First Greek saying mentioning donkeys

The human characters and behaviours encoded in the form of animals as a topic has been studied quite extensively and even more so because the relevant patterns considerably vary from one culture to an other. For instance, the donkey signifies in Greek folk culture mainly stubbornness, poor manners and patience. In the Arabic culture I am familiar with, it suggests a closed mind and, even, idiocy.

ο Έλλην γάιδαρος

Greek saying:
"Εκεί που μας χρωστούσαν, μας πήραν και το γάιδαρο" "While they were in debt to us, eventually they confiscated even our donkey"
The saying is used to describe the unfair turn in a negotiation. The people who were righteously expecting some compensation, lose in the end everything, due to an unjustifiable implementation of agreements. I won't mention here how this brilliantly describes the attitudes of politicians in Greece, and I will rather combine it with the recent suppressive violence that fell upon the heads of peaceful demonstrators in Jordan.
The events which led to the attack against the youth movement "24 March" who asked for several reforms and civil rights are more or less known, since it ended up with one dead and dozens of wounded civilians. Moreover it happened in a period that the international and Arabic mass media are hungry for heroic and impressive images of the region. Supposedly a group or, rather, a mass of supporters of the regime attacked the annoying demonstrators and showed them who has gotten the upper hand. Meanwhile, the police interfered making things just more violent.
Many commentators started advertising the idea that the protest movements in the Middle East and Northern Africa are some sort of fashion. And that they spread like the habits in dressing or the pop songs. In reality, if one looks closer, the suggestion does not seem valid, because each movement or collective voice has very different origins, it describes local realities and is confronted with different dynamics of the status quo ante. It is true that the outbreak of a massive protest in one country encourages the active expression in the neighbouring one but the influence is not ideological, it is simply methodological, operational.
Getting back to the Greek saying let me note that the quest for civil rights is a legitimate one and always the administration should feel that it is in debt to the citizens. The concept of the social contract between the civilians and the governors is the only reasonable one for the healthy maintenance or transformation of a living society. And in a way, the administration is always in debt to the civil entity. Many concessions has it demanded, from regulatory decisions, to penalization and taxation. It produces in reality nothing but a framework for the society to produce, create and enrich. Therefore, the citizens have always the right to see their aspirations growing, their daily life details improving, their small or grand debate for practical or intellectual, moral or aesthetic issues supported. They are entitled to demand better education for the younger and second chances for the elder, stronger legal protection, opportunities in professional life and in leisure. They can further their need for representation and participation in the decision-making process especially because all the public buildings, the flags, the donation, the loans, the support programs, the anthems, the military and peace adventures stand and happen in their names. I am confident that the leadership of this beautiful country comprehends that and starts considering this seriously.
So, the people have constantly some revenues to claim back. There shouldn't be anyone who demands their donkey. All in all, the donkey should not be confiscated.

Catastrophe, Καταστροφή, النكبة

62 years today, the soul under a temporary roof

...Since I left the naïvetés of childhood behind me I no longer wish to retrieve the dead so that they come back as I have known them in my past or theirs. I do not want to recapture Deir Ghassanah as it was or my childhood in it as it was. I know the meaning of time passing. But this is no metaphysical matter. I know what it means for cities and villages to be under occupation.
In the last few days Ramallah told me a great deal about what the Occupation had done to it. And now the village tells me the same story. Even at the moment of the return after a long absence, the moment that tempts the most hard-headed to lose themselves in romantic mists, I found no tear to shed over the past of Deir Ghassanah and no yearning to recreate the village as it was in my childhood. But questions about the crime of occupation made me think about the extent of the 'handicapping' practiced by the Israelis.
I have always believed that it is in the interests of an occupation, any occupation, that the homeland should be transformed in the memory of its people into a bouquet of 'symbols'. Merely symbols. They will not allow us to develop our village so that it shares features with the city, or to move with our city into a contemporary space. Let us be frank: when we lived in the village did we not long for the city? Did we not long to leave small, limited, simple Deir Ghassanah for Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Nablus? Did we not wish that those cities would become Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad and Beirut? The longing always for the new age.
The Occupation forced us to remain with the old. That is its crime. It did not deprive us of the clay ovens of yesterday, but of the mystery of what we would invent tomorrow...
Mourid Barghouti, I saw Ramallah (transl. Ahdaf Soueif), 2000

...Αφότου άφησα πίσω μου τις αφέλειες τις παιδικής ηλικίας, δεν πασχίζω πια να ανασύρω τους νεκρούς, ώστε να επιστρέψουν όπως τους ήξερα στο παρελθόν μου ή στο δικό τους παρελθόν. Δε θέλω να ξανάβρω το Ντέιρ Γασάνα όπως ήταν ή να βρω τα παιδικά μου χρόνια εκεί, όπως υπήρξαν. Ξέρω τι σημαίνει το πέρασμα του χρόνου. Μα δεν το εννοώ ως μεταφυσικό ζήτημα. Ξέρω τι σημαίνει για τις πόλεις και τα χωριά να βρεθούν υπό κατοχή.
Τις τελευταίες μέρες, η Ραμάλα με δίδαξε πολλά για το τι της επέφερε η Κατοχή. Και τώρα το χωριό μού ξαναδιηγείται την ίδια ιστορία. Ακόμη και τη στιγμή της επιστροφής μετά από απουσία μακρά, εκείνη δηλαδή τη στιγμή που κι ο πιο ξεροκέφαλος λυγίζει και χάνεται στη θολούρα του αισθηματισμού, δεν μπόρεσα να χύσω ούτε ένα δάκρυ για το παρελθόν του Ντέιρ Γασάνα ούτε κατάφερα να βρω την επιθυμία να ανασυνθέσω το χωριό όπως ήταν σαν ήμουν παιδί. Όμως ζητήματα σχετικά με το έγκλημα της κατοχής μ' έκαναν να συλλογιστώ το βαθμό "αναπηρίας" που επιφέρουν οι πρακτικές των Ισραηλινών.
Πάντα πίστευα ότι είναι προς το συμφέρον ενός κατοχικού καθεστώτος, όποιου κατοχικού καθεστώτος, να μετατρέψει την πατρίδα στη μνήμη του λαού της σε ένα συνονθύλευμα συμβόλων. Σκέτων συμβόλων. Δε θα μας επιτρέψουν να αναπτύξουμε το χωριό έτσι που να μοιράζεται χαρακτηριστικά απ΄τη ζωή της πόλης, ή να προχωρήσει μαζί με την πόλη στη συγχρονία. Ας το πούμε ξεκάθαρα: όταν ζούσαμε στο χωριό, δε λαχταρούσαμε την πόλη; Δε θέλαμε να αφήσουμε πίσω μας το μικρό, περιοριστικό, απλοϊκό Ντέιρ Γασάνα για να βρεθούμε στη Ραμάλα, την Ιερουσαλήμ, τη Νάμπλους; Δε λαχταρούσαμε να γίνουν αυτές οι πολιτείες σαν το Κάιρο, τη Δαμασκό, τη Βαγδάτη και τη Βηρυτό; Είναι ο πόθος για τη νέα εποχή.
Η Κατοχή μάς εξανάγκασε ν' απομείνουμε με το παλιό. Αυτό είναι το έγκλημά της. Δε μας στέρησε το χτιστό φούρνο του χτες. Μας στέρησε το μυστήριο για το τι θα μπορούσαμε να εφεύρουμε στο μέλλον...

Μουρίντ Μπαργούτι, Είδα τη Ραμάλα, 2000 (μτφρ. Βασίλης Οικονομίδης)

"Will I change the world?"

Haunting image from Akram Habeeb's blog wishing him health

A typical reaction to many suggestions which aim at a personal commitment to a broader strategy: "So what? Will I make a difference? Will I change the world?"
These days, I am discussing with young people, frequently of Palestinian descent... They are depressed and upset, while at the same time they put the blame for the crimes committed in Gaza on the world policy and the international community. And they are not wrong. But, by no means, this cancels the duty to engage themselves dynamically in mild means of protest (rallies, petitions, networking and polls) or more effective ones (such as boycotting products and commodities of Israeli origins). They gladly talk about the U.N. failures but they would not skip their Starbucks or KFC routines. And here I am, discovering very convincing arguments in the articles of Naomi Klein, a Canadian journalist, activist and thinker, of Jewish origins, who underlines the importance of this strategy in order to fight back Israeli aggression. She considers that for a small state which heavily relies on trade, boycotting is a very successful weapon of pressure. Most importantly, she brightly compares the situation in Gaza (before the attacks) with that of South Africa during the period of apartheid: The color-coded IDs and travel permits, the bulldozed homes and forced displacement, the settler-only roads...Only that, according to Ronnie Kasrils, a prominent South African politician, the architecture of segregation that he saw in the West Bank and Gaza was much worse than anything imposed on the black majority of South Africa. This open-air prison condition in Gaza has only been a much better excuse for sanctions and conscience alert. To the question "Will I change the world?" I am afraid I can give no answer, but to the question "Shall I compromise in my twenties with an apparently cruel pragmatism?" to this I have already answered.
No,
No,
No,
No,
NO!
Είναι κι αυτό ένα "ΟΧΙ".
Αφορμή για τις σημειώσεις αυτές ήταν η αναδημοσίευση στα ελληνικά μικρού αποσπάσματος του άρθρου της Ναόμι Κλάιν (Τα Νέα, 15 Ιανουαρίου 2009, στήλη ΑΙΧΜΕΣ).

Πιστή μετάφραση

Μεγάλη πολιτεία, γιγαντιαίο στρατόπεδο...

Μου ζήτησαν να μεταφράσω το κείμενο, παραμένοντας πιστός στο γράμμα. Έτσι κι αλλιώς, ελάχιστα θα μετέβαλλα για να το προσαρμόσω πιο επιτυχημένα στο κλίμα της γλώσσας προορισμού. Η ουσία θα έμενε και θα αποτύπωνε το πλήγμα που δέχονται εξακολουθητικά το αίσθημα ανθρώπινης αξιοπρέπειας και το ιδανικό της συνυπευθυνότητας. Αλλά αυτά είναι παλιές ιστορίες, προπολεμικές. Παγίδες που έστησε η Δύση (στον εαυτόν της;) καλύπτοντάς τες με φοινικόκλαρα και ξεραμένους ασπαλάθους.

Στο όνομα του Αλλάχ,
του Ελεήμονος, του Πολυεύσπλαχνου

Διακήρυξη της Ένωσης Φοιτητών του Πανεπιστημίου της Ιορδανίας

Η Ένωση Φοιτητών του Πανεπιστημίου της Ιορδανίας,

· Εξοργισμένη από τη σφαγή που διαπράττουν στη Γάζα οι Ισραηλινές δυνάμεις κατοχής,

· Ανήσυχη για τις τραγικές συνθήκες διαβίωσης και τις κακουργίες που υφίστανται οι Παλαιστίνιοι αδερφοί μας στη Γάζα,

· Αγανακτισμένη για την πληθώρα επιθετικών ενεργειών εκ μέρους των Σιωνιστών με στόχο την ταπείνωση και την υποταγή του Αραβικού έθνους,

· Συναισθανόμενη το ρόλο και το χρέος της έναντι του Αραβικού και του μουσουλμανικού κόσμου αλλά και της Ανθρωπότητας συνολικά,

· Εμπνεόμενη από την ηγεσία της Α.Μ., του βασιλιά Αμπντάλλα του Β', και την έκκλησή του προς την οικουμένη να αναλάβει τις ηθικές, νομικές και ανθρωπιστικές της υποχρεώσεις απέναντι στους αδερφούς μας στη Γάζα,

κατά την έκτακτη συνεδρίασή της, την Κυριακή 4 Ιανουαρίου 2009, αποφάσισε ομόφωνα τα παρακάτω:

· Ζητά από τις κυβερνήσεις των Αραβικών κρατών να εργαστούν ειλικρινώς για την επίτευξη συμφωνίας κατάπαυσης του πυρός,

· Απαιτεί το άνοιγμα του συνοριακού περάσματος της Ράφαχ για την προσφορά ιατρικής και ανθρωπιστικής βοήθειας,

· Καλεί τις πολιτικές και κοινωνικές ενώσεις κι οργανώσεις στην Ιορδανία, την Παλαιστίνη και τον Αραβικό κόσμο να εργαστούν από κοινού προκειμένου να αντιμετωπίσουν τις σιωνιστικές επιθετικές ενέργειες,

· Ζητά τη διακοπή των διπλωματικών σχέσεων με το κράτος των Σιωνιστών, θεωρώντας προς την ίδια κατεύθυνση επειβεβλημένο και το κλείσιμο της Ισραηλινής πρεσβείας στην Ιορδανία,

· Υπογραμμίζει με έμφαση το ρόλο της νεολαίας της Ιορδανίας καλώντας την να δραστηριοποιηθεί και να ενώσει τις δυνάμεις της με τους υπόλοιπους πολίτες με κοινό στόχο την κάμψη και αποδυνάμωση της Ισραηλινής επιθετικότητας, την καταδίκη της Αμερικανικής άνευ όρων υποστήριξης προς το Ισραήλ και τη διαφύλαξη της εθνικής κυριαρχίας της Ιορδανίας και του δικαιώματος της στην ανάπτυξη και την πρόοδο.

Για την επίτευξη των παραπάνω στόχων, εμείς, οι εκλεγμένοι εκπρόσωποι των φοιτητών του Πανεπιστήμίου της Ιορδανίας, του πρώτου στην χώρα, αποφασίσαμε να ξεκινήσουμε εκστρατεία παροχής πλήρους υποστήριξης και αρωγής προς τους αδερφούς μας στη Γάζα, σε συντονισμό με τους εκπροσώπους άλλων φοιτητικών ενώσεων σε εθνικό, αραβικό και διεθνές επίπεδο.

Talk, inform, discuss, point out

I was worried about that web pal of mine, who lives in Gaza and always dreams of visiting Amman, and always postpones the journey for a more fortuitous occasion. The proof of survival came through the e-mail, with the link to the organization in which he participates: The text is written during the first hours of confusion; the hours that followed just made the whole picture more dramatic.

Ref: 116/2008

Date: 27 December 2008

Time: 16:00 GMT

On the Bloodiest Day in the History of Occupation, Hundreds of Palestinian Civilian Deaths and Casualties in an Israeli Aerial Offensive against the Gaza Strip

PCHR condemns in the strongest terms the war waged by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against the Gaza Strip through a wide scale aerial offensive, which has so far targeted dozens of police headquarters and stations, public and governmental buildings and security sites throughout the Gaza Strip. PCHR calls upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and international organizations to immediately intervene to stop the killings being committed by IOF in the Gaza Strip, and to put an end to the current unprecedented deterioration in the human rights situation and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.

According to initial information available to PCHR, at least 190 Palestinians, many of whom are policemen including Major General Tawfiq Jaber, chief of the Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, have been killed while they were inside and in the vicinity of police stations. Hundreds of others have been also wounded. Many of the wounded are in critical conditions receiving medical treatment at hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which cannot absorb large numbers of the wounded due to the chronic siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip, which has negatively impacted health conditions and limited the capabilities of hospitals to provide minimum services to the Palestinian civilian population.

The air strikes started at 11:25 local time, almost at the same time throughout the Gaza Strip. This timing indicates that an Israeli decision was taken to cause maximum casualties in the climax of daily activities. It also explains the high number of victims killed or wounded in a few minutes on the bloodiest day during the 41 years of Israeli occupation. The timing of air strikes coincided with the end of the morning period and the beginning of the afternoon period at schools, many of which are located near police stations that were attacked. PCHR learnt that a number of children were killed or wounded while on their way to or back from schools, and hundreds of school children and civilians were treated from shocks. PCHR learnt also that dozens of the victims are unarmed civilians who were near the places that were attacked, the majority of which are located in civilian-populated areas.

At the time of writing this press release, the civil defense and medical crews are still working on extracting bodies of the victims from the debris of buildings that were attacked. It is worth noting that a number of civil defense sites were even attacked.

PCHR strongly condemns such series of war crimes being committed by IOF in the Gaza Strip, and:

1) Reiterates its call for the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and international organizations to immediately intervene to stop such unprecedented deterioration in the human rights situation and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.

2) Reminds that police stations, police officers and law enforcement officials are classified under the international law as civilians, and targeting them as such while they were not engaged in military action constitutes a violation of the international law.

3) Points out that the majority of the buildings and sites that were attacked are located in civilian-populated areas, so scores of houses were heavily damaged. Such attacks are an indication of Israeli disregard for the lives and safety of Palestinian civilians, which can be seen in the high number of civilian victims.

4) Calls upon States and international organizations to provide urgent humanitarian and medical assistance to the Gaza Strip, which has been under a tightened siege impacting all aspects of lives, especially health conditions, as hospitals in the Gaza Strip are unable to treat such high number of casualties.