A little bit of nostalgia and a lot of hope and love...

This sentimental piece by a Lebanese American demanded a post, here. How lovely to read about this fellow's return to Lebanon after three decades away, and to the same neighborhood in West Beirut that I stayed in last year. I have similar photos, too, of the scenes at the American University of Beirut.

All the best to the author, and for our beloved Lebanon.

http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2012/06/syracuse_beirut_lebanon.html

From Syracuse to Beirut and back again

Published: Sunday, June 10, 2012, 5:58 AM

 By The Post-Standard 

David A. ShomarThe banyan tree climbed by the author as a child.

By David A. Shomar

It's been 32 years since I saw Beirut. Thirty-two years! How absurd that would have seemed on my last visit in 1980 or in 1976 when I immigrated to the United States.

I could not imagine leaving the "Paris of the Middle East" for long. I planned to finish my engineering degree at Syracuse University and head back to work.

Yet, here I am in the town of my birth, arriving with the anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve, filled with memories, emotions and questions. Did it change much? Will I see friends of old? What will it feel like? How did 16 years of civil war change the jewel of my youth?

I landed at Rafik Hariri International Airport. I expected the same old routine, landing far from the terminal, the airplane's doors opening to a greeting of Beirut air, filled with the sweet smells of jasmine and the Mediterranean Sea. But it was a modern airport, and all I saw was a long sky bridge corridor, air-conditioned and nondescript. Is this a disappointing omen? Will nothing be the same?

I re-learned quickly that Beirut never disappoints. It is a city filled with life and passion. The old mixes with the new, like a tapestry across the ages.

You still hear a multitude of languages, sometimes all in the same sentence. Eavesdropping on conversations, I thought how my wife and sons laugh when I shift languages talking with my mother or friends back home in Syracuse.

This was a business trip and after checking in to our hotel, I excused myself. I wanted to go unaccompanied by conversation on my journey back in time. I aimed to wander on a walk, but with a destination in mind: American University of Beirut (AUB) and the neighborhood where I grew up right outside its gates.

I walked to Hamra Street, the main street of West Beirut. The street that seemed so large in my memory was tiny and crowded.

New, tall buildings seem to pop up on every inch of available land. If you want to see a real estate boom or bubble, depending on whether you're an optimist or pessimist, come to Beirut.

Even so, I found old landmarks as I walked the streets. There was the Strand movie theater and Red Shoe store.

The smells! The gyro sandwich shop mixed with the fresh fruits of the famous Lebanese mountains. They kept teasing memories to life, and I felt 20 again.

I strolled past the butcher shop next to my grandmother's house; now it is a copy place just like Kinko's. The restaurant Faisal, where AUB students gathered and discussed politics, is a McDonalds. The photography store where we got our pictures taken is a Krispy Kreme.

I came to see my old hometown only to find I am back in the States.

American University of Beirut's College Hall. Photo by David A. Shomar.

I walked past our old church where my grandfather was laid to rest. The street was so narrow. I remembered how, with so little room to maneuver, I had my first car accident.

Then, there it was: The majestic campus of American University of Beirut. I went to the main gate where the sign still claimed its place in Lebanese history, “American University of Beirut 1866.”

AUB was a Presbyterian mission, a gift from my new country to my old country. As I entered the campus, College Hall was looking at me. This was the symbol that was bombed during the civil war as an attack on foreign presence. We, the alumni, and the rest of the true Lebanese and Arabs who owe so much to that university considered it an attack on knowledge. It was rebuilt to the exact replica of its majestic self with donations that exceeded the cost of rebuilding.

The campus remained an oasis in the city. There were the green benches overlooking the Mediterranean. The same green stadium field where soccer players mixed with runners. Then, 104 steps to lower campus, there was the banyan tree that my brother and I climbed when we were young, its branches descending as roots as if to say, here the future is built on our rich past.

I passed Bliss Hall, where my mother worked at the math department. It is now the computer science department; the past giving way to the future.

But the past is stubborn here in a city that dates to 2000 B.C. Right there, next to all the technology, was the same drinking fountain that quenched my thirst during hot summers. There was West Hall and its marble steps where we sat to watch girls pass by.

I headed out of campus toward California Street where I lived for my first 20 years. As I approached our old building, I knew that it had been demolished. I braced for disappointment only to be pleasantly surprised at the attractive architecture of the new high rise in its place.

I had been walking for three hours. To quench my thirst, I went into the small convenience store at the corner. This took me right back to my childhood. It had been the grocery where we bought our food.

I approached the register to pay and struck up a conversation with the clerk. I relayed my story and remembering, to my amazement, the old grocer's name, I asked if he knew of the man. To my astonishment he replied, "He was my father." He had passed away last year.

I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I was 12 years old when my mother sent me to get a jar of jam," I told the grocer's son. "When I asked your father to get me one, he became irate and started to scold me and threatened to call my mother." Being from Palestinian origin, the word for jam in our dialect coincided with the word for unfiltered cigarettes in Lebanese slang. He was watching out for me. Now that is a good man who cared about his community and not only his bottom line.

The son and I hugged, and I left feeling right back at home.

The next few days were filled with old friends, family and fantastic meals.

On Sunday we headed to church where my mother's cousin is the priest. His church is in the downtown area that was completely rebuilt after the war by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated while bringing Lebanon back to life.

The rebuilding of downtown Beirut is a story in itself. The utterly devastated buildings were rebuilt with care to reflect the city’s history and culture, using the Arab and French architecture that gave Beirut its style. In the process of excavating, ruins from as far back as the Hellenistic era were uncovered and turned into living museums. Business is business, but it takes vision and passion to save a culture at the expense of another dollar profit.

At Mass, I was moved by the piety of the assembled. Their belief was genuine without being arrogant. I noticed the piety of the Muslim Lebanese as well who attended prayers in the new Hariri mosque with its four minarets reaching to the sky. Not far away, the Lebanese Jewish temple has been rebuilt.

David A. Shomar

Yes, there are Jewish Lebanese and they remain Lebanese. That is a side of Lebanon that should give us all hope.

Differences divide us in Lebanon, in the United States and elsewhere in the world, but this beautiful country can also show us the path toward coexistence. I long for the day when my fellow Lebanese will use their common piety to see how similar they are in their journey. If they could look past the petty to their common history and culture, they would see what they have achieved. This would be the greatest gift they can bestow on the human race.

I am lucky to have two hometowns to be proud of. From Syracuse to Beirut and back again. Lebanon perseveres, and my hope is that it can show the world the gift of coexistence and lead us to a more perfect union.

David A. Shomar is Regional Director of Middle East Operations at Saab Sensis. He lives in Manlius with his wife and two sons. He can be reached at dshomar@gmail.com.

© 2012 syracuse.com. All rights reserved.

"Global-Local" Cultural Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy

Robert Albro, a public policy anthropologist at American University, summons powerful evidence from communication theory and cultural and public diplomacy practice to suggest that cultural diplomacy (and therefore public diplomacy, at least as practiced by the U.S. government) is an inherently transnational project (http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog _detail/cultural_engagement_as_glocal_diplomacy/). What he argues has important implications for "western" and "secular" governments confronting the emerging "Islamist" governments.

Thanks to Len Baldyga (LJBJBB@aol.com, 5/15/12) and his PD list-serve for e-mailing the link to Albro's essay.

New Film Out Today!

From Nadine Labaki, the director of "Caramel," comes a recent film about Muslim and Christian Lebanese women trying to navigate the tragedies of sectarian politics in their lives (see http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/lebanon-lens/). It opens today, promising to be thoughtful and poignant, with a soulful political message of forgiveness.

Marcel Khalife

Check out this story if you are interested in soulful folk music from the Near East: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/02/150874125/marcel-khalife-the-bob-dylan-of-the-arab-world

An Amazing Author and his book and museum

If and when I make it to Turkey, this new museum will be a key stop! See
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/books/orhan-pamuk-opens-museum-based-on-his-novel-in-istanbul.html?ref=world .

High-Context, High-Powered Diplomacy

The piece below (http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/can-western-women-tamebr-irans-n.html) offers refreshing insight on diplomatic negotiation. It mentions “relational diplomacy,” reminiscent of the “relational” framework of R.S. Zaharna (American University), so informed by cultural context. Thanks to all the authors and Al-Monitor.

Can Western Women Tame Iran’s Nuclear Negotiators?

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) and Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili pose for media before their meeting in Istanbul April 14, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/Tolga Adanali)

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By: Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin posted on Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012

Photos of the high-stakes Iran nuclear talks held in Istanbul earlier this month tell their own story.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Summary: Three high-powered women are the principal negotiators for the P5+1 team in the Iran nuclear talks, which creates a novel working environment for their Iranian counterparts, because women generally can’t get top government jobs in the Islamic Republic. This raises an intriguing question: Could the presence of women across the table from the Iranians change the dynamics in the nuclear talks? Author: Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin Published on: Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 Categories: Originals  Iran

In them, the top two negotiators — European Union foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili — stand smiling in front of a mural depicting Istanbul’s bridge over the Bosporous, wearing what almost looks like yin/yang versions of each other’s outfits.

Jalili is in the Iranian male uniform of black suit and white, collarless shirt; Ashton wears black pants and a cream blazer over a black top, with a white scarf discreetly wrapped around her neck and shoulders. In one photo, Jalili looks to be genuinely amused and grinning as Ashton, arms outstretched in a “ta-da” pose, moves toward him for a photo spray. What a contrast from a year ago, when a strained-looking Jalili stood, eyes averted and brow furrowed, at a clear distance from Ashton.

Unusual for such talks — and particularly novel for the Iranians — Ashton is but one of three high-powered women who are the principal interlocutors for what is known as the P5+1 — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

Ashton’s deputy is Germany’s political director, Helga Schmid, who is to meet with Jalili’s number two, Ali Bagheri, for preparatory talks before the next plenary round in Baghdad May 23. The US delegation is led by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran allowed more women to become educated and to enter professions denied them in Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia. An Iranian woman — Shirin Ebadi — was the first Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize and she and others have figured prominently in civil society and political protests. But a host of discriminatory measures regulate women’s behavior in Iran and they generally cannot rise to senior jobs in the government of the Islamic Republic.

Which leads to this question: Could the presence of women across the table from the Iranians change the dynamics in the nuclear talks?

While Western governments credit tough sanctions imposed over the past year for prodding Iran to adopt a more constructive posture, Ashton worked hard to set up an atmosphere more conducive to re-launching negotiations.

Measures included messaging Iran through multiple interlocutors on the need to demonstrate seriousness, to kicking off the meeting with a three-hour, rapport-building informal dinner with Jalili at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul the night before the talks.

Before the meeting, Ashton also reached out to policy makers from Latin America and Central Asia, where the Iranians “have personal relationships, to send the right message,” said a European diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. The focus “was on how to create a special opportunity which is easier seized than rejected.”

Atmospherics also played a role. Another Western diplomat who participated in the negotiations told Al-Monitor that the women negotiators made a conscious decision “to dress conservatively” to avoid making the Iranians feel uncomfortable.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the EU's Cathy Ashton look strained at the stalemated Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul January 21, 2011.

“We want to create an environment, an atmosphere that is more likely to” be conducive to compromise, the first Ashton aide explained.  

Farzaneh Milani, a professor of Persian literature and women’s studies at the University of Virginia, says the fact that the top Western negotiators are women could have a positive impact.

In her 2011 book, Words, Not Swords: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom of Movement, Milani describes two means of conflict resolution in Iranian culture.

The first is captured by the Persian proverb, “Kill a cat in the nuptial chamber.” It describes how a groom tames a notorious shrew on their wedding night by ordering a cat to bring him a glass of water and beheading the unfortunate animal when it fails to do so. The terrified bride, presented with the same request, immediately complies; the conflict is resolved through male dominance and violence.

The second model is that of Scheherazade. She volunteers to wed the murderous King Shahriyar, who, after his favorite wife betrays him, marries a series of virgins and kills them after the wedding night. As we all know, Scheherazade tames her husband using words, not swords, by spinning tales for 1001 nights.

“She took her stories there and her patience and her knowledge of negotiations,” Milani says. “She empathized with the king and tried to come to grips with the past of the man she was dealing with…The first story is an example of “how men resolve conflicts, the other is how women do it… I’m very hopeful that they can do something that men have not managed to do.”

Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, says while the Scheherazade saga is “not a good comparison,” the Iranian negotiators have come to respect their female interlocutors.

“They have by now concluded that Ashton is a very tough cookie and cannot be pushed around,” Esfandiari said. “They have probably adjusted themselves to dealing with her. Spending three hours having dinner with her for Jalili was a very big step. She is his counterpart and they have developed a very professional and cordial relationship.”

As for Sherman, Esfandiari said the Iranians had “done their homework and know she is an expert” who led US negotiations with North Korea in the Clinton administration.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili offers a welcome to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton as they pose for photos at nuclear talks in Istanbul April 14, 2012. Photo by REUTERS/Tolga Adanali

“What impressed them is the professionalism and businesslike attitude of these women,” Esfandiari said, conceding that “a little charm” doesn’t hurt either.

Sherman and Schmid moved into their jobs, which include overseeing day to day running of Iran nuclear negotiations, last year; Ashton has held the title of EU high representative for foreign policy since 2009.

Ashton “is trying to walk a tightrope,” the European diplomat told Al-Monitor. “She wants to show [the Iranians] in word and deed that these negotiations are a genuine opportunity to move forward. But [she is also trying] not to be hoodwinked and fooled by negotiators who have [in the past] strung out and wrapped negotiators in games of politics.”

 “Where Cathy can be strong is she has a very easy way with people,” the diplomat added. “She can bring difficult interlocutors to a place they feel more comfortable and could compromise.”

Though Ashton carries among her sometimes-bewildering titles that of “Baroness,” she doesn’t come from a privileged background. Rather, Ashton, 56, a former antinuclear activist and British Labour Party worker, got the title when she was named to the House of Lords by Tony Blair in 1999. In fact, she comes from a working class family of coal miners in northern England and was the first member of her family to attend university.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was an administrator and later treasurer and vice-chair of an anti-nuclear activist group, the UK campaign for nuclear disarmament.

That youthful activism is “obviously a good thing for her” in the eyes of Iran’s nuclear negotiators, the European diplomat said. “It shows her attitude on nuclear weapons from her youth — which has been used at points in the West as an argument against her — is an argument in her favor” in the view of the Iranians, who have frequently railed against perceived international “double standards” that permit other countries to have nuclear weapons but sanction Iran for its as-yet weaponless nuclear program.

A relatively junior European Commission trade official in Brussels, Ashton landed her present job as a compromise candidate and has “done reasonably well” in the confines of a 27-member bloc that works by consensus, an American diplomat who worked on Europe but asked not to be named told Al-Monitor. “She can’t be pushed into places where there isn’t consensus.” In the case of Iran, where there is, Ashton “is delivering,” he added.

While her lack of pretension and un-posh style have made her the occasional object of snobby derision in the British press, her modest roots may be another asset in dealing with the Iranians.

“She is totally working class,” the European diplomat said. “The criticism from the British press if anything is that she is from northern England, and speaks with a northern accent…Her manner and style are not that of a globe-trotting foreign minister. She has a subtle way of working. Her brand is relational diplomacy, whereas for the US, it’s power diplomacy.”

It is, of course, far too soon to say that these negotiations will succeed. Jalili refused to meet one-on-one with Sherman and in his final meeting with Ashton, he relentlessly pressed her to delay an EU embargo on Iranian oil due to go into effect in July, Al-Monitor discovered.

 “He tested her, [but] you can expect that,” the European diplomat said of Jalili, who holds the title of Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war and the paramilitary Basij. “Of course, they test and prod and push. They are keen for sanctions relief. They would like to get it for absolutely nothing. And she headed them off.”

Laura Rozen reports on foreign policy from Washington, D.C. She has written for Yahoo! News, Politico and Foreign Policy. Follow her on Twitter @LRozen. Barbara Slavin is Washington correspondent for Al-Monitor and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where she focuses on Iran. Follow her on Twitter @BarbaraSlavin1.

Lebanon takes a big step toward absentee voting for the diaspora

The following passage in the April 25th edition of Naharnet (2012) (http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/38077-cabinet-approves-mechanism-allowing-expats-to-vote-in-polls) reports:

The government approved on Wednesday a mechanism that would allow Lebanese expatriates to vote in the 2013 parliamentary elections and approved a reduction in the weight of the Arabic bread pack to appease bakeries.

The government is scheduled to hold a meeting at the Grand Serail next Wednesday to discuss the details of the mechanism and ways to implement it, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq told reporters after the session held at the presidential palace.

Another session will be held at Baabda palace next Thursday, he said.

As the snipet implies, there are lots of political and logistical obstacles to implementing this step. Stay tuned.