Too Close for Comfort

The bombs disguised as printer cartridges that were recently discovered with help from Saudi intelligence were too close to home for those of us in the UAE. The packages were delivered by UPS and Federal Express from Yemen and were headed on to the USA before they were tracked down in England and Dubai. They were so cleverly disguised that the packages passed through the regular screening process undetected and were only found and removed because the tracking numbers were provided. One of them traveled on a Qatar Airways passenger jet from Doha to Dubai, a flight I have taken before.

Yemen, where the packages originated, borders the UAE to the south, and apparently UPS and Federal Express do not have full offices but use third parties to provide service there. Given that Yemen is known to be a hub of Al Qaeda activity, it is upsetting, to say the least, to discover the holes in security. One would think that any package traveling from Yemen would be subject to the extra scrutiny, and that delivery services such as FedEx and UPS would be on high alert. In fact, a UPS plane exploded in Dubai in September, killing two pilots without known cause, and only now is that accident thought to be connected to the Yemen printer bombs. Maybe now the intelligence community can put the pieces together and take appropriate preventative action before another major catastrophe happens. Banning or physically examining the contents of all packages from Yemen would be a good start. Packages I send from the USA to Dubai are routinely opened for customs inspection, so why not these packages of suspicious origin?

USO in the UAE

One of the more interesting things I do in Dubai is volunteer for the USO. Since I still remember the USO shows from the Vietnam war era, I am surprised that many Americans seem to know nothing about this great organization. USO stands for United Service Organizations, and its purpose as a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization is to support America's troops with various programs and services to provide a home away from home and means to keep connected with families. In Dubai the USO center sets up camp at the port where the US ships come to dock, providing computers, cell phones, internet, money exchange, food, entertainment (including movies and video games), laundry facilities, shopping and tours. When a ship comes in, a call goes out to all the volunteers to man the facilities during the days when the ship is in port. We usually get only a couple of days notice.

The hardest part for us volunteers is navigating by car to the ship's location, which requires clearing multiple levels of security, a very serious business, with armed guards conducting a thorough inspection of all vehicles. Seeing the servicemen and women, most of whom are very young--about the age of my two barely grown children--gives me a renewed sense of appreciation for the job they are doing. There is never a word of complaint, even when a tour operator fails to show up or some equipment is not working properly. Serious, polite, respectful, appreciative, a credit to our country, are all these young people. What we do as volunteers seems so small in comparison, and the least we can do.

If you'd like to help our troops, a donation to the USO would be a great place to start.

Walking the Woods of the Great War

Being in Dubai without a job holding me down, I am free to jump at opportunities near and far. I got a chance to join my sister and her husband for a trip to France to visit the battlefields where American soldiers joined the Allies to fight the Germans and bring an end to World War I. I said yes not knowing much about the itinerary and before I even checked the flight time from Dubai to Paris--not exactly a short hop at 7 hours. Nor did I realize we were flying into a potential nationwide strike in France in protest of changes to the pension system.

The battlefield tour, organized by the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, Virginia, focused on the important battles from the American offensive that took place in the Argonne woods near the Meuse River. The American soldiers (nicknamed the "Doughboys”, perhaps due to their inexperience) were called on the scene after four years of brutal trench warfare between the French and the Germans. Under the leadership of General Pershing, the Americans launched the Meuse-Argonne offensive on September 26, 1918, leading finally to the armistice on November 11, 1918. Unbeknownst to most people, the Meuse-Argonne battle was the bloodiest America has ever known, with more than 120,000 casualties and over 26,000 dead. The Doughboys were ordered to go over the trenches, often without protection, and many were slaughtered by German machine guns and artillery before they were able to break through and push the Germans to surrender.

We spent much of a week walking in the woods of the Meuse-Argonne countryside, including near the towns of Varennes, Verdun, Chaumont, Malancourt, Cunel, Romagne, and Blanc Mont, before heading to Rheims, Versailles and Paris. At first all we could see in the woods were the fallen leaves, but once inside we saw the remains of the war everywhere, including bunkers, trenches, and bomb craters. The huge holes left by artillery shells, winding trenches and stone fortifications were all around us. We found shells (a few unexploded), metal fragments such as a shovel and stove parts, and even a human femur bone. Seeing these remnants still in place after more than 90 years is a poignant reminder that war seems to be an unceasing human activity, always with us. There were also many beautiful memorials and cemeteries along the way, many looking forgotten and unvisited, but even so a more suitable way to honor those who fought there.

The green grass and undulating curves of the trenches and craters along the hillsides reminded me of Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, where I've seen many visitors leave fragments to remember their loved ones, and especially her Storm King Wavefield in upstate New York. The remains of war can become beautiful with time once the natural world takes over.

In Rheims we visited the school building, now a museum, where the German surrender was signed to end the war in Europe during World War II. Gen. Eisenhower gets the credit but strangely didn't attend the signing ceremony as he would have outranked the German commanders who attended. On the way to Paris we visited Versailles, which was massively crowded, partly due to the strikes, but we got our tour in along with thousands of others. The room where the Versailles treaty was signed to end World War I was only noted in passing with no attendant display. The over-the-top splendor of the palace was in contrast with an exhibition of surreal scene-stealing popart works by the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, almost too much to take in during such a brief visit. Imagination has no bounds, but we still cannot seem to imagine the end of war.

In Paris we visited Napolean's tomb at Les Invalides and the National War Museum, putting an appropriate coda on our tour. We managed to exit the country just as the worst of the strikes were taking place, with long lines forming for taxis and at the gas stations due to gas shortages. I soon returned to America in time to vote in the midterm elections, a brouhaha seeming not that different from the one taking place in France. If nations like the USA and France can't even figure out how to govern themselves, how can the nations of the world ever achieve a lasting peace?

Sister Cities

Back in Dubai again, middle of September, seems like the doldrums to me. More of the same: sun, heat and sand. Of course, it doesn't help that I don't get a paper or watch the local news or even get out much. I miss being in Pittsburgh at this time of year as the football season gets into full swing with the chill and colors of fall.

Neal and I watched the Steelers beat the Tennessee Titans and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on my laptop, which is connected over the internet to our television in Pittsburgh via Slingbox, well worth the ridiculous tangle of cables left hanging from the various boxes required to get this to work. Our TV cable package in Dubai only includes two NFL games per week, both Sunday afternoon games (9 p.m. start in Dubai), so we'll be lucky if a Steeler game gets picked up.

But Dubai is starting to grow on me, and I feel less need to get back to Pittsburgh right away. Since it seems to take a week to readjust to the trip, I'm hoping to go back and forth a lot less often going forward. There is still the problem of being here on a tourist visa, which only allows me to stay 30 days at a time. I'm going to Paris in October and then back Pittsburgh in November so I should be good for awhile.

What strikes me now about Dubai is how familiar it feels and how similar it is to Pittsburgh. This may sound strange to people who haven't been here or either place, but there are many common threads, such that the statements below ring true for both cities.

People who move to the city often do it for the job, not by choice, and many leave with job changes.

Residents love to complain about the city and its flaws but usually with a sense of civic pride and a distinct distaste for outside criticism.

The city has a somewhat negative image to outsiders, but undeservedly so. (Dubai residents don't seem as invested as Pittsburghers, though, so you don't see as much of the chip on the shoulder mentality.)

The city has gone through boom and bust, with an elite wealthy core of families and companies supporting culture and philanthropy. With the decline of the major local industry (oil in Dubai, steel in Pittsburgh), transition into other industries like health care is critical. Leaders are always busy promoting a positive image of the city!

Traffic bottlenecks are common with local drivers having great difficulty driving in bad weather. A blast from the past--Dubai actually has the flashing yellow light before it turns red, like we had in Pittsburgh 30 years ago.

Residents often give directions by landmarks, including those that no longer exist.

The city is a lot less crowded than it used to be, so you can get up close and personal to the local attractions with no difficulty, tickets readily available, restaurants and hotels there for the asking. Many brand new, world class venues!

Sizewise, the cities are comparable in population and area. The topography is very different, but the many different neighborhoods, some of which revolve around ethnic groups, and geographic challenges to finding them are comparable.

Haze and humidity prevail. Air quality is not so good and could be an issue for people with breathing difficulties. The bright blue sunny sky is a welcome but atypical sight. Sand and snow present similar obstacles.

There are a lot of places selling the same old crap. Same fast food places, same mall stores, but with a lot more of them and many more high end labels and fashionista-type places in Dubai. Not as expensive as big city prices. Residents are always looking for sales.

Interesting architecture, albeit totally different styles.

Big, new, empty airport terminals. Free wifi in the airport (my favorite thing!).

Very family oriented. Very safe, not much crime. Not a good place for singles (although in Dubai's case, it's probably pretty good for single women since men outnumber women by a large margin.)

Plenty of not so attractive, overweight people. Surprisingly, Emiratis are as unhealthy as Pittsburghers.

It's helpful to focus on the similarities, which makes me feel much more comfortable living here. I now like to think of my two homes as sister cities with a lot in common. And just yesterday I happened to meet a man with a very foreign sounding name who just happened to spend a year in Pittsburgh as a student in the same school my kids attended. Which just goes to show, we are all much closer than we even know. If we just took the time to get to know one another, what a wonderful world it could be.

My Favorite Rumi

Having visited Turkey recently, I was amazed to discover the simple beauty of the writings of the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic known as Rumi. All of our Turkish guides were quick to pull out their pocket collection of Rumi and share their favorite quotes. Something for everyone!

The background is fascinating, to say the least. Born in the Persian Empire in what is now present day Balkh, Afghanistan, Rumi traveled west with his family at the age of ten to settle in Konya, Turkey, where he lived most of his life and produced his famous works, some 70,000 verses, written in Persian. He is sometimes called Balkhi for the province of his birth, while the name Rumi, meaning "the Roman", comes from the name of the province of Rum where Konya is located, the area being called that because it was once part of the Eastern Roman Empire. Rumi (1207-1273) is buried at his shrine which is now a popular place of pilgrimage, called the Mevlana Museum in Konya, and he is often given the title of Mevlana, meaning "master." His followers founded the order of the whirling dervishes famous for its Sufi dance ceremony.

The Mevlana Museum in Konya was well worth the visit. We also got to see a whirling dervish ceremony, known as "sema", which was held in a caravanserai (caravan palace) built in medieval times like a fortress, both for religious use and as an inn and stable for travelers. There were five men in white robes, positioned with one in the middle surrounded by the other four, twirling counterclockwise with their left foot as the pivot, starting up four different times and switching places at the direction of a sixth man, to the music of four musicians with reed, drums and sitar like instruments, no photography or clapping allowed, creating an atmosphere that proved soporific for some. I was able to keep my eyes open for the entire hour, treated to a glass of tea at the end.

Rumi's work has become increasingly popular in recent years in the West, through the work of various translators such as Coleman Barks and performers such as Shahram Shiva. While this may seem surprising for an 800-year-old Muslim writing in Persian, his works deal with the human condition in a very personal way and appeal to our common humanity, not limited by the strictures of religion, race or nationality. According to one Rumi scholar, Dr. Majid Naimi, "Rumi's life and transformation provide true testimony and proof that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony. Rumi’s visions, words, and life teach us how to reach inner peace and happiness so we can finally stop the continual stream of hostility and hatred and achieve true global peace and harmony.” Not a bad message for the world we live in today!

Sufism, a spiritual, nonviolent, apolitical creed of Islam preaching tolerance, flourished in medieval times but apparently is hated today by Islamic fundamentalists like the Taliban and al-Qaida of the Wahabbi branch, as evidenced by recent terrorist attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan. With the rising popularity of Rumi, perhaps Westerners will gain a better understanding of Islam and the complexity of the current divides in the Islam world. Some see the appeal of Rumi, Sufism and Islamic spiritualism as a promising development to counter the rise of Islamic extremism.

Barks, who has been a significant force in popularizing Rumi in America through his books such as "The Essential Rumi", has been criticized for relying on other translations and taking liberties with the language to make the verse more universal and accessible. I do not know whether what I've come across so far comes from Barks or another source, but I can attest to the popular appeal. Of course, I have no idea if the popular versions of his verses in circulation on the internet are accurate translations. If Rumi is worthy, as some believe, of elevation to literary greatness with the likes of Dante and Shakespeare, then perhaps a definitive English language translation will someday prevail.

With that caveat, here's what I have collected as my favorites verses from Rumi, in no particular order, source and translator unknown:

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you."

"My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there."

"Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death."

"If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?"

"You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?"

"Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment."

"Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of what you truly love."

"Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."

"Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah…it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you."

"Be empty of worrying.

Think of who created thought!

Why do you stay in prison

When the door is so wide open?"

"I have lived on the lip

of insanity, wanting to know reasons,

knocking on a door. It opens.

I've been knocking from the inside."

"Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come."

"Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover others' faults. Be like running water for generosity. Be like death for rage and anger. Be like the Earth for modesty. Appear as you are. Be as you appear."

"All people on the planet are children, except for a very few. No one is grown up except those free of desire."

"You wander from room to room

Hunting for the diamond necklace

That is already around your neck!"

"This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor...Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."

"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out

of your house like a shepherd."

"Poems are rough notations for the music we are."

"All day I think about it, then at night I say it.

Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?

I have no idea.

My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,

And I intend to end up there.

This drunkenness began in some other tavern.

When I get back around to that place,

I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,

I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.

The day is coming when I fly off,

But who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?

Who says words with my mouth?

Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?

I cannot stop asking.

If I could taste one sip of an answer,

I could break out of this prison for drunks.

I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.

Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.

This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.

I don't plan it.

When I'm outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

We have a huge barrel of wine, but no cups.

That's fine with us. Every morning

We glow and in the evening we glow again."

"Out beyond ideas of

wrong-doing and right-doing

There is a field,

I'll meet you there

When the soul lies down in that grass

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase,

each other

doesn't make any sense."

"There are thousands of wines

that can take over our minds.

Don't think all ecstasies

are the same!

Jesus was lost in his love for God.

His donkey was drunk with barley."

"Love isn't the work of the tender and the gentle;

Love is the work of wrestlers.

The one who becomes a servant of lovers

is really a fortunate sovereign.

Don't ask anyone about Love; ask Love about Love.

Love is a cloud that scatters pearls."

"Some Hindus have an elephant to show.

No one here has ever seen an elephant.

They bring it at night to a dark room.

One by one, we go in the dark and come out

saying how we experience the animal.

One of us happens to touch the trunk.

A water-pipe kind of creature.

Another, the ear. A strong, always moving

back and forth, fan-animal. Another, the leg.

I find it still, like a column on a temple.

Another touches the curve back.

A leathery throne. Another, the cleverest,

feels the tusk. A rounded sword made of porcelain.

He is proud of his description.

Each of us touches one place

and understands the whole in that way.

The palm and the fingers feeling in the dark

are how the senses explore the reality of the elephant.

If each of us held a candle there,

and if we went in together, we could see it."

"Today I'm out wandering, turning my skull

into a cup for others to drink wine from.

In this town somewhere there sits a calm, intelligent man,

who doesn't know what he's about to do!"

"Love Dogs

One night a man was crying,

Allah! Allah!

His lips grew sweet with the praising,

until a cynic said,

"So! I have heard you

calling out, but have you ever

gotten any response?"

The man had no answer to that.

He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.

He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,

in a thick, green foliage.

"Why did you stop praising?"

"Because I've never heard anything back."

"This longing

you express is the return message."

The grief you cry out from

draws you toward union.

Your pure sadness

that wants help

is the secret cup.

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.

That whining is the connection.

There are love dogs

no one knows the names of.

Give your life

to be one of them."

"Be quiet now and wait.

It may be that the ocean one,

the one we desire so to move into and become,

desires us out here on land a little longer,

going our sundry roads to the shore."

"What the sayer of praise is really praising is himself,

by saying implicitly,

My eyes are clear.

Likewise, someone who criticizes is criticizing

himself, saying implicitly, 'I can't see very well

with my eyes so inflamed'. "

"Your task is not to look for love, but to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

"You think because you understand 'one' you must also understand 'two', because one and one make two. But you must also understand 'and'."

"Work on your strong qualities

and become resplendent like the ruby.

Practice self-denial and accept difficulty.

Always see infinite life in letting the self die.

Your stoniness will decrease; your ruby nature will grow.

The signs of self-existence will leave your body,

and ecstasy will take you over."

"The way of love is not

a subtle argument,

The door there

is devastation.

Birds make great sky-circles

of their freedom.

How do they learn it?

They fall, and falling,

they're given wings."

"Be helpless, dumbfounded,

Unable to say yes or no.

Then a stretcher will come from grace

to gather us up.

We are too dull-eyed to see that beauty.

If we say we can, we’re lying.

If we say No, we don’t see it,

That No will behead us

And shut tight our window onto spirit.

So let us rather not be sure of anything,

Beside ourselves, and only that, so

Miraculous beings come running to help.

Crazed, lying in a zero circle, mute,

We shall be saying finally,

With tremendous eloquence, Lead us.

When we have totally surrendered to that beauty,

We shall be a mighty kindness."

"Although you see the pit, you cannot avoid it."

"Here is a relationship booster

that is guaranteed to

work:

Every time your spouse or lover says something stupid

make your eyes light up as if you

just heard something

brilliant."

"In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves."

"The ground's generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty! Try to be more like the ground."

"Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave 'til it gets to shore. You need more help than you know."

"Learn the alchemy true human beings know. The moment you accept what troubles you've been given the door will open."

"Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy."

"Don't try to steer the boat.

Don't open shop for yourself. Listen. Keep silent.

You are not God's mouthpiece. Try to be an ear,

And if you do speak, ask for explanations."

Belly Dance FAIL

At the closing banquet for the trip I took to Turkey with a Yale group this summer, we were treated to an amazing performance by two talented belly dancers. I had a great view being seated at the closest table, and felt no compunctions about showing my enjoyment, making eye contact with the dancers. To my dismay, this encouraged one of them to pull me from my table to join her in the belly dance. I was not quick enough to wave her off and fumbled badly on stage for what seemed like much too long before they found another victim and I slinked back shamefacedly to my seat, no congratulations to follow, needless to say.

Therefore, with the sole purpose of making myself feel better, I offer you the best Youtube has to offer under the search phrase "belly dance fail". I personally do not believe this is fake although some of the viewers leaving comments did. Sadly, I was not even close to being this good or funny.

Bizarro Law

Yesterday's Gulf News reports that a Filipino man named Joseph Aboutan whose wife died in a car accident while he was driving has been held in jail for more than a year because he cannot pay "blood money" to his wife's family and his children. A court ordered the man to pay Dh200,000 ($56,000) to his own children (two boys aged 14 and 13 and a girl aged 11) and to his wife's family. Apparently under UAE law the father will not be released until he pays the blood money. He says he is poor and will not be able to pay the blood money even if he spends all his life in jail. He converted to Islam while in jail, taking Abdullah as his new name, and says what happened to him is his destiny and he is happy for becoming a Muslim.

"Blood money" commonly refers to the money paid by a murderer to the family of his victim. This assumes that a murder has been committed. While the circumstances are not explained, Aboutan was jailed after the accident and later found guilty of causing his wife's death, a case of what we would call manslaughter or vehicular homicide, which does not involve premeditation or intent, a lesser offense than other types of homicide. Apparently the type of homicide makes no difference in the UAE. The National reported in June that that Indian community is raising money to set up a fund to help expatriate Indians who are stuck in jail for failing to pay blood money, usually after traffic accidents.

My husband has warned me that we could be liable for paying blood money if we accidentally kill someone in a car accident. Perhaps it's covered by insurance? At least we can afford it, assuming it's a set sum and not based on wealth of the victim. What makes the Aboutan case so crazy is that it involves his own in-laws and children seeking the payment. I suspect a heartbroken and/or spiteful mother-in-law, who in this case now has custody of the children.

Another equally bizarre case shares space on the same page of yesterday's Gulf News. This report tells of a Pakistani taxi driver accused of beating his passenger to death. The driver picked up an Asian passenger who became unresponsive and could not say where he wanted to go so the driver called paramedics. When paramedics could find nothing wrong with the passenger, the police began to question them for calling an ambulance for no reason. The passenger became very angry and started to beat the driver, who pushed him away. Apparently the passenger was under treatment for his heart, which couldn't take the pressure of the push, and the man went into cardiac arrest and died. Now the driver is being charged with beating his passenger to death. No good deed goes unpunished, goes the saying. Let's hope truth and justice prevail in this one, but I will stay tuned.

Cases like these seem rare, but not unusual, and I applaud the Gulf News for reporting them if only to shed light on what is happening. The system of justice here seems strange to me, but then I didn't grow up with it and haven't studied it. Our system of justice in the USA certainly is not immune to the occasional travesty or miscarriage of justice. At least we don't have debtors' prisons, with never ending jail terms for the poor. Then again, our jails are so full that we have to let hardened criminals go for lack of space. And we have a lot more crime. Surely there's something to be learned from both sides, if we can manage to keep the light on.