Friday, August 12, 2016

Rio and Beyond: Bahrain

Now here is a country I know something about. Quite a lot, actually, from a human rights standpoint. While I have never visited this tiny island country in the Persian Gulf, I have worked with groups from there and have helped Bahraini human rights activists.

Bahrain has won a single bronze medal in its Olympic history, after a gold medal was stripped from another runner for a doping scandal. Neither of these runners were Bahraini. This is kind of typical of Bahrain. Immigrants, who do not have citizenship rights, make up more than half of the population. South and Southeast Asians make up about 45%, as Indians, Pakistanis, and others come over to work. Other Arabs make up the next largest group, with Africans coming next. There are also about 4000 Americans, most of whom work in the oil or defense industries.

The way Bahrain treats its migrant workers (not the Americans) is appalling. They are abused, denied basic rights, sometimes enslaved, sometimes murdered. The abuse still continues despite attempts at reform and changing attitudes among young Bahrainis. The country has improved enough in this area to be removed from the State Department's human trafficking watch list, but abuse continues.

However, it might not compare to how the government treats the human rights activists and the Shia. Arbitrary arrest for made up crimes is common. Torture is systemic. Here are some heroes who have been imprisoned by the authoritarian regime:

Nabeel
Nabeel Rajab is suffering from health issues while in solitary confinement, imprisoned for tweets. Yes, tweets. He has been in and out of jail for years now for being critical of the government. He is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Zainab
The al-Khawaja family. Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested for tearing up a picture of the king and posting "offensive" tweets. She recently fled Bahrain after being freed from jail. Her sister Maryam has also spent time in prison. Their father, Abdulhadi is currently serving a life sentence for participating in pro-democracy protests during the Bahrain Uprising. He has suffered torture and sexual abuse and once had a four hour operation to repair his smashed face using bone from his skull to graft his jaw together, as it was beyond repair. Abdulhadi is a former president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Nazeeha Saeed is charged with the crime of journalism. They called it something like "working with international media."

Sheikh Ali Salman was arrested for "inciting violence and hatred," meaning he complained about discrimination against Shia. He once was exiled for daring to call for the restoration of the constitution and parliament. He returned under an amnesty deal but they arrested and tortured him anyway. He remains in prison.

There are more of course. Too many.

The Shia are actually the majority in this country where 70% of the population is Muslim. The ruling monarchy is Sunni and discriminates against the majority, often denying them housing, healthcare, and jobs. There are ongoing protests in Duraz by Shia over the arrest of Shia clerics (for being Shia) that have continued for more than two months but are not mentioned on American news. The protests began after Bahrain revoked the citizenship of prominent Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, for being Shia. I mean, that's what it boils down to. The government has not been nice. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes with security forces, and a recent internet shutdown has prevented the protestors from communicating. Sheikh Maytham Al Salman is the latest cleric to be called for questioning. He is a free expression advocate and internationally recognized for his work on interfaith dialogue. This brave man is working to counter violence and extremism in the Middle East, but the monarchy, which is Sunni (maybe secret supporters of ISIS?), finds that threatening. They, of course, blame everything on Iran.

Bahrain routinely either takes a person's passport so he can't leave the country, or worse, strips his citizenship, so he is unable to go anywhere or get the benefits provided by the state. More than 200 Bahrainis were stripped of their citizenship last year.

What is happening in Bahrain is horrific. That the United States stands by and says nothing is nothing short of spitting on the human rights it claims to stand for. But our Saudi BFF would never stand for the US hurting its Sunni neighbor. Which just makes us hypocrites.

It's time for sanctions against Bahrain.

Facts
Capital: Manama
Major cities: none
Population: 11 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 35
Medals in history: 1 bronze
Languages spoken: Arabic, English
Heroes: Nabeel Rajab, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Zainab al-Khawaja, Maryam al-Khawaja, Sheikh Ali Salman, Mohammed Al-Maskati (president of Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights), Yousef al-Mahafdha (VP of BCHR), Sheikh Maytham Al Salman, and all the other activists that risk their lives and their freedom to make their country better. These are true heroes.
Bad guys: the monarchy, Colonel Adel Jassim Flaifel, responsible for arrests and torture until 2002, has never been charged with a crime
Persecuted groups: Shia, migrant workers, dissidents
Current conflicts: siding with the Saudis in its war against Yemen, oppressing its own citizens, kind of cold war with Iran
Must read: My Arab Spring by Reem Zain

Rio and Beyond: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi

Four B's from Africa. I can tell you there are many countries in Africa I know next to nothing about, and these are four of them. If I had to guess, I would say that three of them probably have dictators, some of them arrest journalists, and they all have fabulous landscapes and food.

Benin

I've read just a few paragraphs about Benin and I'm already fascinated. A few interesting historical things, since I am interested in history:

Benin sits on land that was once part of the African Kingdom of Dahomey, a regional power built on conquest, gold, and the slave trade. Houegbadja was the first king of Dahomey and greatly expanded its territory through battle. The Kingdom fought frequent wars with the neighboring Oyo Empire, and, well, everyone around, really.

Dahomey was known for having an elite female soldier corps referred to as the Dahomean Amazons by Europeans.

Early kings practiced ancestor worship, in which such ceremonies as human sacrifice took place, but later on Vodun, which we know as Voodoo, was also practiced throughout the kingdom. The largest religious group in Benin today is Catholic, but Vodun, Islam, and Protestantism are also practiced. Slaves from Benin brought Voodoo to Louisiana. Voodoo today has been mixed with other religions, including Catholicism. (Read more.)

The region was part of what was known as the Slave Coast. Dahomean kings were making about 250,000 GBP a year selling slaves to Europeans, most being war captives who would have been murdered in Dahomean ceremonies otherwise. King Gezo was getting rich off the slave trade, as did his predecessors, and he thwarted Britain's efforts to end slavery. In the end, the British finally succeeded in convincing Gezo to sign a treaty abolishing the slave trade, and of course, they patted themselves on the backs for ending slavery when they're part of the crowd that made it flourish. Oddly enough, the end of the slave trade spelled the end of the Dahomean Kingdom, as the Dahomean economy collapsed. The French took over in 1892 and called it French Dahomey. It remained French until 1960.(1)

Benin had a dictator, Mathieu Kérékou, who obtained power through a coup and set up a Marxist state, but he ended up helping Benin transition to democracy and was elected president twice (some dispute election outcomes.) This guy was a nut. He changed his mind more than Donald Trump. Once he converted to Islam, then he became a born-again Christian.

Today, governance is pretty good in Benin, and they have a free press and generally treat their citizens pretty well. Their corruption scores could be better, but they're about middle of the pack. The economy is growing at about 5% a year. Infant mortality is bad and literacy is low. Things are getting better, but one-third of the country lives below the international poverty line.

Facts
Capital: Porto-Novo
Major cities: Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Parakou, Djougou, Tchauourou, Kandi
Population: 10.32 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 6
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: French, Fon, Yoruba
Heroes: Colette Senami Agossou Houeto (educator, poet), Djimon Gaston Hounsou (actor, dancer), Romuald Hazoume (artist)
Bad guys: Dahomean kings and Europeans who traded slaves
Persecuted groups: LGBT, Vodun practitioners were once persecuted by Christian missionaries, some tension between Christians and Voduns but they mostly coexist
Current conflicts: like everywhere, the threat of Islamic terrorism exists
Must read: I haven't read it, but put L'esclave by Felix Couchoro on the reading list.

1.  Dahomey and the Ending of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: The Journals and Correspondence of Vice-Consul Louis Fraser, 1851-1852, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Rebecca Shumway, my god I've forgotten how to properly site a source

Botswana

On the other side of Africa lies Botswana, where 70% of the country is the Kalahari desert. It looks beautiful.

some guy's pic

Botswana has historically been lauded for its democracy, being the oldest democracy in Africa and all, but don't believe the American rightwing think tanks and the folks at National Review who look at Growth(TM) alone and say Botswana is a beacon in a dark sea of despair. Yes, Botswana has had some success in pursuing Western-style economic and political values, but underneath all that "democracy" and "growth" is something other than perfect. Maybe a matchstick in a lighthouse.

Some wonder if President Ian Khama is inching toward dictatorship. As democracy continues to erode across the globe (including in the US), Khama may decide to ignore the two-term limit for Botswana presidents when his term is up in 2018. He comes from a powerful royal family - his father was the first president of Botswana - and is recognized as chief of the Bamangwato people, though legally he cannot claim the chieftaincy and be involved in politics - and we all know what wealth can do to an ego. Critics point to nepotism in his administration, and they wonder why his friends have all suddenly gotten wealthy while he has been president. Political opponents and journalists are often shut out and harassed by his government, and the state controls the media, a hallmark of a dictatorship.

But these charges may just be opposition mudslinging. Regardless, no one is dying at the hands of a dictator. Botswana has far more problems to deal with.

Climate change is severely hurting the economy, as drought and desertification are devastating agriculture. Drought makes growing crops nearly impossible, so citizens must resort to raising livestock. Overgrazing is playing a big role in desertification. Livestock is the primary source of income for 95% of the country, and communal grazing is making the lifestyle unsustainable. For all Botswana's current problems, it is going to become a lot worse thanks to environmental problems.

Life has been rough but improving in Botswana. Life expectancy for men is 63 and for women it is 68 but around 2002 at the peak of the AIDS crisis, it dropped to under 50! Fortunately, there has been some improvement in this area. Still, nearly a fourth of Batswana have AIDS. Geesh. So much more needs to be done.

(btw - Batswana is the plural form of people who live in Botswana.)

Nearly one-fifth of the population lives in poverty. Much of this poverty is directly related to AIDS. The good news is that GDP has tripled in the last decade, although population growth is negating some of the economic progress. Botswana is committed to wiping out extreme poverty and has done a good job working towards that goal. It's also the least corrupt country in Africa (but one can say that's like being the most alive person in a cemetery.)

Seventy percent of Botswana is Christian. Interestingly enough, 20% of the people have no religion according to a recent US State Department report. I find that interesting, anyway. Perhaps they practice some smaller religion.

The indigenous San people have been forcibly relocated to reservations because their land is located in the world's largest diamond field. The US State Department calls the situation a "principal human rights concern."(1) Like Indian reservations in the US, unemployment and addiction are rampant on San reservations.

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Botswana 2013 Human Rights Report (PDF) (Report). United States Department of State.

Facts
Capital: Gaborone
Major cities: Francistown
Population: 2 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 11
Medals in history: 1 silver
Languages spoken: Setswana, English, Kalanga, !Xóõ (yes that is how it's spelled), Sarwan, Ndebele, Afrikaans
Heroes: Unity Dow, (human rights activist), Elizabeth Mataka (AIDS activist, UN rep), Michael Dingake (activist, writer), Mpule Kwelagobe (Miss Universe 1999)
Bad guys: I don't know
Persecuted groups: San
Current conflicts: conflict diamonds, San
Must read: I have never read anything about Botswana, but I am interested in the pre-independence years and the split with South Africa.


So I was wrong on the dictatorships so far...see what learning does to change stereotypes?


Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso has suffered dictatorships, but in 2014 they overthrew one and everything has been up in the air since then. While the Arab Spring was getting all the attention, Burkina Faso got none. Perhaps it was the violent nature of the protests, as citizens burnt down the parliament and other government buildings, but it was the same desire for democratic change that led to the downfall of a dictator. They overthrew Blaise Compaoré, but democracy did not follow, so they overthrew the junta that had come to power after Compaoré. On November 29, 2015, they had successful elections for president.

I love it when the people do that.

I'm super excited for the people of Burkina Faso. I hope they make democracy work. They've suffered enough.

They have the greatest name for a capital city, Ouagadougou.

Mark my words, if a Trump administration installs a dictatorship that requires burning buildings to save American democracy, I will burn buildings.

Facts
Capital: Ouagadougou
Major cities: Bobo-Dioulasso
Population: 17 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 5
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: French, Moore, Mandinka, Bambara
Heroes: Norbert Zongo (journalist, newspaper editor assassinated by Compaoré for pursuing truth), Monique Ilboudo (writer, human rights activist), Idrissa Ouédraogo (film director), Gaston Kaboré (film director), Fanta Régina Nacro (film director) (Seems like they have a vibrant film industry.)
Bad guys: Blaise Compaoré (dictator), Mamadou Bamba (wannabe dictator), General Gilbert Diendéré (wannabe dictator), terrorist assholes
Persecuted groups: Mennonites, Christians (targeted by jihadists)
Current conflicts: internal - will Burkina Faso democracy succeed?
Must read: I have never read any books about Burkina Faso. Please recommend some!

Burundi

While we have seen three hopeful countries in Africa in this post, Burundi cannot be added to the list.

The government is using torture and rape against citizens. Torture and rape and murder. More than 450 people have been killed since the "president" took office for a third term in violation of the constitution. Senior officials are using genocidal rhetoric towards the ethnic minority they are slaughtering. A quarter of a million people have fled the country's violence over the last year. This comes 11 years after a civil war between the Hutu and the Tutis ended their 13 year civil war.

The Hutus and the Tutsis, the same ethnic people who live in Rwanda where the 1994 genocide occurred, are at it in Burundi. For some reason, Rwanda got so much more coverage, but Hutus massacred the Tutsis in Burundi in 1993, 21 years after the Tutsis massacred the Hutus. The Hutus and the Tutsis, a made up ethnic distinction by Belgian colonialists, are fighting over a distinction that isn't even real. The Hutus and the Tutsis share a close genetic relationship, not to mention the fact that throughout history they've intermarried so often that lines have been blurred. Tutsis were generally slightly taller, so the Belgians made them the "superior" category. Eugenics was all the rage at the time in Europe, which of course, culminated with Nazi Germany.

Still, the Belgians aren't the ones doing the fighting now, so the blame is not all on them. Hutus and Tutsis have the choice to stop, but they choose to fight and torture and rape and murder in the name of some distinction that doesn't exist. And the child soldiers!

To the Hutus and the Tutsis, I say this: you're all idiots.

Every time I see the Olympic team of a country in chaos, I root for them. I think about what they have to go back to and what it took them to get there. Americans mostly ignore the athletes of other countries unless there is something extraordinary about them. This is a shame and something I can't understand. You proclaim to be "the greatest nation on earth," but you're not. Great people don't take life for granted. Great people don't look down upon others. Great people count their blessings instead of proclaiming superiority. You think you're better than others because you were born here? How is that any different than a Tutsi thinking he is superior to a Hutu? It isn't. You didn't choose your nationality.

You do choose ignorance, however. We have access to all the knowledge in the world, but you're watching four hours of television a night instead of reading a book, and you're making your vacations at Disneyland instead of traveling to learn about the world. Well, I guess if you're reading this, you're at least a little curious about what's out there. The world is a fascinating and wondrous place, even if it is full of suffering.

To the nine athletes from Burundi, I wish you well during the Olympics, and more importantly in life when you get home.

Facts
Capital: Bujumbura
Major cities: Gitega
Population: 11 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 9
Medals in history: 1 gold
Languages spoken: French, Kirundi
Heroes: Prince Louis Rwagasor (independence hero), Khadja Nin (singer), Vénuste Niyongabo (Olympic gold medalist, 5000m 1996)
Bad guys: Pierre Nkurunziza (dictator), Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (former president who persecuted Catholics), Michel Micombero (president for first massacre)...oh, there are too many. It was one coup and assassination after another...
Persecuted groups: all of them at various times
Current conflicts: Hutu v Tutsi
Must read: I've never read any books on Burundi, but if I did, it would probably be about Hutus and Tutsis




Rio and Beyond: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda

Running out of Olympics and still on the B's, thanks to a Paul McCartney concert and a baseball game. We're going to the beach on Thursday, too, so I won't have those days, either. Here are some small Caribbean countries.
 
Bahamas

Some Americans have actually been here given its proximity to the US. Before the new terrorism paranoia passport laws, you could go to the Bahamas without a passport, I think. Of course, everyone knows about the beaches.

The history of the Bahamas is similar to that of other Caribbean countries, with the Western imperialists coming in, wiping out the native populations, and bringing slaves. 85% of the current population are descendants of slaves. But then there were the pirates. For various reasons, mostly war related, pirates made Nassau their base, including the infamous Blackbeard. At one point there were more pirates than settlers. That's why we see pirates with parrots and rum - they hung out in these tropical islands.

Well, that pissed off the Europeans, especially the English, so they fought back, eventually taking the islands for themselves. Then the Spanish took it. Then the English took it back. Then American loyalists to the British were granted exile there after the Revolutionary War. Hundreds of slaves in Florida escaped to the islands

Facts
Capital: Nassau
Major cities: none
Population: 377,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 32
Medals in history: 12 (5 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze)
Languages spoken: English
Heroes: Sidney Poitier, Lenny Kravitz, Calvin Lockheart (actor), Joseph Spence (musician)
Bad guys: Blackbeard (pirate), Benjamin Hornigold (pirate), Henry Jennings (pirate), Christopher Columbus, slave traders, all the drug traders, most of the British, American confederate soldiers, racists
Persecuted groups: natives were wiped out, blacks continue to face discrimination despite being a large majority of the population
Current conflicts: none
Must read: I am going to recommend a book I want to read, because I have never read any books on the Bahamas: A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates, which your can read here at The Gutenberg Project.


Barbados

Here's something I did not know: Barbados has the third oldest continuous parliament in the world, established in 1639. I'm not sure how that counts, having been an English colony and gaining its independence, but that's what they claim. Considering the website where I saw that also claims it was the only airport in this hemisphere with Concorde service, ignoring flights to NYC, I think the claim about the parliament is rather dubious. This claims that Barbados has never been invaded by a foreign power, yet the British colonized the island, so that's wrong, too.

A few odd things about Barbados: In November of this year, Barbados will formally remove the Queen of England as their head of state, 50 years after achieving independence from Britain. Steamed Flying Fish combined with Cou-Cou is considered the national dish of Barbados. The first slaves on the island were actually white English people. South Carolina was actually founded by Barbadians of English decent.

The Garrison in Bridgetown is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so I'm going to have to get down there!

Facts
Capital: Bridgetown
Major cities: none
Population: 285,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 11
Medals in history: 86 summer (18 gold, 33 silver, 35 bronze), 218 winter (59 gold, 78 silver, 81 bronze)
Languages spoken: English
Heroes: Bussa (led slave revolt), Sir Grantley Herbert Adams (founder of the Labour Party), Errol Walton Barrow (1st premier), Rihanna, LL Cool J, Cuba Gooding Sr., Eric Holder's parents
Bad guys: Stede Bonnet (pirate), Christopher Columbus, all the colonizers, slave traders, and drug dealers, Stacy Dash (actress)
Persecuted groups:
Current conflicts: none
Must read: I have never read any books on Barbados, so I can't recommend any.

Belize

Belize is not an island, but it is a small Caribbean country that starts with a B, so I'm including it here. It used to be known as British Honduras 1973, before it gained its independence in 1981. 1981! Why so late? Guatemala refused to recognize Belize because it claimed the land belonged to it, and this, in fact, delayed independence. Britain continued to keep troops in the country to prevent a Guatemalan invasion until 1994, when Guatemala begrudgingly recognized Belize. Guatemala still claims the territory, but fortunately has never acted on it militarily. Really what it boils down to is the conflict between the Spanish and British empires has carried over to the Spanish colonized Guatemala and the British colonized Belize with pirates and Mayans in the middle. Thanks, you guys.

The Mayans first settled here around 1500 BCE until English, Scots, and pirates began attacking them some 3000 years later. The Mayans, by the way, traded slaves to the pirates - who were of British and Scottish descent - even after they stopped getting along with them. So everyone was fighting and trading slaves and no one was enjoying the unending beauty of the Caribbean. Geesh. There's enough ocean for everyone, but people are always trying to take it all for themselves. Greedy bastards.

What all this did, though, is make Belize a very diverse country, including Mayans, Creoles, Garinagu, Mestizos, German-speaking Mennonites...

German-speaking Mennonites?!?

There are also large communities of Indians (from India) and Chinese who came over as indentured servants in the end of the nineteenth century, as well as Arabs from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. Large numbers of refugees from Central American countries in conflict have also settled in Belize.

What's going on here, Google?

Facts
Capital: Belize City
Major cities: none
Population: 332,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 3
Medals in history:0
Languages spoken: English, Spanish, Creole, Mayan and Arawakan languages, German (Plautdietsch or Pennsylvania German, mostly)
Heroes: Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson (journalist, politician), George Cadle Price (independence leader), Zee Edgell (writer), Nellie Biles (mom of Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles)
Bad guys: Marion Jones (Olympic cheater), Shyne (rapper)
Persecuted groups: LGBT
Current conflicts: Guatemala border dispute
Must read: I've never read a book about Belize, but I suppose a good place to start would be with the novels of Zee Edgell

Bermuda

Bermuda is not a Caribbean country, but it is an island country and it starts with B, so I'm sticking it here. Actually, it's not a country, it's a territory, but it has a team in the Olympics so I need to mention it and learn something new about it. The closest land to it is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It still belongs to the British. After Brexit, why would they want to stay? Heck, even Scotland and Northern Ireland don't want to stay at this point.

Here's an interesting thing about Bermuda: As the only source of fresh water in Bermuda is rainfall, each household is required by law to collect rainwater piped down from the roof of each house.

Bermudans supported the rebels in the American Civil War. Boo. They had close economic ties with the South. Slavery was big. Colonialism, blah blah blah. There isn't a piece of land sticking out of any ocean the Europeans didn't try to take for themselves.

It is pretty there. They have pink sand beaches. St. George's Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I have no problem visiting there some day.

Facts
Capital: Hamilton
Major cities: none
Population: 65,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 8
Medals in history: 1 bronze
Languages spoken: English
Heroes: Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego (civil rights leader), Mary Prince (slave, writer)
Bad guys: Banks that hide money for criminals and tax dodgers, Bermuda Triangle
Persecuted groups: none anymore
Current conflicts: none
Must read: The Tempest - Shakespeare set this play in Bermuda though he had never visited himself; The Innocents Abroad - Mark Twain; The Story of Bermuda and Her People - William Zuill (I haven't read this one but it is now on the list.)

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Rio and Beyond: Belgium


I love Belgium, and more specifically, Flanders. I have never been to Wallonia, but I am sure I'd like it, too. We recently traveled to Belgium, stopping in Antwerp and Ghent. We were supposed to go to Bruges, too, but jet lag prevented it.

I'd been to Bruges before, and Antwerp, as well as Brussels, Oostende, and Leuven. Leuven was my favorite city in Belgium for a time, in my twenties, when I had the energy and enthusiasm for the town square and its many bars. It's a university town; I'm not sure I would feel the same way about it as I did 15 years ago. 

The first time I went to Belgium was for a class trip, the infamous Tony Steinhof study tour (infamous to the 40 or so of us who experienced it.) It was such a whirlwind that when I returned to Antwerp in April I only had vague memories of it. (I wrote about it here.) We went to Leuven, too, and saw a parade of professors in the town but did not quite understand why we were watching it. I may be misremembering, but I think the University of Leuven is the oldest university in Europe, at least continental Europe. Maybe the parade of professors has something to do with that. I could google it, but I won't.

We had such a good time in Leuven that a friend and I went back one weekend during a summer program we took after graduation.

scanned copy of a photo from that Bruges trip
I went to Bruges in the spring of 1997 at a time of religious confusion, and the church with the thorn from the crown of Christ was the first time I'd seen such a relic. It moved me. The town was beautiful. I wanted to show Chris on this last trip but I don't have the energy levels that I had when I went the first time. I miss that.

The time in Oostende was a brief early morning visit after our weekend in Bruges. We only went to see the sea - it was about the closest sea point from Luxembourg where we lived. Several years ago when I was dying to go anywhere in Europe, hating my job for its lack of travel opportunities and not getting promoted, I considered spending the summer biking on the Belgian coast. It was too expensive for what little savings I had. I ended up going to Bulgaria for a couple of months that autumn because it was still affordable for me.

Our spring trip to Belgium this time around was part of a trip through the Benelux countries, with the main objective to see the tulips in Holland. Our trip was altered by the terrorist attack at the Brussels airport; our flight was canceled and we ended up flying into Amsterdam instead. We lost a day of the trip to train travel from Amsterdam to Brussels for a train issue for which we had paid for Thales high sped train tickets and got neither Thales nor high speed due to some mechanical issue or something. We did not receive refunds, either. And Chris lost his wallet in the process.

We did get to stay at the five star Metropole hotel in Brussels for $150 because no one was going to Brussels in the aftermath of the attacks. People, when you are afraid, they win. If an attack happens somewhere and you have the means, go there and support the people there!

Unfortunately, we didn't spend any time in Brussels aside from the one night and a splurge on lunch at the Metropole because we were trying to make up the lost time, and though we said we'd catch it on our way to Luxembourg, we were too tired; we went straight to Antwerp, where we were to stay three nights and use as a base for day trips to Ghent and Bruges. 

Belgium is an interesting country because it is an artificial country, created as a buffer zone between the French and Dutch, who just couldn't stop fighting. The people living there - predominantly the Catholic Flemish who did not like the Protestant Dutch, although the French-speaking Walloons also disliked them - revolted against Dutch rule. What is now Belgium was part of other empires until its independence in 1839 when the Treaty of London created it. 

Antwerp Stadhuis (City Hall) with Brobo statue, a UNESCO World Heritage site
But the history of Belgium does not begin in 1839. Belgium, and Flanders in particular, has a rich and powerful history. Antwerp was a global trading center for centuries. It still is. If I am not mistaken, it is the second largest port in Europe behind Rotterdam just north of the border. That's while you'll find statues of Poseidon and Hermes everywhere, Poseidon being the Greek god of the sea and Hermes the god of commerce. Antwerp is still the diamond capital of the world, though much of the trade has gone elsewhere. It was actually Bruges that was the first Belgian city to be big in the diamond trade, but it began to move to Antwerp as that city became the new and happening place. Antwerp had a world famous publishing house, culture, modern buildings and industry (for that time), and 40% of all global trade came through the port of Antwerp. 

For a time, Antwerp declined and Amsterdam took over as the diamond capital, but the discovery of diamonds in South Africa and the founding of De Beers. The massive influx of diamonds into Europe helped Antwerp return to status as world diamond capital. De Beers had a monopoly on diamonds, manipulating prices and the minds of people. It was De Beers that made up the diamond as a symbol for love. People didn't give diamond rings for marriage before De Beers told them they should. Yet another instance of corporations controlling the minds of the masses.

The monopoly was broken up but De Beers still controls about 35% of the world diamond market.
There are still a lot of diamond stores in Antwerp, as you can see from the picture.



I don't know how I got on diamonds but if I'm going to get through all the Olympic countries, I'll have to stop here. I could go on an on about the medieval times, or the horrific ventures into the Congo and the genocide, or Belgian suffering during the two world wars, or the food, yum, the food, or how great the Flemish people are (sorry Walloons, I don't know any of you), or how beautiful the cities are, really beautiful, or how some of Belgium is in Luxembourg, or some of Luxembourg is in Belgium, or so many other interesting things, but stop I must. I wrote more about my times in Belgium here.

Facts
Capital: Brussels
Major cities: Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Leuven, Liege, Charleroi, Namur
Population: 11.2 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 106
Medals in history: 144 summer (38 gold, 53 silver, 53 bronze), 5 winter (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
Languages: Flemmish (Dutch), French, German, English
Heroes: Peter Paul Reubens (painter), Van Eyck brothers (painted the Ghent Alterpiece), Audrey Hepburn (actress), Rene Magritte (painter) Liz Claiborne (fashion designer), Gerardus Mercator (the map guy), Adolphe Sax (inventor of saxophone), Christophe Plantin (publisher)
Bad guys: King Leopold II (committed genocide against the Congolese, 10 million died), the ones who supported Nazis in WWII, the terrorist assholes who blew up the airport and metro stop
Persecuted: some racism against Muslims
Must read: Any of the 33 Hercule Poirot books by Agatha Christie, The Guns of August, King Leopold's Ghost

Monday, August 8, 2016

Rio and Beyond: Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is another country about which I know very little. I know that there are pipeline issues, that there is a conflict with Armenia, and that their human rights record is atrocious, particularly when it comes to journalists. Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist, was recently released from prison after more than 500 days for the crime of journalism. (The government made up charges, each more ridiculous than the other, until international pressure made it impossible to keep her locked up without looking the fool.) She exposed corruption in the government, which ranks among the most corrupt in the world. So I guess I do know something about the country.

The country is ruled by the Aliyev family. The current ruling Aliyev is Ilham, who was named Corruption's Person of the Year in 2013. Ilham is BFFs with Putin and Rouhani and has formed a little BFF axis with Russia and Iran. Oh yeah, Ilham was named in the Panama Papers, too. And he's head of the National Olympic Committee.

Azerbaijanis (or Azeris) are Shia, but for the longest time, Zoroastrianism dominated the region. The people of Azerbaijan are a Turkic people with some Iranian and Caucasian mixed in. (For those who don't know, Caucasians come from the Caucus Mountains. I don't know why people use the term "Caucasian" to describe white people. All Caucasians are white, but not all white people are Caucasians.) There are more Azerbis living in Iran than there are in Azerbaijan, and there are significant Azeri populations in Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, US, and others. The land itself has been overrun by basically every Asian empire from the dawn of time, so what is called "Azerbi" must include a little bit of everyone.

Petroglyphs of Gobustan
The country has a lot of problems, but there is a lot of great stuff. There are some petroglyphs (rock carvings) that date back to 10,000 BCE! Yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site that I have to see. Palace of the Shirvanshahs, Maiden Tower, Bay of Baku, the medieval city...and those are just buildings and drawings. What about the people, the food, the culture? I am not sure I have ever met an Azeri, so let's talk.

Facts
Capital: Baku
Major cities: Ganja, Sumqayit,
Population: 9.42 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 56
Medals in history: 26 (6 gold, 5 silver, 15 bronze) (first participated as independent nation in 1996 - competed as part of Soviet Union prior to 1992)
Languages spoken: Azerbaijani, Russian, English, Armenian (Nagorno-Karabakh region only), Avar, Budukh, Georgian, Juhuri, Khinalug, Kryts, Lezgian, Rutul, Talysh, Tat, Tsakhur, and Udi. Those you've never heard of are spoken by dwindling groups of people and are in danger of extinction.
Heroes: Khadija Ismayilova (investigative journalist), Leyla Yunis (human rights activist), Rasul Jafarov (human rights activist), Intigam Aliyev (human rights activist)
Bad guys: Ilham Aliyev
Persecuted groups: anyone who doesn't agree with Aliyev
Current conflicts: Armenia
Must read: I have never read any books on Azerbaijan or by Azerbaijani authors. Please recommend some!

Rio and Beyond: Austria

A scanned photo of the Prater ferris wheel, taken on a cheap 35mm camera in 1997
I first went to Austria after a whirlwind tour of Italy during a week long break from school in 1997. I stopped in Vienna for a day on a long way back to Luxembourg from Venice. It was a crisp autumn day; the sky was impossibly blue and the leaves were struggling to remain on their branches. I remember almost nothing from that day, aside from a stroll through the Prater amusement park and the horse-drawn carriages in want of riders and a return to summer. Even these memories are vague, most likely inspired by the photos I took, some of which actually turned out to be decent shots.

Five or six months later, I returned to the country for a school trip. That was also a whirlwind, but it was a week-long excursion through Nuremberg, Prague, Budapest, Nitra (Slovakia), Vienna, and Salzburg. Thinking about that now is exhausting. I'm not sure that Nuremberg was anything more than a night's stopover, although I do remember going to some kind of fair. I think that was in Nuremberg. We didn't go to Prague for Prague; we went to visit Terezenstadt, a Nazi concentration camp considered to be the "model camp" where they let Red Cross workers in to inspect conditions to show that the Jews were being "treated well" in these camps. I remember the camp fairly well, especially the artwork of the children. That's what we had come to see, as the class was an educational psychology course that focused on adolescents who've experienced conflict, perhaps the best course of all my university classes. Those pictures are why I know art therapy is legit - you could see the trauma in each stroke of the pen.

Ah...but back to Austria. I don't remember what we did in Vienna. I think we drank a lot of beer. I remember Salzburg very well, however. My, was it a gorgeous spring day, and the hills were alive with the sound of music. Haha. Seriously though, there was music everywhere. I watched an oompa band in the town square for awhile and saw half a dozen violinists of various skill levels playing Mozart pieces. It is, after all, the birthplace of Mozart.

Ah...something has just come back to me, a vague memory of concert...I think it was Vienna...almost sure of it. Yes! And they played Vivaldi! Was it in a church...? Ah, no...that was Prague.

Salzburg is full of Sound of Music tours. I did not go on one (I hate tours), but I did wander around trying to find various sights from the movie. I remember the gazebo (I am 16 going on 17) and the river and there was a beautiful park in which I walked for quite awhile. Of course I remember the castle and the surrounding mountains, but most of all I remember that sunshine.

I have an Austrian friend whom I haven't seen in many years who has extended an invitation to visit but I have never made it back. He's studying psychology now so I have to learn some Freud jokes before I can go. I have always planned on visiting "someday," but my chances for travel have been not enough. (It's never enough.)

Facts
Capital: Vienna
Major cities: Salzburg, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz
Population: 8.47 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 66
Medals in history: 86 summer (18 gold, 33 silver, 35 bronze), 218 winter (59 gold, 78 silver, 81 bronze)
Languages spoken: German
Heroes: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Heidi Lamarr (co-inventor of spread spectrum radio technology that makes wifi possible. also did the movie thing.), Christoph Waltz (Blofeld), Gustav Klimt (weirdo artist), a bunch of Strausses, Eduard Haas (inventor of PEZ candy), Sigmund Freud, so many others
Bad guys: You know the big one, also the Hapsburgs probably go in this category, Theodor Herzl (creator of Zionism), ISIS (cells all over Austria)...what the hell is it about Austria that attracts so much evil?
Persecuted groups: Let's just skip the Nazi stuff. Right now they're persecuting Syrian refugees.
Current conflicts: None at the moment, but they think a jihadi attack is likely.

Rio and Beyond: Australia

Australia was the first foreign country I visited, back in high school when I was too young to really appreciate it, at least in the way an adult can appreciate things. We went for an international fastpitch tournament and got to play on the field built for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. 

We were chaperoned much of the time and had planned itineraries down to the minute. They made us spend way too much time at the shops at Darling Harbour, as if spending time in a mall was a worthy endeavor on a trip to the other side of the Earth. (It was probably a chance for the adults to drink.) Some of the team were 18 and were old enough to drink so were able to hang out at night while those of us underage had to entertain ourselves in underage ways. I think I managed to have a Foster's somewhere, but it was only one.

I know we stayed at King's Cross, but I have no real memories of the hotel, just amorphous ideas from the poor photos I took with my 110 film camera. Those of you who are too young to know a 110 film camera are lucky. I took so many photos but hardly any of them were of any aesthetic value, even discounting the poor quality of film. I managed to take a whole roll of the Sydney Opera House while on a harbour cruise, which is an interesting but rather ugly building. I'd never seen an opera before; I couldn't have named a single one back then, although I had recently discovered theater and an appreciation for the arts. I later learned how to take decent photos but back then my eye was untrained and I may have been overwhelmed by the newness of everything.

There had been an Australia craze in the US around this time or shortly before it, thanks to the movie Crocodile Dundee. I'm not sure Americans thought much of anything about Australia before then except for some aging World War II vets who had fought with the Aussies in the Pacific theater. Australia to most Americans was just a spot on the bottom of the map full of funny looking animals with funny sounding names. Then came Mick Dundee. The Men at Work "Down Under" song came out around the same time, and INXS was getting huge. Even Midnight Oil had a hit song with "Beds are Burning." Then the Outback Steakhouse chain opened, and Australia was officially mainstream. Weird to think about now.

I don't remember too much from the trip, aside from some vague memories and what's in the photos. We pet koalas at a zoo and went to some caverns in the Blue Mountains. I think there may have been a strange rock formation called the three-something or other. Sisters, maybe. Three Sisters. I do remember the bus ride through the mountains and the kangaroo crossing signs. We also went to a farm and threw boomerangs and watched them shear sheep, something I'd already seen in Ohio. I still have the boomerang I bought at the farm. I never could make it work.

One thing that stands out in my mind was the number of Chinese people in the part of Sydney we stayed in. Growing up in Southwest Ohio, there weren't many Asians, so encountering so many Chinese was something exotic. I was not exposed to many non-white people in childhood. This is how it is in so many parts of the country. Looking back on it, I can see how white racism persists - the only minorities a lot of suburban and rural whites encounter are serving them food or something like that. It's why they are so ignorant about racial issues. I'll never grasp why they are so fearful, however. Since I became cognizant of the world, I've always loved to meet people from various backgrounds. I think a big part of the problem is a lack of intellectual curiosity in this country, an unwillingness to learn. This, too, I will never understand. 

Anyway, I fell in love with all things Australia on that trip, but something much more important happened. I learned I could travel. I could go to those yellow and orange and green spots on the map. These weren't names of cities and countries to memorize on a test and forget after that. Real people lived in those spots, real people just like me. From there, I went on to study abroad in Europe, live and work in other countries, and take my vacations abroad while most Americans are going to Disneyland. It's a small world, after all, but you wouldn't know it if you haven't gone out into it.

Facts
Capital: Canberra
Major cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Alice Springs
Population: 23.13 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 419
Medals in history: 468 summer (139 gold, 152 silver, 177 bronze), 12 winter (5 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze)
Languages spoken: English
Heroes: Sir Howard Florey (invented penicillin), John Curtin (prime minister during WWII), Eddie Mabo (fought to change the law giving land rights to aborigines),
Bad guys: Mel Gibson (racist actor), Rupert Murdoch (racist rich guy), Pauline Hanson (racist politician), Australian Liberty Alliance (racist political party), Jim Saleam (racist politician), Kirralie Smith (racist politician)
Persecuted groups: Aborigines, Muslims
Current conflicts: War on Terror coalition

Rio and Beyond: Armenia

Here is a country that fascinates me...more like a people, as Armenia is much bigger than its officially borders. I had the good fortune of meeting many Armenians when I lived in Lebanon and they put Armenia into my head. I would very much like to visit.

Armenia the country is smaller than Armenia the people, for Armenians are scattered everywhere (unfortunately, the Kardashians are Armenian), largely due to the fact that everyone is always trying to push them out or rule them or kill them. The Turks still won't acknowledge they committed genocide against the Armenians, murdering 1.5 million of them in 1915. In fact, only 26 countries officially acknowledge the genocide, including the United States, which counts 800,000-1.5 million Armenians among its population. The 1915 genocide wasn't even the first mass murder of Armenians by the Turks. From 1894-1896, they murdered between 80,000 - 300,000 Armenians as the Ottomans were asserting Pan-Islamism.

You see, the Armenians are the oldest Christians in the world and remained Christian through centuries of Islamic expansion, when most of the Middle East was converting to Islam by choice or by force. The Armenians refused and have been repeatedly persecuted for it. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD, when the Kingdom of Armenia was run by Armenians. A little over a century later, the kingdom was split between the Byzantines and the Persians. With the exception of a brief period of self rule in the 9th century and two years between WWI and the establishment of the Soviet Union, Armenia was ruled by other empires. Armenia finally got its own country in 1991 when the USSR was dissolved.

The land of the country of Armenia is actually only one-tenth of historical Armenia, with most of the rest of it in current Turkey and some in Iran, Iraq, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. There are some groups who want the land back. Although dormant in recent times, some of these are militia groups considered to be terrorists. That is probably an inaccurate description, but pols these days...

On a way better note...Armenian food is fantastic. I ate at several Armenian restaurants in Lebanon and went to Bourj Hammoud on occasion. Bourj Hammoud is a large Armenian neighborhood in Beirut. It was founded by survivors of the genocide as a refugee camp and became an independent municipality in 1952. It's located on the other side of Beirut from Hamra, where I lived, so I didn't get there too often, but when I did, it was always to eat!

But Lebanon is not Armenia. Armenia is a land full of historic churches and monasteries, pomegranate wine, mountains, and more. The country is doing pretty well these days. I want to go.

Facts
Capital: Yerevan
Major cities: Gyumi, Vanadzor
Population: 3 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 32
Medals in history: 12 (1 gold, 2 silver, 9 bronze) in wrestling, weightlifting, and boxing. Armenian athletes competed for USSR prior to 1992 Barcelona games
Languages spoken: Armenian
Heroes: The list of prominent Armenians is numerous. They are entertainers. They are astrophysicists. They are world leaders. The number of prominent scientists and mathematicians is too numerous to list, so I'll mention one I didn't know about: Hovannes Adamian (inventor of color TV). In fact, Armenians are so successful that there's a tinfoil hat crowd that believes Armenians are conspiring for world dominance (the same kind of racist arguments you hear about the Jews.) Some Armenian-Americans are Cher, Tim Kurkijan(baseball writer), Matt Vasgersian (MLB Network), David Ignatius (Washington Post)
Bad guys: This one is tough because some who would be viewed as bad guys by some were freedom fighters for others. The world is not black and white.
Persecuted groups: They ARE the persecuted group.
Current conflicts: Azerbaijan - Skirmishes periodically breakout on the border. A ceasefire is currently in place.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Rio and Beyond: Argentina

South America is the only inhabited continent I have never set foot on. If Chris weren't sick, we'd be going to Peru in the autumn, but as it is now, he's not able to hike the Inca Trail, and that is part of the Machu Picchu experience, at least the one I want to have.

Argentina seems like it could be a fun place. Buenos Aires seems like it should mean "good times." I guess you could take "good airs" as good times. Yet, I know next to nothing about the country aside from what I learned from Madonna and Maradona. I think Maradona was the first professional soccer player I knew, before soccer was popular in the US and before I had traveled anywhere. He was playing his last years when I was in high school.

As for the Madonna reference, you must remember she played Eva Peron in a movie I adored. It was the first time I learned about the tumultuous mid-twentieth century in South America. As in all Hollywood biopics, I am sure it had its share of historical inaccuracies. No matter. It succeeded in capturing the spirit of Evita and what she meant - and still means - to the Argentine people.

The Portuguese first discovered the land, where they learned of the existence of the Incan Empire from the native Charrúa people, but it was the Spanish who first settled in what is now Buenos Aires. The Argentines fought a revolutionary war and achieved their independence in 1825. After the defeat of the Spanish there was a civil war between the federalists and unionists. The federalists came out on top. The Argentine Constitution, still the law of the land today, was adopted in 1853.

I am often caught by surprise when I realize how similar the history of the countries of South America is to our own. I think my surprise comes from how differently things turned out in the twentieth century. We all fought for independence from European imperialism. We all share the legacy of slavery. I marvel at the turn of events which led the US to become powerful while the countries of South America had such a turbulent twentieth century. The legacy of Spanish feudalism lingered on, creating vast disparities in wealth, which led to worker mobilization that was unsupported by the wealthy elite. Fear of the worker (and fear of communism) led the elites to support awful dictators to protect themselves. While the US also had plantations and wealthy elites, western expansion gave the opportunity for common people to own land and create wealth, so a feudal type system was never truly an institution here, and the workers did not feel the need to rise up. That's a very simplified explanation, of course, but it is quite interesting to think about.

Strange how fate works.

In the seventies, Argentina, like many other South American countries, had a dictator who treated people brutally. Forced disappearance was common, and the children of the disappeared were kidnapped. Human rights groups say more than 30,000 people were killed by the regime from 1976-1983. This period was known as the "Dirty War" in the American media and the "Process of National Reorganization" by the regime. The Argentine government now says the number was 13,000, just now acknowledging the extent of the atrocities.

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (the subject of the U2 song "Mothers of the Disappeared" on The Joshua Tree album) organized across Latin America to bring to light the issue of the disappeared. They pushed for information on the whereabouts of their children, and even after the end of dictatorship fought to overturn the laws that made the disappearances possible. Unfortunately, the group split, and one part became radicalized, wanting a Cuba-style revolution and even supporting the 9/11 attacks. What a shame.

Of course, most of these countries pulled themselves out of authoritarianism through neo-liberal reforms, but like elsewhere in the world, neo-liberalism is showing its cracks. (FYI, American dopes, "neo-liberalism" means laissez faire free market economics.) You also have the Chavistas in several countries, but the failed state of Venezuela is showing that socialism does not work, either. Who knows what's in store for Argentina and the rest of South America?

Turbulent history aside, there are so many better things to think about the country. Tango. Steak. Beaches. Mountains. The Quebrada de Humahuaca, a World Heritage site. Iguazú Falls. Glaciar Perito Moreno. Tierra del Fuego. I'm ready to visit.

Facts
Capital: Buenos Aires
Major cities: Cordoba, Rosario, La Plata, Mar del Plata
Population: 41.45 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 215
Medals in history: 71 (19 gold, 24 silver, 28 bronze)
Languages spoken: Spanish, Araucano, Guarani, Quechua, over 40 minor languages
Heroes: Jose de San Martin (revolutionary war hero), Pope Francis, Eva Peron, Diego Maradona
Bad guys: Jorge Rafael Videla (dictator), Juan Carlos Ongania (dictator), Reynaldo Bignone (dictator), so many others
Persecuted groups: Under the dictatorship: socialists, political dissidents, left-wing activists, terrorists and militants, trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, artists, professors, clergy, Peronists. 

Rio and Beyond: Angola

I know nothing about Angola except this: it is yet another authoritarian state on a planet with far too many authoritarian states. So here are some sad facts about a long-suffering country.

Angola got its independence from Portugal in 1975. It was a communist country at one point and suffered a 27 year civil war. The current president has been in power since 1979. Oil is a major industry (wait, what? An oil country with conflict? Geez.) Most of the oil is found in the Carbinda province, which wants to separate from the rest of the country. The dictator appointed his daughter as head of the state-run oil firm, and she is listed as one of the wealthiest people in Africa. (NOTE TO TRUMPERS: Dictators appoint their daughters to prominent government positions.)

Life expectancy in Angola is only 50 years for men and 53 years for women. Good lord. If that doesn't make your heart cry out for the people there, you aren't human.

Angola is a perfect example of the importance of social media - it is the only way people are allowed to express political anger, as it is too dangerous to protest in the streets. The government would shoot them down.

The capital city, Luanda, was a major hub in the slave trade for the Portuguese. One of the points of interest is the National Museum of Slavery. In it you will discover that slavery was well established before the Portuguese arrived, as the Imbangala and Mbundu tribes were involved in slave trading, which made it much easier for the Portuguese to set up shop and expand this horror on a vast scale. The Portuguese sided with the Imbangala, who captured their Mbundu enemies and sold them to the Portuguese for guns. Eventually, the Mbundu were wiped out. Portugal exported slaves from Luanda at a rate of 5,000 to 10,000 per year during the eighteenth century. Even after slavery was abolished, forced labor was inflicted upon Angolans.

Slavery hasn't died in Angola. Child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and sexual slavery are all rampant in the country. The government refuses to comply with even the minimum standards to combat human trafficking.

Sorry, Angola, but you are on my list of If I Never Visit, I Won't Miss It. Although I am interested in that museum, and I'm sure you have good beaches.

Facts
Capital: Luanda
Major cities: Lobito
Population:  21.47 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 26
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: Portuguese, Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo
Heroes: Queen Nzinga (17th century queen known for her diplomatic skill - this woman was incredible and should be more widely known), Agostinho Neto (1st president)
Bad guys: Jose Eduardo dos Santos (dictator), Portuguese imperialists, Imbangala slave traders
Persecuted groups: Muslims (Angola is a Christian nation), Apocalyptic Christians

Rio and Beyond: Algeria

Algeria, like Afghanistan, is on my list of Top Ten Places to Go When Things Are Stable. Maybe that's not entirely accurate in the case of Algeria. Maybe "stable" is the wrong word. "Safer for Americans" might be more accurate. Algeria is a dictatorship and is full of terrorist groups, so my visit won't happen any time soon. But it is also on my list of Mediterranean Countries Still to Visit, which makes it pretty important to get there.

Oh, you warmongering bastards of the world, always ruining a good thing.

I first learned something about Algeria from the classic film The Battle of Algiers in French class in college. The Middle East was still an exotic world for me then, far away from the cornfields and suburb sprawl of Ohio, and I knew virtually nothing more about it than its place on a map. But The Battle of Algiers introduced me to the legacy of colonialism in the Middle East and beyond, the real side of it, more than dates and textbook descriptions, and it was horrible.

My next encounter with Algeria came during a trip to the famous Amoeba Records in San Francisco, when I bought records by Cheb Mami and Khaled. We had been looking for music in Arabic to compliment our Arabic courses at Defense Language Institute, and these were recommended. (Also, Cheb Mami had sung on Sting's song "Desert Rose," so he was somewhat familiar.) This led to me choosing raï music as a topic for a class presentation, which was a good angle to talk about the political nightmare Algeria had experienced in the aftermath of colonialism.

Raï is a kind of folk music that arose out of the city of Oran in the nineteen thirties, decades before Algeria gained its independence. It originated from Bedouins and mixed with Spanish, French, Arab, and African music forms to bring something unique. The lyrics deal with social and political issues (raï means "opinion" in Arabic), and the music has been highly controversial in Algeria with the government and Islamic fundamentalists, with several raï singers (called Cheb, from shabab, meaning "youth") fleeing the country for their lives. Some were assassinated.

Oran - how could you not want to go here?

Oran had once been dubbed "Little Paris" for its nightlife of cabarets, so it was appropriate that such a music form arose from the city. I've been drawn to the idea of that city since I first learned about it.

The country is full of Roman ruins, too. Timgad and Tipaza are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Khemissa, Lambaesis, Tiddis, and Djemila are other Roman sites to visit.

Sigh...one day...

Facts
Capital: Algiers
Major cities: Oran, Tebessa, Constantine
Population: 39.21 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 64
Medals in history: 15 medals (5 gold, 2 silver, 8 bronze in Athletics, Boxing, and Judo)
Languages spoken: Arabic, French
Heroes: Hosine Ait Ahmed (independence leader), Zinedine Zidane (football player), Albert Camus (writer)
Bad guys: Al-Qaeda in the Lands of Islamic Maghreb, Abdelaziz Boutiflika (dictator), Islamic Salvation Front (sharia political party), Abdul Nacer Benbrika, terrorist asshole, Armed Islamic Group
Persecuted groups: Christians, ex-Muslims, LGBT, atheists

Rio and Beyond: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, and Aruba

I'm going to put some smaller "A" countries into one post, lest I flood the interwebs with 200 of them. Here you will find information about Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, and Aruba.

Albania
Albania is a Mediterranean country and so it is on my list of Mediterranean Countries Still to Visit, which consists of every country that touches the Mediterranean, minus those I've already visited, because the Med is my favorite place on Earth, no matter what side I'm standing on. I will visit them all at some point.

Beyond that, and that it was a communist country in the Soviet era, it is now a member of NATO, and it is a candidate for the EU, I know very little about Albania. I have seen some fabulous pictures, however.

Yes, please.
I am also on a quest to visit as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as I can, and Albania has two of them: Butrint and the historic centers of Gjirokastra and Berat.

I am particularly interested in Butrint, since it is an ancient site with a Temple of Ascleplios, the Greek god considered to be the father of medicine, whose sanctuary I visited in Epidauros, Greece, last autumn. Gjirokastra and Berat date back to the 13th century Ottoman period.

Here are some interesting things I have learned about Albania today:

  • Albanians call their country "Squiperia."
  • Saze is the name of a type of Albanian folk music. You can hear some here.
  • There is no McDonald's in Albania. (Lucky them.)
  • Albanians, like Bulgarians, nod for no and shake for yes.
  • Albania is 60% Muslim, 30% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Catholic, although much of the country is non-practicing, as Albania was the "world's first atheist state" under the communist dictatorship. Nearly 2000 Christian churches were destroyed, and more than 100 priests were executed.
  • During communist rule, over 700,000 bunkers were built, anticipating a devastating war that never came. (Paranoia is the hallmark of a dictator.)
  • More Albanians live outside Albania than in it.
  • Albania is the largest exporter of cannabis in Europe.

Facts
Capital: Tirana
Major cities: Durres, Elbasan
Population: 2.77 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 6
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: Albanian, which is a distinct Indo-European language in a branch of its own
Heroes: Skanderbeg (National Hero, fought the Ottomans), Mother Teresa, Jim Belushi. Yes, the comedian. Yes, his father was an Albanian immigrant. No, Albanians don't care about him.
Bad guys: Enver Hoxha (communist dictator), Albanian mafia (major sex slave traffickers)
Persecuted groups: Christians were persecuted under the Ottomans and the communist dictatorship; Kosovo Albanians were (are?) persecuted by the Serbs

Andorra
Andorra is a tiny country located between Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains. It'd be a good stop on a trip to Barcelona and northern Spain, in my opinion. When I was planning my trip to Spain last year, I briefly considered going up there, but ultimately chose to focus on southern Spain that time around. I plan to go to northern Spain at some point in the near future and will probably make Andorra a part of that trip.

Andorra is a strange monarchy headed by two "princes" - the Bishop of Urgell in Spain and the President of France. This is particularly strange when you think about how France elects its president, so in effect, France is electing another country's monarch. I can't imagine how that works, unless the monarchy is ceremonious only. The country is run by the parliament, anyway.

Though not a member of the EU, the euro is its official currency. Before the euro, Andorra used both the French franc and the Spanish peso, so it had no choice but to work out a deal to adopt the euro.

Other interesting tidbits:

  • At 81 years, Andorra has the highest life expectancy in the world.
  • Charlemagne granted Andorra its charter in appreciation for its fight against the Moors.
  • Two-thirds of the population do not have Andorran citizenship and do not have the right to vote.
  • Andorra has no airport but has two airlines. They use a nearby Spanish airport.
  • Skiing is one of its biggest industries.
  • Although it officially declared war on Germany during WWI, Andorra has never fought in a war. It doesn't even have a real army, although everyone who lives there could be called to its defense by law, should it be necessary.

Facts
Capital: Andorra la Vella
Major cities: none
Population: 85,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 5
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: Catalan (the language of Barcelona), Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, French


Antigua and Barbuda

This tiny Caribbean country consists of two main islands - Antigua and Barbuda - and several small islands. I've never been to any Caribbean country, and if I ever get to Antigua and Barbuda, it will probably be part of an island hopping trip of some sort. Preferably on a boat. I'd probably have to win the lottery to make it happen. But wouldn't it be nice:



So when you refer to people from here, do you have to say he's Antiguan and Barbudan? Do you have to turn both the words into adjectives?

A few things about Antigua and Barbuda:

  • Antigua is Spanish for "ancient" and Barbuda is Spanish for "bearded."
  • The earliest settlements on the islands is thought to be around 3100 BCE.
  • The Arawak and Carib indigenous people colonized much of the Caribbean islands, but the Carib had superior weapons and enslaved and even cannibalized the Arawaks before any European set foot on the islands.
  • Not surprisingly, tourism is the biggest industry.
  • Lots of wealthy Americans own homes here, including Oprah, Armani, Eric Clapton, Larry Flynt, and Silvio Berlusconi.
Facts
Capital: St. John's
Major cities: none
Population: 90,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 9
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: English, Antiguan Creole
Heroes: Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Sr. (1st prime minister after independence), Sir Vin Richards (cricketer), Melvin Claxton (Pulitzer prize winning journalist)
Bad guys: Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Sr. (1st prime minister, profiteer), the British


Aruba
Great. Now I have a strong desire to go to the Caribbean.  Look at all those beautiful places.

Aruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands and one of the last vestiges of Dutch colonialism. All citizens are Dutch citizens.

91% of Arubans are Catholic, while the Dutch are predominantly Protestant. This is because the island was originally colonized by the Spanish. Charles V gave it back to the native Arawaks, but the Dutch occupied it a century later. They lost it for a bit to the British, but the British gave it back to them later. Got all that?

Facts
Capital: Oranjestad
Major cities: none
Population: 100,000
Athletes in the Olympics: 7
Medals in history: 0
Languages spoken: Dutch, Papiamento
Heroes: Sidney Ponson, Eugene Kinsale, Calvin Maduro (all baseball players who were knighted)
Bad guys: Beach Boys, Tom Cruise

Well, that's it for the small country A's. Coming up: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, and Austria, all countries I find interesting (and I've been to two of the six!)

Rio and Beyond: Afghanistan

Every Olympics, I feel more frustrated than usual that Americans know nothing about the world. Why do Americans CHOOSE to ignore so many wonderful things that could enrich their lives, instead isolating themselves in their own bland communities that all look identical?

I decided to write a little bit about every country in the world for the duration of the Olympics. The first country on the alphabetical list, Afghanistan, is fascinating. Most Americans view it through the lens of US wars, thereby perceiving it as some backwards place of religious extremism, where people ride camels and live in tents. A few know about the proxy war with the Soviets, when the US, pushed by Congressman Charlie Wilson, funded the mujahideen (including Osama Bin Laden and Taliban founder Mohammed Omar) in a victorious fight against the USSR. While the victory contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, congressional refusal to fund rebuilding and education programs after the war are a big reason the Taliban was able to rise to power.

What a shame to view Afghanistan from that standpoint only, when it offers so many fascinating attributes. Here is a land that has had advanced urbanization since 3000-2000 BCE, around the time that the Greeks were rising to prominence. The country's written history can be traced back to around 500 BCE, when it was part of the Achaemenid Empire, the First Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, an empire that emancipated the Jews from Babylon and conquered ancient Egypt. While Europeans outside of the Greek sphere were barbarians with no writing systems and no organized way of life, the people living in what we now know as Afghanistan were living under a highly sophisticated centralized system, with post offices, road networks, a professional army, and civil services.

The capitals of many empires have been located within current Afghan borders. The Silk Road, the trade route network running from the Mediterranean to China and the Indies, ran through the area.

The Silk Road - red is land route, blue is sea
Because of its strategic importance on the Silk Road and globalized trade, war has been a frequent part of its history, and for all the tribal wars that have been fought there, outside invaders have probably interfered more. Globalization is nothing new. War for business interests is nothing new. But war isn't the only thing that has happened there, so when you look at Afghanistan and see only ugliness, it could be a reflection of what's inside you. Look for the good in things. I'm not saying ignore the bad things. Just look for the good things, too. Because they are always there, and they are wonderful, and they can help fix the bad things.

See, you absolutely cannot understand what is happening today without understanding what happened in history. And you absolutely cannot understand what is happening today if you think that you are better than everyone else because you are an American.

Have I been there? No. But it is on my list of Top Ten Places to Travel to When Things Are Stable So Stop Your Damn Fighting. I haven't met many Afghans in my life, and most I have met have been journalists, so they aren't representative of the population. I respect them immensely, though. In places like Afghanistan, journalists are true heroes who risk their lives to report the truth.

Places I'd love to visit in Afghanistan, among others:

Band e Amir National Park:


Archaeological Remains of Bamiyan Valley, where the 4th/5th century Buddha statues were before the Taliban assholes blew them up:



Bamiyan monk caves
Shrine of Hazrat Ali, Mazar-i-Sharif:


Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam:


Herat Citadel, newly restored:



Facts
Capital: Kabul
Major cities: Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif
Population: 30.55 million
Athletes in the Olympics: 3
Medals in history: 2 bronze
Languages spoken: Pashto, Dari, more than 40 minor languages
Heroes: Rumi (Persian poet), Al Biruni (mathematician, scientist, father of anthropology), Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (anti-imperialist)
Bad guys: Taliban
Persecuted groups: Hazara- the Hazara have suffered some of the worst persecution and massacres in human history. ISIS and the Taliban continue to target them today.

Must read:

The Great Game - about the struggle between the British Empire and Russia for control of Central Asia. It has everything - spy stories, murder mysteries, historical drama...you can't understand Afghanistan without understanding the contents of this book. It reads like a novel, so you have no excuse.
The Kite Runner - coming of age story set in Taliban times.
The Road to Oxiana - travel story published in the thirties when the historical treasures of Afghanistan were more accessible.