Blog Action Day: Small Rational Acts
I am hoping to have a guest blogger later in the day – my sweet daughter-in-law, who is close to her masters in Environmental Science. She and my son are SO good – they work very hard, very conscientiously, to lessen their footprint on the earth. They recycle plastics, cans, paper, bottles and glass, making trips out of their way to the recycle bins. They make their own take-away coffee every day, and re-use their coffee cups rather than buying expensive coffee and throwing away the cup. (They bought a state-of-the-art coffee maker, which paid for itself very quickly.) 🙂 Every decision is evaluated from a bigger-picture perspective.
They have two “used” cats, adopting rather than buying. 🙂
What can we do in Kuwait, where there are no recycle dumps?
First, we can refrain from trashing the environment. We can pick up our own mess after a picnic and make sure it gets put in a trash bin, or even (gasp!) take it home and put it in our own trash bin.
We can teach our children to put trash in a trashcan, not open the car window and throw it out.
We can throw out less food, by planning our needs with less waste.
We can organize a “second-harvest” kind of organization to which food can be donated and distributed to those who so desperately need it, yes, even in Kuwait.
We can support organizations like Operation Hope – Kuwait which gives volunteers an opportunity to put their idealism to work in a hands-on environment. Here is their mission statement:
Operation Hope – Kuwait
A Mission of Mercy
Operation Hope is a mission that seeks to Help Others Practically & Evangelically by providing gifts of coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and socks for those less fortunate during the colder season in Kuwait & to share the love of Christ by serving them as He called us to do.
Operation Hope is a non-profit, non-political organization operating in the State of Kuwait. Founded in 2005 by Sheryll Mairza, Operation Hope relies on volunteers and donors to fulfill its mission.
Here is how you can get involved with Sheryll’s selfless mission:
Please consider a contribution of your time, resources, or both to bring HOPE to those who are in seemingly hopeless situations. Your prayerful consideration of how you can help out is most appreciated. Kindly contact Sheryll Mairza (operationhopekuwait@yahoo.com) at your earliest convenience.
If you can provide one or more of the following please contact us soon:
-Financial support (any size is happily accepted)
-New or slightly used coats and/or other winter apparel
-Your time – to pack gift bags and/or organize inventory
-Deliver some of coat bags
-Fundraise in your workplace, social circles, and/or church
-Spreading the news of O.H.K. to all you know
-Prayer for this mission and those we are serving
Thank you for your support!
One of my commenters mentioned that her local mosque organizes dinner handouts for the poor in her neighborhood (thank you, Huda) AND that the imams also feed the local stray cats. What a magnificent example these kind men are setting with their dependable, humble service. Could your mosque do the same for your neighborhood?
Often, it just takes one person to get something started. One person with commitment and persistence, who believes in what he or she is doing and carrys through.
Sheryll Mairza is making a difference. The local imams who feed the hungry are making a difference. Where can YOU make a difference?
Blessings of Eid and Eidiyya
(*Note for non-Muslim, non-Kuwaitis – Eidiyya is money given for Eid, mostly to young children, but I have a few grown up women friends who tell me their Daddy still gives them money for Eid, the big holiday at the end of Ramadan.)
We had a yen for French food last night, and were at the restaurant, finishing up a fairly mediocre meal. We were enjoying watching all the couples and families, all dressed in Eid finery. Many of the women literally sparkled – gold threads woven into scarf or hijab, clothing beaded or glittering. . . we were like plain little quail, surrounded by swans, but that was fine with us, kept us below the radar as we ate our dinner.
As we came in, we had been warned that the credit card machines were not working, but that wasn’t a problem for us, we tend to carry cash, just keeps things simpler.
So we are waiting for our change, when a very good looking family comes in and sits at a table near us. The husband and wife are dressed beautifully, not glam, but well tailored, well fitted, expensive clothing, and they have five beautiful children with them, youngest maybe 10, up to maybe college age. As they are about to order, the waiter reminds them that the charge machines are out of order and the restaurant will accept only cash tonight.
The distinguished looking man sits in a stunned and embarrassed silence. The faces of his family are all turned to him as sunflowers to the sun, waiting. Then his wife says “Don’t worry, I have 10KD here, you can have it.” (10KD would not have taken care of this family!) The oldest girl jumps in: “Dad, I have my Eidiyya with me! You can have it!” and each of the children start digging in their pockets and purses for money to help their Dad out.
Our change came back and we were leaving. I don’t know if they stayed, if the Dad accepted any of the money as a loan, but my own heart was warmed – as I am betting his was – that his family would jump to help him out, so that he would not be embarrassed and so that the family could have the meal they planned. How proud he must be of his beautiful family, and their beautiful hearts. How blessed he must feel!
I have seen in my own life how God can take the most awful circumstances, even trivial events, and use them for great good. We’re all cash-strapped now and then, but God used this embarrassment to demonstrate to this man where his greatest blessings abide – in his own home.
Directions to Northgate Mosque, Seattle (Idriss)
Today I have had many hits – over 20 – on a post I wrote a year ago about the Northgate Mosque. I am guessing that people in Seattle are looking for directions to the mosque, to celebrate the Eid. Here is a map:
I must be doing something wrong, but if you click on the blue print, it will take you to a Google Map that shows you how to get to the Idriss Mosque in the Northgate Area of Seattle.
Aimee Leduc: Murder in the Marais
Not every book can be one of the best books you ever read. Some books are so good, so filled with nuance, insights and subtleties that even if they are made into a movie, they can’t begin to capture the experience of having read the book.
(available from Amazon.com at $10.40 new and from $1.97 + shipping used)
This isn’t one of those. As I read this book, as I followed the main character, Aimee LeDuc, through the streets of Paris, solving the mystery of who is killing Jews who survived the Holocaust – and why – I kept thinking “this is like reading a made-for-TV movie, you know, the ones that went almost straight to video/DVD?”
I was intrigued when Amazon recommended this series to me, but not surprised – remember, I read Donna Leon, James Lee Burke, and have a history of buying mysteries and detective stories set in exotic locations. But I only ordered one, to test the waters.
There isn’t a lot of depth. The author, Cara Black, gives her main character Aimee LeDuc about as much substance as a cartoon character. She changes clothes a lot, she has very interesting friends, she is smart, and sassy, and savvy, and more than a little edgy. And . . . I kept reading. I even think I will buy another one, just to see. I’m not enamored, but . . . I am intrigued, mildly intrigued, intrigued enough to give it another shot.
There is something about the book that keeps me reading. Could it be the Paris setting? 🙂 Could it be the gritty reality of Aimee’s interactions? Could it be that her shallowness is deceptive, and that if I read more books in the series I will understand her better? Could it be her amazing cast of characters, including her partner, a computer-savant-dwarf?
She includes a lot of Paris-reality. Aimee’s apartment has serious heating problems, and she often takes a hot bath just to warm up – as long as the hot water lasts. In her Paris it rains. In her Paris, dealing with the bureaucracy, while not particularly corrupt, is endlessly frustrating. Her Paris is peopled with people a whole lot like us, warts and all. For me, this is a plus.
Cara Black is a little skimpy on motivation; the plot reminds me of The DaVinci Code, it doesn’t really hang together all that well. In spite of all that, I found myself enjoying riding through Paris in the rain on a little mo-ped, crashing through the back of the Issa Miyake showroom and grabbing some items from the bin to disguise me as I escaped, and grabbing a croissant here and there, smelling the Tarte Tatin from the alleyway . . . I did not enjoy the fight on the slick tiles of the Paris rooftops at all.
If you like mysteries, you need to get acquainted with Cara Black’s Aimee LeDuc, just to be able to have an opinion when another detective-loving-book-reader asks. If you already have stacks of books waiting to be read – this is a good one for reading in airports while waiting for a delayed flight.
(Side Note: The Marais is the old Jewish Quarter of Paris, and it is in the process of serious gentrification. There is an old post-card and poster store located there, with items to die for – at prices to match. It is also near the Musee Carnavalet, probably one of the best museums in Paris.
Hôtel Carnavalet
23, rue de Sévigné
75003 Paris
Standard : 01 44 59 58 58
Fax : 01 44 59 58 11)
Eid Mubarak!
I was totally caught by surprise! I thought we were going to have a very very quiet Friday, last day of Ramadan, but awoke to hear an unusual and continuous amount of traffic in the middle of the night.
“I think the Eid started,” Adventure Man said groggily. “I got an Eid message.”
“I don’t think so, ” I said, based on absolutely nothing, “it’s not supposed to start until Saturday.”
In all our years living in the Middle East, I have never known an Eid to come early. I have known Eids to wait a day – even two – while the fasting seemed endless, and people dragged themselves to get through one more day, and then one more. But this totally caught me by surprise!
(This photo from a fabulous blog: Astropix.
Blessings of Eid to all my Muslim friends! Blessings! Blessings! May you always have enough! May you be surrounded by friends and family who love you! May your hearts be full of gratitude to God, for all these blessings, known and unknown!
The Onion: Bomb New York
First, folks, this is SATIRE. It’s from The Onion which is pure spoof on news. (Thanks Skunk, for the Utube location!)
Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
This morning, I was reminded, in the most wonderful way, that today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. A friend who is a priest blessed the Qatteri Cat. It is a tradition on the Feast of St. Francis in some churches to have a blessing of the animals. It delighted my heart to have the Qatteri Cat blessed today!
St. Francis of Assisi was a controversial person. As a young man, upon hearing the voice of God, he sold off a bolt of silk from his father’s family warehouse to repair a church that had fallen into disrepair. His father was very angry and disowned him publicly. When he did, Francis took off all his clothes, left them for his father and walked away naked, or so the legend goes. He considered himself “wed to Lady Poverty” and preached simplicity in life and worship. This was not always popular with the Catholic Church.
This is called “The Prayer of St. Francis:”
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
You can read more on the official church legend of St. Francis here, although it does not go into detail about the simple way he lived his life, preached poverty, and loved all animals.
Reading through the above, I learned something. Here is an excerpt:
In 1219, Francis went to the Holy Land to preach to the moslems. He was given a pass through the enemy lines, and spoke to the Sultan, Melek-al-Kamil. Francis proclaimed the Gospel to the Sultan, who replied that he had his own beliefs, and that moslems were as firmly convinced of the truth of Islam as Francis was of the truth of Christianity. Francis proposed that a fire be built, and that he and a moslem volunteer would walk side by side into the fire to show whose faith was stronger. The Sultan said he was not sure that a moslem volunteer could be found. Francis then offered to walk into the fire alone. The Sultan who was deeply impressed but remained unconverted. Francis proposed an armistice between the two warring sides, and drew up terms for one; the Sultan agreed, but, to Francis’s deep disappointment, the Christian leaders would not. Francis returned to Italy, but a permanent result was that the Franciscans were given custody of the Christian shrines then in moslem hands.
The wonderful Giotto painting of St. Francis and the birds shown above I found at St. Francis Feeds the Birds. If you like art, you will love this link, which takes separate elements of the painting and helps you see what the artist may be saying. Even the way fingers are arranged has meanting.
On the Sunday in the United States when the priest blesses the animals, people bring dogs on leashes, cats in cages, bunnies, iguanas, even guinea pigs and parakeets. Every pet is welcome. It’s one of the sweetest Sundays of the year.
Degrading Gulf Character
In the October 2nd Kuwait Times the lead article on the front page has to do with Bahrain considering a 6 year ceiling on ex-pats living in Gulf Countries. Evidently they want the GCC countries to consider implementing it across the board.
How do you think that might work out? It seems to me there is a huge middle class here made up of mid-level managers who really keep things going. Who manages your stores? Who waits on customers? Who drives the buses and the taxis?
When you put that ceiling on, is it across the board? Does the ceiling apply to Palestinians who have never lived in Palestine, to Lebanese, to Syrians, to Yemenis? Does it apply to Europeans? To Canadians and Americans? Does it apply to Chinese? Indians? Nepalis? Or is it like some of the other laws, yes, it is the law, but you can get an exception?
I ask because it seems to me there are a lot of people who have lived here for 30 – 40 years, contributing to your economy, educating their children, teaching in your schools, designing your buildings, selling your hardware . . .
So how does this work?
Diversity or time?
The complaint, according to the paper, is that the expat population is eroding the national character of the states in the region. Is it the diversity of the population which degrades the local culture, or is this perhaps a function of time? We hear the same complaint in France, we hear it in Britain, we hear it in Germany, we hear it in the United States – things aren’t the same as they used to be. I have a feeling they said the same thing 50 years ago, after World War II. I have the feeling they said it 100 years ago, just after the turn of the last century.
Times change, culture changes. It’s slow, but unless you are walled off from the rest of the world, I believe it is inevitable. I suspect changing times have more to do with any change in Gulf character and customs than the expat population, who lives side by side with the Gulf natives.
Post Warrior Thank You
This falls under “Go figure.”
On September 3, I wrote a post called Levantine/Gulf/Persial Warrior Women because I had just finished a section in Sarum that featured a warrior woman, and I asked if there were women warriors in this culture.
I owe huge thanks to:
Kinan
N.
Magical Droplest (whose blog appears to have been hijacked so I won’t put in the connection)
forzaq8
Because their answers to the questions generated a huge response. This is one of those toss-off posts, where an idle question on my part brought forth an undeserved wealth of information (follow their references and you will see!) Sometimes you can get a little cynical about the shallowness of the internet, and then you get such a treasury of information that it blows you away.
Bloggers, it wasn’t my question – it was YOUR answers. In the WordPress seven day summary, it ranked number one, even though it was written weeks ago. In the 30 day summary, it ranked number two, just after Ramadan for Non Muslims. Whoda thunk?
“Could be Very Fatal”
Last year, six officials resigned from Kuwait Air when an assistant pilot without proper credentials was promoted to pilot in spite of having failed the qualifying test. I wrote about it HERE.
This is from yesterday’s (1 october 2007) Kuwait Times. No, it was not in the crime section.
Assistant Pilot Promoted Without Proper Qualifications
KUWAIT: An assistant pilot at Kuwait Airways was recently promoted to become a captain pilot despite the fact that he had failed the tests qualifying him for the promotion for the maximum times allowed. Informed sources stressed that such a mistake of having incompetent and inexperienced pilots fly civilian flights could be very fatal.
The sources noted that his promotion could cost lives of at least the 300 passengers all because of this man has an influential wasta (backer). The sources explained that this particular promotion had been tried upon several times and that it only got through during the transitory period after the resignation of the previous board of directors and before appointing the new board.
“This inexperienced pilot has already started flying to various destinations,” warned the sources expressing astonishment of the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority of such a promotion, particularly since it was the highest control over following safety precautions by various carriers.
———————————————————————-
Last night, over dinner, Adventure Man looked at me sadly. We were discussing my blog, and I had asked him if he had any concerns. He said his only concern was for my safety. I asked him if he saw anything that made him uncomfortable. He said that he worries about my quoting newspaper articles, he has a concern in could get me in trouble.
I have promised I would not comment directly on the articles.
I am willing to bet that there is a possibility that there are unqualified pilots flying for other national airlines, in countries with less of a free press than Kuwait has. The difference in Kuwait is that the newspaper can report this and maybe the person writing it will not be fired for holding the airlines ACCOUNTABLE for providing safe flights for their customers.
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