Nobel Peace Prize 2011

Yesterday in Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her compatriot and "peace warrior" Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni "Arab Spring" activist Tawakul Karman. They were awarded the prize for 'their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work'



These are three truly remarkable women and there have been too few women Nobel Peace Prize winners (18 in total) when women have to bear the brunt of the consequences of war and violence which is very rarely created by them. Of these three special women I would single out Tawakul Karman a 32 year old journalist and mother of three who by her personal integrity and courage has defied stereotypes and united a revolution which is taking place despite the indifference and double standards of the world. As she herself has written;

“What is truly regrettable, though, is that the world has not shown the least interest in what the Saleh regime does with Yemen and its revolutionaries. Despite this huge number of martyrs, despite the transformation of the country into a huge prison where citizens struggle to get even a drink of water for their children, and despite the use of heavy weapons against civilians, Saleh's regime did not even receive a token verbal condemnation from the United Nations or other world governments – despite our calls to impose sanctions. Yet harsh sanctions were imposed on other regimes that committed lesser crimes.”


Tawakul Karman

Tawakul Karman became the international public face of the 2011 Yemeni uprising that is part of the Arab Spring uprisings. She has been called by Yemenis the "Iron Woman" and "Mother of the Revolution."She is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize and the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate to date.



She stopped wearing the traditional niqab in favour of more colourful hijabs that showed her face. She first appeared without the niqab at a conference in 2004. Karman replaced the niqab for the scarf in public on national television to make her point that the full covering is cultural and not dictated by Islam. She told the Yemen Times in 2010 that:

“Women should stop being or feeling that they are part of the problem and become part of the solution. We have been marginalized for a long time, and now is the time for women to stand up and become active without needing to ask for permission or acceptance. This is the only way we will give back to our society and allow for Yemen to reach the great potentials it has.”

She has alleged that many Yemeni girls suffer from malnutrition so that boys could be fed and also called attention to high illiteracy rates, which includes two-thirds of Yemeni women. She has advocated for laws that would prevent females younger than 17 from being married. In an Arab world which in many places squanders the talents of half its people she is a rare and very clear voice.



Contrast the hope around these 3 women with the craven intimidation by the self appointed Chinese dictatorship who still imprison last year’s laureate Liu Xiaobo, his wife (without charge) and harass his family and supporters. Ahead of this year’s ceremony for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, past laureates and human rights groups announced a committee in support of Liu, a writer who is serving an 11-year sentence after writing a manifesto for democratic change. The committee - which includes South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu - voiced fears that Beijing is silencing Liu's family and friends after first carrying out an "international wave of intimidation."


Liu Xiaobo

"The international community seems to have forgotten that a year after the award ceremony, Liu Xiaobo remains in prison in China and in harsh conditions," the committee said in its first statement issued Thursday. The committee calls on all those committed to freedom of thought and opinion to join the committee in its efforts to obtain the release of Liu Xiaobo," it said.


Liu Xiaobo's empty chair at the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

Liu, a former professor, co-authored Charter 08, a bold petition calling for political reform in one-party Communist-ruled China. He was convicted of subversion and sentenced to 11 years in prison on Christmas Day 2009. China responded furiously to the Nobel Peace Prize and cut off political dialogue with Norway, which administers the award. Relations remain tense a year later. In the past year, rights groups say that Chinese authorities only allowed Liu to leave prison briefly when his father died and have put his wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest without charges.

Liu Xiaobo is the only detained Nobel Peace Prize winner. Myanmar last year freed peace laureate and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she spent nearly two decades under house arrest. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued separate appeals Thursday for China to free Liu, with both advocacy groups fearing that Beijing is becoming more intransigent over human rights.


A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on 5th July 1989.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/06/tiananmen-square-nothing-happened-here.html

Congratulations and respect to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman. Congratulations and respect to Liu Xiaobo still fighting against the “Great Dictatorship” which continues to imprison him for peacefully expressing an opinion. What is right will win out.

“I do not feel guilty for following my constitutional right to freedom of expression, for fulfilling my social responsibility as a Chinese citizen. Even if accused of it, I would have no complaints.”

—Liu Xiaobo at his “trial” by the Great Dictatorship, 23 December 2009

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/10/demand-that-china-free-liu-xiaobo.html

#Uint11 The Arab Spring - Update on the Middle East and North Africa

Sat pm: Last presentation was by Nick Crook, UNISON International Officer, followed by a film on Labour Rights in Egypt.

Nick reported that this is a new area of work for UNISON.  We use to work on Palestine and Iraq (and to a lesser extent Iran).  No real mandate  before Conference this year. 

It is called the  “Arab Spring” but also involves North Africa. Events are ongoing. Not only in Libya (Gaddifi was killed only 2 days before) but in Syria and Egypt things are still very much a process. The Army remains in control in Egypt.

A key factor has been social and economic conditions. The role of trade unions has been a core theme. There were marked differences in the region beforehand with regard to unions.  Some such as Tunisia had powerful free trade unions, others such as in Egypt, Syria and Libra they were  government controlled unions while in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, unions were banned. Less widely reported is the protests in Jordon, Algeria and Morocco.  In Morocco the protests forced the King to announce that there will be a  constitutional monarchy. While in Bahrain there was military intervention by Saudi. 3000 trade unionists lost their jobs while several hundred were imprisoned.  Contrast the British Government response to what has happened in Libya and Bahrain. Kuwait also has a crack down on trade union protest. On May day 2011 77 national trade unions across region did sign a "democracy declaration".

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have a new web site (which I can't find?) and Labourstart also has lots of good information and campaigns.  Unfortunately there has been splits in Egypt trade unions which have put UNISON in a difficult position with regard to who to support.

Toujours Beirut

There is a part of London forever twinned with Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus or anywhere which happens to be the node of the current Arab Diaspora. Walk up Edgware Road from Marble Arch (So called because it’s made of Portland Stone!) to the Marylebone Road flyover and beyond to Chapel Market and towards Harrow Road and you will pass by an intoxicating slice of the Middle East and inhale a fair amount of smoke from the shisha, “hubble bubble,” pipes being smoked on sidewalk tables. In London, a walk in and around Edgware Road west of the city centre takes you to one of the many areas where members of the Middle Eastern community have settled – others are Bayswater, Kensington and Westbourne Grove.



The area began to attract Arab migrants in the late 19th century during a period of increased trade with the Ottoman Empire. The trend continued with the arrival of Egyptians in the 1950s, and greatly expanded beginning in the 1970s and continuing to the present when events including the Lebanese Civil War, the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and unrest in Algeria brought more Arabs to the area. They established the present-day mix of bars and shisha cafes, which make the area known to Londoners by nicknames such as "Little Cairo" and "Little Beirut."



Many Lebanese restaurants, shisha cafes and Arabic-themed nightclubs line the street. The Odeon cinema, once the location of the biggest screen in London, often shows films in Arabic. Edgware Road is unique as a district, rich in ethnic culture, yet also in a very central area of London. The area is known for its distinctive and diverse communities from across the Middle East and Africa, with British Iranian comedian Omid Djalili describing Edgware Road as "after Damascus, Medina and Mecca, is probably the most Islamic place on the planet".





The real growth of the Lebanese community in London started in 1975, with the start of civil war in Lebanon. War drove thousands of people away. They settled all over the world, including in the UK. The exodus was aggravated in 1982 with the Israeli invasion.





Edgware Road is populated by shops selling Arab newspapers, books and music. There's even the odd pharmacy. In the food shops, you can purchase fresh fruit, vegetables, chicken, fish and lamb as well as other indigenous ingredients, such as rose blossom water and pomegranate molasses. Large wooden barrels display a colourful selection of dry, scented spices, as well as pickled aubergines, olives and limes. Some sell ready-made starters and labour-intensive meals, which you can just pop into the oven, grill or fry.



Coffee shops abound and on most days, customers – many of them part of the Arabic community who live nearby or are just passing by – can be seen puffing away at the shisha, an ornate pipe for aromatic tobacco. The restaurants range from smart to quite informal eateries, catering to an eclectic crowd as they are open till late. Some places close at 3am; others are known to close when guests leave. On Edgware Road you'll find an astounding array of Middle Eastern starters, both hot and cold, known as mezze. Many feature aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, radishes, okra, onion, chickpeas, lentils, rice, yogurt and herbs - and are accompanied by Lebanese bread. In general, they constitute an ideal meal for vegetarians.



Mezze can be so delicious and fresh, some diners do not move on to the main dishes; instead they just order more starters. Some of the finest are hoummos, chickpea puree prepared with sesame oil and lemon juice; tabbouleh, a parsley and tomato salad, with crushed wheat, onion, olive oil and lemon juice; and moujaddara, lentils and rice cooked to a creamy texture, topped with fried onions.



Try batinjan makdous, aubergines that have been filled with walnut and garlic; and kibbe, small mouthfuls of minced lamb, cracked wheat and pine kernels, either baked or deep-fried. Fruit juices and hand-made treats from the patisserie counter are a must at all Lebanese restaurants. Order a carrot and orange juice and baklavas – layered pastries in many shapes filled with pistachio nuts and honey.





A favourite salad is fattoush, which brings together lettuce, tomatoes, onion, mint, tiny morsels of deep-fried bread and an aubergine-coloured spice made out of crushed berries called sumak. Most carnivores gravitate towards the warm shawarma sandwiches. They offer marinated lamb or chicken, roasted on a skewer, combined with tomatoes and lettuce, and wrapped up in Lebanese bread. Kofta is a tasty alternative – grilled minced lamb, combined with parsley and pine kernels.



With Lebanese food there is always an excellent alternative for vegetarians - a falafel sandwich, which features small spheres of crushed chickpeas prepared with sesame oil and garlic. It's flavoured with a light tahini sauce, which is made out of sesame seeds.





On Edgware Road, this means the Babylon Salon, the Al-Ahram Bookstore, where you can pick up Lebanese fashion magazines, and Daminis, where you can turn those fashion tips into reality with the latest styles of shalwar kameez, and join the endless promenade of styled-up sons and daughters of sheikhs and oil magnates cruising the W2 strip. The restaurants feature live Lebanese music at weekends, and if it all leaves you hankering after the real thing, pop into Wonder Travel, where a flight to Beirut can be had for as little as £320.

London is too large to be ethnically zoned which is a good thing as we prefer it mixed up here so we can appreciate, share and celebrate diversity. Sometimes I wonder whether London shouldn't be voted the Arab capital of culture at some stage soon. There are, in actual fact, an enormous range of activities, shops and events centred on London's huge Arab community which is estimated at 500,000 and which increases in summer when the heat in the Gulf becomes unbearable.





Edgware Road isn’t the only Arab area either. Towards Notting Hill and Kensington, it becomes more glamorous, princes and oil millionaires mingling with the internationally privileged. Commercial activity buzzes on Queensway and the Edgware Road, where there are more shisha bars than pubs, and shops where you can buy za’taar, or Adel Imam comedies, or Libyan or Egyptian newspapers. For a brief term following the destruction of Beirut and before Qatar and the Emirates upped their profiles, London became the capital of the Arab media. It’s still important, still housing such ventures as the independent pan-Arab paper al-Quds al-Arabi.


Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family Supercars clamped outside Harrods

Many Arabs are fleeing repression or poverty in their own countries and remain poor in London in contrast to the flash sons of the Arab Sheiks like Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family who bought Harrods’s and who fly in a fleet of Supercars in distinctive “baby blue” colour. They became particularly distinctive when they were clamped for illegal parking outside the store! With the Arab Spring and the upsurge for Democracy, Freedom and against corruption in the Arab world there is much talk about taking soundings on the “Arab Street.”



Well in London you don’t have too far to go for it is here that different nationalities can meet and contend with a freedom of expression and from oppression which are luxuries in their own country. Chances are that Edgware Road was the “Arab Street” the debates that led to the Arab Spring first took hold and where it will continue in passionate debate over a Shisha and a Shawarma. Marhaban مرحبا