September 4, 2012

ISNA’s 49th Convention: Striving for the Common Good

Greetings Pita-consumers!  This past weekend, August 31st-September 3rd PITAPOLICY covered the 49th Annual Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) convention in Washington, DC.  This year ISNA celebrated “One Nation Under God: striving for the common good” by hosting a selection of community organizing and international discussion panels to supplement its spiritual mission of where Twitter users could participate with the hashtag #49ISNADC. 

PITAPOLICY was impressed that ISNA leadership welcomed the National Geographic Museum exhibit “1,001 Inventions from the Muslim World” where a the museum offered discount tickets and rides to ISNA attendees.  (Currently ISNA leadership includes: Imam Majid, President; Safaa Zarzour, Secretary General; Azhar Azeez & Asad Ba-Yunus, Co-Chairs; and Tayyiba Taylor, Member.) Viewing 1,000 years of inventions from the MENA region and beyond from Muslim, Christian and Jewish inventors brought both smiles and tears since this represented the “light” in what many Western historians have termed as the “Dark Ages”.  

On September 2nd in Lafayette Park, a coalition of Syrian American organizations coordinated a rally to leverage attendance by the 20,000+ ISNA attendees.

Selection of Panels Devoted to Community Organizing and MENA Area Issues Under-appreciated

Among the many panels, I attended those focusing on community organizing and MENA area issues.  However, some panels only had 25 percent attendance–and not because the speakers lacked expertise.  The first reason might be that the speakers are not specialized.  I repeat: specialized speakers, not just people who moonlight on the subject, presented…like Khuram Walid an attorney who has organized several grass-roots campaigns in Florida, which resulted in a database of 100,000 American Muslim voters in Florida.

The second reason for low attendance might be the topic.   However, the low attendance was not the result of bad topic selection: it’s an election year, we all need to better organize with specific messages.  Also, for Muslim Americans who obsess about foreign policy, ISNA provided a forum to review the Arab Awakening/”Arab Spring” as they invited Sheikh Fatah, who flew in from Tunisia.  Fatah discussed how Muslims need to increase harmony with their non-Muslim citizens and secular parties.  He also applauded how people must hold their elected officials accountable consistently so that corruption does not balloon into something that erodes the socio-economic rights of a country’s citizens.  Sometimes I forgot if we were talking about Tunisia or Egypt because the advice relates to my goal as an American citizen who believes that voting symbolizes this accountability effort.

The room was not too warm or cold either, (since temperature might have been the third reason) so I was puzzled because apathy is a dangerous thing.

“I was not asked to present, so that is why I did not attend the session,” responded one ISNA attendee after I had asked why an important panel that tackled institution building was so poorly attended.

I was frustrated.  When we ask government officials to listen to Muslim American and Middle Eastern American grievances, it is a hypocritical irony when we have to ask the same of our community members and leaders.  Not everyone can be at the microphone.  In fact, even when the message is repeated over the microphone, it’s more important for an audience member to call the speaker out politely and follow up with some more thoughtful questions.   That’s what townhalls are all about, so why not practice what we preach to our friends regarding local and state elections.

After hearing the data that Jim Zogby presented at an earlier ISNA panel, the irony of the earlier comment is reiterated in the data produced in “The American Divide: How We View Arabs and Muslims”, which was published two weeks ago.  Take note:

  1. Muslims were the only group with a net unfavorable rating.
  2. Arabs, Muslims, Arab Americans, and American Muslims have the lowest favorable/highest unfavorable ratings among the groups covered.
  3. “Democrats and Obama voters give no group a net negative rating.  Republicans and Romney voters only give strong negative ratings to Arabs, Muslims, Arab Americans, and American Muslims.

Many pita-consumers will state that the above information was already known.  A study of this sort simply reiterated what many of us already expected.  Then WHY do many of our American Muslim, American Arabs, and others of Middle Eastern descent in the US persist in short-sighted thinking? In a convention of over 20,000 attendees, why not hear what others have to say when they are facing the same challenges in their state legislatures.  Why channel all energy into one foreign policy cause when the very mechanisms that ALLOW American Muslims to voice grievances via caucus, voting, and Political Action Committees is the topic of discussion?  I won’t even mention that it is an election year.  (Oh, I just did, because the obvious just hasn’t resonated yet among a large segment American Muslims.)

Bazaar Continues to Offer a Platform for Non-Profits Devoted to Social Justice Issues

As usual, an integral part of the ISNA experience is the Bazaar: over 900 some vendors showcased goods, services, and ideas.  Aside from the US government presence, like the US Agency for International Development, secular-oriented non-profits also drew attention.  I spoke with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, which reported that American taxpayers will have contributed 30 billion U.S. dollars between 2009 to 2018 according to “U.S. Military Aid to Israel: Policy Implications & Options”.  The budgetary analysis was overseen by Director and former US Congressional Research Service Analyst, Josh Ruebner.  Ramah Kudaimi, who serves as their Membership & Outreach Coordinator told me that secular non-profits benefit from participating in the annual ISNA convention because “Most Muslim-Americans are sympathetic to social justice causes.  We chose to host a booth because the large amount of US aid to Israel may be better used at home [in the U.S.] for our needs in healthcare and education.”

I recommend checking out the following organizations, as they are now PITAPALS:

  • Emerge USA – Khurram Wahid, A.J. Durrani, Nauman Abbasi, Arif Ghafur, and Zeba Khan (Leadership)
  • Islamic Relief International – Jihad Saleh (Public Relations)
  • Amana Mutual Funds
  • Syrian American Council – Mahmoud Khattab (Director)
  • Arab American Institute – Jim Zogby

Artistic Expression Produces More Discussion on Social Justice

Moreover, the growing art exhibit and film screenings showcased artistic expression from the Muslim American community with some photography exhibits from the Middle East & North Africa region.  2012 Academy Award winner for Best Short Documentary “Saving Face” was presented to show the aftermath of acid attack victims, Zakia and Rukhsana, in Pakistan as a variety of non-profits and individuals intervene:  1) Survivors Foundation and Islamic Help, non-profits in Pakistan; 2)  Dr. Mohammad Jawad lends his plastic surgeon hands to address some of the emotional pain; 3) Ms. Sarkar Abbass, an attorney who fights Zakia’s case; and 4) Marvi Memon, a politician who advocates for new legislation.  The film was directed by Oscar® winning and Emmy®-nominated American filmmaker Daniel Junge and Oscar® and Emmy®-winning Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

Another film “5 Broken Cameras” took us to Palestine where Palestinian journalist, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, document daily life close to Tel Aviv.  But that is only the prologue–or better yet, the social justice version of “Groundhog Day” where the same events predictably happen because of  a silly rule that has been broken.  The real story is that each daily life chapter Burnat captures is interrupted when Israeli security forces break his camera.  This happens five times.  As a Daily Beast writer asks, “Can a West Bank film change Israel?”  The short answer: “5 Broken Cameras” will more likely change opinions in the US as ISNA attendees discuss it and request permission to show it at their campus theaters.

ISNA will be getting ready for its 50 anniversary in Chicago next year.  Each year they improve and review the next set of challenges.  Building on the blood and organ donor drives, PITAPOLICY hopes to see voter registration drives organized in the Bazaar too!

 

 

 

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August 29, 2012

Socially Responsible Investing – Will an Islamic Finance trend amount to a best practice for the financial world?

PITAPOLICY completes this month’s theme of “Socially Responsible Organizing and Investing” with a joint piece by Mehrunisa Qayyum and Afaf Qayyum reviewing how trends of SRI mirror a growing interest in Islamic Finance.

August began with our first post, which was by a new contributor, Zena F. Itani, who attended AIDS Conference Week in Washington, DC. On August 7th, our second post by Massoud Hayoun asked how the Arab Revolution in Tunisia impacted tourism and the related social responsibilities that the tourism sector might ignore.  August 15th’s post covered the socially responsible organizing efforts in the US: “Is Lobbying Considered Socially Responsible Organizing?” August 19th’s post reviewed an infrastructural project gone wrong in Palestine.   And on August 19th, PITAPOLICY contributors commented on how Ramadan offers an opportunity for SRI through Zakat giving and other venues.

This week’s piece, and the last in this month’s series, identifies four trends in the Investment industry that relate to the growing interest and need to understand Islamic Finance principles.  The financial world might be undergoing a crisis in the most industrialized countries, but this poses an opportunity to explore capital accruing in other hubs. What new trend will become the norm?  Will an Islamic Finance trend amount to a best practice for the financial world?

  • Trend #1: Culture of Socially Responsible Investment

  • Trend #2: Establishing Islamic Markets Indices

  • Trend #3: Non-Muslim Majority Countries Take Notice

  • Trend #4: Islamic Banks May Be the Other Side of the SRI Coin

The upward trend of socially responsible investment mirrors a growing interest in Islamic finance

By: Mehrunisa Qayyum & Afaf Qayyum

Originally printed in The Majalla magazine

Ironically, the global financial crisis has triggered conservative investing through non-conventional means: non-Muslims are increasingly choosing to invest through Islamic institutions’ portfolios. The irony is particularly striking in the US, since Islamic financing often times carries the misnomer of “terrorist-financing”. However, for those looking to pursue more ethical investments, and with the rise of socially responsible investment culture, Islamic financial institutions create a new investing culture—specifically through Islamically-managed hedge-funds.

Before one identifies further trends that reflect the “mainstreaming” of Islamic investments, two questions frame the modern appeal of Islamic finance: 1) what are the religious prescriptions for this type of investment; and, 2) why would non-Muslims choose a mutual fund that follows Islamic Law while many non-Muslims worry that Islamic Law will trickle into their secular nations’ legislative process? The latter is a glaring paradox. According to Reuters click here to continue…

Note: Afaf Qayyum earned a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MAS in Accounting fro Northern Illinois University. Her interest is in Islamic Finance and its relevance to philanthropy.  Mehrunisa Qayyum is the founder of PITAPOLICY Consulting and is a Huffington Post Blogger.

 

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August 27, 2012

Kuwait Notes How American Muslims Organize & Vote

PITAPOLICY is pleased to share two items!

  1. WebShow: Last Thursday evening, PITAPOLICY Consulting Founder & Huffington Post Community Member, Mehrunisa Qayyum, appeared in her first Huffington Post Live Show as a guest for “Constitutionally Flawed” – a discussion on Tunisia, constitution status, civil society, and women’s rights.  (Thanks pita-consumers who tuned in and tweeted about it! @wasime @saidsworld & HuffPostLive Producer @caroMTehrani !)  Here’s the taped segment: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/502e79bffe34445bb10002b2
  2. A repost: a piece by one of its favorite pita-consumers, reporter for KUNA News, Heather Yamour.  Her piece for the Kuwait News Agency reviews the dilemma that American Muslims did not anticipate after Obama’s Cairo speech, yet face in the upcoming 2012 elections as both swing voters and voters in Swing states.   The piece, “Muslim American Voters Feel ‘Politically Radioactive'” ran on August 15, 2012. 

In addition, Yamour describes the recent Islamophobic attacks and anti-Arab, anti-Middle Eastern sentiment that has been voiced by key political forces.  Among those quoted include, Jihad Williams-Saleh (Liaison for Islamic Relief International) and Corey Saylor (Government Affairs Coordinator for Council of American Islamic Relations).  PITAPOLICY Consulting & Blog Founder, Mehrunisa Qayyum, was among those interviewed for background information.   PITAPOLICY would like to know if Kuwait is surprised at the present circumstances that American Muslims’ face in the upcoming elections.   Click here for full story.

Note: If you have a rebuttal, or would like to share a viewpoint in our September blog post, please contact us at info@pitapolicyconsulting.com or tweet us @pitaconsumer!

 

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August 22, 2012

8/23 at 7:40 PM EST: Huff Post Live To Discuss Constitutions in Arab Spring Nations

Announcement:

On Thursday, 8-23-2012, at  4.40PM PST/7.40PM EST, PITAPOLICY Blog Founder, Mehrunisa Qayyum, will be participating as a guest on the new Huff Post Live show’s conversation “Constitutionally Flawed”.  The discussion will be informative and energetic as Huff Post has  invited experts and members of the Huff Post Blogger community to speak about constitution forming in the Arab Spring nations, and whether this sign of “democracy” is actually beneficial.  

The discussion has been born from two pieces: one by a Prospect Magazine blogger and also the riots last week from Tunisian women opposing the syntax and way they are being referred to in the proposed Tunisian constitution, which was discussed by Qayyum in a Huffington Post Blog piece.  

We hope you’ll tune in for the show: Thursday at 7:40 PM Eastern Standard Time!

Here’s PITAPOLICY’s most recent commentary on Huffington Post Blog’s Business and Politics Sections, which highlights its participation in the Al Mubadarah weekly Tweet discussion: #ArabDev…

America’s Knowledge Economy Needs Its Creative Youth

Irony is when I walk past a set of tents pitched in New York, or Washington, DC’s McPherson Square, and my colleague, who works on international development in the Arab world, exclaims surprise at the number of homeless people and unemployed youth occupying those tents.

The Occupy Wall Street movement coincidentally emerged a few months after Tunisia’s and Egypt’s underemployed youth organized in the streets. As Americans, we are told to shift our focus from exporting goods to exporting services. In an earlier blog post, Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, said that the U.S. must embrace its diverse demographics to propel a “knowledge economy.” Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph E. Stiglitz, specifically calls this the “creative economy” because the U.S. has already spent its 20th century knowledge investment. What does that mean? And where do we go first? Let’s work backwards from the goal: employ energetic, fresh graduates who might set up tents after an unsuccessful six-month job search or underemployment.

I argue that the initiatives NGOs are pushing for the youth employment/entrepreneur opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region actually present a gateway to opportunities for our own American graduates.

Where Do We Go First?

Take a look at the states that have the higher unemployment rates according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: North Carolina (9.4%) , Georgia (9.0%), New York (8.9%), Illinois (8.7%), Michigan (8.6%) and double digit numbers like 10.7 percent in California. (Even though Washington, DC may be cushioned with public sector jobs, unemployment stood at 9.1 percent in June.) Although each of these states stretch across the U.S., they all include top tier universities with hundreds of 2013 graduates that will join their 2012 alumni who are still searching for full-time (and fulfilling) employment. In a nutshell, these…click here to continue

 

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August 19, 2012

Ramadan: An Opportunity for SRI via Zakat & Empathy

PITAPOLICY wishes all pita-consumers, whether they observe Ramadan or not, another year of professional and personal success as you decide to invest your time and money into community projects and industries.  Please feel free to reflect along with us in the posts below and comment!  Thanks!

Question Posed to Al Jazeera’s The Stream

  • Corporate Social Responsibility

Fasting: An Exercise In Empathy on Share Our Strength (Another version appeared in the Huffington Post Religion Section)

  • International Assistance/Development: Hunger, Poverty, and Responsibility

As a blogger, fasting is an emotional and physical task because the experience is a challenging exercise in empathy — regardless of education or social standing and outwards piety. The knotty sensation in my tummy and the 5 p.m. headaches go beyond hunger and thirst. Some will take naps to sleep off the stress. Others will sit down and watch the news or use social media to catch up with the world. Everyone needs breaks. But overall, in the 29 or 30 days of abstaining from food and drink, God is testing my patience along with my powers of observation. Fasting is the struggling to become empowered through empathy.

As an addicted Twitter user, I wonder if God is also testing me to see if I’m going to complain about the struggle between excessive tweeting and praying or contemplating. Will I, as @pitapolicy, exercise restraint in the addictive use of Twitter? Will I push myself to channel positive thoughts both inwardly and outwardly? It’s no one’s fault that I’m fasting … it’s my fundamental choice. So need to be negative. Ever year (and some would argue everyday) God is asking me to walk with someone who is on an empty stomach. I was exempted from fasting when I traveled for business, but being in Muslim-majority countries, I fasted anyway. I wanted to respect the places I was fortunate enough to travel to, and the people who were very hospitable. I wanted to experience the challenge of self-restraint in Egypt and Pakistan where millions live under the poverty line and community organizations provide the evening meals to break fast (iftar). I also wanted to share how wealthy countries like Bahrain took Ramadan as an opportunity to reach out to poor countries.

I am empowered in my choice to fast because to feel hungry makes one feel empathy for fellow humans — not pity.

— Mehrunisa Qayyum (@pitapolicy)

Ramadan Provides Opportunities to Leverage Social Capital via Zakat

  • Fundraising Iftars Leverage Social Capital

Before I describe the three opportunities, or mechanisms above, I will explain which definition of ‘social capital’ highlights Ramadan’s purpose. According to Social Capital Research, the term may refer to both internal and external influences, or ‘inputs.’ As a result, many definitions have emerged in the literature, but this essay refers to, “the web of social relationships that influences individual behavior and thereby affects economic growth (Pennar 1997, p. 154).” Hence, Ramadan provides about 30 daily opportunities to engage with networks and identify human and financial resources—essentially to leverage social capital.

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August 15, 2012

Socially Responsible Investment? $1.28 Million Tunnel…for One Family

PITAPOLICY continues with this month’s theme: Socially Responsible Organizing and Investing. Sunday’s post covered the socially responsible organizing efforts in the US: “Is Lobbying Considered Socially Responsible Organizing?”  

On a sidenote, our posting from August  5th, “Negotiating with Egypt’s Military Industrial Complex” discussed Egypt’s civilian government efforts to downsize the military.  Serendipitously, President Morsi did just that on August 10th with respect to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ leader, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.  Midan Masr, a new Arabic & English monthly publication requested to reprint the piece by Mehrunisa Qayyum, so PITAPOLICY Consulting & Blog is very excited!

 

$1.28 Million Tunnel …for One Family

By: Asma Jaber

“Where was Israel sleeping the day that this man built this house and enjoyed this lovely view?” an Israeli Supreme Court judge asked her colleague.  She was speaking about Omar Hajajeh’s house as she walked in between his olive trees (escorted by several guards), taking in his hillside view of Jerusalem –a  mountainous landscape of olive and pine trees that will soon be tarnished from one side by a  five-meter high electric fence surrounding his house.  From the other side will be the barrier, separating Omar from his village of Al Walaja, which is just south of Jerusalem (half of Al Walaja lies within Israeli declared Jerusalem municipality) .  Because Omar’s house lies on the edge of Al Walaja, it is now considered to be on the “Israeli” side of the West Bank Barrier, which will encircle the entire village within the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.  The only way for him to reach his village will be through a $1.28 million tunnel that was built solely for his house.

Omar’s view of Jerusalem is not all that has been or will be tarnished.  Omar’s three young children, all under the age of twelve, currently walk two kilometers to their school; the construction of the fence, barrier, and tunnel will force Omar to make a loop and drive his children through their private tunnel and then through Al Walaja and Beit Jala in order for his children’s school day to start – a trip of forty-five minutes.  Furthermore, once all plans are implemented, Omar’s friends and family can only visit him from 6 AM until 6 PM. Under no circumstance is anyone allowed to spend the night.

Omar compares the situation to a prison with a fence, a barrier, and visiting hours.  His punishment – a life sentence for him and his family.  How exactly did these events transpire? A valid question for such an ongoing tragedy.
Negotiations between Omar’s lawyer and the Israeli Civil Administration began soon after 2008 when Israeli border patrols began throwing maps at Omar’s doorsteps, along with requisition orders to confiscate his land. The following year, an Israeli Supreme Court judge visited Omar’s house in order to see the land before determining whether it should be included within the barrier (see beginning of the article).  The judge ordered an electric fence around the house with successive electronic gates that would open one door at a time, allowing for Omar’s passage into and out of Al Walaja.
When Omar challenged this ruling, he soon witnessed a diverse set of tactics to push him out of his house.  One day four Jeeps, each with a body guard counterpart, pulled into Omar’s driveway.  Three Israeli representatives, one each from the Department of Defense, Interior, and Finance, along with the Head Engineer of the West Bank barrier offered Omar four options to resolve his case:  A government purchase of Omar’s house and land at a negotiated price; a land swap for land and a nicer house in Bethlehem “so that your friends won’t call you a traitor,” offered one representative; a business deal whereby Israelis would build hotels and businesses, and Omar would receive 40% of the earnings; finally, a business deal in which the government would rent out Omar’s land to him for 99 years.  Omar refused all four options, even when one representative tried to tempt him by saying, “Think it over with your family.  Take the money, and you’ll prosper.  Your children will live well instead of the way they do now.”
In yet another tactic to push him out, a checkpoint crept up right outside of Omar’s house.   While on his way home, the soldier at the checkpoint prevented him from entering his home under the claim that he is not a resident of Jerusalem.  Whenever friends came to visit Omar, the Israeli solider would detain them as well.  “Our house became like the Ka’aba (spiritual epicenter of Islam) for the Israeli officials” said Hakim, his eldest son of eleven years.
In 2011 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled against the electric gates for access to his land.  It was not until months later, when construction workers arrived at Omar’s doorstep to drill near his house, that Omar discovered his fate.  “What are you constructing?” Omar asked. The worker replied, “A tunnel.  Just for you.”  And so construction of the barrier and tunnel began and continues until today.
Unlike the bulldozers that the Israelis used to clear the ground for the section of the barrier farther way from Omar’s home, the Israelis exploded 1.5 tons of dynamite in the mountain to make way for the construction near his home.  Omar’s wife was home alone and was instructed five minutes before the explosion to stay in her house.  “I felt like the house moved up and down,” she said.  Damages, including large cracks in the walls and ceilings, which resulted in flooding during the winter, will cost Omar $50,000 in repairs.
Omar has three open lawsuit cases against Israeli officials on the grounds of human rights and damages to his house.  Once the building of the barrier, fence, and tunnel are complete, Omar’s thirty-six dunums of land will disappear into less than 1 dunum; his 118 olive trees will become four.

To answer the Israeli judge’s earlier question: Israel did not exist when Omar’s house was built.  “I was here since before the ocean,” Omar responded in Hebrew to the Israeli Supreme Court Judge, who mistakenly assumed that he did not understand or speak Hebrew.  Omar’s nine year-old son Anas continued his father’s thought when Israeli Channel 2 interviewed him.  When asked what imparting thoughts he would like to share with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Anas responded, “We are going to stay here.  Do whatever you would like.  We are staying.”

Note: Asma Jaber is a graduate student at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is currently completing an externship in Palestine. 

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August 12, 2012

Socially Responsible Organizing: Does Lobbying Qualify?

PITAPOLICY kicks off August with the theme: Socially Responsible Organizing and Investing.

Is Lobbying Considered Socially Responsible Organizing?

On July 25th, I participated as my blogger persona, PITAPOLICY, in the Global Voice Hall Live Pangea program.  The topic was Arab and Muslim Americans Voting in the 2012 Elections.  Its host, Guy Taylor, drew attention to Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim Americans populations, who may impact voting “swing states.” Take note that there are 1.2 million American Muslims registered to vote. This means that there is a potential power behind a diverse voting “bloc” — assuming that they’ve registered.  Such optimism brought me back to my conversation with Ambassador Maen Areikat of the PLO Delegation on a need for advocacy against Islamophobia, but the even GREATER need for lobbying if the above groups could form a coalition along secularist lines.  Ambassador Areikat touched upon three themes that pinpoint the intersection of Muslim American engagement in the U.S. and issues that Islamophobes conflate.

The first theme is a reconstructed definition of secularism.  The second draws on the experiences that face many diplomatic missions from Muslim-majority countries working in D.C. to improve international relations.  A growing number of missions and their staff highlight how they see their roles expanding from cultural, political, and economic officers to “interfaith engagement officers.”  Finally, the third draws upon the first and second themes: how to balance interests and issues via institutions that differentiate between civic engagement and formalized lobbying.

For complete story, click here for Kabobfest story:

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August 7, 2012

Socially Responsible Investing: The Arab revolution for economic integrity

PITAPOLICY kicks off August with the theme: Socially Responsible Organizing and Investing.  Last week, our first post was by a new contributor, Zena F. Itani, who attended AIDS Conference Week in Washington, DC.   On Sunday, PITAPOLICY ‘s second post reshared a piece for the EgyptSource & Huffington Post Blogs.  If you would like to add to the discussion, or address another subtheme within socially responsible organizing or SRI (Socially Responsible Investments), ping info@pitapolicyconsulting.com.

This week, PITAPOLICY is excited to welcome new contributor, but not new to the MENA writing scene, Massoud Hayoun.  Hayoun tweeted an excellent point regarding the disadvantages of focusing on tourism to rebuild economically.  Here’s a background piece by The Daily Star if you want to read more about Hayoun’s point. Although the views expressed in this article are his alone, PITAPOLICY supports the discussion Hayoun initiated and welcomes posting a rebuttal or varying viewpoint on the subject of tourism pitfalls and local employment in Tunisia.  Social responsibility must be considered regarding which sectors governments must focus on in the short to long term. 

The Arab Revolution for Economic Integrity Won’t Start at a Beach Resort

By: Massoud Hayoun

European tourists can still wear bikinis and gorge themselves on liquor at Tunisian beaches — That’s newly elected Islamist Party Ennahda’s perennial promise to the international community.

Europeans are as welcome to take a load off in Tunisia as they were, not only under ousted dictator Zine Abidine Ben Ali’s last 23 years of rule, but under imperialism, when the oft-audacious, oft-occupied North African nation was a French protectorate.

Back then, mostly naked French women, sunning themselves in Sousse were one of the more sightly reminders that Tunisia was a colony for a century — a kind of amusement park novelty for visitors from the Metropole up North. Practicing Muslim Tunisian women cooled themselves at their Mediterranean beaches at night.

Tunisian authorities are keen to see tourism figures restored to Ben Ali – and yes, colonial era – levels. With the exception of a few agricultural exports, tourism has been the nation’s cash cow in the contemporary era, after a long history as a regional trading hub.

Last month, officials lauded a 36-percent increase in tourism figures in the first quarter of 2012 as a sign that the post-revolutionary economy is recovering.

“Our objective is to recover the figures of 2010,” head of Tunisian tourism office, Habib Ammar, told AFP.

Tunisia needs money and jobs. The unemployment rate continues to hover around 20 percent. But after a revolution that started long before 2011, in the brutal crackdown and exile of political dissidents, there are no measures to welcome revolutionary developments for economic integrity.

Immediately after the revolution, the interim government worked together with international advertising company Memac Ogilvy to produce a series of absurd and embarrassing ads in Europe.

“They say that in Tunisia, some people receive heavy-handed treatment,” read a racy ad plastered on European busses, with a photo of a topless woman getting a massage.

More recently, an article in British newspaper The Sun promised, “Tunisia keeps kids busier.” The photographs associated with the piece offer a stark reminder that while people in Sidi Bouzid, the hometown of revolutionary martyr Mohammed Bouazizi, continue to struggle to make ends meet, European children practice archery, wet their backsides on waterslides and sleep in beds big enough for five average-sized Tunisians.

Tunisia is still an amusement park for Europeans, even after a clear and profound expression that Tunisian popular will favors integrity over the bad money of the corrupt Ben Ali era.

Farther East, Egypt’s revolution for integrity has not yet addressed the fact that Egyptian nationals are still barred from many resorts in tourist hot spots like Sharm El Sheikh, where tourists don’t appreciate anything about the Egyptian people or their contemporary culture.

As blogger Zeinobia points out, the fact that there are parts of Egypt where Egyptians are not welcome is a holdover, not only from ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade reign of terror, but the pre-Nasser colonial era, when the Nile was dotted with clubs for Europeans only.

An anonymous reader responded to Zeinobia’s blog, writing, “You have to understand that foreigners are not used to hassle when they are on holidays. As a foreigner we are hassled relentlessly from the moment we get up to the moment we leave.”

The user explained that the resort is a safe haven for the tourist to Egypt who fears Egyptians trying to make money off of the tourism industry with a perhaps unnerving, quintessentially Egyptian doggedness.

Although I am not especially fond of the average Parisian’s misplaced hauteur and infamously poor customer service, that does not mean there’s any place in the city that should be barred to its indigenous inhabitants.

A few times, I’ve expressed my frustration wwith the region’s chronic dependence on tourism on Twitter, to which users often respond: That’s the way it is. Tourism reigns supreme, from Marrakesh to Sharm El Sheikh.

But why? Certainly not for lack of a better option.

In an effort to bring Tunisians new enterprise — not dependent on tourists’ capricious whims and expendable incomes — Tunisian-American eBay executive Sami Ben Romdhane has famously tried to turn Tunisia into a regional Silicon Valley, drawing on the over-educated, under-employed Tunisian youth’s blossoming interest in IT.  After all, young Tunisians fueled a revolution with Twitter and Facebook.

Earlier this year, I spoke with Ben Romdhane, who said that he was originally in talks with the North African nation’s interim economic leadership, but since Ennahda came to power late last year, no one has responded to his push for an IT industry.

Ben Romdhane noted there is no policy platform for venture capital in Tunisia. Tunisian youths risk losing an entire investment if they want to start a business that could employ other young Tunisians.

Unemployment is a statistic in Tunisia, just as it is in the United States. It’s hard to see the young and hopeless faces behind it, who have studied for roughly two decades, only to graduate into a grim economy.

I recently met a young Tunisian woman, working at a Washington restaurant to support her studies in the US. She wants to be an engineer, but says there are no opportunities for her and her friends in Tunisia.

It’s disheartening to think that some governments, after such a whopper of a political movement, aren’t doing all they can to give their youth a future. If it weren’t for Tunisian youth, the long-time exiles that now run the country would be as physically removed from their country as they are in their policy-making.

Note: Massoud Hayoun is a 24-year-old North African-American writer and speaker on Middle East, North African and Chinese affairs. He has written for The Atlantic, TIME Magazine, Egypt Independent, The National Interest, AFP and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.  Follow him on Twitter @mhayoun

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August 5, 2012

Socially Responsible Option? Negotiating with Egypt’s Military Industrial Complex

PITAPOLICY kicks off August with the theme: Socially Responsible Organizing and Investing.  Our first post was by a new contributor, Zena F. Itani, who attended AIDS Conference Week in Washington, DC.   If you would like to add to the discussion, or address another subtheme within socially responsible organizing or SRI (Socially Responsible Investments), ping info@pitapolicyconsulting.com.

Negotiating with Egypt’s Military Industrial Complex

By: Mehrunisa Qayyum

Appeared on Huffington Post World on August 2nd.  Another version of this post first appeared in the Atlantic Council’s EgyptSource Blog.

Egypt’s military is large and influential is pretty much like saying “It is what it is.” This type of complacency has survived because the military tends to assume an influential role in many large powerful countries boasting a military-industrial complex, such as Turkey, China, and even the United States. We are increasingly becoming aware that the Egyptian revolution was not just about removing one authoritarian leader. Rather Egypt’s revolution will not stand for one, singular institution representing Egypt’s diverse population and needs. Three decades of a single party monopoly — whether it was a Nasser-like ‘benevolent dictator’ — or the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) resulting from a secular institution, solo, non-competitive institutions can not meet all the needs of a diverse population at the same time. Whether it is the SCAF or a Mubarak, both operate(d) as authoritarian structures since they justify holding on to power as a form of “stability” for the people. (Bashar Assad uses the same “stability” argument.) Overall, solo-acts argue for “stability” at the expense of change, which ultimately results in statism.

There is also an inherent complacency in justifying the military’s actions as a counterbalance to religious segments exerting political influence. As much as I dislike the expression “It is what it is for X, Y, Z reasons,” a pragmatic approach towards Egypt’s military might be the better way to address the argument of wanting change but not wanting change since it is unpredictable. My favorite statement “stability is needed”. If stability is needed, then only let the single biggest institution (that happens to have all the firepower) exert the most power over civil society so that they do not revolt again in with stronger force or a more powerful voice. A little further east, Pakistan experienced a similar complacency during its period of martial law, which also followed a coup. We are still not certain, nor confident, of how effective Pakistan’s military has been in addressing extremist Islamist elements within its own country, so I remain unconvinced that SCAF is a necessary evil.

The Rand Corporation released its book Prospects for Democratization in the Arab World and recommended a few policy options specific to Egypt. Rand framed many of its recommendations for Egypt, and by extension SCAF, in the context of select countries that underwent similar transitions outside of the Arab World. An example Rand provided pertained to the (now dissolved) parliament, which it recommended should negotiate with SCAF to ensure that power is rightfully returned to civil society.

Egypt, a country of about 83 million people, maintains an army of 440,000, exceeding that of Iraq’s, Iran’s, and Syria’s, with a significant portion of its forces stationed between Cairo and the Suez Canal. Regardless of the mitigating role the Camp David Accords have played limiting Egypt’s military, it is in Egypt’s pragmatic interest to employ Egyptian males between the ages of 18 and 40, who would otherwise contribute to Egypt’s unemployment problems. When Egyptians leave the military, they do so with some vocational training, which serves as an argument for significant military spending. However, the role of vocational training does not need to be relegated to the Ministry of Defense, as other Ministries could likely use military surpluses to modernize education and institutionalize their own vocational training programs.  Continue here.

Note: Follow Mehrunisa Qayyum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PITAPOLICY


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August 1, 2012

AIDS Conference in Washington, DC: AIDS Not a Myth in #MENA Region

PITAPOLICY kicks off August with the theme: Socially Responsible Organizing and Investing.  Our first post is by a new contributor, Zena F. Itani, who attended AIDS Conference Week in Washington, DC.  Itani has a Masters in Public Health and wants to address the myth that AIDS/HIV is a non-issue in the pita-consuming region.  If you would like to add to the discussion, or address another subtheme within socially responsible organizing or SRI (Socially Responsible Investments), ping info@pitapolicyconsulting.com. 

AIDS 2012: Turning the Tide on a Fast Growing Epidemic in the MENA Region

By: Zena F. Itani

Advocates from the Middle East and North Africa were among the 23,000 attendees at the 19th Biennial International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) held in Washington, DC from July 22 to 27. AIDS 2012 marked the return of the conference to the United States after 22 years as President Barack Obama lifted the country’s entry restriction on HIV positive visitors. MENA representatives, including people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), were the face of the region with the second fastest growing epidemic in the world. HIV positive delegates from Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan, Egypt and other MENA countries discussed struggles and progress in a region where new cases of HIV have increased 79% over the last decade, according to a comprehensive 2011 report issued by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Zero New Infections. Zero AIDS-related Deaths. Zero Discrimination.

While the vision of UNAIDS is being realized in some parts of the world, “getting to zero” is very much an uphill battle in the Middle East. Regionally, high risk groups include men who have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users (IDUs), sex workers, and male migrant workers. Different at-risk groups drive infection rates at the country level. For example, data from Morocco show that MSM are most at risk in one city, while IDUs drive infections in other cities. In port areas on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, sex workers, male migrant workers, and other migrant groups are at highest risk. A rising number of women are contracting HIV from their husbands, a trend that also fuels the mother-to-child transmission rate.

Beyond the startling upward trend in new HIV cases, close to 500,000 men, women, and children in the region are currently living with HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS estimates that only 8% of those infected get the treatment and care they need. AIDS-related deaths among adults and children have doubled in the last decade, even as they have leveled off in other countries, or come close to zero in the case of pediatric AIDS deaths.

Stigma and Access

The main topics of discussion at the MENA Networking Zone and the conference Regional Session were the effects of stigma and discrimination on everything from HIV testing and treatment, to data collection and civil rights. Stigma and related lack of access to HIV testing, counseling, and treatment are key drivers of the MENA epidemic. According to UNAIDS, stigma and misinformation about the disease contribute to governments and civil society organizations providing few services, at-risk groups being less able or willing to get testing, counseling and treatment, and thus, less data to inform prevention and treatment planning.

All MENA heads of state have endorsed the UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, and many have committed in regional forums to universal access to treatment, but UNAIDS reports that implementation varies widely. Government declarations often do not translated into widespread voluntary testing and counseling, or adequate prevention and treatment services.

MENA advocates are mobilizing. During the conference, thousands converged on the White House for the “We Can End AIDS March,” according to the Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Protesters included members of Think Positive, a Lebanese association that provides voluntary HIV counseling and testing, capacity building for PLWHA, and campaigns to fight “HIV + Phobia” in Lebanon and the region.

Filmmakers are also taking up the battle against stigma and discrimination. In 2011, acclaimed young Egyptian director Amr Salama released Asmaa, a film based on the true story of an HIV positive woman denied a lifesaving operation by doctors. Screened in the conference’s Global Village, the film epitomizes the struggle of PLWHA, particularly women, against stigma and discrimination in their communities, the medical system, and in their own families.

The title character is a feisty young woman from an Egyptian village who contracts HIV from her husband when he returns from serving a prison sentence. Her husband dies, and Asmaa and her infant daughter are exiled by villagers. Asmaa moves to Cairo, where she becomes part of an association of AIDS patients, a band of men and women who support each other through daily incidents of discrimination, fear, and hate. She needs a gall bladder operation, but doctors refuse to operate on her because of her status. With nothing to lose, Asmaa goes on a popular TV show to air her story and give a face to HIV/AIDS. She insists on her rights, and refuses to divulge how she contracted the virus, despite pressure from doctors and the TV producer. “I don’t have to defend my virtue to anyone,” Asmaa says, defiantly.

Asmaa’s courage and that of the filmmaker were applauded at the screening, and HIV positive conference-goers from the region came forward to say they face the same challenges every day. Many thanked the director for telling Asmaa’s story, and their own. Norhan Salama, Egyptian Training Coordinator of the International Federation of Medical Students Association, said that she uses the film in Egyptian medical schools to promote awareness and dialogue about HIV/AIDS among students who would otherwise learn next to nothing about the disease, or speak to people and families infected and affected by HIV.

The Future of HIV/AIDS in a Changing Region
Asmaa represents the direction of the epidemic in the region. More and more women are living with HIV, often exposed by male sexual partners. HIV compounds the lack of rights many women face in the Middle East. But more and more women, men who have sex with men, and others at risk are mobilizing, demanding their rights, and building capacity to provide voluntary testing, counseling, and prevention education in their communities. In an effort to organize and give voice to the increasing number of women living with HIV and AIDS, activists have started MENA Rosa, a networking group for HIV positive women that provides support and advocates to raise awareness and funds for prevention and treatment. MENA Rosa and its members know that at the root of the dearth of treatment, education, and HIV testing and counseling services in the region are stigma, gender inequities, and ignorance. As Asmaa says without faltering as she reveals her face to television audience, “I will not die of my disease, but I will die from yours.”

 

 

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