Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The State of the World (at least my corner of it)

medium_532663899_questionmarkBy makeitgreat

Once again 9/11 was a date people had been making plans for. Most of you think of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S in 2001. Those are vividly etched in my memory.

I would guess that most of you don't know that there were 9/11 attacks in Amman, Jordan in 2005. This part of the world writes their dates with the day and then month, therefore November 9th is 9/11. My memories of that night are for another post.

It wasn't until I posted last week's Slice of Life that I came to find out that reflections and memories of the attacks on the U.S.were the main fodder for the day. I remember thinking that here, in the Middle East, I often feel removed from the anniversary of that day. And then this past week happened.

medium_5481565630_filmreelBy derrickcollins

 

 

 

 

 


It turns out that a film, that was released many months ago, had been part of a plan to rile people up this September 11th. They appear to have succeeded in their plan.

This week I have found myself shaking my head at the things people choose to do. I am completely convinced that these are acts of people, not governments or majorities.

You may have seen this picture on Facebook.

Perhaps you read about the KFC being set on fire in Lebanon, the irony being that the franchise is owned by Lebanese, staffed by Lebanese, and attacked by those wearing Nikes and Levis in an attempt to hurt America.

I live in this part of the world and have found the following blog posts interesting to read. Perhaps you will as well.

Julie Bredy teaches at the American Cooperative School in Tunis, Tunisia. We both call the NW home and are part of the same cohort for COETAIL. This post at Bergamotorange gives you insight into what went on in Tunis last week.

Email from the Embassy is written by Donna, currently in Amman. She is a Foreign Service spouse. This blog post gives not only a reflection of being in Jordan, relative calm in the region and recollects a troubled night at a previous posting in Moscow.

Finally a reflection of living 'normal' life when down the street is under siege in Cairo from Heather Dray can be found here. Her blog, The Wandering Drays, is another lens into Foreign Service life.

I continue to shake my head and wonder when the day will come that evil no longer has a hold on humankind.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks very much for the link! Nice round up of bloggers, too.

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  2. Your last line paralleled my actions as I read your post. Each day at school, I encourage children to be the best they can be and to hope they will be choose to be friendly. I can't stop what is happening else where, but I can choose to continue to teach my children. Thanks for sharing so many perspectives. MaryHelen

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  3. Oh my, Kristi, I read all the other wives' blog posts. How poignant & how brave they are. I don't even remember hearing about the school, but maybe because there were no deaths there. I am so saddened by what chaos a few can cause, & hope the furor can be stopped soon. Thank you for this post.

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  4. Thank you for your post and for connecting us to others around the world. I try to stay connected to what is going on in other places but there is no way to truly understand without insiders like you.

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