Realizing how badly America has Americanized me

It started by checking my balance with Sallie Mae as I had a late night video conversation with a friend. I was checking as we spoke, worried about payment deadlines, and if I would make it without having them bombard my inbox and send their polite threats. Many like myself, US graduates with degrees from accredited universities, have been forced to flee abroad as the job market shriveled upon our graduation. And so I thought a return to the homeland would be a pleasant time to catch up with my history.


I did not tell my friend what I was doing online, and the conversation continued as usual. Jokes, laughter, the typical check in. And then--my face contorted in the way it typically does when I am upset, my eyes got huge and damp, and before my friend was able to ask what was wrong with my face, I was already making a long distance call.

Prisoner release: The number game of Israel

Yesterday marked the so called completion of the prisoner swap agreement, which commenced on October 18, 2011, when Gilad Shalit was released for a total of 1,027 Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons in two separate waves. Yet it must be noted that the numbers do not change any of the ideology or tactics employed by the occupying Israeli entity that continues to suffocate Palestinian security and livelihood.

Palestinian Prisoners Freed: Fireworks in Ramallah

We aren't stupid whores, Majdalani

Bassem Zakarneh

Bassem  Zakarneh, a former student of mine and head of the Palestinian workers' union, is a family man as I am sure Ahmad Majdalani, the Minister of Labor is also a family man. Zakarneh would practice his English language vigorously, and during breaks the students would ask him questions about their rights as laborers under the collapsing Palestinian Authority. They asked about their rights as employees, not only in the private sector, but also within the ministries of Abu Mazen, a main source for employment. 

Once Zakarneh joked how his daughter is more fluent in English and helps him study, and she attended one of my classes sitting next to her father, brightly smiling and answering proudly while my adult students tried to get the thick of English off their tongues. 

The bubble will burst …Economic hit men in Ramallah

from Requiem of a Revolution

Last year at the prestigious (and imperialist) Herzliya conference in Israel, Ben Bernanke, the chief of the federal reserve, concluded that the talks and peace process itself resulted in 3% growth of the economy.

We should note here that he said the process, not the actual settlement, but the perpetual talks have lead to this growth. The economic occupation that is penetrating the occupied Palestinian territories like a deadly plague is difficult to imagine, and what even more difficult is to come up with solutions to counter this economic bubble that will defiantly burst.

United Colors of Benetton assumes hate

The United Colors of Benetton announced a campaign just a few days ago to reverse hate by "contrasting the culture of hatred and promoting closeness" through the action of "the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders." 

The UCB's media campaign has already been regarded as controversial, perhaps for the action of two men kissing in homosexual fashion,  or perhaps the controversy is due in part to the figureheads featured and the assumed followings or meanings these individuals possess. 

The less obvious and more offensive nature of the campaign series is that The UCB assumes that hatred is the governing feature between the two parties presented. By showcasing the pope with an imam, it is assumed some institutionalized, religious hatred exists between these two religious institutions. Or by showcasing Mahmood Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu The UCB is assuming that hate is the ultimate feature that is causing tensions between occupied Palestinians and militant Israelis. Thus The UCB's corporate scheme sets out to "undo" the hate.

I too exist

In the film "Life in  a Day" the celebration and tragedy of mankind's actions are all documented in a YouTube production highlighting July 24, 2010. Released in late January of this year, the movie covers the facts of life that we tend to take for granted, from our first morning footsteps to the change we carry in our pockets. While the movie hints at certain pinnacle issues relevant to the time the movie was created, it overwhelmingly humanizes life as simply the will to survive. 

"I want people to know that I'm here. 

I don't want to cease to exist."

This blog isn't just about Palestine.  It  is how badly I too want to exist somehow, to be relevant, and in more ways than one, I find someone blotting my face out in red ink, or striking me from the narrative, or erasing whatever mark I may have left. When I say "I," I mean you, we, us, humanity. Multiple labels and identities and affiliations strike us, cancel us out, elevate us, deny us--only if we continue to let them.

In the absence of one, humanity ceases to be.