Salaah

Salaahby AhmedTo the Masjid we goCome sun, rain or snowFive times a dayMuslims are obliged to prayWe prepare by doing ablutionAll the while engaging in devotionWith our hearts inclined we do standTo obey Almighty Allah’s commandWe raise our hands and say takbeerSalah starts and our worries disappearBeautiful recitation of the Qur’an is heardOur hearts captivated by these blessed wordsStanding,

An Arab Woman's Blues

Layla Anwar gives the world a piece of her mind in beautifully powerful prose that leaves you simply awestruck. One commenter summed her blog up in one word - "wow". Here are her words on the plight of Iraqi women:

You know what woman battering is don't you?

It is basically when a man beats, strikes, punches, kicks, pounds...a woman and sometimes severly enough that she ends up in hospital and sometimes severly enough to bring about her death.

It is interesting to note that the verb "to batter" is also used in cooking i.e to make a dough. The French have similar anologies between battering a woman and food. They would say he turned her into a "compote".(compote is cooked fruits). Ditto for Arabic expressions. They would say he broke her bones, they became like "soup"...

Am sure other "cultures" have more analogies of the same sort. I will leave it to you to dig up some expressions that you are familiar with, along the same lines...

Did you notice something here? A common trait in the use of words, in the use of language?

It is as if they allude to render that "thing" liquefied, easily moulded, soft to the palate...
In sum, easily mixed and easily digestible. I will also leave it to you to make further associations on the same theme.

No society is immune from woman battering. I will not dwell on figures now. All societies are guilty of it. East and West, equally guilty. And R.Kipling was wrong when he said that East and West shall never meet. They do meet. They met. They met in Iraq.

They met in Iraq, the land, the earth, the Mother...
They also met and agreed on her daughters bodies - Iraqi Women.

That body which, since the "liberation", has become a public commodity. A public thing. A thing to be veiled, a thing to be controlled, a thing to be ordered about, a thing to be disposed of, a thing to be battered, moulded, shaped into a liquefied, soft, yielding thing. A digestible thing.

Yes, batter, pound, strike, punch, beat, rape, torture, imprison...that "thing" and ultimately dispose of it, annihilate it.

Both "East and West" are bent on the destruction of Iraqi women.
It is as if, plundered, occupied Iraq has become the center point, the "lieu" where these forces can pour out their venom, their deep hatred, their frustrated instincts, their perversities...In sum their collective misogyny.

Danger Zone

A new technology blog from Iraq! Everything is here from controlling USB devices without kernel modules in Linux to finding good cheep hotels and Internet access in Basra.

Hasan worked in Qatar and moved back to Iraq after his contract ended. He chose Basra because Baghdad is just too dangerous. Good luck and keep posting we need to hear more from that city. He writes:

unlike Baghdad , Basrah is full of life. The streets are always crowded and you don't have to take the same cautions like in Baghdad.

Police are army checkpoints are everywhere in the city which makes you feel safe , I saw some British patrols during the day there , I tried to avoid them. But they looked more friendly than the American army.

Brothers in Law

Reading a Language Log post I just noticed a rather laughable argument apparently being used in the Jose Padilla trial (according to AP):

FBI wiretaps played in court for jurors contain frequent references to "brothers," which prosecutors say means mujahedeen fighters looking for a battle. Defense lawyers contend the term is a common expression among male Muslims.

If the AP article has correctly represented the prosecution argument, they must be either absolutely desperate or thoroughly unqualified. As the defense correctly states, "brother" is fairly commonly used between male Muslims, in accordance with a hadith saying that "A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim"; it carries absolutely no implication of being a fighter. Google will turn up numerous examples; for an illustrative sample, consider this slightly frivolous MPAC forum discussion about finding motivational speakers, where other Muslims are called by the terms "brs", "bros", "akhee" (Arabic for "my brother"), and "Brother".

However, in fairness, other reports indicate that the prosecution claims that the defendants used some kind of system of codewords: they claim innocuous words like "picnics", "football", and "marriage" were used with much more sinister intended meanings. If their claim is that "brother" meant "fighter looking for battle" in this alleged code, as opposed to in normal usage, then that might not be completely absurd; I haven't found any transcripts, so I can't attempt to evaluate the plausibility of such a claim.

The usual arguments about the correct translation of "jihad" and "Allah" apparently came up as well - I don't think I'll bother adding to the thousands of web pages discussing that issue.

Salik Day Approaches

Much has been written in the press and in the blogs (Grumpy Goat, Half Man Half Beer, Secret Dubai) about the impending launch (and hopefully rapid sinking) of 'Salik', the imbecilic road toll scheme that is due to start operating near Garhoud Bridge and Mall of the Emirates on July 1st. There have been public spats between the Police and the RTA about it. Gulf News in the last few days has reported the unanimously unfavourable opinions of many Dubai residents. In the keep-your-head-down-and-don't-rock-the-boat culture of Dubai, this is not far from open rebellion.

I enjoyed this comment:

Salah Bu Farousha, Traffic Public Prosecutor, said he supports Salik, but has reservations.
"It is a trial and we should not make premature conclusions. If people do not cooperate, it will be a problem. I am sure RTA has approved this project after thorough studies. Recently traffic police were asked if they are ready in case of traffic congestions and they said yes they are ready," he said.

Do I detect a note of irony in the above? And this is the first time I've heard the scheme described as a trial. Nice one Salah - hopefully the RTA will adopt this terminology so they won't be too embarrassed when either Sheikh Mohammed or the sheer unworkability of Salik forces them to postpone the damn thing.

Not wishing to gloat or anything, but I will be out of Dubai about a week after the chaos mayhem bedlam scheme starts. But I do feel that every word of justification uttered by the TRA on this subject is disingenuous tosh. The object of this scheme is nothing more or less than to extract more money from drivers. If it were otherwise then the scheme would only operate at peak times, rather than the proposed 24 hours a day. There are zero viable transport alternatives available. Having recently tried to use the 8A bus 'service' from the Gardens to Media City, I have found the timetabling to be a cynical work of fiction. If you use a taxi, you'll have to pay the toll. The Metro is still two years away.

The saddest thing about this disaster-in-the-making is the blinkered attitude of RTA management. It will cause much more congestion at peak time as thousands upon thousands of cars try to get off SZR before going under a toll gantry. Once you've passed the toll gate, you will be able to hurtle along at 120 kph. But before you get to that you will be stuck in the queue of people trying to get off the road because they do not want to pay the toll - at Mall of the Emirates this will mean SEVEN lanes of traffic trying to organise itself into TWO lanes for the last free exit. There will be chaos like you've never seen before - and we've all seen some chaos on Dubai's roads. Many roads in Bur Dubai which are already overloaded, will grind to a complete halt. Al Wasl Road, Jumeirah Road and Al Sufouh Road will all be jammed solid. Emirates Road and Al Khail Road are already over capacity.

And yet the TRA will claim a great success because the stretches of road immediately before and after the toll gates will show a huge reduction in traffic.

If this is indeed about money, why not slap a few hundred dirhams on the annual vehicle registration fee? I don't think people actually mind paying a bit of money extra if they know it helps to improve the infrastructure. But to have to pay extra money to join a scheme that is ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED TO INCREASE CONGESTION is madness, pure and simple.

Bad to the Bone

Just what the Iraqi blogodrome needs another young woman with attitude. Glory Rose gives us the stream of conscience that passes through her mind from day to day in her blog 3adma (which is Arabic for bone). She introduces herself as "a half Iraqi half Egyptian girl living in Cairo, studying medicine, having a pretty much messed up life".

Is a TESOL/TEFL Course Right for You?

As most people already know The TESOL(Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) Certificate is designed to allow native English speakers to travel to different parts of the world (where English is in demand) and teach English. The biggest benefit is you can travel and see the world and earn money along the way to support this travel lust. All of this is essentially true however what I have defined above is not for everyone. Or more specifically, not for everyone's goals.

Who is this Certifcate for?

Native or Near Native English speakers 21 or over in good health

I use the age of 21 because in many countries, a university degree is required for being issued a work visa. However this is not the case for all countries. Although it may require you to work a bit harder in some countries to find a job.

There is no age limit as long as the person in question is in good physical and mental condition. Almost every course, we get a few people over fifty which adds to the quality of the course.

People who want to live in a country other than their own

The TESOL Certificate really is designed to teach in a non-native English speaking country. That said, due to the lack of ESOL teachers in the United States and England, it is possible to find an ESL position in your home country provided you agree to continue your education in the field. I do have former expatriate friends who have returned home and found positions without much difficulty.

People who are able to spend at least one year in a given country and teach English

The idea of travelling the world and teaching English conjures up romantic images for many people. They imagine themselves as free spirits who are in one country one day and who could end up in a completely different part of the world the next.

While a lot of that is true, know that teaching contracts are typically one year, sometimes two. Yes contracts can be broken but if you are some one who chronically leaves after a few months, you'll find it increasingly difficult to get the next job. Yes, contracts cramp our inner free sprit but understand that there are few countries that offer short term work (3-4 months)that pays. Plan to commit to at least a year in one place.

People who want an ESL teaching position to support only themselves and maybe one other person

We do not join the ESL biz to become rich or to support an entire family by ourselves. We do it to spend a long time outside of our home country. That said no matter which country we look at, ESL teachers are well-paid as is proportionate to the standard of living in the host country. It is enough to live comfortably on for one person, maybe two, assuming the second person is not too demanding.

People who just want to teach a little English and travel, that's all

If you are looking to climb a corporate ladder, rest assured there isn't one in the ESL jungle. Well, let's just say it's a short one. What this means is, don't take an ESL position expecting promotions, significant pay raises and title positions. You will be hired as a teacher and after a few years you will still be a teacher. Yes, its possible to rise to head teacher and get a little more money. It is possible to get more trainning and make attempts at being a director of studies but that is about it along the direct line from English teacher.