Happy Birthday Manna Project International

Happy 10th MPI!

http://mannaproject.org/

My computer will be joining you in 4 months as a double-digiter!

In the news this week

• Syria's war:  If this isn't a red line, what is? - The Economist Aug 24th 2013

"THE horrors of Syria’s civil war have become so routine and relentless that recent massacres have barely been aired in the world press. But if it can be verified that on August 21st hundreds of people, most of them civilians, were killed by chemical weapons fired by President Bashar Assad’s forces, a new level of atrocity will have been reached that may persuade Western governments to change their policy of military non-intervention..."

• Egypt's turmoil:  The army tightens its grip - The Economist Aug 24th 2013

"IN THIS bitterly divided country, a disturbing number of conversations now start with the exclamation, 'Sons of bitches!' Then comes the delicate task of discerning to whom this insult refers..."

• Bombings in Iraq:  Bloodier than ever - The Economist Aug 24th 2013

"IN A country inured to violence, the scale and scope of recent attacks have shaken even the most hardened Iraqis. More than 500 have been killed in bombings this month, after some 1,000 perished violently in July—the highest number since civil strife tailed off five years ago..."

• Blast rock Israel as rockets fired from Lebanon - The Jordan Times Aug 22nd 2013

"Explosions were heard near Israel's border with Lebanon on Thursday, witnesses and AFP correspondents said, as Lebanese security sources said militants had fired four rockets at Israel..."

Additionally, a spate of tribal violence this past week has left five Jordanians dead in Mafraq.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on in this part of the world...

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In more uplifting news:

• Four boys from my village, including one Syrian refugee, attended the world's first ever Peace Corps Camp BRO (Boys Respecting Others) in northwest Jordan this past week;
• Four girls from my village attended Peace Corps Jordan's Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World).  To quote one of the counselors: My "GLOW girls are the best"; and
• I will be published on August 26th in The Places We've Been:  Field Reports from Travelers Under 35.  Get your copy here!

Hopeless Wanderer

Tired of sitting amidst iPhone engrossed travelers in Istanbul I reached for the first piece of print material I could find under the broken coffee table and came across the following special report from The Economist on the Arab Spring:

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21580624-spring-proved-fickle-arabs-are-still-yearning-it-says-max-rodenbeck

The report consists of a series articles addressing issues ranging from Islam to constitution-building to youth involvement in society.  The first article in the report offers a cautiously optimistic tone:

"In short, the scorecard for the Arab spring so far looks overwhelmingly negative. But this special report will argue that such an assessment is premature. Rather than having reached a sorry end-point, the wave of change may have only just begun. Judging by experience elsewhere, such transitions take not months but years, even decades. 

"Further unrest and almost certainly further bloodshed lie in store. But this may well be unavoidable in a part of the world where bewildering social change, including extremely rapid population growth and urbanisation, for so long went woefully unmatched by any evolution in politics. Debate on such crucial issues as the relationship between state and religion, central authority and local demands, and individual and collective rights could not be indefinitely stifled. Something had to give."

Whereas the concluding article appears to reinforce caution and patience:

"Faleh Abdel Jabbar, an Iraqi sociologist, gives warning that for now in most Arab countries 'all the elements that theory says should build democracy are absent, and all those that should prevent it are present.' The middle classes are weak, clannishness prevails, and oil-soaked states see no need for consent from citizens they do not need to tax. That equation is changing, but it will take time."

On a lighter note, thanks to Megan and Emily, I also stumbled across this music video while in Turkey.  Enjoy:

Finally, you can find several pictures from Turkey on my Instagram @smithcraigandrew.