
Also thank you for this lovely photo of Edward Said, a fitting tribute to him, and quite a contrast to the ‘no presidents whatsoever’ image on an earlier page!
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4dccc074-db91-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
Annie Higgins
Chicago
6 January 2009
Re: One State
Letter: Powerful case for one-state solution, Prof Ure, 6 jan 2009]
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3084c7c8-db91-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
Sir,
Professor John Ure is convincing, that there is “a powerful case for [the] one-state solution,” as articulated by Edward Said. This was the one point where my contrarian self found its nature in response to the Gaza gamble leader of the day before; however that piece was so true to so many realities and needs, that I felt I could keep mum on this. I do feel, however, that politics eventually follows the logic of human life. This may seem overly hopeful, but I think it is ultimately practical. Humans are not so clearly divided as politics, or governing authorities, try to make them. For instance, during one of the periods of repeated house to house searches in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, a resident received daily phonecalls from her Jewish Israeli employer, checking on her and expressing grief over her government’s actions. Ties like this outlast political tangles. Another example: in better times, Jewish Israelis would visit a coworker’s family in Jenin Refugee Camp, and this coworker was a political leader with a militant group. Both hosts and guests see farther than their governments, and their governments may eventually reach the level of human cooperation of their people.
While the small everyday individual transactions may seem insignificant to the larger picture, I feel that these little dots will eventually redefine the picture itself.
The one-state idea needs time to take form in peoples’ imaginations, even as an impossibility, before it can be considered as a possible possibility. Thank you for giving it space as a response to the leader, which surely received many varied responses.
Also thank you for this lovely photo of Edward Said, a fitting tribute to him, and quite a contrast to the ‘no presidents whatsoever’ image on an earlier page!
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4dccc074-db91-11dd-be53-000077b07658.html
Annie Higgins
Chicago
05 January 2009
Letter to FT: Gaza gamble, 5 jan 2009
The FT
5 January 2009
Re: A dangerous gamble in Gaza
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e56ac646-da93-11dd-8c28-000077b07658.html
Sir,
I salute the FT for an eye-poppin’ editorial with eyes wide open to the logic of political, public relations, and human elements from plural perspectives of Israel’s ferocious attacks on the population of Gaza.
I thank you for a constructive map of realities and the contexts creating them and I honor your courage for striding into the fray and taking flak for this editorial. Keep your flak-jackets on and your pens in launch position.
Your points could be a pop song: disproportionate bombardment, election outflanking, politico-military credibility, assassinating veteran leaders, preventing journalists, blaming in “war on terror”, blockade and occupation, less than a half-truth. All true.
Indeed “Palestinians had the temerity to elect Hamas” and are now collecting the punishment for it as a genus of voters. But indeed, just surviving means winning. And let us remember that it was Hamas who stopped the suicide attacks on Israel, when no other entity could, including the mighty Israeli military.
A BBC journalist asked PM Brown why would Israel stop. It’s a good question. Will the prospect of “a blackened reputation” be persuasive? One can hope, but Israeli musician Gilead Atzmon points out the ugly political truth that, for the candidates in the upcoming election: “The carnage in Gaza probably seems like a small price to pay for, what could be, a brilliant career.”
Meanwhile here in the provincial Hyde Park heartland launching a parallel career, a small group demonstrated in front of the mute Obama’s home yesterday, giving voice to break the silence on “children being pulled like broken dolls from the ruins of their homes”.
Sincerely,
Annie Higgins
Photo
The attached photo, from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Syria shortly after Sheikh Ahmad Yasin’s assassination, illustrates your observation that “…if Israel proposes to cut the heart out of its most implacable Palestinian opponents, it will fail.” This family are not even supporters of Hamas.
5 January 2009
Re: A dangerous gamble in Gaza
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e56ac646-da93-11dd-8c28-000077b07658.html
Sir,
I salute the FT for an eye-poppin’ editorial with eyes wide open to the logic of political, public relations, and human elements from plural perspectives of Israel’s ferocious attacks on the population of Gaza.
I thank you for a constructive map of realities and the contexts creating them and I honor your courage for striding into the fray and taking flak for this editorial. Keep your flak-jackets on and your pens in launch position.
Your points could be a pop song: disproportionate bombardment, election outflanking, politico-military credibility, assassinating veteran leaders, preventing journalists, blaming in “war on terror”, blockade and occupation, less than a half-truth. All true.
Indeed “Palestinians had the temerity to elect Hamas” and are now collecting the punishment for it as a genus of voters. But indeed, just surviving means winning. And let us remember that it was Hamas who stopped the suicide attacks on Israel, when no other entity could, including the mighty Israeli military.
A BBC journalist asked PM Brown why would Israel stop. It’s a good question. Will the prospect of “a blackened reputation” be persuasive? One can hope, but Israeli musician Gilead Atzmon points out the ugly political truth that, for the candidates in the upcoming election: “The carnage in Gaza probably seems like a small price to pay for, what could be, a brilliant career.”
Meanwhile here in the provincial Hyde Park heartland launching a parallel career, a small group demonstrated in front of the mute Obama’s home yesterday, giving voice to break the silence on “children being pulled like broken dolls from the ruins of their homes”.
Sincerely,
Annie Higgins
Photo
The attached photo, from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Syria shortly after Sheikh Ahmad Yasin’s assassination, illustrates your observation that “…if Israel proposes to cut the heart out of its most implacable Palestinian opponents, it will fail.” This family are not even supporters of Hamas.
Letter to BBC Talking Point: Gaza, 30 dec 2008
to bbc talking point from zaytoun:
Gaza 30 december 2008
Short version: Israel’s attack on Gaza is a massacre. It is not a response to Hamas rockets which did not kill even one Israeli during the truce. Israel did not honor the truce; it did not release Gazans from inhumane imprisonment. This is a population reduction program, complete with prevention of on-site reporting.They target civilians and killed British citizen, Iain Hook, of the UN.Each one killed in Gaza without protest is equivalent to a portion of our humane conscience being erased. Speak up!
Full version: Israel’s attack on Gaza is a massacre, and should be referred to as nothing less. It is not a response to Hamas rocket firings, which have happened before, and which are symbolic rather than effective. As your guest, Alastair Crook, noted, rocket firings did not kill even one Israeli since the beginning of the truce. By contrast, Israel has targeted civilians during the period of the truce. Constant attack by starvation, by closing the borders to food and medicines, not to mention any other means of subsistence. Your Israeli spokeswoman in London spoke of Israel’s desire to let Palestinians make their own life in Gaza. Surely you see through this: without control of the borders, without being able to move freely to jobs and to markets, the entire population is imprisoned. Israel did not honor the truce; it did not release the human beings in Gaza from their inhumane imprisonment. This massacre is another step in a scheme of population reduction. As Israeli Jeff Halper has noted, the US does not oppose Israel’s constant limitations on life in Gaza because it is part of an experiment to see how population reduction methods can work. Make life unliveable - without even food - much less work, and now kill them wantonly. Then, prevent accurate reporting. Israel is now on a par with the Mugabe regime. How many reports have we heard from BBC which say, “Because BBC reporters are not allowed in, we are reporting from the other side of the border in South Africa.” Of course, this is worse. There is no alternate country from which to report. As to the spokeswoman and others who reiterate that Israel has no interest in targeting the civilian population in Gaza, I know this is not true. I am an eyewitness to their attacks on civilians and especially, on children. I was in Jenin refugee camp when an Israeli soldier shot the UNRWA director, a British citizen, Mr Iain Hook. They shot him in the back in the UN compound while he was on his mobile phone with the Israeli military, and then they prevented him from leaving the compound for the hospital just down the road. I was at the hospital when they brought him in and tried unsuccessfully to revive him. I was there before any BBC reporter. And note how Israel prevented an investigation by the UK government. The Israeli Army does target civilians. The Israeli Army targets children and schools. I have been in the Fatima Khatun school for girls in Jenin below the age of ten years, huddled in the back room as tanks pass by firing into the windows. I have been in the other schools that were attacked also, and visited youngsters, male and female, in hospital after being attacked in the schools. And this was during an opening in curfew, when they were supposed to be safe from Army violence, not during a declared annihilation campaign. The “realities on the ground” continue as they have been, but now with horrific and terrorizing force from the Israeli Forces, armed on land, air, and sea. As for political characterizations, Minister Milliband speaks of Abbas as “elected” and then conveniently neglects this correct identification when referring to the Hamas government, which, as we know, was elected democratically. Every individual killed in Gaza without a voice of protest is equivalent to a portion of our humane conscience being erased. A voice for justice for the imprisoned people of Palestine under attack, is a voice for justice for humans in every corner of the globe. If not for the sake of Palestine, do it for the sake of your conscience: Speak up, one and all.
Gaza 30 december 2008
Short version: Israel’s attack on Gaza is a massacre. It is not a response to Hamas rockets which did not kill even one Israeli during the truce. Israel did not honor the truce; it did not release Gazans from inhumane imprisonment. This is a population reduction program, complete with prevention of on-site reporting.They target civilians and killed British citizen, Iain Hook, of the UN.Each one killed in Gaza without protest is equivalent to a portion of our humane conscience being erased. Speak up!
Full version: Israel’s attack on Gaza is a massacre, and should be referred to as nothing less. It is not a response to Hamas rocket firings, which have happened before, and which are symbolic rather than effective. As your guest, Alastair Crook, noted, rocket firings did not kill even one Israeli since the beginning of the truce. By contrast, Israel has targeted civilians during the period of the truce. Constant attack by starvation, by closing the borders to food and medicines, not to mention any other means of subsistence. Your Israeli spokeswoman in London spoke of Israel’s desire to let Palestinians make their own life in Gaza. Surely you see through this: without control of the borders, without being able to move freely to jobs and to markets, the entire population is imprisoned. Israel did not honor the truce; it did not release the human beings in Gaza from their inhumane imprisonment. This massacre is another step in a scheme of population reduction. As Israeli Jeff Halper has noted, the US does not oppose Israel’s constant limitations on life in Gaza because it is part of an experiment to see how population reduction methods can work. Make life unliveable - without even food - much less work, and now kill them wantonly. Then, prevent accurate reporting. Israel is now on a par with the Mugabe regime. How many reports have we heard from BBC which say, “Because BBC reporters are not allowed in, we are reporting from the other side of the border in South Africa.” Of course, this is worse. There is no alternate country from which to report. As to the spokeswoman and others who reiterate that Israel has no interest in targeting the civilian population in Gaza, I know this is not true. I am an eyewitness to their attacks on civilians and especially, on children. I was in Jenin refugee camp when an Israeli soldier shot the UNRWA director, a British citizen, Mr Iain Hook. They shot him in the back in the UN compound while he was on his mobile phone with the Israeli military, and then they prevented him from leaving the compound for the hospital just down the road. I was at the hospital when they brought him in and tried unsuccessfully to revive him. I was there before any BBC reporter. And note how Israel prevented an investigation by the UK government. The Israeli Army does target civilians. The Israeli Army targets children and schools. I have been in the Fatima Khatun school for girls in Jenin below the age of ten years, huddled in the back room as tanks pass by firing into the windows. I have been in the other schools that were attacked also, and visited youngsters, male and female, in hospital after being attacked in the schools. And this was during an opening in curfew, when they were supposed to be safe from Army violence, not during a declared annihilation campaign. The “realities on the ground” continue as they have been, but now with horrific and terrorizing force from the Israeli Forces, armed on land, air, and sea. As for political characterizations, Minister Milliband speaks of Abbas as “elected” and then conveniently neglects this correct identification when referring to the Hamas government, which, as we know, was elected democratically. Every individual killed in Gaza without a voice of protest is equivalent to a portion of our humane conscience being erased. A voice for justice for the imprisoned people of Palestine under attack, is a voice for justice for humans in every corner of the globe. If not for the sake of Palestine, do it for the sake of your conscience: Speak up, one and all.
Letter to FT: Mr Wishah, 30 dec 2008
The Financial Times One Southwark Bridge London, UK
30 December 2008
Re: Mr Wishah in Gaza
Thanks to the FT for providing a Palestinian-eye perspective on the ongoing horror, as told by Mr Wishah. It was at the home of Wishahi in an earlier time in another place, Jenin refugee camp in the wake of the 2002 Israeli Big Invasion, that I experienced a certain degree of what Mr Wishah describes of Israeli armed attacks on civilian areas. On my first night as a guest, I was one of eighteen in the home which was harboring a brother’s family whose home had been damaged in the invasion. One day as I sat reading in the sunshine of the courtyard, an American F16 with an Israeli pilot approached - quickly, as they do - and when it was right overhead, I ran faster than I ever have in my life, bouncing off a wall of the house to get inside. My Mr Wishahi laughed to see this! They had experienced much worse, of course. But Mr Wishah in the FT’s Gaza eyewitness, has no cover. May the sparks of conscience throughout the world run to cover this population and to counter this genocide. Thank goodness you have a real on-the-ground perspective to counter the partisan, easy-chair rhetoric of your Middle East editor, who judges: “Stupidly, Hamas ignored Israel’s warnings to halt the attacks.” Stupidly, your editor ignores the reality that the ineffective rocket attacks did not kill a single Israeli before the truce ended. And why should any polity buckle to the warnings of a terrorizer? We praise resistance movements who ignored dictator’s warnings in other wars: why worship these violent threats in this context? Why is Abu Mazen heeding these warnings, because he is intelligent, rather than stupid? A grain of intelligence shows that he is taking his stand because he is threatened that the same attacks will happen to him and the West Bank if he does not appease the aggressor. E Cantarow points out: “While the world watches, a people is being destroyed,” quoting Sara Roy’s “depressing conclusion” that “if Gaza falls, the West Bank will follow.” [counterpunch 26-28 December 2008 http://counterpunch.org/cantarow12262008.html]. It is worth at least considering an alternate to this FT analysis, i.e., that the democratically elected government in Gaza - as you noted - is trying to save both Gaza and the West Bank from collapse. As for protests, these are not instigated by Nasrallah, even if he did call for them. People have the capability to see and to respond, at least when their electricity is not cut. It was not Nasrallah who inspired a demonstration in Chicago on Sunday 28 December the day after the first wave of Israeli attacks. It was the consciences of people, including those without even one-tenth of a drop of Arab blood in their veins, people who speak up against inhuman massacres. It was people who don’t even know how to pronounce the word “Islam”, including members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, a newish and particularly American branch of Christianity. Intelligently then, let us take into account the human element in Gaza, and lift a finger to save a population from “warnings” and their subsequent violence.
30 December 2008
Re: Mr Wishah in Gaza
Thanks to the FT for providing a Palestinian-eye perspective on the ongoing horror, as told by Mr Wishah. It was at the home of Wishahi in an earlier time in another place, Jenin refugee camp in the wake of the 2002 Israeli Big Invasion, that I experienced a certain degree of what Mr Wishah describes of Israeli armed attacks on civilian areas. On my first night as a guest, I was one of eighteen in the home which was harboring a brother’s family whose home had been damaged in the invasion. One day as I sat reading in the sunshine of the courtyard, an American F16 with an Israeli pilot approached - quickly, as they do - and when it was right overhead, I ran faster than I ever have in my life, bouncing off a wall of the house to get inside. My Mr Wishahi laughed to see this! They had experienced much worse, of course. But Mr Wishah in the FT’s Gaza eyewitness, has no cover. May the sparks of conscience throughout the world run to cover this population and to counter this genocide. Thank goodness you have a real on-the-ground perspective to counter the partisan, easy-chair rhetoric of your Middle East editor, who judges: “Stupidly, Hamas ignored Israel’s warnings to halt the attacks.” Stupidly, your editor ignores the reality that the ineffective rocket attacks did not kill a single Israeli before the truce ended. And why should any polity buckle to the warnings of a terrorizer? We praise resistance movements who ignored dictator’s warnings in other wars: why worship these violent threats in this context? Why is Abu Mazen heeding these warnings, because he is intelligent, rather than stupid? A grain of intelligence shows that he is taking his stand because he is threatened that the same attacks will happen to him and the West Bank if he does not appease the aggressor. E Cantarow points out: “While the world watches, a people is being destroyed,” quoting Sara Roy’s “depressing conclusion” that “if Gaza falls, the West Bank will follow.” [counterpunch 26-28 December 2008 http://counterpunch.org/cantarow12262008.html]. It is worth at least considering an alternate to this FT analysis, i.e., that the democratically elected government in Gaza - as you noted - is trying to save both Gaza and the West Bank from collapse. As for protests, these are not instigated by Nasrallah, even if he did call for them. People have the capability to see and to respond, at least when their electricity is not cut. It was not Nasrallah who inspired a demonstration in Chicago on Sunday 28 December the day after the first wave of Israeli attacks. It was the consciences of people, including those without even one-tenth of a drop of Arab blood in their veins, people who speak up against inhuman massacres. It was people who don’t even know how to pronounce the word “Islam”, including members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, a newish and particularly American branch of Christianity. Intelligently then, let us take into account the human element in Gaza, and lift a finger to save a population from “warnings” and their subsequent violence.
Letter to FT: Gaza, 29 dec 2008
The Financial Times One Southwark Bridge London, UK 29 December 2008
Re: Gaza
Sir, Your editorial on Gaza [Bombing Gaza is not a solution, 29 December 2008] rightly lifts our gaze to the lack of a finger lifted “to try to stop it.” You point out Israel’s disproportionate “ferocity” in these attacks, as well as the democratically elected status of Hamas. Indeed the root cause of contention is “the Israeli occupation” as you aver. Israel did not honor the truce; it did not release the human beings in Gaza from their inhumane imprisonment. Without control of the borders, without being able to move freely to jobs and to markets, the entire population is imprisoned. “Trying to crush Gaza from the air is self-defeating” as you say. Then why this operation and why now? A former US military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggests this may be Israel’s training operation in a runup to attacking Iran during the brief window of impunity before the impending US political “change”. Iran is the only effective power which, through Hezbullah, has driven Israel from areas occupied since 1967. The question to ask is: from what altitude is Israel dropping the bombs? Can you hear jets screaming in? Are Gazans launching anti-aircraft weapons against them? If not, Israel may be testing whether it can define a target from a high altitude and hit it. Rather than waste materiel on training exercises in unpopulated desert areas, they can get accurate feedback on their capabilities in “the crowded Gaza strip” - without accurate information from the barred journalists. Watch this space.
Re: Gaza
Sir, Your editorial on Gaza [Bombing Gaza is not a solution, 29 December 2008] rightly lifts our gaze to the lack of a finger lifted “to try to stop it.” You point out Israel’s disproportionate “ferocity” in these attacks, as well as the democratically elected status of Hamas. Indeed the root cause of contention is “the Israeli occupation” as you aver. Israel did not honor the truce; it did not release the human beings in Gaza from their inhumane imprisonment. Without control of the borders, without being able to move freely to jobs and to markets, the entire population is imprisoned. “Trying to crush Gaza from the air is self-defeating” as you say. Then why this operation and why now? A former US military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggests this may be Israel’s training operation in a runup to attacking Iran during the brief window of impunity before the impending US political “change”. Iran is the only effective power which, through Hezbullah, has driven Israel from areas occupied since 1967. The question to ask is: from what altitude is Israel dropping the bombs? Can you hear jets screaming in? Are Gazans launching anti-aircraft weapons against them? If not, Israel may be testing whether it can define a target from a high altitude and hit it. Rather than waste materiel on training exercises in unpopulated desert areas, they can get accurate feedback on their capabilities in “the crowded Gaza strip” - without accurate information from the barred journalists. Watch this space.
Letter to FT: Cool Damascus, 11 nov 2008
The Financial Times Published: November 11 2008 02:00 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e105f2f2-af90-11dd-a4bf-000077b07658.html From Dr Annie C. Higgins. Sir, Thanks to Anna Fifield for her spotlight on studying in Damascus ("Students speak up for merits of cool Damascus", November 4). I must add that some of the "blondes in skinny jeans and retro sunglasses" are in fact Syrian students, along with the foreigners. Also, while classical Arabic is indeed the language of newspapers and government, it is also the language of poetry, modern literature, and the Koran. Arabs of all linguistic stripes lay claim to speaking a dialect closest to classical Arabic, so Syrians will be duly proud to hear they have convinced your reporter of this distinction! Finally, I have managed to live in Syria without reiterating, even in jest, the tired American "axis" quote. Nevertheless, you provide poetic justice by highlighting cool Damascus on the US election day! Annie C. Higgins, Secretary, Syrian Studies Association, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, US
Letter to FT, Grad Student, 8 aug 2008
Well, what is wrong with being a graduate student?Published: August 8 2008 03:00 Last updated: August 8 2008 03:00http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65843cc8-64e1-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1
From Dr Annie C. Higgins.
Sir, Claude Barfield’s letter (August 6) prompts a question: What is wrong with being a graduate student? I know a number of the species who can support relevant arguments with reality-based acuity that may rival the letter writer's presentation.As a graduate student and beyond, I have travelled far, both geographically and intellectually, to seek out sources of interpretation that challenge stereotypes drawn from shallow local wells.In the US, PhD candidates are frequently asked: “What are you going to do with it?” By contrast, in other parts of the world, no questions are asked, for higher education is duly respected as a necessity for civilisation's progress.As Kevin Done reported recently (“Abu Dhabi fund in deal to supply Airbus components”, July 16), the enviably burgeoning economy of the United Arab Emirates is making educational use of a new business opportunity with EADS, which along with Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi government's investment fund, will be investing in education and training programmes within the companies and with local universities.The UAE’s economic resources have not blinded the Emiratis to the value of their intellectual resources, such as graduate students. In the US, we might take note of this attitude.Annie C. Higgins,Assistant Professor, Arabic Language and Literature,Wayne State University,Detroit, MI 48202, US
Posted by tahani2u at 4:15 PM
From Dr Annie C. Higgins.
Sir, Claude Barfield’s letter (August 6) prompts a question: What is wrong with being a graduate student? I know a number of the species who can support relevant arguments with reality-based acuity that may rival the letter writer's presentation.As a graduate student and beyond, I have travelled far, both geographically and intellectually, to seek out sources of interpretation that challenge stereotypes drawn from shallow local wells.In the US, PhD candidates are frequently asked: “What are you going to do with it?” By contrast, in other parts of the world, no questions are asked, for higher education is duly respected as a necessity for civilisation's progress.As Kevin Done reported recently (“Abu Dhabi fund in deal to supply Airbus components”, July 16), the enviably burgeoning economy of the United Arab Emirates is making educational use of a new business opportunity with EADS, which along with Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi government's investment fund, will be investing in education and training programmes within the companies and with local universities.The UAE’s economic resources have not blinded the Emiratis to the value of their intellectual resources, such as graduate students. In the US, we might take note of this attitude.Annie C. Higgins,Assistant Professor, Arabic Language and Literature,Wayne State University,Detroit, MI 48202, US
Posted by tahani2u at 4:15 PM
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