Prisoners of Conscience in the UAE

It has recently been reported that five activists are being held in custody in the United Arab Emirates for insulting Emirati rulers and "perpetrating acts that pose a threat to state security." These accusations might lead one to think that the five are violent criminals plotting unspeakable terrorist acts in an attempt to overthrow the government. As it turns out, however, their "crime" is simply having petitioned the UAE rulers for a more equitable distribution of the country's oil wealth and universal suffrage for the Emirati people. Amnesty International has described the five activists as "prisoners of conscience."

To read a recent article about the arrests log onto the following site:

http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000708456/UAE_confirms_five_activists_held_in_custody/Article.htm

Snuffing out Democracy in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates is in many ways a great place to live and offers plenty of interesting things to do. For example this past weekend the WOMAD (World of Music & Dance) festival once again took place in Abu Dhabi. A number of great bands played during each of the 3 nites, including Baaba Maal (Mali), Paloma Faith (UK), Jimmy Cliff (Jamaica), Speed Caravan (France/Algeria), and Hindi Zahra (Morocco). At the same time, however, the UAE's not such a great place when it comes to its human rights record. Within the past few days three pro-democracy activists have been arrested here (including an economics professor from the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi branch) and the UAE government has shut down their Facebook forum (known as Hewar, meaning "Dialog" in English). Here's an on-line article about the arrests:

http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000682096/UAE_police_hold_third_activist_colleague/Article.htm

And here's the Facebook site, which is now blocked here in the UAE:

www.facebook.com/pages/UAE-hewar/138966642807420

Revolution's in the Air

Autocratic rulers have been overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt, political protests continue in countries including Libya, Morocco, Djibouti, Algeria, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Yemen, while independent political parties are currently attempting to form in Saudi Arabia. Throughout major parts of the Middle East and North Africa we are seeing the age-old struggle of countries attempting to break free from the chains of tyranny in the name of increased economic equality, freedom of speech, fair and equitable governance, and other basic human liberties.

Christmas in Dubai 2010

UAE 39th National Foaming Day

Last Thursday was the 39th National Day here in the UAE, the celebration of the seven Emirates joining together to form the United Arab Emirates. Each year this celebration gets more intense here in Abu Dhabi. Buildings and vehicles are decorated, there are concerts and street performers, and the past few years foam spraying as well. This used to involve young Emirati boys chasing one another on the street trying to foam one another. Each year, however, more people are getting in on the action and this year it was not only Emirati boys doing the foaming but also Emirati girls, laborers (Pakistanis, Indians, Afghanis, etc.) and Western expats and tourists as well. If you want to venture out on this nite you must expect there's a good chance you'll get foamed at least once -- and possibly many times -- and if you dislike the idea of getting foamed then it's best to stay far away from the main celebration areas.

Syria on the Mediterranean

Syria has about 100 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean and Latakia is its biggest port town. It's close to Cyprus and I've heard there is ferry service connecting the two places. It seems, however, that Latakia has a need for better city planning. Someone had the bright idea of building the port directly in front of the town. What this means is that unlike Alexandria, Egypt, and Beirut and Tripoli in Lebanon, Latakia has no corniche (boardwalk) along the Mediterranean where people can stroll or enjoy seaside outdoor cafes. In any case, while Palmyra is Syria's famous city of ruins, Hama the town of wooden water wheels, and Aleppo the city of ancient bazaars, Latakia is the most urbane and "outward looking" of Syria's towns, and its fashion center.

Aleppo

Whenever I stop in at a cyber cafe in Syria to work on this blog I keep expecting the workers to tell me I'm not allowed on the Blogspot site because it's censored. Instead it's always the same. Just mention Facebook, or Blogspot, or whatever and they'll access the blocked site within minutes. From Hama I took a train north to Aleppo (Halab in Arabic) near the Turkish border. Like Damascus, Aleppo is very old, and the two cities vie for the title of "the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world." In his book In the Steps of Saint Paul, HV Morton wrote of Aleppo, "No Eastern city has impressed me with a greater sense of its mystery. To drift with the crowds in the bazaars, those vaulted avenues cool and dim as cathedral naves, is to enter another world ..." Aleppo used to be a part of the Silk Road that linked China to the Middle East and Europe, and today it's a good jumping off point for traveling by train to either Turkey (and then on to Europe if you like) or to Iran.