Jumat, 22 Juli 2011

Where Children Sleep



The world is not a fair place, we all know that, it's even tougher on children.

I honestly think that children's only job in this world is to play and have fun. isn't going to school tough enough??

And i believe that most parents love their children and trying to do the best they can to give them a better life, and those who seems tough on them or make their children work at an early age to help the family simply lack the right ways of parenthood and the knowledge of what's good or not for their children.

"Where Children Sleep " is a project that shows the places where different children from different parts of the world sleep. It's sad and eye opening to the unfairness of the world.

No words can describe these pictures, but be sure to read about them and  their dreams.

A collaborative project between American journalist Chris Booth and photographer James MollisonWhere Children Sleep is a photo exposé aimed to present the differing sleeping spaces of children around the world. Focusing on the realities of inequality, Mollison hopes to compel children to consider inequality as it effects them and their surrounding society. One of the more meaningful projects I’ve come across in a while, Mollison’s photographs paint a reality that is difficult to depict through words. Read on to let Chris Booth and James Mollison show you where children sleep. ( Source ) 


Lamine, 12, lives in Senegal. He is a pupil at the village Koranic school, where no girls are allowed. He shares a room with several other boys. The beds are basic, some supported by bricks for legs. At six every morning the boys begin work on the school farm, where they learn how to dig, harvest maize and plough the fields using donkeys. In the afternoon they study the Koran. In his free time Lamine likes to play football with his friends.


Kaya, four, lives with her parents in a small apartment in Tokyo, Japan. Her bedroom is lined from floor to ceiling with clothes and dolls. Kaya’s mother makes all her dresses – Kaya has 30 dresses and coats, 30 pairs of shoes and numerous wigs. When she goes to school, she has to wear a school uniform. Her favourite foods are meat, potatoes, strawberries and peaches. She wants to be a cartoonist when she grows up
Douha, 10, lives with her parents and 11 siblings in a Palestinian refugee camp in Hebron, in the West Bank. She shares a room with her five sisters. Douha attends a school 10 minutes’ walk away and wants to be a paediatrician. Her brother, Mohammed, killed himself and 23 civilians in a suicide attack against the Israelis in 1996. Afterwards the Israeli military destroyed the family home. Douha has a poster of Mohammed on her wall.


Jasmine (‘Jazzy’), four, lives in a big house in Kentucky, USA, with her parents and three brothers. Her house is in the countryside, surrounded by farmland. Her bedroom is full of crowns and sashes that she has won in beauty pageants. She has entered more than 100 competitions. Her spare time is taken up with rehearsal. She practises her stage routines every day with a trainer. Jazzy would like to be a rock star when she grows up.


Home for this boy and his family is a mattress in a field on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. The family came from Romania by bus, after begging for money to pay for their tickets. When they arrived in Rome, they camped on private land, but the police threw them off. They have no identity papers, so cannot obtain legal work. The boy’s parents clean car windscreens at traffic lights. No one from his family has ever been to school.


Dong, nine, lives in Yunnan province in south-west China with his parents, sister and grandfather. He shares a room with his sister and parents. The family own just enough land to grow their own rice and sugarcane. Dong’s school is 20 minutes’ walk away. He enjoys writing and singing. Most evenings, he spends one hour doing his homework and one hour watching television. When he is older, Dong would like to be a policeman.
Roathy, eight, lives on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His home sits on a huge rubbish dump. Roathy’s mattress is made from old tyres. Five thousand people live and work here. At six every morning, Roathy and hundreds of other children are given a shower at a local charity centre before they start work, scavenging for cans and plastic bottles, which are sold to a recycling company. Breakfast is often the only meal of the day.
Thais, 11, lives with her parents and sister on the third floor of a block of flats in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She shares a bedroom with her sister. They live in the Cidade de Deus (‘City of God’) neighbourhood, which used to be notorious for its gang rivalry and drug use. Since the 2002 film City of God, it has undergone major improvements. Thais is a fan of Felipe Dylon, a pop singer, and has posters of him on her wall. She would like to be a model.


Nantio, 15, is a member of the Rendille tribe in northern Kenya. She has two brothers and two sisters. Her home is a tent-like dome made from cattle hide and plastic, with little room to stand. There is a fire in the middle, around which the family sleep. Nantio’s chores include looking after the goats, chopping firewood and fetching water. She went to the village school for a few years but decided not to continue. Nantio is hoping a moran (warrior) will select her for marriage. She has a boyfriend now, but it is not unusual for a Rendille woman to have several boyfriends before marriage. First, she will have to undergo circumcision, as is the custom.
Joey, 11, lives in Kentucky, USA, with his parents and older sister. He regularly accompanies his father on hunts. He owns two shotguns and a crossbow and made his first kill – a deer – at the age of seven. He is hoping to use his crossbow during the next hunting season as he has become tired of using a gun. He loves the outdoor life and hopes to continue hunting into adulthood. His family always cook and eat the meat from the animal they have shot. Joey does not agree that an animal should be killed just for sport. When he is not out hunting, Joey attends school and enjoys watching television with his pet bearded dragon lizard, Lily.


Tzvika, nine, lives in an apartment block in Beitar Illit, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is a gated community of 36,000 Haredi (Orthodox) Jews. Televisions and newspapers are banned from the settlement. The average family has nine children, but Tzvika has only one sister and two brothers, with whom he shares his room. He is taken by car to school, a two-minute drive. Sport is banned from the curriculum. Tzvika goes to the library every day and enjoys reading the holy scriptures. He also likes to play religious games on his computer. He wants to become a rabbi, and his favourite food is schnitzel and chips.
Jamie, 9, lives with his parents and younger twins brother and sister in a penthouse on 5 th Avenue, New York. Jamie goes to a prestigious school and is a good student. In his spare time he takes judo and goes for a swim. He loves to study finance. When he grows up, he wants to become a lawyer like his father.

Indira, seven, lives with her parents, brother and sister near Kathmandu in Nepal. Her house has only one room, with one bed and one mattress. At bedtime, the children share the mattress on the floor. Indira has worked at the local granite quarry since she was three. The family is very poor so everyone has to work. There are 150 other children working at the quarry. Indira works six hours a day and then helps her mother with household chores. She also attends school, 30 minutes’ walk away. Her favourite food is noodles. She would like to be a dancer when she grows up.





Kamis, 21 Juli 2011

An Arab Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA)


Susanne has introduced me to this amazing blog. 

It discusses a very important topic, Childhood Sexual Abuse.

It's a must read, please check it. at least so we know how to protect our kids. 


In who am I ? section of the blog, he says :

Who am I?I’m your best friend, your brother, your son, and maybe YOU. I’m one of the kids that got their childhood innocence stolen, I’m scared of how others would look at me even though I did nothing wrong, it’s just that others used my childhood and Sexually Molested me. Yes, I’m a Male, I am me, an old baby who was always scared of going out to play with the other kids because some male “Adults” sexually molested me in the harshest ways, and if you want to get into the mind of an abused kid follow my blog, maybe you can prevent it from happening to your beloved ones . (source) 


An Arab Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA)







Selasa, 19 Juli 2011

Somalia Drought “The Most Severe Humanitarian Emergency In The World”



Did you hear or read about the drought crisis in the horn of Africa ??

If not, then please read and spread the word ..

Please, let's do something. 

You can start by visiting the UNICEF site and donate or any other organization you know. 



In Somalia, where the average per capita income is roughly $600, 2011 has been a particularly trying year. The arid nation on the Horn of Africa has been devastated by a severe drought, exacerbating the political instability and violence that has long-plagued the profoundly damaged country. (Somalia routinely ranks at the very top of Foreign Policy’s annual “Failed States Index.”)
Many of the victims of the current Somali crisis are, as always, those least able to fend for themselves: children.
Pictured Above: Abdifatah Hassan, who is eleven months old and suffers from severe malnutrition, lies on a cot at a hospital in Dadaab on July 4, 2011.

Source : Life 










Drought crisis in horn of Africa has been the worse in 60 years, affecting mostly Somalia. UNICEF called the Somalia drought and resulting refugee crisis “the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world”. Many people (mostly children) have fallen dead on the long, dry journeys to a refugee camp. 



A newly arrived Somali refugee holds her child at the Dadaab refugee camp Sunday in northeastern Kenya. Thousands of Somalis have fled into neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia due to one of the region's worst droughts in decades.

source : National Post


 A Somali man who fled violence and drought in Somalia with his family sits on the ground outside a food distribution point in the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

 One-year-old, Habibo Bashir, rests on a bed at a Doctors Without Borders hospital where he is being treated for severe malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
  refugee holds her child in her arms as she and others like her mass outside a food distribution point in Dadaab in the hope of getting access to much needed aid at the worlds biggest refugee camp in the world on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT
 A Somali girl being treated for severe malnutrition pushes away a cup as a woman tries to feed her at a hospital operated by the International Rescue Commission.
 Sixty-year-old Suban Osman sits with two of her malnourished grand children at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
 Two-year-old Shiniyo looks while bundled in her mothers arms while they stay at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
A Kenyan doctor looks at the IV drip on a child suffering from severe malnutrition at a clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. According to Doctors Without Borders, the number of people seeking refugee keeps swelling and Dadaab will house 450,000 refugees by the end of the year, or twice the population of Geneva. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

More pictures on :

Captured: East Africa Drought





More on the crisis : 


Somalia: Inside the Refugee Crisis


Minggu, 17 Juli 2011

Guest Post: Haitham Al-Sheeshany


It's been sometime since i have invited Haitham to a guest post and it's finally arrived :)
For those who don't know Haitham -i suspect that though- he is an amazing blogger with two blogs.
Thanks to Haitham ,i have been introduced to a lot of Jordanian bloggers whom i am so proud to know. 
Haitham lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years and he decided to write about his experience in Saudi Arabia in this post. 
I hope you will enjoy the post as much as i did :) 

Haitham, thanks a lot for accepting my invitation and thanks for being you , the supportive, the generous and the amazing friend we all happy to know :)

P.S: If anyone is interested in writing a guest post whether you are a blogger or non, on any topic you wish. i would love to hear from you on  ( museerato2002@gmail.com)

**************************************


It`s my last week in Saudi Arabia!
It`s been quiet a journey for me/us here, 3.5 years of full adventure ,, in more ways than one :)
We resided in the southern province, a city called Khamees Mushait
It`s nearly 2200 meters above sea-level, the weather is cool and it rains almost all year round , we don`t use AC's, would you believe :)
My family already left and I`m finalizing matters, it feels funny to be…. leaving! This is the only place I`ve/we`ve been out side my home country.
Our daughter, now almost five, lived most of her life here :)
We have so many memories, both good and bad.
I will never forget this city

All through the first apartment, the very first car, first "major" accident, first Umra "small pilgrimage" , the Hajj " pilgrimage", the minor accident with the water tank vehicle
,, my students and their endless stories,,, all of it is an eternal interwoven part of me now,
I`m going to try to capture some of that "all"
In this city you will not find taxis!
Yep, none… this was a shocker when we 1st came as we had no car yet, the 
only means of transportation is this

"صورة دبّاب" 
:)

There are a few buses but sadly unreliable
Driving here is a mess [in lack of a better word]
I used to be "used to!" a much better driver but now I`m a semi-reckless one, I think it grows on ya!
I guess if women are allowed to drive in this city it would be messier! Don`t get me wrong now ladies, I`m just referring to the # of accidents, not saying females cannot drive :)


Some of the things I hated here is the enormous quantity of water bottles thrown EVERYWHERE!
Also, people spit a lot! They simply open their car doors and spit!
It IS a phenomena
I also hate how many many people, especially youth, treat certain nationalities whom are here to make a decent living.
It`s just not right! I have been in countless situations where I fiercely reacted to such incidents, people come to this country with specific expectations and sadly a lot of those get distorted by the way Saudis treat them (not all of course)
 I think that`s why every once and a while you hear stories that reflect a kind of reaction to this mistreatment (cockroaches in coffee cups, kidnapping of youngsters, strangling of employers , …) I used to think that these stories are mere exaggerations but I lived to see that they are not!
I saw more snow in these 3.5 years than I have in my country! I had to slot that info in, yes :)


I loved how the mosques smell on Fridays, loved how I learned to use the Siwak [I hope I carry that habit on!]
Elderly  people looking behind them once the prayers r over always made me confused! Later on I discovered they were looking for the kids and whether they came to the prayers or not :)


May be the single most important thing I "really" learned while here was the ability to NOT judge based on appearances! It`s twofold actually, as some large portion of people here do fall into that fallacy and many others -also-
teach you to look into souls and judge by that, not superficialities, I can`t explain it even if I wanted to! No examples can illustrate it in writing, u just have to live it!
Certainly, the Abaya is something not to be missed here, I never tried it on [disclaimer :P] but through convos with my wife I believe Abaya enhances communication skills; in ways that it forces you to concentrate on reading the "other" in a different way - without the visual cues, hairdo, gestures, … you begin to shift your attention towards eye
contact-it`s all what you got!-
you listen "more", with empathy, you have no covert distractions
it`s interesting to say the least and I`m going to stop right here regarding this :)

Had many confrontations here and there, with police, al-Hay`ah, colleagues, students, strangers, yooooooooooooooooou name it :D
but all in all I think I did good! Not going to claim I made a real difference, even in my tight circle while here, but I`d dare to say that I was a more beneficial person than not!


  Going to cut the way right here and assert that these are MY reflections, not passing judgments or making generalizations, and I know my thoughts are unorganized but I just wanted to write as the flow goes without editing nor rephrasing
:)

I`d love to end with my own Saudi-Jordanian dictionary,,, here`s some jargonY education for you  [in Arabic]
:DDD
أحلّق = أقص "الشعر"
شُعور = شعَر
عوائل = جمع عائلة "و هي صيغة جمع صحيحة بالمناسبة"
عُزّاب = جمع أعزب
أخبار علوم = شو في ما في
أفّاااااااااااااا = و لو! / أكيد
دراهم = مصاري / نقود
مسموح = مسامحك
وِرِع أو بِزِر= ولد / طفل
حذيان = حذاء  "أكرمكم الله"
أُقرُب = اقترب
شِلّه ْ = شيله / خذه
باقي = لسه؟
موتور = سيارة
سوا سوا = لا أدري ما مكافئها! لأن لها "استخدامات" متعددة
100 100 = مي هميه = إنو ممتاز و عال العال
بتحلّم = أحلم
أرحمك = أحس معك / أتعاطف معك
حُكُم = بالضبط  (كأن تقول ألقاك الساعة السادسة حكم) :)
على خشمي = على راسي أو عيني
ما يحتاج = يعني مثل: بس بلاااااااااااش
أوصال = شقف "اللحمة" :)  و السقف عندهم هنا = كوكتيل مع قطع فواكه بداخله :)
لَيْ = بربيش
أبغى = أريد / بدّي
يمديني؟ = بلحّق؟
جبّوع = طاقية
ثلوث = الثلاثاء
ربوع = الأربعاء

كلمات و عبارات أحببتها و متداولة بكثرة هنا:
بيّض الله وجهك
تم و ما تاكل هم = بمعنى أبشر / و لا يهمّك
هيّا
ما أدري + ما دريت
يرحم والديك
زفاف
زواج
أذكر الله = زي  "بالله عليك" عنا :)
غفر الله لك
الله يكتب أجرك
إجلس
أرقد = أنام
الله يسلّم ذا الوجه
و الله إني صادق = ما إلكو علي يمين :)

Sabtu, 16 Juli 2011

My New Page صفحتي الجديدة


I have added a new page to my blog for those who are in Saudi Arabia and who are able to help others. So if you are in Saudi Arabia and can help please check the page up there or from here . Thank you :)

لقد اضفت صفحة جديدة لمدونتي مخصصة لمن هم داخل السعودية و يستطيعون المساعدة , لذا ان كنتم في السعودية و تستطيعوا المساعدة فالرجاء القاء نظرة على الصفحة الموجودة في الاعلى او من هنا
و شكرا 
:)

Jumat, 15 Juli 2011

The Beating of a Garbage Collector

After seeing the video, many Saudi decided to try to find the inhuman creature on it, especially on twitter using the hash-tag  #3malahRights.
 If you are in Saudi Arabia please help by showing everyone this video. 
This might be a step towards a big change in the way those poor workers are treated in here. 

The young Saudi man needs to be found and prosecuted. 

The video is painful to watch but please try to see it. 




Update: The video has been removed. I understand YouTube policy and i agree with it but people need to see this so this hate will stop.
Anyway, you can watch it on my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/WafaGh/posts/220842394621875?notif_t=share_comment

and on the page of Abdulrahman Allahim , the Saudi activisit.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150238719528589&comments




Kamis, 14 Juli 2011

People


People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.


“The Paradoxical Commandments” by Kent M. Keith