The past few days

The news from Egypt is unbearably inhumane for folks who are rooting for security and justice over there as much as for in the U.S. How many more peaceful protesters will die because of social injustice and cultural misunderstanding? How many more innocent bystanders to peaceful demonstrations will be killed, like Andrew Pochter? He is not much younger than my son and grew up near us. He mentored kids in the U.S. His reprinted letter to one of them (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/12/how-to-live-your-life-advice-from-an-american-student-who-was-killed-in-egypt/) brought me to tears as I processed the jury's verdict in the Zimmerman-Martin trial. 

Arabs and Jews want peace. They want inclusiveness, in the governing of Egypt, their most populous state, and through a Palestinian state. I was reminded of this by young people yesterday at an event held by Middle East peace advocacy organization New Story Leadership (http://www.newstoryleadership.org/), again, in our neighborhood. 

David Ignatius wrote for the July 12th Washington Post: "the Arab Muslim world must recapture the inclusive spirit [of its first centuries]....Otherwise, the broken political culture will not mend" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-recapturing-the-arab-muslim-worlds-golden-age/2013/07/12/e21d4bc8-ea68-11e2-aa9f-c03a72e2d342_story.html). 


Secularists, co-religionists, all citizens, need to share our stories and yearnings for peace, and figure out how to bring enough Egyptians, Gazans, West Bankers, other Arabs around the region, Israelis, and Americans together to tip the balance of the U.S. House and Senate and demand a Palestinian-Israeli peace treaty for two secure states. We -- in the U.S. and across the globe -- cannot bear the loss of life.

With apologies to Clint Eastwood, I have gone ahead and made my day


It's the little things that make life interesting, especially when you spend many of your days job-hunting. Today I was doing background research for a job application and I came upon a lovely passage in an article about experiential pedagogy, taken from a book of conversations between two radical educators, Myles Horton and Paolo Freire. One of Horton's reflections is retold, 
"Recalling an incident when someone criticized [Horton's] workshops at the Highlander Folk School [in Tennessee, which he co-founded], he recalls: 'All you do is sit there and tell stories.' Well, if he'd seen me in the spring planting my garden, he would've said: That guy doesn't know how to garden. I didn't see any vegetables. All I saw was him putting a little seed in the ground. He's a faker as a gardener because he doesn't grow anything...' Well he was doing the same thing about observing the workshop. It was the seeds getting ready to start, and he thought that was the whole process."

The conversations are in the book edited by Brenda Bell, John Gaventa, and John Peters, We Make the Road by WalkingConversations on Education and Social Change, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1990. 
Here's a blurry copy of the book cover, courtesy of amazon.com:
Front Cover

The quote is on p. 99. I found the quote in: "Critical Experiential Pedagogy: Sociology and the Crisis in Higher Education," on pp. 146-147, by Brian P. Kapitulik, Hilton Kelly and Dan Clawson, The American Sociologist , Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 135-158, accessed July 12, 2013, at <http://www.jstor.org.proxygwa.wrlc.org/stable/27700496>.

Reading this story makes me feel inspired and grateful for people who are patient and willing to spend time planting seeds, faithful that they will grow, or having conversation, believing that dialogue makes a difference.


Diasporic sentimentality and a real public-private partnership

In today's Washington Post an article http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/where-to-find-affordable-homes/2013/07/02/0226d3ec-df62-11e2-b94a-452948b95ca8_story.html about affordable housing in the D.C. region listed several projects. One is called "House of Lebanon." The name reflects the initial sponsor http://www.columbuspm.org/Connect_Portfolio_Lebanon.asp, Mount Lebanon Community Development Corporation http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/orgs/profile/421717077,  The D.C. government and private firms, and community-based organizations organized the financing for the senior housing project  http://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-gray-breaks-ground-house-lebanon-mixed-use-project-former-m-m-washington-career-high. One of the CBOs, Washington Interfaith Network, had a major role in advocating for the public funds and is a sister to the organization I volunteer with in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside D.C.. The country of Lebanon has possibly nothing to do with the motivation for and naming of this project, but in my inner transnational village, I make a connection, and it's great to read about all these different forces for good created affordable housing for seniors in DC.

Strongest words yet on the situation in Lebanon

...From Paul Salem, perhaps the preeminent Lebanese political analyst today.

"Lebanese Army’s Defeat of Salafists Buys Only Short Respite" in
http://carnegie-mec.org/2013/06/27/lebanese-army-s-defeat-of-salafists-buys-only-short-respite/gc95

The final paragraphs:

"Lebanon needs to be governed by cooperation and broad consensus—especially in times of acute sectarian tension. It is far better to have the opposing parties inside the government and publicly responsible for the country’s stability than to have them on the outside pursuing their own agendas without any such accountability.

The regional and international communities, as well as Lebanon’s own leaders, should realize that the latest battle east of Sidon might be one of the last warning signs before Lebanon’s eruption into widespread sectarian fighting. Indeed, the first real sparks of the long 1975–1990 Lebanese civil war took place in Sidon. Rapid action is needed."

Relational public diplomacy in the domestic and transnational public spheres

Dr. Rhonda Zaharna's latest "Culture Post" on the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy blog is spot on. It is copied below, along with my response. The URL is:
http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog_detail/culture_posts_five_critical_roles_of_the_domestic_publics_in_pd/ .

PD News – CPD Blog
CULTURE POSTS: FIVE CRITICAL ROLES OF THE DOMESTIC PUBLICS IN PD
JUN 25, 2013Posted by R.S. Zaharna
All posts by R.S. Zaharna


A previous Culture Post explored cultural assumptions about who is the ‘public’ in public diplomacy and suggested an expanded vision of “the public” that includes the domestic, diaspora, and foreign publics. Failure to see a public and the role it plays can leave a nation vulnerable to blind spots in its public diplomacy.

This Culture Post takes a closer look at five critical roles of the domestic public in public diplomacy. Because traditional public diplomacy has focused primarily on foreign publics, the role of the domestic public may have been overlooked rather than absent. In that sense, the roles may not be new. What is new is the perspective to see it.

1. Nation Branding Image & Identity 

Many nations promote their national images by showcasing their people and culture. In Thailand, it may be the people’s smiles. For Australia, it may be their easy-going spirit.

Few campaigns, however, include the domestic public in the initial design or actual implementation of the initiative. Ironically, the domestic public may have the final word on the campaign’s success or failure.

The graveyard of nation branding campaigns is filled with examples of those that died at the hands of the domestic public. The British were less than amused with “Cool Britannia.” “Sparkling Korea” didn’t sparkle for the South Korean public. The failings of “Kosovo, the Young Europeans,” were detailed in an issue of CPD Perspectives by Martin Wählisch and Behar Xharra. The € 5.7 million campaign won top foreign awards for its artistic design. Yet, it failed to engage the domestic public: “It was purely a project of the government.” The mismatch between image and identity sparked counter campaigns from the domestic public.

South Africa is a notable exception in including the public in nation branding efforts. From the outset back in 2002, the government-initiated campaign sought to “build support domestically and internationally for the South African brand” (See,Youde 2009). The Brand South Africa strategy includes a diaspora component (Global South Africans) and a domestic mobilization component to “build and sustain national pride and patriotism.”

“Play Your Part,” for example, is a recent national initiative that “encourages all South Africans to contribute to positive change in the country.”



"Neither Government Nor Business Can Solve South Africa's Challenges Alone. Play Your Part."

2. Positive Partnerships 

Domestic publics have been playing a more prominent “partnership” role in PD initiatives. “Successful foreign policy increasingly requires partnerships,” as Nicholas Cull wrote recently, “Going it alone won’t work.” He noted the addition of “partnership” to the core definition of U.K. public diplomacy.

Potential partners included business, civil society, academics, as well as prominent individuals, such as celebrities who share national public diplomacy goals. The power of partnerships adds a people-to-people dimension that can personalize an initiative as well as help extend reach and credibility.

A creative example of partnership was the British initiative Think UK, China conducted in China from April 2003 to January 2004. The initiative was promoted as a “relationship building campaign” and featured partnerships on multiple levels. For example, more than one hundred Chinese and U.K partner organizations worked together to develop and coordinated thirty in-country events. Those events featured British and Chinese scientists, sculptors and writers teaming up for public concerts, exhibitions, competitions, and discussion forums.



While domestic organizations can provide an entrée into societies where direct government activities may be unwelcomed, the political, media, and development activities of “foreign-funded” non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society have come under increased scrutiny from countries across Asia, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe. This is a PD area ripe for more research.

3. Our domestic, Their diaspora

Thanks to technology and perhaps changing attitudes about mobility, immigrant and diaspora populations are becoming increasing visible and active in public diplomacy. Immigrant populations play an important bridge-building role as the domestic public of one country and the diaspora of another country.

When the earthquake struck Haiti in early 2010, Canada turned to the Haitian diaspora to help spearhead rebuilding efforts. As the dated picture below shows, these bridging efforts began early.



U.S. public diplomacy has also reached out to the diaspora within its borders through “International Diaspora Engagement Alliance” or IdEA. Among the many roles diasporas play is providing information during crisis situations in other countries.



Diaspora publics are also playing a role in building bridges with publics whom the U.S. public diplomacy is trying to reach.



One can see from the Somali flag (below) why the color and star of the “I am a Star” campaign carries symbolism for Somali-Americans.



4. Adversarial Strategic Stakeholders

However, not all of the roles played by the domestic public are positive. The domestic public may include adversarial strategic stakeholders who actively work against a PD initiative. Stakeholders are individuals or groups who feel they have a stake or interest in the key issue (environment, human rights, etc.) of a PD initiative. Strategic stakeholders have the potential to advance as well as threaten or undermine a PD initiative. It is critical that they be accounted for in the public diplomacy calculus.



Attempts to dismiss or discredit a strategic domestic stakeholder may be counter-productive, especially if the groups have greater perceived credibility than the government. Such attempts may also backfire by inadvertently triggering a defense reaction in the domestic or foreign publics. The most difficult, but perhaps best approach is to identify and anticipate adversarial stakeholders and creatively work them into the initiative – before the initiative is launched.

5. Expand the Policy Bandwidth

A fifth but not final role, has to do with the “P” word: policy. As the lines between domestic and international become increasingly blurred, domestic publics are finding the impact of foreign policy hitting closer to home. Policy debates are no longer neatly divided between domestic and foreign. The domestic public may play an important role in expanding a nation’s policy bandwidth.

Some countries specifically target the domestic public to educate them and bring them into a nation’s foreign policy dialogue.

When Japan joined peace keeping efforts in Iraq, public diplomacy efforts included a third pillar to promote better understanding of the Middle East among the Japanese public. The Japan Foundation held a series of cultural events, including bringing the Iraqi soccer team to Japan.



Nearly a decade ago, Canada sought to engage its domestic public in a “Dialogue on Foreign Policy.” Other countries, including China, Finland, India and Nigeria, have developed policy dialogues specifically on public diplomacy. The effort of these and other countries were documented in a 2012 report "Domestic Public Diplomacy” by theAustralian Institute of International Affairs.

Active PD Participants

The traditional focus on foreign publics as the critical public in public diplomacy may have inadvertently fostered a view of the domestic public as “passive observers” in a nation’s public diplomacy. As is hopefully evident in this Culture Post, the critical roles played by the domestic public suggest that they are active PD participants.

Looking ahead, much more attention is needed to understand the variety of publics and their roles – both positive and negative – in public diplomacy. To that end, I am thinking of the next circle on the PD relational sphere … the role of diaspora publics.
Read Comments (1) | Add Your Own



Comments
Debbie Trent on June 26, 2013 @ 5:27 am
This Culture Post strengthens the argument to ground policy more in policy dialogues between government and all domestic publics, including diasporan individuals and diaspora organizations. Global southern (e.g., India, Brazil) and smaller nations (e.g., Israel, Liberia, Armenia, Greece) have long recognized the importance of relationships across their domestic and transnational publics in calculating national interests, shaping national identity and crafting national brand. Global northern countries, especially since the early 2000s, have focused on relationship-building with their diverse domestic publics. The idea, anyway, in this "public diplomacy at home," is to engage these publics inclusively in order to inform foreign, transnational, and domestic policy and to address their concerns and demands. In the U.S., through the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) that Professor Zaharna cites, the U.S. Department of State and Agency for International Development have for three years convened the Global Diaspora Forum. The cross-sector socioeconomic and advocacy partnerships that have emerged or been strengthened by this forum are impressive, especially given the modest USG investment. I noticed at the May, 2013 forum that it is also a space for deliberation about political differences. As we study the relational sphere of public diplomacy (and there is a substantial overlap with development, too), we should examine how working through conflicting issues builds relationships at least as much as cooperating on shared interests. We should evaluate how public-private partnerships like IdEA and the Global Diaspora Forum stretch the resources of government. We should explore the capacities of citizen-based civil society mediating institutions to foster the light touch of relational public diplomacy and development. These areas of inquiry support alternatives to violent conflict and deeper public indebtedness.

Transnational identity-making...

The uptick in Syrian migration to the U.S. is an example of transnational identity-making among Americans of Syrian, Lebanese, and other Arab descent. Thanks to Charlotte Alfred and Al-Monitor for this article http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/arab-americans-forefathers-little-syria-new-york.html, the Arab American National Museum, and many individuals who celebrate the culture and history of the region and its history there and in the U.S.!

Arab-Americans Discover
Forefathers in Little Syria

Syrian Quarter in New York City between circa 1910-1915. (photo by Library of Congress)
  
    
  


By: Charlotte Alfred for Al-Monitor Posted on June 11.
When Carl Antoun, a young Lebanese-American, had bugged his grandmother enough times about her past, she directed him to a long-abandoned closet in their basement in New York.

About This Article

Summary :
Since the uprisings, more Syrians are arriving in the United States and finding that they have a long and rich history in New York City.
Author: Charlotte AlfredPosted on: June 11 2013
Categories : Originals  Syria  
“There was this steamer trunk, and on the side of it was written: '1662 Washington St.' I opened it and found hundreds of pictures, documents and postcards, all perfectly preserved,” Antoun recalled.
He had unearthed part of the lost history of Little Syria, the first Arab-American neighborhood established in the 1880s. Located near the site of ground zero in lower Manhattan, the first wave of immigrants from the Ottoman Empire lined Washington Street with new businesses, newspapers, and music and literary studios.
The grandfather of Antoun’s 94-year-old grandmother had arrived in New York from Lebanon in 1890, setting up a business that imported silk, jewelry and dry goods from Latin America through the nearby New York docks.
Antoun, 22, is now part of a movement pushing to put Little Syria back on the map. He co-founded the Save Washington Street campaign, which is lobbying to landmark the cluster of remaining buildings in Little Syria.
After Antoun put much of the contents of his grandmother’s trunk online, former Little Syria residents and their families have started sending him their own mementos from the neighborhood for his collection.
Local scene in Little Syria, New York, circa 1910-1915. Picture courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The Arab American National Museum in Michigan has also pulled together artifacts from former residents, and dug up archive music recordings, documents and press cuttings to create an immersive portrait of the neighborhood. The exhibition was recently shown next to Little Syria itself, and is currently traveling around the United States.
“Most Arab-Americans were as surprised to learn about Little Syria as others were,” said Elizabeth Barrett Sullivan, who curated the exhibition. “People are definitely excited that these stories are finally being told, stories that had been completely forgotten.”
Physically, most of the neighborhood was knocked down by the building of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in the 1940s and the World Trade Center in the 1960s. Many residents were displaced; others had already moved on to more spacious parts of Brooklyn, Atlantic Avenue and later Bay Ridge.
“Brooklyn was seen as a step up, you could get more bang for your buck,” said community historian Mary Ann DiNapoli, 60, whose grandfather worked on Washington Street as an elevator operator. Other Little Syria residents moved across New York and to other states across the United States.
DiNapoli, of Syrian and Lebanese heritage, rediscovered Little Syria for herself when the church she had attended on Washington Street, St. George Melkite Church, became the first and only official landmark in the neighborhood in 2009.
At a hearing a few weeks before the vote by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, she heard testimonies from former residents, historians and architects, and became enamored with the tales of a close-knit community that was both multiethnic and an Arab cultural hub.
“It’s strange that there are millions of people across the country who are descendants of Little Syria,” said Todd Fine, who set up Save Washington Street with Antoun. “But they might never think about it.”
There are many reasons why the street faded from popular memory. Fine said that when the United States moved to restrict immigration between 1924 and 1965, continuity was lost, and traditions disappeared. Historians describe the first arrivals from the Ottoman Empire as being socially mobile and keen to assimilate. The majority were Christian, easing their integration. Moreover, Fine said, after the creation of Israel, “being visibly Arab became a liability,” further pushing Arab-American heritage into basements.
“The community did less to create a narrative than other ethnic groups,” he said.
For Antoun, this created a visceral gap in his own history. “My Jewish and Italian friends all have places they can say, there’s our area. But people from Lebanon and Syria don’t have anywhere like that,” he said. “There’s been nothing tangible to memorialize this history.”
New Generation

Today, New York’s Arab-American population is estimated to be between 250,000 and 300,000, according to Sarab al-Jijakli, president of the Network of Arab-American Professionals. Recent immigrants from the Levant — Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine — are strongest in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, whereas North Africans tend to head to Astoria, Queens.
“It is important for us as a community to assert that our presence did not start at 9/11, we’ve been contributing to the country for over 100 years,” Jijakli, 37, said.
Fine said that 9/11 was “such a shock that it affected people psychologically on a deep level, hearing psychotic racist stuff on the news had a big effect on young people. And now they tend to want to tell their stories.”
And in a social media age, this is easier than ever.
“Things spread quickly in our generation,” noted Norah Arafeh, a 21-year-old history student who joined the Save Washington Street campaign as outreach director, as she described working Facebook "like crazy" to drum up interest in the initiative.
The campaign itself started when Antoun found YouTube clips of Fine talking about Little Syria, and they started messaging via the video platform. Antoun said their online petition to preserve Washington Street gathered “hundreds of comments of people saying, I’m Lebanese-American. They were learning that they do have a history here for the first time.”
“There is a gap between the fourth and fifth generation and Arab-Americans of the past 30 years,” Jijakli said. “The new community has to rediscover it for themselves. There is an intense curiosity around this.”
Among Antoun’s friends, “the more recent immigrants think [the campaign is] the most interesting thing in the world. They have no idea that they are not new here,” he said.
“The older ones don’t think about it as much, they just don’t know, there’s no footprint, and they never really had a passion for it.”
Arafeh’s father, who came to New York from Syria when he was 17 years old, told her, "I've learned so much about Arab American history through you."
As Arafeh explains it, while her parents’ generation quietly respects their heritage, younger people are “looking to assert our identity, to assert ourselves in a changing world, especially for Muslim Americans … to say we made a contribution to New York.”
That contribution rolls on until today. Sahadi’s Fine Foods, a Brooklyn institution and one of the last historic Arab businesses on Atlantic Avenue, was first started on Washington Street by Lebanese immigrant Abraham Sahadi in 1895.
Abraham’s great-nephew, Charlie Sahadi, 69, currently runs the retail and wholesale company, which now employs 70 people. He sent some of his artifacts to the Little Syria exhibition. “It’s the history that got us here,” he said.
The Sahadis still import about a container of goods a year from Syria via Lebanon — including mint, sumac and other spices particular to the area, despite tightened import procedures since 9/11 and difficulties after the Syrian uprising.
Modern Syria is also causing some problems for the campaign.
Antoun said some members of the Lebanese community — after decades of painful history between the modern countries — said, "we don’t want anything to do with it if it’s called Little Syria.”
“They see the word Syria and they freak out,” he said.
The Syrian designation is historical. At the turn of the 19th century, immigrants from modern-day Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria — then ruled by the Ottoman Empire — were all labeled Syrians by US immigration officials, and their neighborhood was called the Syrian Quarter.
As various national identities developed, the Arab-American community wrestled with self-identification and America’s race classifications, with the term Lebanese at times used as a rejection of “Arab” identity.
The spiraling violence in Syria today also tends to dominate the attention of Arab-Americans. “This is a life and death situation, which takes focus away from such historical campaign,” Jijakli noted.
But Arafeh is passionate that it is a mistake to overlook history. “Everyone is looking to the future, what will happen with Egypt, Palestine, Syria; no one gives a cop about history. But ultimately we’ll have nothing if we don’t respect our heritage,” she said.
Meanwhile, the timing could not be more relevant than ever for the Syrian population in the United States.
Since the uprisings, more Syrians are arriving in the United States, or getting permission to stay after the government applied Temporary Protected Status to Syrians in 2012, Jijakli observed.
This contrasts with recent decades, when Syrians had more difficulty immigrating to the United States than other nationalities because of poor relations between the countries, he said.
Jijakli’s own family is Syrian, and the Little Syria exhibition had a strong impact on him.
In the background of a photograph of a Washington Street banquet in the 1940s, he noticed the ribbons of the American flag and beside it the Syrian flag of independence.
“It amazed me the relationship these folks had with the mother country, the same as we do today. We have this feeling of being caught between two worlds, and it was all there then,” he recounted. “We’ve only started to scratch the surface of the impact Little Syria had on our community. It opens up immense opportunities to understand ourselves.”
Antoun hopes it could also help others to understand Arab-Americans better. “Maybe if Americans of other backgrounds could see something Arab or Middle Eastern here, they won’t shun it anymore,” he reflected. “They’ll realize that they were here when my Jewish or Irish ancestors were here … they’re people like us.”
Charlotte Alfred is a freelance journalist and former editor at Ma'an News Agency. On Twitter: @charlottealfred


Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/arab-americans-forefathers-little-syria-new-york.html#ixzz2W5ysuzJ1

Sharing Diverse Culinary Traditions for Mutual Understanding-My Kind of Politics!

I admire folks who reach across the table to share their cooking and their cultural diversity.

http://www.haaretz.com/culture/food-wine/in-south-tel-aviv-african-migrants-help-israelis-acquire-a-taste-for-their-neighbors.premium-1.529412?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhatsNewInPd+%28What%27s+New+in+Public+Diplomacy%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#When:19:56:10Z

Thanks, again, to USC's PDiN for this link!

In south Tel Aviv, African migrants help Israelis acquire a taste for their neighbors

Kitchen Talks, a unique cultural exchange dreamed up by two artists/activists, brings together the culinary skills of African migrants with the curiosity and hunger of Israelis.

By 

Dafna Arad

Jun.12, 2013 | 7:49 PM 

2

Kitchen Talks

During a Kitchen Talks meal, instructors share recipes and their personal stories.

Photo by David Bachar

THIS STORY IS BY

Dafna Arad

RELATED TAGS

Israel food

David Bachar

Yemane, a cook from Eritrea, teaches participants of Kitchen Talks about his culture's culinary traditions.

Photo by David Bachar

Yael Ravid and Goor Somer

Participants in Kitchen Talks learn quickly to discard the utensils and eat as their instructors do.

Photo by Yael Ravid and Goor Somer

As Israel engages in a tumultuous debate over what to do about African migrants, other conversations, more personal and friendly, are taking place between Israelis and asylum seekers. As part of a social art project called Sihot Mitbah (Kitchen Talks), which takes place every weekend in Tel Aviv, African migrants give cooking workshops to groups of curious Israelis.

The people behind the project are Yael Ravid and Goor Somer, both in their early 30s. For more than a year Ravid, an artistic photographer, has volunteered at the Soup4Lewinsky project, which brings hot, nutritious meals every day to homeless asylum seekers living in Levinski Park. Kitchen Talks is her graduation project for her studies in curating at the Contemporary Cultural Center in Tel Aviv in cooperation with Kibbutzim College. Somer’s first encounter with migrants and meals was held on the last World Refugee Day, in connection with the first Sudanese restaurant in Israel. 

The two have recruited workshop instructors from across the African continent: Claudine of the Ivory Coast, who caters out of her home for events and for the embassy; a Nigerian woman, who runs a restaurant near the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station; Hassan, a well-known cook in the Darfur community, and Yemane, from Eritrea.

“We tell them it’s a project for bringing people together," says Ravid of the participants, who heard of the initiative by word of mouth, spread from a library in South Tel Aviv, kindergartens, restaurants and human-rights groups. The price for the vegetarian workshop in NIS 130, says Ravid, and the cooks are paid for their work. 

"Every recipe taught in the course is translated into the cook’s native language and into Hebrew," says Ravid. "The result is that there are recipes in Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic, French and Hebrew.”

“As a resident of south Tel Aviv, I live near [the African migrants], but I don’t get to meet them regularly,” Somer says. “I work in a cafe in Jaffa myself, and it’s not always comfortable for me to approach the dishwasher and sit down to talk with him. The environment we live in creates a situation of distance. Some of the workshop participants are already convinced from the political perspective, but others come because they are curious about the cuisine and can learn about it only in south Tel Aviv. Not everyone finds it easy to go there — there’s stigma, fear, pity or disgust. We try to create a setting where people can learn new information and become free of those tensions.”

The unease and unfamiliarity sometimes manifests itself in the preparation of the food. 

“We had one meeting where the meal was supposed to be fish, and we were told that the fish would be baked in the oven for an hour,” says Somer. “All the Israelis, who came with some cooking knowledge, said, ‘What are you talking about? Put a fish in the oven for that long and it will burn. We’ll have dried-out fish!’ I asked them to wait and listen to the instructor. When the fish came out of the oven, it was delicious, not dry at all, with soft flesh and a crunchy skin.”

Last month, many people in south Tel Aviv were dismayed when an inspector from the local district branch of the Health Ministry poured bleach into pots containing a great deal of food, in a Sudanese restaurant in Neve Sha’anan, part of a raid by police and municipal inspectors on illegal businesses owned by African immigrants. 

“After the raid, one of the cooks who worked with us said he was tired of working with Israelis and left the project,” Ravid said. “We tried to tell him that this was an opportunity to meet with people outside the loathsome system of the situation we live in.”

Chopping onions and crying

Last Saturday, the instructor was 26-year-old Yemane from Eritrea, who wore an Angry Birds t-shirt and Sketchers sneakers. The project’s participants met in a member’s apartment and cooked keih tesebhi, a spicy tomato sauce with a hard-boiled egg and three tablespoons of berbere spice mix, and hamli kosta, a dish made of root vegetables and chard. Since the workshop hosts are vegetarians, the food is as well, though Yemane says he enjoys meat.

During the first hour, Yemane walks among the participants, who have been chopping and grating enthusiastically, checking whether they added too much garlic or parsley. All eyes are on him as he demonstrates his technique for cooking carrots or peeling an egg (he strikes it on the countertop and rolls it). The participants chop onions, chat and laugh as their eyes tear up. When it's time to stir the pots, the participants approach slowly and ask delicately about life in Eritrea, the journey to Israel, Yemane's relationship with other migrants, his dreams and his day-to-day life.

Yemane answers patiently in fluent Hebrew, confessing his love for schnitzel and mashed potatoes and talking about his family. He says he came to Israel five years ago before the fences were built and receives a work permit every few months.

“In the first workshops, we sat with individual plates and silverware," said Somer. "We saw that Claudine was picking up the food with her fingers, so we put down the silverware and followed her lead. Yemane served the injera bread at the first meeting on individual plates. By the second meeting, it was clear that there are three people to every loaf of injera, and you eat only with your right hand. That’s how it’s done.

“The first time we tasted egusi in a Nigerian restaurant, I had a hard time with the taste," said Somer. "The second time, when we prepared it together and I got to know the ingredients (beef and melon), I understood what made up this new flavor and I could enjoy it. These are acquired tastes. Not everything is delicious right away.”

The meal is the exhibit

At the project’s seventh meeting, Ravid told the participants how food workshops connect to art. 

“I was searching for a way to do social art that had an ongoing influence, not a finished product or a beginning, a middle and an end," she said. "The model of the art world can be applied to these meetings. The kitchen is the space. The meal is the exhibit. The one-man show belongs to Yemane, at center stage, and the audience participates in the creation. This could be called performance art or display art.”

Asked whether the format is in some way a reaction to the current Israeli culinary climate, which has become rather sophisticated in the past few years, Somer says the response is actually broader than that.

“It’s more of a reaction against what’s happening in society," he says. "The Israeli culinary scene is not all that open. It classifies certain cuisines by their profitability or the possibility of social expression. Haute cuisine in Israel usually means European cuisine, with some openness to the Far East. Palestinian haute cuisine has become recognized only in the past few years. Before that, there were 'Eastern restaurants' that served kebab and salads.

“It’s hard to find good African restaurants in Israel," he says. "One reason is the way people think about the population. The refugees are pushed to the margins like something menacing, dangerous, temporary and shallow. We have thousands of Africans in Tel Aviv. We can be curious about their culture and get to know it. We have an opportunity to treat them like human beings who come with a whole world that includes a fascinating culture.” 

The Industrial Areas Foundation's Diaspora Caucus in the United Kingdom

The Industrial Area Foundation (IAF), founded by Saul Alinsky in the mid-20th century in the U.S., is a citizen leadership development network with affiliate faith- and community-based institutions around the U.S. and abroad. Alinsky built the IAF on the foundation of one-to-one, relational meetings from which citizen leadership, power, and social equity emerge.

In the UK, I have just noticed a "Diaspora Caucus," organized among immigrant communities to improve their quality of life and connections with their non-migrant, fellow residents. See http://www.citizensuk.org/campaigns/citizens-uk-diaspora-caucus/ for an introductory video. It has a melodic ending, too.

I wonder if the IAF movement might have resonance in the Middle East? It's inter-faith and about as democratic as a civil society organization can be. I wonder if the American Friends Service Committee, Search for Common Ground, or another organization might be interested in engaging with them? Or the Syrian Rights Observatory in the UK?

Call for unofficial, citizen diplomacy

Here is an essay by two former diplomats about the possibility of stronger relations between the Iranian and American people. If governments can't work together effectively, at least the citizens can have a go at it, and often with great long-term benefits, as they argue.
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/let-iranians-talk-to-americans-1.1167469?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhatsNewInPd+%28What%27s+New+in+Public+Diplomacy%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#When:06:22:40Z

Thanks as always to "USC's Public Diplomacy in the News." 

On the edge of nationwide strife?

This article -- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2298080/Peace-Lebanon-dangles-thread-Prime-Minister-resigns-amid-political-crisis.html?ito=feeds-newsxml -- suggests that war is eminent in Lebanon, although one or two mentions of interviews with Lebanese indicate that the PM resigning is fairly expected and normal. I have been comparing the English-language Lebanese press (Daily Star and An-Nahar) and their coverage leans more toward the latter. Let's hope for that. Al-Monitor, though, recently published a piece by Jean Aziz (who also writes for the liberal-leaning Al Akhbar of Lebanon) -- http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/lebanon-enters-government-vacuum.html comparing Miqati's resignation -- which is widely reported as because he couldn't get the Cabinet to agree to extend the ISF chief's tenure past March -- and the lack of parliament's passage of an election law for the upcoming general elections, to the months before the Taif agreement, then the Doha agreement. Failing outside intervention in passing an election law and without a strong, credible ISF chief, Lebanon could tumble internally, the article suggests. It concludes with a question about whether the Lebanese people themselves come up with an agreement. It's hard to know how to assess the situation from over here, and not reading the Arabic media. I hope for Lebanese civil society activists across the diverse political and confessional landscape to be at the table. I wish I had time to monitor their activism. 'Rooting for you, Lubnan!

Please, please, please, not again

The situation in Lebanon, with the number of Syrian refugees estimated to be in the range of  220,000-350,000 (http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php) has continued to fester. Reports of Syrian child soldiers, rape, early marriages to protect daughters, severe malnutrition and depression, are increasing. Lebanese, people around the Middle East, and across the diaspora continue to fear another war. An example of the growing concern, with some Sunni Muslim leaders in Lebanon feeling ready to battle Hizbullah forces (that support the Syrian presidency and army) within Lebanon, is reported in  today's New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/world/middleeast/lebanons-sunnis-gird-for-a-fight.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 .

Governments need to engage their public diplomacy networks to listen, understand, and take concrete policy steps to quell the Syrian war and the increasing stirrings of war in Lebanon. The world is waiting for diplomatic negotiation to work. I hope that the USG and other UN Security Council and Arab League member states pause, convene, and reflect on what another civil war in Lebanon would look like -- how disastrous it would be. Public diplomacy -- abroad and at home -- is what's needed to inform USG and other stakeholder states' policies so that they are credible. If they are credible to all in the global networks of key stakeholders, then the explaining part of public diplomacy will directly support nonviolent peacebuilding. The global stakeholders include Hizbullah, Salafi Muslims, Maronite and Orthodox Christians, Druze, Israelis -- their political leaders must be at the table with UNSCR. Today. We have reached a crisis in Lebanon that will only make the war in Syria last longer. Please, let's not wait. From experience, we have a good idea of what will happen without emergency, all-inclusive intervention.

Today is a political anniversary day in Lebanon, a reminder of what Lebanon has been through and how the US and Lebanon have a shared interest in peace there:


Anniversary of Lebanon's Cedar Revolution


Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 14, 2013


Today marks the eighth anniversary of Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution, when the Lebanese people took to the streets to peacefully demonstrate and demand a sovereign and democratic country free from foreign interference and to call for the truth behind the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others.
The Lebanese people continue to face challenges as they work to ensure a stable, sovereign, and independent state that unifies all Lebanese. As Lebanon prepares for its parliamentary elections, we call on all parties to reject the use of violence and to resolve their differences peacefully and at the ballot box, consistent with the Lebanese constitution. Lebanon’s democratic process is a valuable achievement, and we urge Lebanon and its leaders to uphold their commitment to this process and hold elections on time.
The United States steadfastly supports the people of Lebanon and their advance toward a sovereign, stable, independent, and prosperous Lebanon.


PRN: 2013/0288

Interested in "diaspora diplomacy" ?

Recently, Clingendael, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, published a Discussion Paper that resulted from some of my dissertation fieldwork. It's called: "American Diaspora

Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Policy and Lebanese Americans" and is downloadable for free at

http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2012/20121206_discussionpaperindiplomacy_125_trent_beveiligd.pdf

Feedback will be much appreciated, and I am always looking to connect with folks with similar research interests :-) .

From one of the most respected international statesmen alive...

Ambassador Clovis Maksoud's writing, teaching, and diplomatic practice are a deep wellspring of knowledge. I believe he is around 90, still busy at American University and as a journalist for several media outlets. From him I have learned a lot about the meaning of diversity in the Middle East. He has witnessed so much of the last century's suffering, only occasionally seasoned with diplomatic success by Middle Eastern, U.S. and other governments. Maksoud always keeps the local citizen at the center of his analysis. See this current example: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/a-painful-sight-of-a-majority-of.html .

More on "Argo"

This essay http://blog.heritage.org/2013/03/01/argo-oscar-win-infuriates-iran-but-the-iranian-people-think-otherwise/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhatsNewInPd+%28What%27s+New+in+Public+Diplomacy%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#When:00:34:54Z on "Argo" is in a recent issue of "The Foundry." It opposes my perspective in my previous posting that Mrs. Obama's involvement in the presentation of the film's Oscar award, citing the film's popularity among Iranians. It also suggests that "Argo" is effective public diplomacy. Hmmm. Soft power, yes, but I think this suggestion is an example of conflating cross-cultural internationalism and PD.

Unusually, the first lady makes a mistake

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama did a disservice to U.S. credibility among Iranians and other global publics who may have disliked the Hollywood film, "Argo." For example, see  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/angry-iranian-reaction-argo-best-picture-oscar-win.html .

Celebvocacy is one thing, but putting Mrs. Obama, already dressed in an evening gown to attend the WH dinner for the nation's governors occurring at the same time the Oscars award ceremony on the 24th, up to the task of awarding the best picture award to "Argo" only jammed another wedge between the U.S. and the Iranian people. The White House's endorsement of the film's message of American triumphalism was not a gesture that will endear  more Iranians to the U.S. Was one of the decision factors at the WH that big Hollywood donors will be more endeared to the Democratic party?

As the Al-Monitor news story observes, the Iranian government -- and people -- now have more evidence that the American media holds great sway in the WH and probably not such good taste, either. From my living room couch, watching "Argo" instead of the Oscars, the film seemed merely okay. Good piece of filmmaking, but lacking in character development (except for that of Tony Menendez). It also oversimplifies American culture and insulted the CIA and other personnel portrayed in the film as drinking, smoking, swearing, and subservient.  


"Within the Eye of the Storm"

Dear People,


Perhaps you have heard about the film, "Within the Eye of the Storm" -- about an Israeli and a Palestinian, two fathers who each lost a daughter to occupation-related gun violence. They became connected through an organization in Jerusalem called "Combatants for Peace," which privileges dialogue in bringing peace to the region. The film shows how in the space of two hours, in a discussion between the Israeli and members of al-Aqsa Brigade in Jenin, telling stories of their loved ones being killed transformed their fear of each other into shared purpose and identity. I believe this film is an example of the kind of dialogue that's needed, among civil society leaders, who are doing what they can because political leaders won't. 

Anyway, the Israeli and Palestinian fathers, along with the filmmaker, are in DC for a few more days. The showing of the film, and Q & A, are free and the schedule is at http://www.peacexpeace.org/ 

This is news to keep you inspired and informed. Relational, inclusive dialogue is the best way to make social change, as you know :-) .

Debbie

Cross-cultural Advice

From "PD in the News" on 20 February 2013:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/why-the-brits-are-better-than-us-at-business-in-india-20130219-2epeg.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhatsNewInPd+%28What%27s+New+in+Public+Diplomacy%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#When:19:04:27Z


Why the Brits are better than us at business in India

Date
Category
Opinion

Stephen Manallack

Australians should look at how the UK manages the subcontinent's culture and values.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is not only leading his country's biggest ever trade mission to India, including Rolls-Royce and BP, he is also showing how to mix business and politics by announcing faster business visas, lifting of limits on Indian students and promoting cultural links.
In the federation that is Australia, our biggest missions are now led by state premiers and while the numbers are great, the political level lacks real clout. Cameron's mission is diverse - businesses large and small, soccer's Premier League, universities and the British Museum are all there, along with four senior government ministers. It will be noticed, even in busy India.
In recent years, record numbers of Australian business leaders have headed to India with high hopes. The Victorian government, for example, has its second ''super trade mission'' going in March with substantial financial support for attendees. But even though their numbers match the UK team, will they be noticed?
The answer is yes, but not at the same level. One reason is the shifting view in India as Indian companies expand globally, with icons such as Jaguar and Land Rover now in Indian hands. A growth in confidence and the fact that ''the world is knocking on their door'' mean they do not take notice of every new visitor.

British success in India has been based on high levels of cultural sensitivity and most trade missions only follow substantial cross-cultural awareness programs and preparation. For example, delegates are fully aware that the Indians they meet have acceptance of change hard-wired into their psyche - they thrive on it. These delegates also know Indians are less specific in plans and contracts, which can be disturbing for newcomers.
Trade mission leaders need to go with something concrete to offer and while our premiers make a good go of this, the best offerings come from Canberra.
Through close levels of contact, the British are prepared for the speed of modern India - yes, it is still true that lots of things take twice as long over there, but in the new India some business activities happen at the speed of light. Businesses need to go prepared to deliver on a product or service right now, not just having some idea for a future opportunity.
British missions often include some element of philanthropy, while our own record has been patchy - some philanthropy but not every time. The Indian business leaders these missions meet have built generosity into their personal and business life - typically they rate people issues and community above share price as priorities - and choose to do business with others who share their view.
Ratan Tata, who recently stepped down as chairman of Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate, summed up this generosity: ''Some foreign investors accuse us of being unfair to shareholders by using our resources for community development. Yes, this is money that could have made for dividend payouts, but it also is money that's uplifting and improving the quality of life of people in the rural areas where we operate and work. We owe them that.''
Although we see the British as formal and stuffy, in India they show the capacity to go with the flow and quickly tune in to ''Indian time'' and the flexibility that requires - while it is true that too many Australian missions fill their days with appointments and reduce flexibility.
Another adaptation that works well for the British missions is their culturally acquired sense of diplomacy and politeness, which they take to higher levels in India. The Indian culture is one that is often offended or at least misunderstands blunt communication - a challenge for our cultural background.
Indian culture provides masses of room for nonconformists, and so too does Britain. Diversity of dress, styles of doing business and personal contact are to be expected over there. Your host might want to talk about diet or spirituality instead of your product and it is wise (and fun) to go with the flow. Our Aussie ''tall poppy syndrome'' makes nonconformity increasingly rare and we are just not used to it.
For all that, Australian missions whether state or national do generate substantial business and contribute to closer relationships with this powerful neighbour.
India's nonconformity is supported by a ''can do'' belief and many find success there - as more Australians head over there with optimism, India's great thinker Tagore can be your inspiration: ''You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.''
Stephen Manallack is a cross-cultural adviser and author of Soft Skills for a Flat World.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/why-the-brits-are-better-than-us-at-business-in-india-20130219-2epeg.html#ixzz2LRTJwYOG

 

© Deborah L. Trent 2024