Keep reminding myself

I have been doing online research on Yemen, moving there and so forth...and I find myself loosing myself in blogs written about how great a country it is and what an experience it will be. I can't wait to go, however I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not going to a place that is so different from my own country Jordan.

Reading blogs written by non-arabs about going there (Yemen) makes me forget that this is an Arab country, that I understand it, that I know it, that I will be ok.

I know this might seem like an obvious thought, no need to blog about it...but I keep finding myself panicking and then realising the obvious...I think part of the panic is also reading about what I will be doing there...it is a huge responsibility-great challenge-I hope that I will be successful.

Good Day and Good Luck

A new start

I am the new Programme Officer (PO) for the United Nation's Volunteers (UNV) in Yemen. I will be moving in a months time, and starting a 2 year contract. I am very excited about this new phase in my life and career, and have decided to document the whole thing using this blog.

I started celebrating this new post last night with some friends, and I have spent all of today dealing with the repercussions of those celebrations!!!!

I also started looking online at the expat community in Yemen, expecting to find more blogs being written about people going there. I have found one so far: Living in Yemen (Sana'a) If you know of any other blogs/websites I would be very grateful to see them.

I will be living in Sana'a, and will have to find a flat, hopefully I will find it in a nice old Yemenie style house, like the one on the left...on a hill just like that! Wonder how people get up there.

So my next step, is to get my medical examination, and then I will be put in touch with people in Yemen I will be working with who will help me find a flat (I hope).

So yeah...a new and drastic change is happening...what makes it more exciting is that fact that I have less then a month to process it all.

Good Luck and Good Night

2 years

Its been over two years since I posted anything on my blog...and thing have changed in my life a lot.

I am going back to being a student which is something I am very excited about. Will finally be studying something that I love and hopefully starting a new career. I leave my job in three days and will hopefully enjoy a few weeks of unemployment.

I actually now will have quite a bit of time to blog...and since a friend of mine has just started his career as a blogger I am excited about it again.

Check his blog out: LesMerde

So expect more of the lovely Lulwa's Logic in the upcoming weeks.

Gender Equality Campaign TV Spot

This was the video that was used as part of our campaign being launched. It was shown on Jordan TV. Make the volume load and listen to the voice.

We are very proud of this :)

Draft Societies Law Threatens Freedom in Jordan

Freedom House is deeply concerned about a bill under consideration by the Jordanian Parliament that would increase government supervision of nongovernmental organizations and severely limit their ability to work in the country.

Civil society groups in Jordan fear that, if passed, the so-called Societies Law would effectively turn independent organizations into an extension of the Jordanian government. The draft law seeks to bar Jordanian nongovernmental organizations from accepting foreign funding without first receiving government approval, as well as require them to submit annual plans and activities for government approval. It also demands that all nongovernmental organizations have at least one government representative on its board of directors.

Freedom House Executive Jennifer Windsor said the draft law is particularly worrisome to see in Jordan, a country considered to be one of the most open in the Middle East

"Passage of this law would be a clear step back for Jordanian democracy,” said Windsor. “It would not only curtail the ability of NGOs to act independently, but it would also send the message that Jordan places a higher value on government control than on freedom of association.”

A growing number of repressive regimes, including Russia, Egypt and Zimbabwe, have sought to silence opposition voices with legislation that weakens civil society with legal restrictions and limits on their ability to receive foreign funding.

Jordan is ranked Partly Free in the 2008 edition of Freedom in the World, Freedom House's survey of political rights and civil liberties, and Not Free in the 2008 version of Freedom of the Press.

For more information on Jordan, visit:

Freedom in the World 2008: Jordan
Freedom of the Press 2008: Jordan

Freedom House, an independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world, has been monitoring political rights and civil liberties in Jordan since 1972.

Freedom matters.
Freedom House makes a difference.
www.freedomhouse.org

The Parliament

I always wanted to be part of the democratic process-to walk into our parliament which looks so impressive from outside and come out on the other side feeling that I had just witnessed democracy in Jordan. I finally got that chance on Wednesday of last week, when the parliament was going to discuss the law dealing with Civil Society in Jordan, which I believe effects us all. I wanted to be there to see how the parliamentarians were going to discuss it, what issues were going to be raised how they would vote in the end.

I had always been told that you need permission before you can go to the parliament and listen to the discussions, well that is FALSE. All you need is your ID card and you walk in.

It is quite impressive when you walk in and sit there, and the best thing for me (here is where I indulge the child within) was when I realised that as each parliamentarian sat down his/her name would pop up on a huge screen. So you knew who was sitting where, and since I don't know all our parliamentarian this was very helpful.

Then the discussions started, and well I can't say with all honesty that it was always entertaining, but at certain points they had arguments and disagreements and that was fun.

I was quite disappointed how quickly the Civil Society Law passed, how none of them objected to certain clauses in it, such as the ones that deal with getting permission before setting up any sort of Jam3eyeh, or how you have to bring someone from the government to be on your Board when a new organisation is being set up, and so for and so on. All leading to the government having more control on the civil society in our country.

As a result of all of this, I believe that we all need to head down to the Parliament more often, show our parliamentarian that we are listening to them...that we are holding them accountable to things that they tell us when we are eating Mansaf with them. Show them that we care about the decisions that they are making, that they matter, and maybe if they saw that then they would be more inclined to start listening to what we are saying to them.

Maybe they won't get such a bad percentage in the Jordan News Agency-Petra poll that asks:

Are you satisfied with Parliament Performance after two sessions?
- Yes (1.77%)
- No (96.76%)
- no comment (1.47%)
Total Voting : 7276




I am embarrassed that 96.76% are saying that they are not satisfied with their own voted parliament!!!!!! Yes I am an idealist, and I believe that in the end the parliament and the parliamentarian will be an effective means for the people to voice their concerns.

Gender Equality, Made in Jordan

Young Jordanians using new methods for new audiences

Amman 5^th July 2008-As part of a local initiative, groups of young Jordanians have been seen in various areas of Amman handing out badges, stickers and posters. This is all part of the Gender Equality Campaign, which is just being launched in Jordan. A number of local Jordanian NGOs have cooperated with some individuals and companies from the private sector to help support this campaign and the young Jordanians working on it.

The Gender Equality Campaign was created as part of a homegrown initiative by a group of young Jordanians who are committed to the idea of justice and equality for the women and men of Jordan. The main purpose of this campaign is to educate the public in Jordan about women's rights and to mobilize the community to take action to address this human rights issue in Jordan.

The main component of this campaign is to provide a channel for dialogue for people to discuss this issue in Jordan. The foundation of this new channel is to target all aspects of Jordanian society, taking the issue of gender equality outside the walls of conferences, workshops and offices.

This channel is being opened by the young campaigners, using the logo that they created. The logo of the campaign illustrates the wishes, hopes and ambitions of the young Jordanian campaigners. It is a symbol that represents the rights, duties, and dreams for us all, pink for women, blue for men.

As part of the Gender Equality Campaign, permission was gained by one of the supporting local NGOs from the Greater Amman Municipality to install two sets of monuments with its logo. One is on Tabarbour Circle, the other on Middle East Circle in Al-Wihdat. The hope of the young Jordanian campaigners is to gain permission to install similar monuments in other areas around Amman in the near future.

An Official Apology

On the BBC News website today I read about the Amnesty International Report that has just been published. The headline from it is:

Sixty years of human rights failure – governments must apologize and act now!!!!

On December 10th of this year, it will be the 60 years anniversary of the human rights declaration. What I found quite interesting is this following statement:

"It says world leaders should apologise for 60 years of human rights failures since the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948."

Can you imagine the world leaders apologising to us for 60 year of human rights failures??? I think it would be an amazing sight. Imagine, putting Aljazeera on to find ALL the world leaders one after another coming up to the microphone and saying sorry in their own language to their own people.

It seriously would be a sight to remember!