“Remember, these drones are necessary…”

The following is a post from Communications and Social Media Intern and Contributing Blogger Mary Kazarian. Mary is an undergraduate at George Mason University studying the Middle East and International Relations and hopes to one day move to her native land of Lebanon.

In a recent interview on the BBC network,  AUA Advisory Member Akbar Ahmed discussed the legitimacy of a UN investigation on civilian deaths during air strikes by unmanned drones which is available below. The U.S. program, which continues to become more expansive as the number of deaths increases, is posing a threat to international law. The truth of the matter is, the safety of U.S. soldiers may be spared, but does this 21st century weapon really take the accountability out of its use? This question is still being discussed as the humanitarian aspect of the debate is elevating due to the high casualties especially in the countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

As normal life is completely suspended, children cannot sleep at night for fear of being “blown up”. Ahmed speaks not only of violence by drones, but the unfortunate violence by tribal warfare and increasing suicide  bombers. These people who find themselves in moments of extreme desperation turn to bloodshed as a means to an end. Human rights activists may turn to the United Nations for help, however an investigation of this sort, says Ahmed, may only raise the awareness of the fact that drones are not worth it.

In his recent book, available on Feb. 27th, The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam, Ahmed describes traditional Islamic groups as the “thistle” which represents a people willing to fight back against the deadliest weapon available, the drone. The stark contrast between culture and society poses the question, is humanity progressing forwards?

For more information and bio about Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, please visit the AUA Team page.

Building Peace by Building Homes: A Jordanian Adventure

Gideon Culman is AUA’s Program Officer and is currently leading the 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes trip in Jordan.  Below is Gideon’s post about his thoughts on embarking on this exciting adventure. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

I’m one of America’s Unofficial Ambassadors. Today I’m traveling to Jordan to lead the Building Peace by Building Homes trip. What has me step up to be an unofficial ambassador is my taste for adventure—my eagerness to see up close how people around the world live, the joy I derive from just being myself in new settings, and my commitment to putting America’s best foot forward by being of service.

I acquired this taste for adventure tagging along with my Mom as she launched a global career as an artist. By the time I was ten, I had visited countries in Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. Highlights of my early unofficial ambassadorial career include attending public school in Germany for a decade and a blind-faith move in my mid-twenties to the heavily Muslim Western Chinese megalopolis of Lanzhou to learn Mandarin from scratch.

The Building Peace by Building Homes trip is way more than just an adventure. Seven unofficial ambassadors, each representing a different facet of American life, are coming together as an expression of our joint commitment to build people-to-people partnerships with the Muslim World. We are all first-time visitors to Jordan. We will help build a house for a disadvantaged family in the ancient city of Salt. We will meet with Jordanian students and members of Jordanian civil society, we will experience city life and village life, and we will visit the Dead Sea and the caravan trade hub of Petra.

Even before the Building Peace by Building Homes team sets foot on Jordanian soil, our trip is causing stereotypes to unravel. Earlier this month, the team held a webinar with students from the King’s Academy boarding school outside Amman. Fully expecting a homogenous student body, I was astonished that the high school students I saw live on my computer screen appeared at first glance more heterogeneous than my own remarkably diverse team. Can’t wait to see what surprises the rest of the trip holds in store!

My First Impression of Morocco and the Muslim World

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Scholarship recipient Shibrika Pansy who recently returned from volunteering with Cross-Cultural Solutions in Morocco. To find an amazing opportunity like this one, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

Destination: Rabat, Morocco

As I boarded an airplane heading over the Atlantic Ocean to Rabat, Morocco for three weeks, I became overwhelmed with emotions.  I felt sad enough to cry, and happy enough to dance as I embarked on my first international adventure.  I set high expectations for myself because I was given the opportunity to make a huge impact on Moroccans and many Americans.  Arthur Ash once said that in order for change to occur a person has to be willing to “start where they are, do what they can, and use what they have”.  That is exactly what I set out to do while volunteering in North Africa.  Language barriers nor limited resources could keep me from being successful as America’s Unofficial Ambassador.

The Abundance of Cultural and Natural Diversity in North Africa

There are so many things to do, and so little time.  I have been going non-stop since my arrival in Rabat, Morocco.  There are many places, things, and people I must see before I depart from this wonderful country.  Initially, I thought the people living in a Muslim country would not be receptive to American citizens and their lifestyles.  The generalizations made by the media in America about Muslims seem very different from the behavior of Muslims I observed while visiting Morocco.  People in America often depict Muslims as being mean-spirited, aggressive, and short-tempered.  However, while interacting with various individuals at my volunteer placement throughout the week or when I traveled to different cities in Morocco on the weekend my experiences were pleasant.  For example, I discovered that Moroccans were very helpful about pointing me in the right direction when I was lost in Fes and sharing food with everyone around.  In Morocco, no one is a stranger and people judge each other by the good deeds they complete in their communities.  Nursing homes found so abundantly in America, are non-existent in Morocco because children are expected to care for their aging parents.  And when Moroccans encounter elderly individuals that have been abandoned by their families, it is common to give these battered souls money.  The level of generosity, patience, and resilience displayed by these people should be valued by everyone worldwide.

From time to time, I pinch myself just to be certain that I am not asleep. Things seem to be in sync, and the people, animals, and plants know their purpose here in Morocco.  The vast livings standards of Americans in comparison to Moroccans is obvious.  The local people make use of all of their natural resources, from the oranges found on the orange trees to the wheat that grows in the wheat fields.  And although my life in America is different from the agrarian society in Morocco that relies on a bartering system to remain active, I have found that the people are all similar.  We laugh, we cry, we eat, we drink, and we sleep.  I know for certain that some things are universal among all human beings whether I am in Morocco or America.  It is the connection that ties all people together that I am on a quest to capture during my stay here in Morocco.

Volunteer Placements: The Ibny School and the East/West Foundation

The duties I have been given at the Ibny School and the East/West Foundation through Cross-Cultural Solutions are rewarding.  The placements are quite different from each other, but my mission to learn from and assist the less fortunate people of Rabat is the same at each location.

The Ibny School was designed to provide street children living in the local neighborhood with a structured, positive environment that promotes education.  My role while volunteering at the Ibny School was to organize activities such as games, songs, and arts and crafts for the 3-5 year old kids.  Also, I served as a role model and I provided the children with individual attention through encouraging and praising the children, while enforcing rules of good behavior.  The children were active and excited to see my face each day I entered the classroom.  The teachers were just as thrilled to have my help as the children were at the Ibny School.  I was able to practice speaking Arabic with both the teachers and the children, while they increased their English speaking abilities by conversing with me daily.

The East/West Foundation was developed by several individuals from France.  The goal of the organization is to provide refugees from sub-Saharan Africa with the knowledge and the skills they need to gain employment in North Africa or Europe.  Teaching English to adults at the East/West Foundation is challenging because the communication barrier is enormous.  But, through all of the struggles I am forming a bond with the students that is important to me.  I stay up late at night preparing English lessons for my students just to see the smile on their faces when they get something correct on their English vocabulary worksheets.

Final Remarks about Rabat, Morocco

My first impression of the history and the culture of Moroccans while volunteering in Morocco was different from the information I received through television shows, newspaper articles, and websites as an American citizen living in Dallas, Texas.  It is definitely true that a book should never be judged by its cover.  Morocco has exceeded my expectations tremendously, and I am more gracious as a result of the things I was fortunate enough to witness while on travel in this North African country.  In Morocco, things tend to have a quiet, stillness about them and it is this sense of peacefulness I hope to carry with me and share with Americans.

Our life is hard, but we do it with a smile.

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Scholarship recipient Nicolas Miyares. He is currently volunteering with Hands Along the Nile Development Services, Inc. in Egypt. To find an amazing opportunity like this one, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

There’s something quite magical about Cairo. Every morning as we crossed the Nile River from the West Bank to the East on our way to the Garbage District, I couldn’t help but feel captivated by the timeless beauty of Egypt’s capital city. With the desert sun relentlessly beaming down on the city, illuminating the sand-colored buildings and creating a dense haze that partially shadows the Giza Pyramids off in the distance, Cairo is simply objectively beautiful. However, what makes the city absolutely remarkable are the people who live in it. Although still recuperating from last year’s revolution and still struggling to find a new path for their nation, the Egyptian people are nevertheless among the friendliest I’ve ever encountered. From the adults and children in the Garbage District to the AUC (American University in Cairo) students to the activists who have assumed a monumental role in the restructuring of their nation’s politics, everyone we met and encountered offered us nothing but kindness and hospitality.

In the Garbage District, where we volunteered at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage, the vibrant entrepreneurial and constructive spirit among the inhabitants struck me the most. There is a heavy emphasis on education among the population and an inspiring pride in the work that they do. At one of the schools that we visited, in addition to offering an education in the traditional disciplines, the school also offered an education in the proper techniques for recycling and the actual mechanical process by which recycled items are turned into re-sellable resources. A five-minute walk away, there is another school where women use recycled material to create actual goods for sale. In one room, we saw a group of women sewing and weaving beautiful blanket covers, rugs, and handbags. In another room, we saw the actual process by which paper is made from recycled material, which, to me, was incredibly interesting.

Everywhere we toured throughout the Garbage District (the schools, workplaces, clinics, and churches), we found not only a driving, energetic entrepreneurial sprit, but also an immense sense of pride in the work being done. Although life is hard for the zabbaleen, the mostly Coptic inhabitants of the Garbage District, smiles and laughter were abundant. One of our guides, who took us to the hepatitis clinic and the women’s crafts school, remarked: “Our life is hard, but we do it with a smile.” If there is one moment from the trip that I’m certain will stick with me forever, it’s that statement. The zabbaleen live in poverty and among Cairo’s trash; but they have turned their situation into something productive, innovative, and, in my opinion, absolutely genius. They have not only transformed waste into sellable products (of which I bought a few), but have also allowed Cairo to boast a staggering 80% recycling rate. When comparing this to Manhattan’s rate of 45%, Hartford’s dismal rate of less than 12%, and the United States average of about 32%, we find that the zabbaleen, with limited resources but a whole lot of drive, have outdone their counterparts in the West. And they do it with a smile. 

From on-Campus to in-Country:One Trip, Five Journeys

The following is a collection of guest posts from AUA Mosaic Scholarship recipients at Columbia University. They are currently volunteering with Hands Along the Nile Development Services, Inc. in Egypt. To find an amazing opportunity like this one, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

Egypt has much to offer. From the fascinating architecture to the culture, and even the current revolution, there is much to experience in the country. With the help of Columbia University’s Alternative Spring Break and America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA), eight students have embarked on a journey to volunteer  and experience all that Egypt has to offer. Though these individuals have the same itinerary, they all hope to experience different things.

Mirabel Rouze

As a transfer student enrolling in Columbia University this past semester, I wanted to ensure I got the most out of my new university. Therefore, it is only natural I took part in Columbia’s Alternative Spring Break Program. Unfortunately, the trips for Spring 2012 were not yet decided.  A semester went by.  Then, over my winter break, I received an email announcing the trips for the upcoming year. I went through the list searching for one that sparked my fascination.  Finally, I found it at the end of the list: Cairo, Egypt.

I yearn for the opportunity to volunteer abroad and positively impact the lives of others while learning through first-hand experience. 

What I admire the most about this trip is that it is so much more than a one-week trip - it is a process of learning about a region with fellow Columbia students before the trip and continues afterward when we share what we learned with the larger Columbia community.  Therefore, our direct volunteering will impact each of our lives and has the potential to impact the lives of our peers upon return. With the generous support of the AUA scholarship, we will work to promote better relations between the United States and Arab World, throughout and following this trip.

Ryan Rivera

As a freshman nearing the completion of my first year in New York City at Columbia University, I still find myself in disbelief as I write this. In a single day’s time I will be boarding a plane with seven other students and a professor to travel to Cairo, Egypt.  We will be spending our spring break in the city working with an organization called Hands Along the Nile Development Services (HANDS). During the mornings we will be volunteering at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage and in the evenings we will be meeting with various leaders and students to discuss the revolution that has and is still taking place in the country.  In a month’s time, we have done extensive fundraising and gathered financial support from friends, family, and the Columbia community. However, none of this would’ve been possible without Columbia’s Alternative Spring Break Program and America’s Unofficial Ambassadors.

While I know exactly what we’ll be doing, where we’ll be going and all the logistics, I don’t know exactly what to expect.  We’ll be working in the zabbaleen neighborhood where the main occupation is garbage collection and recycling.  The pictures and videos I have seen depicting the amount of trash circulating throughout the city can only be conveyed in person.  Aside from physical aspects of the area, I face a language barrier. Thus, being faced with this unfamiliar obstacle will force me to strengthen my communication skills in order to effectively connect with the children at the orphanage.  As in many orphanages, these kids do not interact with people outside the orphanage, let alone foreigners. Therefore, I feel a personal duty during my volunteer trip to create a relationship that will open these kids up to a broader spectrum of people.

My ultimate goals is to be able to connect with the people I interact with and learn about them as they will learn about me. I want to relate this new perception of the country as real – something other than the mysterious and fantasy land of the pyramids and pharaohs - something more human than a dangerous Middle Eastern country in the midst of a revolution.

Rubii Pham

I’m excited to see all the beautiful architecture of Cairo, especially the mosques (it IS considered the Paris of the Middle East, and I am an architecture major!).  I’m excited to (hopefully) pick up some Arabic, to eat delicious kababs, but ultimately I know the thing I will remember the most will be the people that I will meet. No matter where I go, I always notice that as delicious and breathtaking as they may be, it is never really the food or the sights that make me want to return. It is always the way the natives take me in and make me a part of their home, extending their friendliness to help me feel less like a stranger in a new town.

Packing and traveling can certainly be stressful at times, but I know that all I truly need to bring with me is my open mind and spirit of adventure, and I’ll be fine anywhere I go.

Nicolas Miyares

The revolution is still fresh and I, along with the rest of my peers, am extremely curious to pick the minds of Egyptians and try to understand what is going on. I’m particularly curious to find out how young Egyptians think about the future of their country and how they feel about a closer relationship—both politically and socially—with the West, specifically the United States.

However, the purpose of this trip is not to study the region’s politics or compare cultures; rather part of our mission is to connect with a group of people that has been politically, socially, and economically marginalized within Cairo. Although many of the orphans in the Sisters of Charity Orphanage, where we’ll be performing our volunteer work, are mostly young and do not speak English (only one member of our group actually speaks Arabic), I’m fairly certain that we’ll find ways to communicate and get along. There may be a cultural gap at first, but I know that we’ll all work hard to overcome it.

Aiya Aboubakr

Born and raised in the United States to two Egyptian immigrants, I spoke Arabic before I learned English, and ate foul for breakfast before I learned what pancakes and waffles were. It’d be unfair to say I’m just an ordinary New Yorker, for I am distinctly an Egyptian-American. For several consecutive summers, my immediate family and I have traveled to Egypt to see the rest of our family, but my trips were just that – family visits. After the revolution, my friends asked me and continue to ask, what life is like Egypt. As much as I tried my best to answer, I really couldn’t tell from my perspective. The media created one picture, my family in Egypt told me another, but what was life really like?

As an Egyptian American, I am ultimately the bridge between the two cultures, and this trip will certainly highlight that quality. With my knowledge of the language and culture, I hope to utilize my Egyptian-ness to create a better connection between the Egyptians and our American group. The potential of understanding between these two groups is immense and will be beneficial, but communication is the key. Whether it’d be a little thing like helping my fellow colleagues buy breakfast, or letting the Egyptian market sellers and bystanders alike know that we are merely students volunteering and not interested in prying into their lives, I hope to ameliorate the possibility of miscommunication which can go a long way.

The Decision: Why Teach in Lebanon?

The following is a post from AUA Network member and guest blogger Kyle Scott Herman who is teaching History in Lebanon.

I have a long-term career objective of influencing and representing America’s foreign policy, perhaps by joining the U.S. Foreign Service as a diplomat.  My goal is to be in a position where I can help make progress on some of the inter-related challenges that are facing our global community – including security, development, and sustainability.  However, international relations is a difficult field to break into.  A graduate degree and international professional experience are necessary for most jobs.

So in April, while I was agonizing over whether to go straight to grad school or to gain professional experience first, I decided to look at international job listings.  I focused on the Middle East because of its diverse and fascinating cultures, the opportunity to learn Arabic through immersion, and my interest in U.S.-Muslim world relations. Misunderstandings between Americans and citizens of Muslim-majority countries are among the worst in the world.  Yet mutual understanding and cooperation are vital to international stability - especially in light of the current wave of democratization we know as the “Arab Spring”.  A couple years working in the Middle East could give me valuable insight into perspectives and ways of life that America’s citizens and policy-makers desperately need to understand.  And on the grassroots level, I could make a real difference through people-to-people interactions as an unofficial American ambassador.

Lebanon is in the heart of the Middle East, a fascinating region most Americans don't understand. Yet building mutual understanding and cooperation are vital to global peace and prosperity.

On idealist.org, I found a job listing in Lebanon at an English-immersion school founded by Christians.  The teaching position was for 9th-11th grade history, geography, and civics.  This listing excited me because I could make a positive impact in the lives of young people by teaching subjects I am passionate about. There is no silver bullet that can solve the challenges of security, development, and sustainability, but education is one of the most promising tools we have.  I also felt called to this position because of the school’s values and the opportunities I would have to continue my faith journey.  I was even invited to replace my predecessor as faculty advisor to a student organization focused on faith and service – similar to groups I was involved in at Ohio Wesleyan.

I was ready to commit to two years of teaching when I was presented as the top candidate for a phone interview with the headmaster.  One of the questions I asked him was about the “athletics” team listed on the school’s outdated website.  His response: “Well, we have some students who can run but we don’t have anyone to coach them.”  So of course I volunteered!  That sealed the deal.

Last Supper at Smith: I’ll miss my OWU teammates dearly, but at least I can continue running with a new team – this time as the coach.

As though through divine providence, I was invited to continue many of the same endeavors that enriched my life so much at Ohio Wesleyan: learning about cultures and history, expressing my faith through fellowship and service, and running with a team.  But this continuity is also a transition toward maturity: the student becoming the teacher, the disciple becoming the mentor, the athlete becoming the coach.

Additional posts can be found on Kyle’s blog at:
http://kyle-scott-herman.blogspot.com/

The Student Becomes the Teacher

The following is a post from AUA Network member Kyle Scott Herman who is teaching History in Lebanon.

My classroom is typical by American standards, including a projector so that I can display power points and videos. The students expect visual stimulation.

My first day of school as a teacher was a half day so I only met 3 of my 5 classes, but it was intense.  First impressions are important and it’s weird to think that the perspectives 70 students have towards history, civics, and current events could be in my hands.

The one thing I was nervous about before I came to Lebanon had nothing to do with wars or social unrest or living in the Middle East; I was nervous about teaching.  Sure, I spent the summer trying to teach myself to teach, but I’ve never received any formal training or earned any teaching certificates that are usually required.  I would have been just as nervous if I was taking on the responsibility in the States.  Lebanon lacks standards that America and most other countries have to prevent inexperienced people like me from being hired. Before I came here, I saw a frontpage story on Lebanon’s main English news site that began: “A lack of guidelines and assessment regulations is leading Lebanese high schools to become saturated with under-qualified teachers…”  So yes, I am one of those villainous under-qualified teachers saturating a Lebanese high school. But I take it as a challenge to prove that I am capable.

I received a lot of helpful advice from the more experienced teachers.  Almost all of it regarded classroom management and the need to start the year as a strong and strict authoritarian.  This seemed to reinforce a feeling I sometimes had as a student that some teachers care more about wielding power than inspiring interest, which can make learning seem like a chore.  Now I understand that sometimes it is necessary to start strict because you can always lighten up later, but if you start the year too friendly and relaxed then you cannot become stricter later.  The principal’s philosophy is that you should always strive to be respected and never to be loved because if the students respect you they will end up loving you more because they will learn more than with a friendly teacher who is too accommodating.

The principal and many of the teachers have a rule that students must stand when they enter the classroom. So this morning after I greeted students at the door by handing them an assignment to begin, I walked to the front of the classroom and asked: “Do you stand when your other teachers enter the room?” Slightly panicked faces looked up from their assignments as the students awkwardly scrambled to their feet.  I paused for a few seconds, expressionless, as I scanned the room with my eyes. “You may be seated.”  In that moment, my nerves disappeared and I knew I was in control.

Some of the 34 students in my 10th grade class were talking instead of working on the assignment while I passed out name tags and answered questions, but I will have to be strict with them. They should get the message when I deduct points from the assignments they failed to complete because they didn’t care to use their time properly.  I probably would have been horrified by the previous sentence if I had seen it 5 years ago, and now I can’t believe I’m in the position where I feel it is justified.

I originally thought my 12th graders would be mixed in with my 11th graders since there are only 3 of them, but now I am teaching them separately and it will probably be my favorite class. Up until this year, the school only taught through 11th grade, but Lebanon’s education standards changed.  So now I get to teach them a completely new curriculum based on their needs and interests. We had a good discussion today, basically sitting around and talking about what topics might be fun to study.

Additional posts can be viewed on Kyle’s blog.

Andria’s Journey to Jordan

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Scholarship recipient Andria Enns. Andria will be volunteering with United Planet in Jordan. To find an amazing opportunity like this one, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

You could say my journey to Jordan started when I was seven years old, as a Girl Scout Brownie. Each troop in the district represented a different nation at the Southern California international fair, and my troop chose Jordan. After that fair, I knew I wanted to visit Jordan someday.

Andi representing Jordan at age 7

Flash-forward fourteen years to a small Middle Eastern café in Kansas City, Missouri, where I’m a college student. Fruity Egyptian hookah smoke curled in the air and soft Arabic music played overhead. I thought this café would be the perfect place to tell my friend I was planning a trip to Amman.

You could almost hear the record scratch as she did a double-take.

“But… why?” she said.

It was a question I’ve been getting over and over as I’ve planned my trip over the last six months. People hear “Middle East” or “Muslim world” and think “war,” “terrorism,” and “danger.” It’s easy to think that if you only see war coverage on television.

I’m going because I believe peace starts with us – with me. Not only because I’ll serve as an unofficial ambassador while in Jordan; but also because of the knowledge and compassion I will bring home.

Only once cultural fear is abolished, can we begin to celebrate our diverse traditions as a global community.

It would be a lie to say that I’m not anxious at all – after all, it’s a new culture that I’ve never experienced before. I know the local customs will take getting used to. But even more than that, I’m excited. I can’t wait to meet my Jordanian host family and learn about communal eating with them (I’ve always liked eating with my hands, anyway!). I’m looking forward to becoming part of a workplace community at Friends of the Global Fund (a public health nonprofit) and making a real difference. I’m excited to visit the local hang-outs and make new friends.

I’m sure some days will be hard – some days I’ll be homesick for my mom, my siblings, my boyfriend and my classmates. But I’m sure that even more than that, I’ll be homesick for Jordan when I come back.

About Andi:

Andi Enns is a student in the Degree with Honors Program at Park University, studying journalism and public relations. She will be on a service trip to Amman, Jordan for three weeks over winter break, working with a public health organization and staying with a local family. 

Peace Media Award Winner: Laura Boushnak

The following is a guest blog by Peace X Peace, an international organization that connects women working on the frontlines of peace building in 120 countries. www.peacexpeace.org.

Laura Boushnak is a photographer, a third generation Palestinian refugee, and an activist. Now she’s also our 2011 Peace Media honoree. She draws on her background and life experiences to create photography that uncovers issues and subjects most often overlooked.

Though she started out as a sociology student working for the Associated Press and then Agence France-Press, she now pursues freelance work and long-form photo projects full time. What is she working on now? Not just one project!  She has three in the works, collections of images ranging from cluster bomb survivors in Lebanon to Arab women’s literacy projects and the LGBT community in Beirut. She covers the Arab world from multiple angles, finding lenses (both figuratively and literally) through which to reflect a region of the world that is so often distorted in the mainstream media.

Laura reports that she chooses her projects based on her personal experience, which alerts her to social issues that deserve attention. She explains, “…in general there has to be a personal side to any of the stories I work on. For example, I started my project about cluster sub-munitions survivors a few months following the end of the 2006 Hezbollah-Israeli war, where I actually covered the whole event. I was taken by the fact that cluster munitions left behind after conflicts kill and injure civilians who are already trying to rebuild their lives after war.”

Some may scoff at the idea that photography can build peace. But Laura (and Peace X Peace) contend that the opposite is true. In the case of her literacy project, she “…wanted to show what is being done about women’s education and raise questions over the obstacles which stand in the way of their development.” The images of situations or events that are captured and disseminated can shape our understanding of those situations. Laura helps to build peace by shifting perceptions of conflict and possibilities for peace in Lebanon, Egypt, and other countries around the Middle East.

Peace X Peace Celebrates its 2011 Women, Power, and Peace Awards

Join Peace X Peace, an international organization that connects women working on the frontlines of peacebuilding in 120 countries, at their 2011 Women, Power, and Peace Awards event, which will be held on Monday, December 5th, at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington DC. This gala evening honors six extraordinary award winners, a catered reception, fine wines, live music, an inspiring theatrical piece by Woolly Mammoth actors enacting voices of women change agents, and a 10-minute Catalyst video of Israeli and Palestinian women working for peace. Each attendee will also receive a complimentary copy of Patricia Smith Melton’s remarkable coffee table book, Sixty Years, Sixty Voices, valued at over $50.

They’d love to have you join them. Please click here to purchase your tickets. Please get your tickets early as this will sell out. www.peacexpeace.org.

Unofficial Ambassador Steve Jobs

The following is a message from Ambassador Osman Siddique, the Chairman of AUA’s Diplomatic Council and the first Muslim-American to serve as a US ambassador, and AUA Director Ben Orbach. The message was published in the International Business Times and Microfinance Monitor on November 1, 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC: Much has been written about the achievements of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs since he passed away on October 5. A part of this story not yet covered, though, is how the idea of what Jobs represented for America will be missed across the Muslim World. From the alleys of Nablus to the streets of Lahore, the American people have long served as our country’s best representatives; the loss of Steve Jobs is the loss of one of America’s foremost Unofficial Ambassadors.

For years, people across the Muslim World have drawn a distinction between their disaffection for US policies and their affinity for the American people. For many ordinary people, certain policies offended sensibilities – such as torture at Abu Ghraib – or made lives more difficult – like supporting the Mubarak regime in Egypt for decades.

It is this strong rejection of the US policy that has led to widespread “disapproval” of America in polling across the Muslim World. According to the Pew Foundation, America’s favorability in Pakistan in 2003 (the start of the war with Iraq) was 13 percent; in Jordan it was just one percent. Eight years later, it is 20 percent in Egypt and just 10 percent in Turkey.

At the same time, the American people are regarded differently – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may twist the masses in knots, but Facebook makes people smile. Our political processes and entertainment sector have long been international standard bearers, from the “rags to riches” election of the son of an African immigrant to explosive Hollywood blockbusters.

Our businesses are known for innovation and our education systems for teaching critical thinking. A degree from an American university has long been coveted while an “unlocked” iPhone is the latest and greatest American export. Steve Jobs and the company he built were a Colossus of this kind of “soft power,” a symbol of the value of the “people-to-people” component of international relations.

If this past year’s events in the Middle East and North Africa have demonstrated anything, it is that America’s relations with countries such as Egypt and Pakistan will not be determined solely by the dialogue that occurs between the leaders of our respective governments. In this age of technological connectedness and the 24-hour news cycle, governments cannot survive indefinitely if they don’t enable their people to pursue their aspirations. At the community level, people form their opinions of their national leaders and of America, too, based not upon the promises of treaties but upon the merits of deeds and the style of conduct.

In this respect, Steve Jobs was an American force for inspiration, innovation, and empowerment. Millions of iPhones and iPads bought all over the world reflect American ingenuity but significantly, the product of that ingenuity carries the promise of new possibilities.

While few Americans will have the impact of a Steve Jobs on a global level, many of us can serve as unofficial ambassadors at the grassroots level across the Muslim World and be a part of representing that same promise of a better future.

For example, Matthew Stackowicz is an English teacher who volunteered for three weeks in Sana’a, Yemen, and taught refugees from Somalia to tell their stories through photography. Brittany Richardson is an outdoors trip leader who volunteered for seven months in villages surrounding Lunsar, Sierra Leone, training young girls to ride bicycles. And Jean Kurtenbach is a senior who helped build a home with a Tajik family in Khujand.

Matthew, Brittany, and Jean represented the best of America to local leaders and citizens and formed partnerships that created a positive impact from a human development perspective. They supported the freedom of speech, the empowerment of women, and access to a healthier environment. Their deeds spoke volumes, and they improved America’s international relations at the community level.

Importantly, the partnerships they formed were not one-way endeavors. They were ambassadors to communities in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and they returned to their homes in Indiana, California, and Nebraska as representatives of the idea that our personal actions can take us beyond stereotypes. Sadly for us as Americans, a 2010 Pew Foundation poll showed that 38 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Muslims.

America needs more unofficial ambassadors to the Muslim World, which is why we launched the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors initiative this past year at Creative Learning, a Washington D.C. not-for-profit. More than 61 million Americans volunteered last year, but less than 1 percent of that number volunteered overseas and only a fraction of that one percent volunteered in a Muslim-majority country. By the end of 2012, America’s Unofficial Ambassadors will encourage 1,000 Americans to commit to volunteer for a week to a year, and we are building a community to offer them guidance and support.

Steve Jobs left an indelible mark as a great American, revered and respected worldwide for his contributions to our global community. His inventions catalyzed creativity, but one does not have to be a world-leading innovator to be a part of generating new possibilities – to build a house in Indonesia, to teach English in Jordan, and to help build peace as an unofficial ambassador.

The people-to-people connections we form, the decency we can demonstrate in the process, and the impact of the partnerships we create are all invaluable, from a development perspective and from a mutual understanding perspective, too.

M. Osman Siddique was the first Muslim-American to serve as a US Ambassador and chairs the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors Diplomatic Council. Benjamin Orbach is the Director of the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors initiative at Creative Learning. (www.unofficialambassadors.org).