Historian

We'll bring down the wall, Freedom for Palestine

2011-06-03T12:42:00.000+03:00

Save Birgish...

2011-05-15T22:23:00.000+03:00

Things i wanna do in 2010

2009-12-29T02:20:00.000+02:00

1. Spend Easter in Macedonia :)

2. Visit 5 new countries... that i haven't been before.. for the sake of it. (Preferably : Italy, Malta, Russia, Norway and UAE )

3. Visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth.

4. Oh Ya.. Explore Petra entirely! (i know!)

5. Enrich my home library with 25 New books (novels).. and read them.

6. Master the art of making cakes :D

7. Blog more..

8. Relationship? am still thinking about it :D

9. Surprise my mom and dad with sth they have both wanted from a long time.

10. Make a stronger impact on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.. as well as the Greek-Macedonian dispute.. to break down the sterotypes connected to both issues.

Eid Mubarak

2009-11-28T15:49:00.002+02:00

Eid Mubarak everyone.. May this joyful occasion bring peace.. tolerance and joy to your hearts.. and bring all your loved ones around you to celebrate with laughter and happiness.

كل عام وانتو بخير

Just when you think this couldn't get any more ridiculous! Greece surprises.. this time with Iceland!

2009-11-22T03:10:00.003+02:00

Greek-Macedonian spat splatters Iceland

The ongoing Greek-Macedonian dispute has spilled over to affect Icelanders…in Washington DC and Norway.

The issue came up when Hjalmar Hannesson, Iceland’s ambassador to the USA decided to screen the new film by Norway-based Icelander Sigurjon Einarsson.

Einarsson’s film is called ‘A Name is a Name’ and is set in Macedonia and explores the country’s relationship with Greece, which claims the name Macedonia is already in use by a region in Greece and cannot therefore be used by the nation of Macedonia. This seemingly minor issue has soured relations between Skopje and Athens since Macedonian independence in 1991 and has even stalled Macedonian intentions to join the EU and other organisations.

Macedonian sources claim that Athens threatened to hinder Iceland’s own EU application procedure if Hannesson decided to show the movie. The proposed date of the private screening and whether or not Hannesson has chosen to go ahead are not yet known.

From MINA, the Macedonian International News Agency:

“On October 21, Icelandic Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Hjalmar Hannesson, invited a select group of invitees to his Washington, DC residence for a screening of a film by Icelandic filmmaker Sigurjon Einarsson.

“Upon hearing of this, Greece’s foreign ministry via its Embassy in DC had sent a communique to Iceland’s US Ambassador not to showcase the movie, hinting Athens could made life difficult for Reykyavik’s application for EU membership.

““A Name is a Name” movie was being shown as a part in spreading Icelandic made culture in the US. This may be the first time a foreign Ambassador is told what movie he can’t show at his private residence by a foreign country. Pesky Athenians.”

via

نفسي في ... وتفو عليه

2009-11-08T22:21:00.006+02:00

Last week.. i watched "The Ugly Truth".. and two days ago i watched another movie titled "he is just not that into you" - i know pretty long title.. am not sure if its the exact name of the movie.. but hey focus on the meaning.. Anyway, both movies are discussing similar topic : "Rules of Dating"... they are both interesting.. and informative.. though the first one is funnier.. the second one is more realistic..

Many of you already think.. ya right.. another romance - comedy movie.. that has nothing to do with reality.. but in fact..i find those two focusing on real issues.. on painful moments.. happy ones.. things almost everyone is ignoring or pretending they don't exist.

Let me draw you a picture there... you meet someone that you like.. u wonder how shall u call him/her out.. or lets get more specific.. if u r a girl.. how should u make the guy ask u out.. or if u r a guy..how should you ask her out without being rejected.. is there really a rule that the guy should ask the girl out? can't the girl ask the guy out? or does that make her look desperate and needy?

Lets imagine you did manage to ask her/him out or get his/her phone number one way or another.. and the date goes well..you enjoy your time.. have good laugh... flirt.. joke around with some sexual associations maybe.. but then what? the date ends.. who will do the first step? who will call the other.. and ask him/her on a second date.. maybe a romantic dinner? many challenges suddenly appear.. and life gets very complicated... I won't go into more details in how deep a relationship might go.. but trust me.. the mind games continue to increase with every step forward you go...

This mind game .. is all about the Ego... many.. both guys and girls.. believe that if they do an honest step forward.. and deal with the relationship exactly how the gut feeling says.. that they will be the weak part of the relationship.. Both movies suggest a theory.. that i personally agree that it happens.. but don't agree that its the right thing to do... nor have ever done it to anyone. The theory is based on one single thesis : if you ignore someone..you actually wants that person... u send a message that you are independent.. and don't need anyone.. and hence you hit the other person's Ego.. so basically he or she decides to crush the other person's Ego.. and thus becomes trapped in the dating-mind-ego game. Many by the way fall in love during that game.. but that is not necessarily bound to happen. Unfortunately.. if you think u r mature enough... not to fall into this mind game.. well.. sorry.. i have bad news for you : game over - u r single.. Unless.. you find an exception.. or you are an exception yourself.

When does this mind game end? In Jordan or at least in our eastern culture.. usually ends when a commitment or marriage is declared.. but generally thats not true.. since rules are in general intended to be broken eventually... if and only if.. the relationship is based on the theory i rambled about above..

Myself.. i had my doubts if this theory is actually the case with me.. or with the society surrounding me.. i had my ups and downs.. believing that it actually is true.. but after some thinking... i still believe that honesty... directness... and more honesty.. is the key to a successful relationship.. I firmly believe that any relationship that starts because of rejection (which actually means acceptance) .. is just the first sign that this relationship is going to fail. Small kids do that.. when they try attract girl's attention by hitting her.. or by stealing her notebook.. or by using practical jokes.. bad ones.. to give the impression of dislike.. but we are not kids anymore.. and those who still practice those methods.. well.. with all due respect.. they are not relationship material.. and will end up single.. or unhappy.

Featured campaign: "Khede Kasra - Women Empowerment"

2009-10-19T12:14:00.002+03:00

لحن العودة إلى فلسطين

2009-10-17T13:41:00.003+03:00

The following clip.. is intended to be silent... to be delivered to people through other senses rather than reading.. with music.. with the truth.. with honesty.. and with emotions that can not be described in any different way...

This clip is produced by Al-Quds TV to inaugurate their TV channel..

Enjoy..

BAD09: Nature's revenge

2009-10-15T11:55:00.005+03:00

It really is frustrating to keep hearing about conferences, actions, campaigns and zillions of other activities to raise awareness about the Climate change and the Global warming and find out later that no results have taken place. At least i haven't felt any change.. nor have seen any optimistic reaction from anyone... why? well because those countries who are concerned to do those actions are well.. wealthy enough to fund such projects.

I live in Jordan, pretty calm country... peaceful.. expensive... and unfortunately poor when it comes to resources and economy; so what kind of actions the world is expecting from me? To start recycling our garbage? to teach people that you can't put metals, with glasses, with plastic and food all together in one tiny single bin? really ? is it gonna work? are you sure? ...Maybe... but I honestly doubt not because people aren't intelligent enough to learn the new habit but because people really have more issues to deal with.. well at least in my region. Come to think of which... each place on earth has its own problems..the biggest two continents are facing some pretty serious problems, for instance in Africa they have an enormous expansion of diseases... in Asia they have a population crisis that makes it easier for natural disasters to kill people... Not to mention the endless wars and unbalanced use of weapons.

I don't think that our problem is recycling, nor technology.. nor the sun.. nor the climate.. its us.. we are FAR too many for the earth to handle... and i don't think it was designed to handle such number.. and as time passes.. earth's population is increasing exponentially. I do agree with all the efforts the world is trying to do.. to solve the problem.. but how about going to the route of the problem.. which i believe is the unplanned and uncontrollable increase in the Earth's population... It really is selfish of us living at the moment.. to give birth to children that won't even have enough food to survive.. it really is sad to see that there are thousands of children in Africa and Asia abounded by their un-qualified parents...

What happens on earth today.. is just a natural reaction... Earth's population must decrease.. or at least the population density must decrease.. and be more balanced around the world.. with some planning and proper administration ... countries should start orienting themselves to the rural areas of it instead of increasing the population in the big cities... that i think would give the nature a chance to breath .. otherwise.. the Earth has its ways to get rid of us. I guess the concept of Revenge isn't human after all.

I am aware that there are many global efforts to control the activity of the Developed and developing countries.. within an international protocol... all i wish is that they take into consideration the route problem that i see it.. and blend it in the new Copenhagen Environmental protocol to be announced later this year.

Today is the best day of your life... Love it !

2009-10-08T12:22:00.001+03:00

42 cm squared

2009-10-04T18:14:00.000+03:00

Eid Mubarak

2009-09-19T20:45:00.003+03:00

كل عام وانتو بخير

كل عام وبلادنا وشعبنا بخير

وكل عام والمحبة جامعيتنا

"How to tie a tie" pre-interview action!

2009-09-18T23:05:00.010+03:00

Ever since i came to Jordan.. a month ago.. i've been job hunting.. i know iknow.. its the worst year to be a fresh graduate and to job hunt because of the economic crisis and all.. but i had to go for it.. So my job hunt started through the regular recruitment websites (bayt, akhtaboot, the Jordanian Engineering Association) and ofcourse the most popular soruce of job vacancies.. newspaper! I worked hard on my CV.. and on a universal cover letter.. and made accounts everywhere.. and the process officially started in mid August.

I started responding to most of the ads that are closely or remotely related to my major.. or submajor.. and this process was repeated almost everyday.. things started to get boring... and i know.. these things take time.. so i was patient and waited.

I saw that these methods weren't effective enough.. so i decided to work more aside of the ads and started to search for companies websites and send my CVs to any possible contact available on their website.. with the subject "Job Application"... desperate? well.. i had to try this way as well :) ..

2 weeks later.. it actually worked.. one pretty big company** actually responded to me..and the response came from the CEO.. i was impressed.. the email stated that i will be contacted by the HR for formal application and arranging interview.. i got hyper and all.. but then something happend.. Ramadan started..

i kept on waiting.. and waiting for their response.. and nothing.. i lost hope.. and expected that if there is any possibility for them to call it will be after Eid.. since productivity is always low during Ramadan unfortunately. But few days ago.. i was surprised by a phone call from the manager of the department i'm applying for asking me to come for interview the next day at 1! i got all hyper and stressed and started calling my friends for tips and advices on what to do on my very first interview... as an Engineer.

The interview day came.. and i was planning to dress smart casual... but phone calls interrupted the harmony i was in.. with hyper notes like "walak you should be wearing your suite! Gosh you should show them respect! " or "a shirt without a jacket and a tie.. ?! are u nuts?!" and "if you don't wear a suite you won't get the Job samer... " .. so i gave up.. and decided to obey my friend's advices.. and wear my suite.. but 2 hours before the interview.. i faced a huge problem.. my dad is at work.. nobody else is home.. and i don't know how to tie my tie! i know i know.. make fun as u want.. am

23 years old man who still havent learnt how to tie his tie.. well in my defence.. there was always someone around to do that for me.. and never imagined things will get that dramatic someday :D.

So being hyper and stressed wasn't a problem any more.. my biggest issue was how to tie my tie..! I tried to be creative.. and the results were a huge disaster... the clock was ticking.. i had an hour and a half to be ready.. and my tie hasn't been tied yet.. i thought of calling a friend to ask how.. then i realised life isn't "who wants to be a millionaire" contest.. but we are in the age of internet..! so yea yea.. am geek.. i googled it! :) and here is the result :

I tried it few times.. having the steps above in front of me.. and after more than 20 attempts.. it actually worked! I learnt how to tie my tie.. in the geekiest way ever! hehe..

I dressed up.. and was very happy for my achievement.. i know it may sound silly.. but that very small achievment.. gave me the neccessary self confidence that was shaking due to stress.. that i can do anything under pressure... and moreover i can be successful under stress.. and thats something if they are proffessional enough.. they should notice.

I went to the interview happy and calm.. and gave the best i can.. and it actually worked .. :) i am un-officially accepted to be part of their engineer's "gang" ... and during mid october things will become inshalla official.. :) **Once i sign the agreement.. i will announce what is the company i will be working at..!

It was a day to remember ... :)

Amman Twestival

2009-09-17T13:18:00.003+03:00

I've been struggling the past few days since attending Amman twestival to blog about it... i came back home after the event.. trying to tide up my thoughts and all the info i got from the extremely heated discussion but decided to sleep it over.. and blog about it the next day..

The next day... i woke up.. did my usual morning things.. and checked my email.. at first i couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing... i thought am clearly still sleeping.. let me go make some nescafe.. and read the emails.. i came back.. and there it was again! i wasn't dreaming.. i got the Job interview i've been waiting for since last month.. i got all hyper and fuzzy and lost any possible concentration :D .. i suppose you still wonder whats the big deal about having an interview.. but in my case.. its my very first Job interview since i came to Amman.. plus its in one of the places i've always dreamt to work at.. aside of being directly into my major (Mechatronics) its also one of the coolest jobs in Jordan! so there.. at the moment.. i completely forgot about my intentions to blog about Amman Twestival!

So lets go back to Amman Twestival... many posts where dedicated to the event.. many even blogged about it or twitted it live.. some even posted the most powerful 10 quotes mentioned.. all of which in general covered all the details of the event.

For me it was impressive.. for different aspects... the organization itself was a huge success.. thanks to Malik Shishtawi and his foundation.. who made it possible... amazing effort.. and organization in suh a short period. On the other hand, the speaker's (M. Khawaja) presence and personality made the entire experience fun and professional.. including the casual attitude and friendly atmosphere that managed to transform the tiny mistakes into funny situations.. that allowed us to be actually enjoying the discussion. All in all.. it was a huge success! Thank you Malik and Mohammad!

The event guests... were actually very informative.. and encouraging.. i mean.. they managed somehow to make what am doing more sense..i mean i've been blogging and twittering for a while.. and i haven't found any support from any of my friends or my family.. probably coz they can't comprehend what actually am doing when blogging.. but that night .. it all made sense and gave me a push forward to continue.. so Thank you for that!

The idea of live twitting during the event was actually an interesting enhancement to the discussion.. as it gave the attendees more power for interacting... it gave the chance to regular bloggers.. and internet "geeks" to be able to express their opinion..in rather a fun way.. so the discussion wasn't exclusive to the more professional ones.. but to everyone! which is something i really liked.. it also gave the chance to many twiterjeyyeh :) to be part of the event who for many reasons couldn't be there with us... It also got us a special iPhone discount from the CEO of Orange Mrs. Majd Shweikeh who was also attending the Twestival ... her precense is deeply appreciated.. hoping that more customer - client communication will be conducted in the near future! Thanks for that as well! :) am definitely going to use the discount :)

It was one of those moments when i actually was proud of seeing such event being conducted in Jordan... it gives back high hopes of the Jordanian Youth and Enterprenurs.. i won't go into details about the event.. as its too late for me now to talk about what happend .. hehe .. others have already talked about it in details.. i just wanted to share with you my experience at the 2nd Amman Twestival and waiting for the 3rd one in the near future! Way to go guys! keep it up!

p.s. this post is exclusivley dedicated to Amman Twestival and the Organizers :)... will keep u posted of what happend in the interview day.. (yesterday) in my next post !

What history tires to forget...

2009-09-11T18:04:00.007+03:00

Apparently i've been.. or better said my readers have been experiencing some difficulties using my blog. Well not reading it obviously.. but commenting on it. Dunno what exactly was the problem.. but my fellow blogger Naser has pointed out that problem to me and thanks to his note i changed the template and made some blog makeover hoping that would solve the problem and refresh a bit the boring background/template i was using.

So here is the outcome of the "makeover" and the commenting problem no longer exists. I would like to express my apology to all those who have tried to comment during the past period and their comments weren't published.. but i didn't actualy know that there was a problem and that the commenting was disabled. I hope that won't be repeated again. :)

That being said, during my blog makeover... i decided to give my blog a more specific direction.. and purpose. Although mainly during the past 2 years of its existance.. it has been a runaway corner where some ideas emerged.. or some frustrations were expressed as well as some topics that have some historical conotations. Now, after some experiements.. i noticed that the topics that provoke me to write are those concerned with some attempts to change history or better said to create fake history. That doesn't only mean political history.. but everyday events and facts.. that some try to forget.. or other try to hide and eventually become forgotten history. For that purpose, i will try to go for more hidden topics and stories.. about our history.. about our nation.. about our people.. in both Jordan and Palestine.. as well as my second homeland Macedonia.

Hence, "what history tries to forget..." is going to be the new theme of the blog.. that will touch many stories.. events.. people.. and destinies. Stay Tuned! :)

اسمحولي احكي

2009-08-30T17:53:00.007+03:00

أول ما بلشت المدونة، كانت الفكرة الأولية أنها تكون بالانجليزي لأنه القراء المستهدفين هم الأجانب بالدرجة الأولى أو العرب المغتربين. استمرت المدونة سنتين تقريبا على هذا الحال...لغاية اليوم! اليوم قررت أنه أكتب بالعربي وبالعامية كمان لأكتر من سبب. أولا من باب ما ننشر غسيلنا الوسخ بالشارع والاجانب يضحكوا علينا وتانياً لأن المستهدفين من هذا البوست هم الأردنيين و مواطنين ها البلد أولا وأخواننا العرب تانياُ.

السبب الرئيسي اللي خلاني أطلع من سكوتي عن مجتمعنا الأردني هو درجة التخلف اللي كل مالها بتزيد بمجتمعنا اللي إحنا نازلين نفتخر فيه. ليش تخلف؟ ما إحنا متعلمين و مثقفين وماشاء الله علينا؟ جايكم بالحكي حبه حبه

أولا بالرغم من كل الحملات اللي عم بعملوها أفراد أو مؤسسات ضد جرائم الشرف ...كلو عالفاضي... لأ والاسوء من هيك انه عم بزيد! كأنه لما بنحكي عن الموضوع بنزكر الناس انه ممكن تعمل هيك بخواتها ؟ يعني مش عارف ها الأخ اللي عامل حاله شريف انه إذا قتل نفس واحد كأنه قتل أمة كاملة فما بالك لما تكون أخته؟ وين التربية الدينية الصح؟ ولا التربية الدينية بنحكي فيها بس ع امتحان التوجيهي و رمضان؟ كيف بنام ها القاضي الي بحكم على قاتل بس سنه؟ كيف إلو عين يصوم برمضان مش فاهم! كيف ما بخجل من أمه اللي ربته وعللمته يحترم كل الناس ...كيف بيتطلع ع بنته أو زوجته أو أخته وهو بعرف إنه عم بشجع قتل صبايا متلهم بس لأنه في واحد شريف قدر يجيب كم واحد يشهد بالمحكمة أنه فعلاً وسخت سمعة العيلة! يا سيدي وإذا وسخت سمعة العيلة مين أعطاك الحق تتعالى على ربنا وتقرر متى تنهي حياة خلقها الله مش انت؟

كيف ممكن النواب بالبرلمان يكونو ساكتين!! ما بخافو ربنا؟ ولا الدين صار موضه هالأيام... والشرف أهم! كيف؟ حد يفهمني !

وبعدين ليه التمييز العنصري بين الزلمة والمرة! يعني ليه بلوموا المرة مش الزلمة؟ ولا البنت نص بني آدمة؟ ربنا هيك علمنا؟ ولا إمكم هيك ربتكم؟ أشك بهذا الحكي

كيف ممكن الاساتذة بالمدارس والجامعات يطلعوا ويضلوا ساكتن على أكبر تخلف بضرب هالمجتمع. والاسوء من هيك أنهم راضيين يخرجوا شباب قليلين ترباية ! قال تربية وتعليم قال !

تانيا نيجي لمشكلة جريمة القتل اللي صارت مؤخرا وعملت زوبعة إلها أول ما إلها آخر... حد يفهمني ها الجماعة مش عاجبهم يعني القانون الأردني؟ ولا مش عاجبيتهم فكرة انه في قانون بين الناس؟ طب مش هدول الناس بآمنو بربنا؟ والتشريع والقانون جاي من ربنا؟ ليش مش محترمين ربنا ؟ ليش مش محترمين سيادة البلد؟ ليش مش محترمين الدستور الأردني؟ طب أوكي بدنا الحق يبين... وقفت ع هاي الجريمة؟ والجرائم اللي بيسووها اليهود بشعبنا بفلسطين ما بدو عطوة أمنية؟ أنا بقول بس يتفقوا ها الجماعة نروح ع غزة نعمللنا كم دراما هناك بنكهة أردنية مع اليهود

أييييح ع هال بلد شو بدو يشوف كمان

في الوقت اللي كل العالم بيحترمنا ع الجهود اللي بنعملها كشعب أردني وكعائلة مالكة عشان ننشرالسلام والثقافة... ونغير الصورة النمطية عن العرب و الاسلام... وبنحارب التطرف بأنواعه، لسه في ناس عايشة في الجاهلية.

أكتر شي مؤذ بالموضوع هو الإعلام الفاشل زي موقع سرايا و غيرها من المواقع الإعلامية اللي نسيت أو بالأحرى عملت حالها معهاش خبر عن موضوع بيع شركة مكتوب دوت كوم لـ ياهو وفضلت تحكي عن قصص فاضية هبله زيهم.

ع كلِ بتمنى شي مسؤول يقرا اللي كتبتوا و يفهمني ليه هيك عم بيصير ببلدنا...وليه عم نرجع لورا وشكراً

P.S. This post is targeted to Jordanians.. to all Non-Arab rearders...its an internal Jordanian issue that i don't wish to share with you.. for personal reasons.

Al Jazeera..."professional" journalism

2009-08-22T20:23:00.005+03:00

Few years ago, the European Union has announced a program called "Schengen Visa Liberalisation program" targeted mainly to the countries in the Balkans to obtain a Visa Free system between them and the EU. This step means that the nationals of the countries applying to the program will no longer need the EU VISA to enter EU, but rather just their national passport and get a stamp from the first border and then travel freely within the EU for 3 months for tourism and family visits.

The countries that applied for the program are : Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. The EU announced the conditions of becoming part of that program. The conditions were technical and political.

Technical in the sense of improving several aspects: illegal migration reduction, reforms in issuing citizenship, introducing the new Biometric passports, connecting all borders check points with unified center and creating a national Visa center and make the entrance of foreign nationals more organized and controlled.

Political in the sense of improving Political stability in the country and corruption reduction.. in order for the EU to be able to protect itself from any illegal economic activity once they are able to travel inside the EU.

The EU created a special commission and marking scale, in which each country will be evaluated and graded.. and then the commission passes the recommendation to the European Parliament that at the end decided weather the country deserves to have a VISA free system or no.

Earlier this year.. Spring 2009, the commission travelled to all the countries and checked the progress of each country.. and graded the country based on the previously mentioned criteria and then announced the marks later. In June the commission announced which countries were qualified enough and stated the reason why each country got the visa system.. or didn't get the visa system.

The result was that 3 from the 5 countries got the Visa Program and those are : Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Whereas Albania and Bosnia & Herzegovina were encouraged to continue the reforms required and that they will be graded and reviewed again later on.

Al-Jazeera news the other day made a report about that program and made a weird conclusion : "Bosnia didn't get the Visa system.. because they are Muslims" and " Muslims are not welcomed in Europe". I wonder how the hell they get that conclusion? What about Albania.. aren't they Muslims as well..? why the stress on Bosnia? on the other hand... if they are that professional journalism they should have known that 25 % of the Macedonians are Muslims.. and since Macedonia got the grades required.. they got the VISA free system.. including the Muslims in the country..! So according to Aljazeera.. Muslim Macedonians should not be able to go to EU..! Shameful journalism.

Such report is just one of the hundred miss leading reports, in which Aljazeera is trying to create negative feelings between Muslims and Christians.. or EU in general. Its a shame that such respected news agency.. is hiring such un-professional journalists and even more they don't search the correct news.. but rather are willing to create problems between nations.. just to increase the number of their viewers.

Ramadan Kareem

2009-08-22T19:58:00.003+03:00

Ramadan Kareem to all the Muslims in the world..

May this blessed month bring inner peace and love..

May God's blessings touch your souls.. & help us all be more tolerant.. and respective to each other.

Kul 3am wento be 5air :)

An entire city.. goes back to 1903.. just for the fun of it!

2009-08-20T21:39:00.003+03:00

Imagine an entire city .. its people.. its streets.. to go back to 1903.. like a living museum... showing to the world what happened in 1903. In the small city of Krushevo today's Macedonia in 1903.. the Macedonians started their uprising and revolution against the Ottoman Empire. The city was the home of the very first republic in the Balkans. The uprising however was ended in 10 days.. during which.. the Macedonians rose their voice to the world.. and announced that they have a dream.. named Macedonia.

Today.. the people of this city, have decided to start an interesting and somehow fun initiative to remember the Uprising of Ilinden of the 2nd of August 1903, so hundreds of local people in the city, decided to dress up like Ottoman Asker, and Macedonian revolutionists, and repeat the events happened in the city more than a century ago during the Macedonian celebration of the Uprising.

In the streets, people where dancing and singing .. celebrating Freedom.. they even performed a fake wedding.. just for the fun of it! The idea is mainly to remind the new generations about the importance of the event.. and as a tourist attraction ..to be walking inside the very first Ethno City in the Balkans.. more like a living museum.. or a movie set from 1903.

Watch the report from Krushevo below.. made by BBC two weeks ago.. Enjoy :)

My friends.. the greatest gift of Amman.. am back

2009-08-16T00:36:00.008+03:00

It has been a while since i blogged and checked on you guys.. But the past 2 weeks were extremely hectic.. there were so many things to talk about.. and blog about.. i even made soo many mental flags about events and things i passed since i left Macedonia and started my road trip towards Jordan.. but i never found the right time to write them down.

Its great to be back to Amman.. too many things have changed.. but even more things have remained the same. Probably because i was following the news and the events about Jordan.. so i wasn't surprised by most of the things.. my friends were even surprised that i knew some details they didn't know..!

My friends.. the greatest gift of all.. have made it quit great to be back in Amman.. i never imagined it will make me that happy. I never knew how much i miss them.. and love them until i left.. everytime i go out with them.. order some food for dinner together.. i can't stop smiling.. and thanking God for having them..

I wanted to write so many things... and i wanted to comment on so many topics..but i would like to dedicate this post to my Friends.. who made it so much easy to leave my best Macedonia.. to my dearest Jordan :-)

Tawjihi? Very over rated event..

2009-07-29T18:46:00.005+03:00

Looking at the news and following the raising euphoria in the Jordanian Media / streets about announcing the tawjihi results.. i couldn't help it .. but going back 5 years in time. Yes.. i finished tawjihi in the doomed year of 2004.. when the tests were stolen.. and i had to repeat 3 exams (Arabic, English and Chemistry)... but thats not really the point of this post...

I mean.. yea it was a big deal at that time for me.. only because i felt there is an enormous tension raising around me.. my parents.. my brother.. my family... hell even my school teachers where expecting me to get high average.. "abayed esm el madraseh".. its like they look at my success as a way to get their name out of the mud?! ma 3alena..

Bottom line.. it was a big deal to me... but after that.. i started my university journey.. which by all means was 500 % harder than the tawjihi ! even though i was still on the older system (not 7ozam) which was even harder than the new one. You have 10 subjects.. 10 books.. the questions are limited to the text book given... the Ministry.. has never .. literally never asked questions that are not available clearly in the book... or teacher's notebook.. which really makes the task a lot easier on the student.

They just ask you to study... simply... its not like they are asking students to discover a new anti-matter bomb .. or go to CERN and be part of the experiment of the century!

Even though the examing system has been changed slightly.. and made more easy.. people tend to make a big deal out of it... making a huge pressure.. on the students.. who are supposed to have the time of their life as their puberty period hits the climax at that age. Do you know what the result is? Once they pass this step.. students have this illusion that if u manage to pass tawjihi.. they will manage to pass everything ahead... - the biggest mistake ever!

Tawjihi is just a selection way .. designed by the education system.. to find out the strong and weak points of our students... It should be a big deal for the students.. but not a big deal for the family or the society for that matter. Families should point out to their students.. that its just the first step.. and that from now on.. u should start fighting to get anything.. thats how life works.. u need to fight to get whatever u need... and Tawjihi is just the first lesson... every next step.. is just a harder "tawjihi experience"...

Believe me Tawjihi Graduates.. after 4 or 5 years.. when u finish inshalla your University.. u will not be able to describe your happiness and satisfaction.. u will even look back at ur tawjihi experience as a piece of cake. Celebrate today.. you have won a battle.. but not the war.. Congratulations for now.. and good luck in your next "tawjihi" experience.

p.s. for those who didn't pass.. well... there is a natural phenomenon called "Natural selection".. in which only the strong can survive... put that in mind.

City Center...

2009-07-25T15:03:00.003+03:00

Time: Friday 24th of July 2009 , 8:30 a.m

Place: Square Macedonia - City Center Skopje

- Church bells singing..

- a huge flag proudly standing in front of the stone bridge.

- The stone bridge carrying the smell of the Ottomans and holding the people above Vardar.

- An old man drinking coffee in a cafe..

- Two women discussing politics loudly (the name issue) in the same cafe.. the old man shushes them.

- A man cleaning the square..

- Flowers and Statues everywhere..

- An adorable old couple.. wearing funny hats.. and holding each others hands.. and walking towards the river..

- News paper delivery boy.. riding his bicylce.

- The Millenium Cross from one side.. the Ottoman Acropole (Kale) guarding the square..

- Me.. having Burek and Yogurt for Breakfast.. on a bench.. enjoying the view.. and saying to myself.. "its good to be here again.. and i will defenetly come back..."

Coming soon to Jordan..

Thanks Wikipedia!

2009-07-22T16:18:00.003+03:00

For all those University days..

For all those unslept nights writing lab reports.. and homeworks..

For all those hectic days before submitting our graduation project..

Thanks Wikipedia ! :-)))

common admit it.. at some point we have all used it !

Things i miss in Jordan

2009-07-19T20:15:00.003+03:00

- Abu el Abed coffee (@ the cliff )

- the noise of Amman's Taxis

- going by bus to JU.. ( mojtama3.. zera3a... 3oloom..w ra2eessee :) )

- Hummus, Foul and Falafel :D.. + fatteh from Kal7a el Gardenz..

- Mansaf.. (ever since i travelled everyone started promising 3ozomet Mansaf when i come back... yalla prepare jameedatkom ! :D )

- buying DVDs from Downtown Amman.. ( Abood probably thinks i switched to someone else :) )

- a freshly squeezed Orange Juice in Downtown Amman..

- Cocktail Ranoush - Jabal Hussein

- Shawerma 3arabi ..

- Nescafe from JU - Engineering Cafeteria...

- Irth Academy outings.. :)

- Orthodox Club family dinners..

- singing with my Choir..

- trix ! - naa i hate that game.. i just liked how my friends get competitive during the game.. while i couldn't care less!

- Shopping from Safeway Shemisani @ midnight

- Madaba..

- my friends "birthday" gatherings..

- dancing on Arabic music..

- Cups&Kilos coffee latte..

- Hani Mitwasi's events..

- Sport City running track..

- Nutella Saj.. from Saj Haretna Rabyeh

- Ka3ek from Salahdein Backery in Abdali...

- Village Cafe..

- my friends..

- and my friends :)

Officially coming soon to Jordan :)

Masonic Symbol in St. Stephan Church of Ohrid

2009-07-16T13:53:00.013+03:00

Few days ago i came back from one of the most amazing places I've ever visited. Ohrid.. a city by a wonderful lake.. rich with its natural, cultural and spiritual treasures. Ohrid has been protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage site since 1980.. and at the moment is a candidate to be one of the New 7 natural wonders of the world. The city is filled with Monasteries.. churches.. museums.. cultural events.. and a peaceful lake.. that u can look at for hours.

One of the monasteries located in the mountain few kilometers from the beach, took my attention more than the rest of the monasteries. Built in the 9th century, St. Stephan Monastery is a living reminder of the way monks used to live in the medieval time.

The church is isolated.. and in order to reach it.. you need to walk for 30 minutes into the woods.. and the mountain to reach at the end.. a huge rock. On top of this rock there is a big cross.. and under that cross.. an entrance to the tiny monastery. The rock actually is the Church... and next to the "rock" .. a small house were the monks who take care of it live.

and here is the entrance of the Church:

It's a very small church.. with just an altar.. and a smaller room where you can enter and pray.. and the rest of the space is the inside of the rock.. which surprisingly is hollow.

Things seemed fine.. until i noticed on the roof of the entrance chapel.. right under the small cross in the picture above, i noticed an interesting drawing.. of a yellow triangle.. and an eye in it.

If you have read Dan Brown's Angles & Demons.. u recongize a weird similiarity.. with this drawing.. and with the drawings in the churches or Rome.. having a Masonic symbol iside a church.. and for those who hasn't read A&D yet, the Pyramid Eye.. is of the symbols left by the Masonic movement.. this very same pyramid.. is found also on the 1 US dollar as u can see below:

The similarity is obvious.. there is no doubt that its the same symbol.. but the question why is it drawn there.. in a medieval Orthodox monastery that originally is built in the 9th century..?

I asked a nun who was cleaning the Church and asked her why does it represent.. and when was it drawn.. she answered that it has 2 meanings.. the first that it represents the third eye.. on our forehead.. which is one of the energy points in our body which connects our soul with spiritual life. The second theory states that it represents the eye of Lucifer or Horus. (According to the legend Horus has lost one of his eyes in a battle in which he killed Set). The nun didn't know when was it drawn on the wall.. but she says it has been protecting the monastery from the Turkish and Albanian attacks during the Ottoman empire.. which gives at least 200 or 300 years of existence if not more.

The icons drawn on the walls inside of the church.. were older.. and almost fading.. unlike the eye pyramid drawing.. i asked why is the difference.. does that mean that the icons are drawn thousand years ago.. and the eye is recent? She responeded that the church has been renovated many times.. the latest in the 70s ... so all the drawings that do not represent any Saints.. were redrawn.

She explained further.. that monks and nuns.. used to crush the bones of the saints.. and mix them with the color powder.. and use that same powder to draw on the walls.. so that the saint's body actually is on the wall.. this heritage and tradition.. actually explained in my head why in the Orthodox churches even in Jordan.. people kiss the icons.. and the walls.. which means that this tradition happened in all the places Orthodox Christianity spread.. including Jordan & Palestine. With that the nun also explained why the icons and drawings inside were not repainted.. to keep it authentic and holy as it was drawn when the monastery was built. Below you can see the drawings am talking about :

The question remained unanswered in my head.. what does masonic symbol do in a Orthodox church.. and was it "recently" painted.. or was it painted in the 9th century when it was built..

I guess this enigma will remain so.. but it is worth knowing.. that every drawing .. and painting.. has a particular meaning and reason.

Palestine : I resist!

2009-07-13T13:40:00.003+03:00

via

Jordan takes you beyond...

2009-07-06T22:45:00.001+03:00

The City of light...

2009-07-02T20:46:00.003+03:00

On Love... by J.K.Jubran

2009-07-01T17:54:00.001+03:00

البعض نحبهم

لكن لا نقترب منهم ........ فهم في البعد أحلى

وهم في البعد أرقى .... وهم في البعد أغلى

والبعض نحبهم

ونسعى كي نقترب منهم

ونتقاسم تفاصيل الحياة معهم

ويؤلمنا الابتعاد عنهم

ويصعب علينا تصور الحياة حين تخلو منهم.

والبعض نحبهم

ونتمنى أن نعيش حكاية جميله معهم

ونفتعل الصدف لكي نلتقي بهم

ونختلق الأسباب كي نراهم

ونعيش في الخيال أكثر من الواقع معهم

والبعض نحبهم

لكن بيننا وبين أنفسنا فقط

فنصمت برغم الم الصمت

فلا نجاهر بحبهم حتى لهم لان العوائق كثيرة

والعواقب مخيفه ومن الأفضل لنا ولهم أن تبقى

الأبواب بيننا وبينهم مغلقه...

والبعض نحبهم

فنملأ الأرض بحبهم ونحدث الدنيا عنهم

ونثرثر بهم في كل الأوقات

ونحتاج إلى وجودهم ......كالماء ..والهواء

ونختنق في غيابهم أو الابتعاد عنهم

والبعض نحبهم

لأننا لا نجد سواهم

وحاجتنا إلى الحب تدفعنا نحوهم

فالأيام تمضي

والعمر ينقضي

والزمن لا يقف

ويرعبنا بأن نبقى بلا رفيق

والبعض نحبهم

لان مثلهم لا يستحق سوى الحب

ولا نملك أمامهم سوى أن نحب

فنتعلم منهم أشياء جميله

ونرمم معهم أشياء كثيرة

ونعيد طلاء الحياة من جديد

ونسعى صادقين كي نمنحهم بعض السعادة

والبعض نحبهم

لكننا لا نجد صدى لهذا الحب في

قلوبهــم

فننهار و ننكسر

و نتخبط في حكايات فاشلة

فلا نكرههم

ولا ننساهم

ولا نحب سواهم

ونعود نبكيهم بعد كل محاوله فاشلة

.. والبعض نحبهم ..

.. ويبقى فقط أن يحبوننا..

.. مثلما نحبهم

جبران خليل جبران

الحلم العربي

2009-07-01T17:24:00.005+03:00

Going back in time remembering MJ and his music.. and flipping through my memories.. i came across this song.. i remember how powerful it was at that time.. and how much energy can put in you.. and determination to make the Dream come true.. now.. I looked it up.. and found it on Youtube.. listend to it.. the impact is the same.. i still want to have the dream coming true.. but did i do anything in the past 10 years since the first time i heard this song.. to make this dream come true? No.. i wonder what can i do now.. so that 10 years from now i won't feel that bad as today...

*sigh*

Valley of Peace

2009-06-29T23:06:00.004+03:00

The "Two Seas Canal" project... is apparently transforming into the "Vally of Peace" initiative. A project that is supposed to "create" peace.. and bring the peoples of the region together... Take a look at the clip below.

"Let the first Blogger to die in prison be the last" - OR318

2009-06-28T04:03:00.004+03:00

"The March 18 Movement was born out of a tragedy. On this day in 2009, Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian blogger and journalist, died in Evin Prison in Tehran. The December before his death, he was sentenced to two and half years in prison for allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Omid Reza was the first blogger to die in prison and his death reveals that getting censored is far from the worst thing that can happen to a blogger." - OR318 Team.

For further info visit www.march18.org

10 Years anniversary of being online! :)

2009-06-23T22:33:00.006+03:00

Inspired by Ruba's post i started thinking.. when i had my first experience with the Internet, and how it all started.. and i realised that this year.. i should be celebrating 10 years anniversary since i started my "online" life.. !

So lets go back in time, in 1998 i left Jordan to continue elementary school and high school in Macedonia, and my brother was Tawjihi at that time.. so he stayed in Jordan instead. The first year, we were communicating through phone calls (which were very expensive) and well the classical way Post mail (yea in 1998!) until the big day came.. when my bro came for the summer vacation a year later to Macedonia telling me the great invention called EMAIL.. and at that time i was computer illeterate even though i was 7 th grade, but we didn't own a computer at home.. and at school we were taught Computer on a "machine" called Sa5er... ma 3alena i didn't know what Windows is.. nor Microsoft is .. well because the "advanced" Computer lessons start from 8th grade at that time.

Few weeks later, in our small city.. the first internet cafe opened!! :D.. and to the astonishment of the owners.. who thought they will have to teach people.. my bro was the first one there.. almost everyday.. checking his email :D.. and teaching me!

Anyhow, that summer , he travelled back to Amman, and he didn't have time to teach me how to make my own email (i know!) .. i just learnt how to use my brother's email :D.. so he created another one.. and i started using his yahoo account.. so it was like.. i am Ayman.. and he is Ayman..sending to each other..

A month later.. we started taking it at school.. things started to get more clear! :D.. so.. i wanted to create my own email.. and thought well .. here is a chance to be creative..I was the one teaching what is the invention of EMAIL to my class mates.. :D.. and u know puberty and all.. u want to impress the girls... and the gang .. by ur "knowledge".. so i found out this cool ( at that time) email service page "lovemail.com". That year.. everyone was afraid from the 2000 issue.. and i stupidly enough wanted to have cocacola in my username :D.. so the output in my head was : cocacola2000@lovemail.com.. but ofcourse.. that was already taken (DUH!).. and i settled down with one of the suggested usernames : olala2000@lovemail.com.

So excited enough..i emailed my brother from it.. and he was like "shu hal mas5ara ya walad.. e3mal email 3edel".. hehe. So i started thinking of a new one.. i wasn't creative about the username.. and went from extremely funky domain.. into extremly boring one.. (mail.com) and since i was inspired a lot by the word "explorer" (IE) my next attempt was: samerexplorer@mail.com ( i know.. my brother still makes jokes about it.. until now).

Btw, i forgot to mention, that at that time.. since i was still learning (in my defence) i didn't know how to print out an email.. and sometimes the guy who worked there wasn't free.. so i used to copy my brother's emails handwriting..! so that i can read them to my parents!! poor samer.. was so stupid at that time :)))

A year later..i realised i should make a normal e-mail at yahoo.. or hotmail..! and my Mom suggested using my nickname in the family (which is abu samra).. to be as my username withsome prefixes or suffixes...

I tried that.. but it was already taken... so i tried samamiro.. which was how my brother used to call me since i was a kid.. up until today :) but .. my clever mind .. suggested samamiro15 (since i was about to turn 15 that year) @yahoo.com.. which was my first decent email address.. that i used for almost 3 years during which i went t Jordan.. :)

When i became 18.. i thought that its stupid to have samamiro15..! and at that time gmail appeared.. so my first gmail experience.. was with samamiro18@gmail.com. One year later.. i started realising my own stupidity (its good to be self critic no? :P) that its not practical each year t change ur username.. and decided to make a more sustainable email address that won't need any further change.. so the lamp over my head lit up.. and the samamiro86 idea emerged ! :)))

When i started second year university.. i realised i will need more professional email.. to send my homeworks at University.. and since i felt gmail is more professional (less colorful and adds compared to hotmail or Yahoo)... i created my current email (name.surname@gmail.com) .. for all official purposes.. and its the one assigned in my CV.

As time passed... my knowledge in the internet domain.. grew.. as i took courses in HTML and webDesign.. and became interested in blogging.. chatting.. skype.. facebook.. downloading.. groups.. and now twittering :D..

So from the stupid 13 years old boy..:D.. ( i was clever in other things hehe) who was afraid to print out an email.. 10 years ago.. now am twittering and blogging.. and designing my own webpage.. with a Mechatronics Engineering Bachelor Degree in one hand.. and faith and Optimism in the other to start my career.

I am really glad that things are a lot easier for the younger generation nowadays to learn.. and progess with the internet.. but they won't have such a stupid story to tell.. right?

Happy 10th Anniversary to my Internet Experience !

Islam & Christianity in Macedonia

2009-06-23T16:58:00.011+03:00

Islam spread in Macedonia during the Ottoman occupation which lasted for 5 centuries.. not many converted into Islam at that time.. but Islam reached Albania... and more than 80 % of the Albanian population became muslim.. many of these Albanians..during the Ottman Rule.. emmigrated to Macednonia, making a significant minority percentage in the present republic of Macedonia of 33%.

Today, Macedonia.. with its both ethnicities.. and religious groups.. is proud of its heritage of Orthodox Christianity.. and Islam.. and compared to many European countries.. Muslim minority.. enjoy equal rights as muslims in Muslim countries.. of freedom of expressing their faith.. building Mosques.. Eid el Fitr and Al Adha are public Holidays.. and Islamic religion is taught in schools.

Macedonia, is taking another step forward towards coexistance.. between Muslims and Christians.. by promoting the Religious Heritage of Orthdox Christianity and Ottoman Islam and protecting these temples by law.. as national treasure to be protected and taken care of.

For that purpose the Macedonian government made the following clip as part of the series of the "Macedonia timeless" clips.. to promote the temples of Macedonia..

And here are some pictures of some of those Mosques and Churches of Macedonia :

St. John Kanoe - Ohrid

Aladja Mosque - Skopje

St. Naum - Ohrid

Isak Bey Turbe Mosque - Skopje

St. Pantelemon - Ohrid

Bitolska Djamija - Bitola

Hidden Candles in the mountains

2009-06-17T18:27:00.009+03:00

As a kid.. i have never understood the importance of the unlimited monastries scattered around the country. I grew up in Macedonia.. where it was a normal thing to go to the monastry every now and then.. go pray.. lit a candle.. or just perform certain ritual. That was very normal to me.. from religious point of view, but what really puzzled me at that time..was why the hell they were always built far from cities.. into the woods.. or deep in the mountain.. or sometimes in the middle of nowhere. I mean.. if people like to go there a lot.. why didn't they build them close to where people lived so that they can go and visit and do their things anytime they want...

One such monastry is the Monastry of St. Ilya in the mountains not far from the city of Strumica in the southeastern region of Macedonia where i am staying at the moment. It is a small monastry built inside the mountains.. to go there.. u need to reach first the highest point of the city.. from which u can have a wonderful panormic view of the city.. and from which a small path is revealed to you and that leads you deep into the mountains.

Once yo start walking.. the sounds of civilization fade away.. no more cars can be heard.. just you.. and God's creation.. The nature there is untouched.. because simply there is no room for any car to go through that path.. so it kept its purity.. and devine scent.

At first it seems amazing just to see the mountains.. and trees.. but later.. u start to feel the cold breeze of the small rivers popping here and there.. promising a view that will make sure you will stop few moments to mentally capture it...

The trip to St. Ilya (Sv. Ilija) is about 40 minutes walking/climbing.. a time enough to clean ur mind and make you ready to experience the spiritual heritage of the Orthodox Monsatries..

I guess now the location of those Monastries.. make more sense.. for me.. the spiritual peace and happiness.. can't be felt in a church like a monastry.. maybe because you run away from Human's creation.. and get in touch with God's creation...

Later i learnt that it has another reason for being located in such places... Macedonia was under Ottoman rule for 5 centuries... during which the Ottomans forced Islam to the local people.. and spread hate between Islam and Christianity.. to the degree that many Christians were afraid to declare that they were praying and going to the church.. so the Orthodox church.. as a defence mechanism.. to defend its spiritual life.. and faith.. they started building the monastries.. which were used later as faith keepers as well as heritage, traditions and language preservers.

Such monastries were built everywhere around the Balkans.. in Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania and Macedonia.. and thanks to these Monastries.. these countries.. managed to retrive their original independent culture and identity.. upon their independence...despite the 5 centuries Ottoman presence.

And today.. those hidden candles still stand proudly.. to remind us.. that faith can never be overcomed.

St. Ilya (Sv. Ilija) in Strumica Macedonia

There the Sun always shines..

2009-06-12T03:43:00.003+03:00

Amazing country.. amazing people...

It truely is the land where the sun always shines... take a look..

Dubrovnik...a wonderful summer vacation spot

2009-06-07T13:43:00.002+03:00

Every year, the Jordanian newspapers are filled with advertisments and torusit offers.. to Sharm el Saikh, Cairo, Beirut, Turkey , Bulgaria.. sometimes Cyprus and Greece for a change.. and those who can afford more luxurious trip, decide to do a cruise around westren european countries... or go to the far east.

I find all these ads boring.. and repeated.. every year.. the very same locations.. and attractions...to a point when u loose interest to travel. Maybe those countries that are presented as offers in Jordan do a lot to promote their countries more than the others, but i still think that we can choose from hundreds of countries in the world.. and that there are zillions of wonderful locations that are still hidden to the Jordanian tourist.

Maybe Jordanian torusits prefer all planned trip by a tourist agency.. and avoid exploring by themselves.. which makes the vacation even more boring... you get to see only what they want to offer and serve.. not what you actually want to see.

One such location that i believe is still unknown to the Jordanian tourist is the city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. "The Pearl of the Adriatic" is a perfect combination of amazing beaches and wonderfully clear and clean sea... great night life.. cultural and historical heritage as well as preserved nature.. prepared with great infrastructure of modern Airport and stations.

Watch the clip below.. to have an idea of Dubrovnik.

I hope next time you think of going on a vacation.. you will consider Croatia.

Flaming Border

2009-06-06T16:22:00.005+03:00

On my way to the R. Macedonia from Thessaloniki... things seemed fine.. normal.. peaceful for someone who doesn't know about the Macedonia name dispute. While i was waiting in the Thessaloniki train station, i had few hours to spend until my train to Gevgelia leaves. I observed the people.. coming into and out of the station, they looked so much similar to the Macedonians.. and then it occured to me .. that they probably are Macedonians.. but they are afraid of declaring themselves as Macedonians.. and speak their language.. but instead they speak Greek..

I had flash backs of the Macedonians running away from the very same station.. in the late 1940s during the civil war in Greece. Children.. and women.. running.. looking for the peron of the train going to Yugoslavia (at that time) ofcourse for those who were lucky enough to afford the train.. for the majority.. the border was crossed on foot.

The Greek Civil war... was probably one of the many unjustice acts made by Greece towards the Macedonians. The Greek civil war, was fought between the Greek governmental Army backed by UK and USA, and the Democratic Army of Greece - the military branch of Greek Communist Party. USA and UK backed the greek government at that time.. to stop the spreading of Communism as it it became the political system in almost all Eastern Europe.

During that war, many Macedonians caught in the middle.. decided to send their children and women as refugees to Yugoslavia to the newley established Socialist Republic of Macedonia within the Yugoslav federation. Those Macedonians who stayed in Greece.. more preciesly in Aegean Macedonia, fought alongside the Communists in Greece. And Unfortunately... that gave the excuse to the Greek army, to commit one of the biggest genocides against Macedonians after the Second world war, killing the Macedonians.. and kicking out those who stayed in their homes just to make the big dream or the big idea (the Megali idea) coming true.. of occuping Macedonia.. and make it Greek..

Bilingual slogan on mount Vitsi both in Greek and Macedonian ("Long live our leader, N. Zachariadis"and "Long live the II Congress of the NOF. Long live the national unification.") prooving the existance of Macedonians alongside the greeks in Aegean Macedonia

The Civil war ended.. and the genocide was done.. Greece continued its practise of assimilating the Macedonians.. and forcing them to change the endings of their last names from -ov or -ski (slavic) into -kis (greek), and changing the names of the cities , rivers and even churches.. into Greek names. Many Macedonian refugees from Yugoslavia at that time.. tried to go back to their homes after the war ended.. but they were always denied entrance at the border.. many have even migrated to USA , Australia and Canada.. and with those passports they were also denied entrance.. for simple reason.. the birth place written in the Slavic way not as it is now.. which was a reminder to Greece of the terrible act against human rights. Many of these refugees.. are still in todays Macedonia.. waiting the day when the border will be open and go and visit their houses.

When it became evident in the late 1980s that Yugoslavia will break up..and that Macedonians will gain independency , Greece decided to continue its practice of Helenising Macedonia.. renaming the northern province.. from North Greece into Macedonia, renaming the Airport of Thessaloniki into Macedonia.. and starting a strong campaign claiming that Alexander the Great was Greek.. and that Macedonia is Greek, challenging the history.. and prooving that the powerful writes the history.. not facts and actual events.

Thats basically the reason why until now Greece denys the right of milions of Macedonians of Self Identification.. and moreover un-recognizing the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia, even though Greece had no problems with the name Macedonia when it was within Yugoslavia.

Greek Neo-Nazis Attack Macedonian Minority

2009-06-05T15:21:00.006+03:00

The Greek Neo-Nazi faction Golden Dawn, entered and ravaged during a promotion of a Macedonian-Greek dictionary, promoted by the party of the Macedonian minority in Greece called "Rainbow". Rainbow is part of the European Free Alliance and Greece is a member of the European Union. This should not be allowed to happen in third world countries let alone a EU member.

Because Rainbow is part of the EFA, such provocations can be seen as political pressure for the current European elections. It is not the first time for the neo-nazis to pull off such a stunt on behalf of Rainbow, but the Greek and EU authorities seem not to care as no official condemned the incident up until now.

RIGHTS FOR THE MINORITIES OF GREECE!

RIGHTS FOR THE MACEDONIANS OF GREECE!

Its more than obvious now why Greece refuses to recognize Macedonia under its constitutional name.

Call me by my name.. Don't FYROM me.. Say Macedonia.

Impressions from Athens.. (24 - 5 - 2009)

2009-06-03T18:27:00.008+03:00

Before leaving Sweden, i put in my mind to record my impressions in Greece.. having high expectations from Athens and Greece itself.. as the cradle of democracy and an open book for history and philosophy. But things started to go wrong from the minute i arrived in the Airport in Athens. Coming from a relatively cold region with day temperature of 15 degrees in Sweden.. i was literally shocked by the unbelievably hot weather in Athens.. of 35 degrees and high humidity, which made everything else more in slow motion.. and made the people around me puffing in discomfort every few minutes.

I gathered by broken suitcase.. which the "gentle" danish hands broke, and found my way to the info center to get some info about how to get to the central station and things weren't simple there either..

You can literally feel how the mentality changes once you go from north to south.. and if you go souther to our arabic countires, things get even worse. Ma 3alena, the nice lady explained to me how man trians i should switch in order to reach my destination - my hotel. It was 12 noon.. and i was melting.. but within 1 hour i got to a deserted city.. because the worst combination ever - hot weather and Sunday!

The hotel wasn't that good.. and surprisingly the receptionist was extremely unfriendly! although i used my Jordanian passport to identify myself as the one who made the reservations, but i guess he noticed my birth place - Macedonia ... and thats the only justification i can think of for his very bad attitude.. 2olna bardo ma 3alena.. maybe the heat is making him that unfriendly..!

i got into my room.. and probably the only best thing in it was the Air conditioning..! God bless those ACs.. it brought me back to life.. and cheered me up.. combined with a nice shower.. i was ready to give it a try and still not judge on Athens as the worst city i've ever visited..

We (me and my friend who also shared my miserable experience) deided when the sun calmed down.. to go and see the Acropolis.. as time wasn't waiting for us.. and the next day both of us will find his way. We took the metro , which was surprisingly in good shape compared to the Old train station we arrived at. We got off Sintagma square, and things started to get better.. we looked up a place to grab a sandwich and then walked through the Athenian streets to the Acropolis.

There it was fun, i mean.. i felt the arabic or better said the oriental feeling of the city.. of people's behavior of the buildings.. and their facades and balconies. People were having coffee.. or beer.. ladies were talking and laughing.. People were really enjoying those precious moments of having a chat with someone over a coffee.

The streets were shining with antiquity... and with busy life.. we found our way to the Acropolis.. and climbed the hill. The view from up there was breathetaking.. i guess the Acropolis was the best thing i've experienced in Athens. You can see the entire city from there.. overviewing the white houses.. and thick green forests scattered here and there around the city and ofcourse the most famous blue Sea in the background - the symbol of Greece.

The Acropolis itself.. wasn't a massive building.. but a witness of the Greek glory in that era.. You can feel how glorious were those moments and places.. where one of the strongest school of philosophy was established and developed. Its impressive how precise and sophisticated the ancient greeks were compared to the rest of the nations at that time. Although they didn't florish much further, but their legacy is certainly something humanity is still appreciating and learning.

After 2 hours or exploring every single detail of the Acropolis.. we decided to go back and sleep.. coz we were already exhausted... We stopped by Syntagma Square again.. and decided to follow the advice of our greek professor, and pass by Kolonaki.. a nice wealthy area in Athens.. were a lot of diplomatic representatives are located.. and ofcourse a lot of cafes and restaurants. We had some drinks there.. and rested a bit under the warm moonlight of Athens, and then went back to our hotel.

Things weren't that bad after all.. after my first impression of the city in the morning.. but they should certainly warn people to be patient before judging the city.. hehe

The next day , early in the morning.. i continued my trip .. from Athens.. towards Thessaloniki and Macedonia - my next destination.. the country were the sun never sets. Will see you folks from there.. :)

Goodbye Sweden...

2009-05-18T23:42:00.003+03:00

As my journey in Sweden comes to an end.. i couldn't but look back at the past 4 months and remember how was the experience of the drastic change from the busy streets of Amman.. to the extremely calm city of Lund in the south of Sweden.

I arrived here, on a windy cold day. I got off at Lund Central Station from the Copenhagen Airport train, and called my mentor to pick me up and take me to my hostel. The city seemed empty.. all i kept thinking was where the hell are all the people? it was almost 4 in the afternoon.. but it was dark already.. as the day is very short here up north in the winter.

I got to my little dorm room, and tucked myself into my blanket.. and a strong feeling of lonliness hit me.. i decided to sleep.. and imagine am still back in my home in Amman.

THe next day, i started figuring out everything.. i met my flat mates with whom i shared the kitchen and the laundry.. as well as explored the dorm building in which i found saunas , restaurant and even a small gym. It seemed warm and friendly.. but still alone..

Starting the semestar was probably the only thing that took me away from the loop i was stuck in. And i got my schedule and met my colleagues.. it all started to make sense.. 10 days later.. i explored the city.. found the basics of living around here.. learnt the esence of being a swedish person : work/study , have lunch.. go home.. sleep at 7 (since everything closes at 6 - literally everything).

The rain.. the snow.. the grey scene.. was everywhere.. it was like the nature is mourning.. and those little precious hours in which the sun was visible.. where so short at first.. and i felt that people didn't know how to appreciate them. But slowly things got changed.. the Spring came.. around mid march.. and the awakening phenomena appeared in every single corner.. and even in people's laughter.. and mood. They started to talk.. and be more social.. and they started to explore other ways of living aside of the previously mentioned routine.

and once i started to enjoy the fast rythem of the fun city of Lund.. i realised it was time for me to go.. I have never imagined that nature have such an impact on people's behavior and habbits. It really is interesting to see that people up north.. literally sleep more in winter.. and stay awake more in the summer.. - i thought thats only for the polar bears :D

But hey, lets give the swedish people a break, they are not that bad.. they are very caring people.. thoughtful.. pleasant to talk to, they have in general a good attitude towards Arabs.. and particularly Palestinians and they love our Queen Rania.. :) they speak about her always when i tell them i come from Jordan. Oh and when they get drunk on weekends they are fun people to party ! :))

Now that am leaving in few days to another journey in Europe.. I think i am gonna miss the inner peace i had while living here.. the nature.. those little muffins in the nearby coffeehouse... am gonna miss reading in the park.. i am gonna miss the spirit of Lund.

p.s. my next post will be impressions of my next destination.. will keep it a secret for now :))

and the winner is... Norway! See you in Oslo 2010

2009-05-17T16:50:00.004+03:00

This Years Eurovision Song Contest finally ended yesterday.. as expected with a scandinavian victory by Norway.. who will host the next year's Eurovision. The show itself was pretty good, the stage was magnificant.. and it really gave a huge impact on each song's performance.

The organization however, specially the russian element in the show was a bit annoying and at some points i think it was offensive. For instance, in the first semi -final, before announcing the results the hosts presented the military Choir of the Russian Army to sing some Russian songs, now it would have been ok if we didn't suddenly see a tank and a military airplane colored in funcky colors appearing on the stage.. and then out of no where... the russian duo t.A.T.u started singing their Hit "Your not gonna get us"... i mean even the lyrics of the song are implying the fact that they wanna show the world how superior they are.. as a nation.. and as a power.. and thats pretty offensive.

On the other hand, in the final, there was this reportage made by the host tv in the streets of Moscow.. asking people to sing live... just to prove to the world that their vitory in the contest last year was well deserved.. so their first stop was asking 2 soldires !! i mean why do we need to have soldiers appearing on TV.. we get it.. you have a mighty Army..

Another interesting act by the host was the anouncement of the begining of the voting time, which was made by the Russian Space station/Sattelite.. and they connected the European viewers live with the Space ship to "press the button" and start the voting process.. Again.. we get it.. you are powerful and have space ship!!

So bascially, Russia paid more attention on showing itself.. rather than showing their rich culture.. i don't get it.. they have soooo many things to be proud of.. rather on showing to the world their strength. That was the laim part of the show.. aside ofcourse of having soo many average songs.. and singers focused on the coreography and the dance routine more than the song and the music itself (like Greece, Turkey and Germany).

Anyhow i think that the show was Ok.. and probably one of the good songs won. Here is the Norwegian entrey and winning song :

and here is my personal favourite.. Moldova.. that i wished it got more points but didn't :) :

Blog About Palestine Day - Silence

2009-05-15T02:45:00.010+03:00

time: dawn ..15 of May 1948

place: Palestine..

Silence in the house... Henna* was gazing through the open window. The sky was clear.. she could see the stars sparkling here and there, she felt a little spring breeze coming into her face, she looked up and said with a slow voice almost sobing : "ya Ummana ... e7meena bukra"

She closed the window, and went out of the bedroom. She didn't want to wake Kareem up, he has spent the entire day at his father's shop discussing weather to open tomorrow or not... rumors have spread that tomorrow will be the day.

Henna went into the kids room. Layla was sleeping and hugging her pilow.. but Luka was awake.. he pretended at first that he was sleeping.. but when Henna approached to him.. his worried eyes sparkled in the darknes...

Henna: why are you still up son?

Luka: i couldn't sleep... i am worried... will dad let me go out tomorrow and play in the neighbourhood ? i heard him talking that it will be a very bad day tomorrow.. and that we should all stay at home.

Henna: Inshalla it will be fine..

Luka: but mom, what if .. - Henna : It will be fine..come here....

She hugged her son tightly, knowing that it won't be fine..

Silence again... Henna's mind travelled again.. she remembered her mother and father.. who taught her how to love her home.. how to love her family... and how to cherish laughter and peace.. her eyes got filled with tears the minute she started thinking.. will she be able to teach her kids all that? will they survive the next day..?

Many have already left.. but Kareem wanted to stay.. its the house of his grandfather.. the family legacy.. how can he leave it? he wanted Layla to be given away to her future husband from the yard of the very same house.. he wanted to see his grandchildren playing under the same tree he used to play.. it was the best time of his life.. his memory was so vivid in his dream.. even though he was sleeping.. his mind was awake...

...

the 16th of May 1948 came...nothing was left... Silence in the house.

* The names mentioned above.. are fictitious.. Any resemblance to real persons.. living or dead, is purely coinsidence.. the event however.. has happend on the 15 of May 1948.. in Palestine.

Who has the power to decide?!

2009-05-13T16:18:00.007+03:00

How is it possible in the 21st century for someone else to decide who I am, or who I am not? Does the "universal human right to self determination" as declared by the United Nations not apply to me? Am I excluded from this declaration?

How does one become what or who he or she is? Is it the government that decides? The priest, the church, the United Nations…? Who has the power to decide ethnically and nationally who I am, what language I can speak, what songs I can sing, what dances I can dance,…. And if anyone has that right who has given it to him or her?

I am Macedonian - Period.

P.S. for more info about the dispute between Macedonia and Greece click here.

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

2009-05-07T21:21:00.005+03:00

Next week, the Russian capital Moscow, will be the host of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).. after a very suspicious victory in Belgrade last year. But, let's leave what happend last year aside.. the Russians are taking their job pretty seriously.. and 10 days ahead of the big show..they are determined to put into the shadow all the previous contests, and deliver a world class european show to all the 42 participating countries.. and the watching world.

This year, Almost all the European countries are participating.. with only Italy ,Austria and Georgia missing out, which makes it one of the most watched and popular TV shows through out all Europe and Israel who participates regularly even though its not a European country.

This year's eurovision song contest, will be remembered by many interesting events to name a few..

Georgia's disqualification from the contest, since they were accused to be sending a song politically motivated. They thought they can outsmart the Russians.. and present a song called "We don't want to Put in" clearly playing with the words.. and moking the current Russian Prime Minister and former president Vladimir Putin after the Georgian/Russian crisis of August 2008.

The Arabic and Israeli Duet representing Israel for the first time on the ESC with a song sending a peace message (as they claim) entitled "There must be another way" performed by Mira Awad and Noa, which was very controversial issue between both the arabs and isrealis.

Another big change in the format of the competition this year, is having 50 % jury votes and another 50 % coming from the countries' televoters, to avoid previous "mafia" voting.. where voting became a political sign of friendship.. instead of voting to the best song. So it became very preditable that each year the Sandinavian countries will vote for each other, the Balkan and Yugoslav countries to each other.. the Ex- Soviet to each other.. and ofcourse Greece and Cyprus exhanging the 12 points every year.. So the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is hoping that this practise will come to an end.. and the best song to win.

Having too many countries singing, this year ESC will be having two semifinals in which the best 10 of each semifinal will be qualifying to the Final along with the Host (Russia) and big 4 ( UK, France, Germany and Spain) who automatically go to the final every year.. (very democratic.. i know!).

The Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, will be the avenue hosting the big show the next 12 , 14 and 16 of May with an expeted capacity of 20,000 guests in the Final plus the Press center in the very same building.

About the songs, in my opinion.. there is nothing special to be remembered.. or any hit to mark 2009. But there is certainly a nice variety of music.. from Hard Rock, soft rock, pop, disco, ethno, traditional, balad slow music.. and Hiphop. Its a nice way to get to know the European Countries in a cultural way.. so i strongly recommend to add it to your schedule.. of next week.. you can find it on almost all the national TV stations on Hotbird.

Let the Best song win.

P.S. You can still watch the Champion Leagues final Man United and Barcelona.. next wednesday as they do not coincide ! :))

Yugoslavia

2009-05-04T13:56:00.004+03:00

Yugoslavia, a former slavic country in South Eastren Europe.. was a great mixture of religions, ethnic backgrounds and languages, but also of a great tragedy against humanity and nature. Now after 18 years, the woond hasn't healed yet.. and even though each country has started its own journey in the world.. people still say "Nismo znali sta smo imali" - We didn't know what we had, or sometimes "Sve je isto samo njega nema" - Everything is the same.. only He is not here..

We all have heard about what happend in the Yugoslav war and how violent was its breakup for most of its 6 republics (Bosnia and Hercegovina,Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Montenegro) and how it still provokes disputes and tension in the uniletral declaration of independence by Kosovo.. and the ongoing ethnic tensions in Republika Srpska in Bosnia & Hercegovina.

The worst part of the Yugoslav war, took place in Bosnia and Hercegovina.. killing thousands of people.. and causing an endless fear and misstrust between Croats, Serbs and Bosniacs.

The best way to feel the tragedy done in Bosnia, is by spending few hours with a "Yugoslav" immigrant and talk a little bit about his experience.. I have never imagined it was that difficult for the normal citizens.. as i thought that they were supporting their leaders... but it turned out.. that once again the media didn't show enough of what actually was going on. Why? because a lot of countries wanted the Yugoslav dream to be done.. because they were afraid of the unity and diversity of that nation..

"...Retrospectively it can be said that we all loved Yugoslavia and never wanted for it to be abolished. During its existance it was one of the most beautiful countries in the world, having a domestic production of aircrafts, cars, chemistry, textile, military and industry in general.

This unlikely creation of a land, reminding more of a dream than reality, gave the observer the impression of having succeeded to unite several nations and religions under one common direction and alliance. But the injustice that was nourishing inside the soul of Yugoslavia ever since its birth had a devestating implementation upon its citizens primarily by Serb, and some Croat, nationalist currents..." - BosniakPassion

"... they would anounce in what location of Sarajevo the authorities will send drinking water, and peoplewould rush to gather as much as they can for their thirsty children.. until the poor people would be surprised with the rain of missiles landing on their heads and between the water tanks..." - Croat from Bosnia.

"... you would sleep in ur own house.. in the middle of your village and suddenly hear the sound of the Yugoslav national Army (JNA) tanks... and you just know that only luck would save ur house.. or your family..so you just stay still and pray.." - Serbian from Bosnia

People nowadays in Bosnia & Hercegovina(B&H).. look back at the past 20 years.. and wonder what have those 2 decades left? The Ottomans left their religion, culture and architecture... Yugoslavia of TITO has built the country.. and made it what is it today... did the independence do anything to B&H and the other 5 republics except the torture and endless dreamless nights .. for those who survived?

With the beginning of the economic crises.. every citizens in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.. remembered the old good days of TITO.. whose dream was to build a country that all the world will wish to live in.. in which he succeeded..until 4th of May 1980 came.. and he passed away.

For the memory of this great Leader.. and remembering 4th of May.. i will leave you with this clip showing Yugoslavia in its glory...After all.. everything is the same (between the people) but only He is not here... =)

Swine Flu in the world - up until now

2009-04-28T13:57:00.006+03:00

The Swine Flu, a new threat to the world. Is expanding rapidly and mostly by people coming from Mexico. almost 90% of the cases registered in both Europe and USA and Israel are due to a returning citizens from Mexico.. some of which sadly spent their honey moon there.

The Maps below are updated maps taken from google maps showing where exactly symptoms of the Swine flu were registered or where people were hospitalized.

The world:

USA:

Europe and Middle East:

Pink markers are suspect
Purple markers are confirmed or probable
Deaths lack a dot in marker
Yellow markers are negative

For further info and updated data go here.

On simplicity...

2009-04-27T13:15:00.003+03:00

We all have problems, worries, work duties or family headaches.. they consume so much energy from us. They even force us to give them attention more than ourselves.. we end up forgetting to live and having a peaceful mind.. and a simple smile on our faces.

I woke up today and started my morning routine of coffee and news reading.. until i came across a lovely clip on youtube.. which i can describe in only 3 words: cute, simple and beautiful.

Its interesting how both the singers and the author of the animated clip expressed it in such a simple way that drew uncontrollably an honest smile on my face while watching it.

The author of this clip is a talented young Egyptian blogger named Ahmad Ali and here is his blog.

If only we look at everything with such simple eye.. don't u think life will be better?

hope that it drew a smile on ur faces while watching the clip. :)

where is Jordan?? :)

2009-04-24T21:27:00.003+03:00

Once u travel, one of the best experiences ever is hearing what normal people from around the world think about your culture and country.. and more importantly... get to know if they know about your country in the first place.. :)

During the past few years, i have visited several countries.. and met wide variety of nationalities and ethnicities.. and upon introducing myself.. of coming from Jordan.. some had very interesting reactions. I would like to share with you some of them:

Polish guy (hostel receptionist): Ah nice you know, u r the first ones who come to our hotel from Jordan... where is Jordan anyway?? please tell me anything about ur country.. i really wanna know !

Polish guy again: Do u have cars? (Dear God) :S

French man (artist): Ah Jordan! I was there..Petra is just goregous.. its a shame people don't speak french there..

French man 2: ah oui oui.. Jordanie.. lovely people.. there is this lovely city i can't forget.. i can't remember its name..

me: Amman?

FM2: no no.. it starts with B ?

me: ha?? are u sure??

FM2: yes yes.. its on the sea..

me: are u talkin about Beirut?

FM2: YES.. thats the one..

me: sir this city is in Lebanon..

FM2: Oh.. (speaking to his friend) i should stop drinking.... (and falls into a deep laughter)

Bulgarian guy: oh Amman! how exotic!! (i dunno what did he meant by that - but i guess he had a flashback image of Arabian Nights)

Swedish flat-mate: Ah Jordan... yea ... King Abdullah and Queen Rania.. also the late King Hussein.. very lovely Royal family..

Swedish flate-mate 2: you have a lot of water pipes there no?? :)) Dude Shisha rocks..!

Swedish colleage at University: oh you from Jordan?? Assalamu Alaykom! I Study arabic for fun!

Swedish girl (my friend's flate mate): do you have a lot of terrorists?? ( WTF?)

Swedish man (at Westren Union office) :

WU: where do u want to sendmoney to? Jordan? where is that?

me : You know Jordan.. middle east..? Amman..?

WU: Ahh Yordaniaa

me: yea thats what am saying..

WU: no sir.. u said Jordan.. how am i supposed to know!

my Greek Professor: Jordan.. and Amman.. i love them.. it reminds me of my home in Greece.

Turkish hotel receptionist: Ah Urdon! Urdon! :)) (and that was it =) )

2 Macedonian old ladies:

OL1: So u lived in Jordan?

me: Yes

OL1: but u speak fluent Macedonian...

me: yes am half macedonian and half jordanian :))

OL2: there must be a macedonian school in Jordan... hence the fluency..

me: ha?! macedonian school in jordan!!? ( didn't expect such answer)

Macedonian friend: Jordan?? hmm.. yea yea.. Jordan River.. wasn't Jesus Christ baptised there?

to be continued :)

على الدنيا السلام

2009-04-22T20:29:00.002+03:00

يا انسان اسمع مني هالكلام

اذا كنت ناوي تعيش بأمن و سلام

الحب ابعد عنه و اعتبروا من الاوهام

الصدق هو الي عليه انت راح تندم و تنلام

و بالكذب حتعيش حياة و لا بالاحلام

بهالزمن ما تصدق انه في شي اسموا غرام

انسى كلام الحب مهو كلو كلام بكلام

و لو حبيت بصدق يا ويلي عليك و يا حرام

حتعيش الالم و حتشوف اصعب الايام

و تصير بكل ليلة تعاني حتى تقدر تنام

لانه اكيد الي هتحبه ما حتلاقيه الا في المنام

و بالندم راح تعيش و تصير انت و قلبك على خصام

و في النهاية راح تعرف ان الحب بعيد مثل طير الحمام

الخسارة هي مصيرك و قلبك في النهاية حيكون حطام

زلزال الالم و الفراق حيخليك اشلاء و ركام

نصيحه انسى الحب و امحيه من قاموس الكلام

الطيبة و الوفا ابعد عنهم و اعتبرهم مجرد اوهام

لانهم لو وصلوا قلبك بنورهم حيطفوه و تعيش بظلام

يا انسان خد من كل هالكلام

و احفظه هذا اليوم احسن علام

و امشي عليه على مدار الايام

صدقني هذا الزمن ما عليه اي ملام

هذي رسالتي الك كلها عبر, و انا هيك ما بنلام

و بالنهاية بقولك يا انسان اقرء على الدنيا السلام

تأليف الشاعر محمد العمد

17-4-2009

On Homesickness...

2009-04-21T16:16:00.008+03:00

Ever since i left Jordan 4 months ago, i have been undergoing constant changes, changes that i haven't even dreamt of occuring or even touching my life. I guess it all started the minute i arrived in Sweden, when the freaking cold weather went through my bones.. and reminded me of the wonderful weather of Amman. But it all was for a good cause..i pulled myself together and started my journey.

Probably the most interesting phenomena, was accepting my identity as an Arab.. in the best possible way. We all grow into certain identity as puberty hits our wanna be personality.. and the result of this clash usually defines what u will end to be in ur future life. But you may spend few years before realising urself the outcome of this clash.. and make peace with it and accept it.. and even become proud of it.

Um Kalthoum, the symbol of classical Arabic music was probably the first thing i fell in love with after i left Jordan. I couldn't believe how could my parents spend an entire hour on one song..and actually enjoy it.. ! Now all of a sudden ... i find myself every evening... preparing my coffee and go through youtube or my limited music library and put Um Kalthoom.. and just enjoy every note coming out of her voice.

Fairouz, was always part of my morning routine, even when i was in Jordan, but when i was in Paris last week... you can't imagine how does it feel like to eat "Labneh w Zaatar" from a lebanese restaurant in the morning with Fairouz in the background. It just brings the goose pumps all over ur body.

Arabic writers... and novels.. were never an option for me when i was searching for a good book to read... I dunno why.. but the only arabic book that i have read while being in Amman was "The prophet" by J.K. Jubran, but ever since i came here.. i started looking for Arabic authors in the university library. Its not that i didn't appreciate them before.. but its like they were just hidden in the darkness.. and surrounded with a pre-given idea that everything from the west is better.

I can go for hours giving u smaller and smaller ideas of how i started appreciating our Arabic culture, music, tradition, values and literature.. but i think the idea is sent already.

Its always good to have new experiences.. and explore new places.. it reminds u how great is your own home.. that u will always tend to go back to.

Miss you Amman.

" بطاقتي الشخصية "-" الشاعرة الليبية ردينة الفيلالي "

2009-04-12T15:09:00.002+03:00

انتزع مني بطاقتي الشخصية    ليتأكد أني عربية

وبدأ يفتش حقيبتي وكأني أحمل قنبلة ذرية

وقف يتأملني بصمت سمراء وملامحي         ثورية

فتعجبت لمطلبه وسؤاله         عن الهوية

كيف لم يعرف من عيوني       أني عربيه

أم أنه فضل               أن أكون أعجمية

لأدخل بلاده دون إبراز الهوية

وطال انتظاري وكأني لست          في بلاد عربية

أخبرته أن عروبتي لا تحتاج لبطاقة   شخصية

فلمَ انتظر على هذه الحدود      الوهمية

وتذكرت مديح جدي             لأيام الجاهلية

عندما كان العربي         يجوب المدن العربية
لا يحمل معه سوى        زاده ولغته العربية

وسر زيارتي الفجائية جنسيتي وبدأ يسألني عن أسمي،

اسمي وحدة، جنسيتي عربية وسر زيارتي تاريخية فأجبته أن

جنائية سألني عن مهنتي وإن كان لي سوابق

فأجبته أني إنسانة عادية
على اغتيال القومية لكني كنت شاهدا

سنة هجرية سأل عن يوم ميلادي وفي أي

فأجبته أني ولدت يوم ولدت البشرية

وبائية سألني إن كنت أحمل أي أمراض

فأجبته أني أصبت بذبحة صدرية
الوحدة العربية عندما سألني ابني عن معنى

الإسلام أم المسيحية فسألني أي ديانة أتبع

فأجبته بأني أعبد ربي بكل الأديان السماوية

حقيبتي وبطاقتي الشخصية فأعاد لي أوراقي،

فبلادي لا تستقبل الحرية وقال عودي من حيث أتيت

" الشاعرة الليبية ردينة الفيلالي "

Impressions ... Live from Paris.. Part 2

2009-04-12T01:41:00.005+03:00

time: 17:30 11-April-2009

Place: Notre Dame de Paris -Paris

On Île de la Cité - a wonderful natural island on the Seine River, stood in fornt of me the amazing architecture of Notre Dame De Paris.. My eyes were fixed on the enormous bell tours and infinite number of sculptures. I kept looking and observing the smallest details on the wonderfully designed and preserved walls until i realised that i have been standing still for the past 30 minutes..

I sat down between the crowds who were obviously experiencing the same feeling of silence and amazement.

I looked on the three arcs below the steep Bell towers.. looked from far away almost the same arcs but looking to them more precisely i noticed that they differ, not only in the contents but in the arc shape.

I recalled what i have read before about the Cathedral, and flashback images of the 12th century interrupted my vision.. horses carrying huge stones.. infinite number of workers.. building the new "parish church of the kings of Europe". Another flashback.. of Heraclius of Caesarea calling for the Third Crusade..

An experience that u can only have if you just stand in front of this Cathedral. I decided to go in, people were waiting for the Easter Mass. I lit a candle and slowly entered the enourmous wooden door. It seemed for a moment that i am travelling in time, and found myself in a new world, filled with people.. with various facial expressions. Old women praying, their men staring into the Alter..

Then suddenly i heard a familiar melody, a melody that i used to hear on simple insturments, but this time it felt different, i turned around.. with my eyes searching for the soure of the music until they fell on a very huge Organ. I tired to get a bit closer, and saw hundreds of pipes.. bouncing out a harmonic sounds that led me to an experiance totally different than anyother religious experienes i have ever had.

I sat, and didn't feel how an hour and a half passed while listening to the Holy Mass of Easter. I looked on the people's faces, some were happy, other were worried, other were expression-less.. but all were having something that kept them silent and peaceful.

The Mass finished, and i went out with the crowds, it was time to go as it was getting late and dark, i stopped a bit and looked on the western facade of the Cathedral. I looked my out from the Square and crossed the street towards the Metro Station.

I stopped for a moment and looked back to the Bell Towers of the Cathedral, and for a moment i saw a vivid backflash of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, waiting for the building process of the Cathedral that started 9 centuries ago, to be finished.

Impressions.. Live from Paris..Part 1

2009-04-12T01:13:00.005+03:00

time: 13:10 11-April-2009

place: Montmartre - Basilique du Sacré-Cœur square - Paris

images i couldn't but trying to "flag" them in my mind:

- a group of young people.. probably around 50 or sth, entertained by a public guitar player/singer, all singing with him the seventies hits and evergreens...

- magnificent and glorious building overviewing Paris... thousands of people.. Christians.. Muslims.. entering the Basilica..

-(Inside the church) Breathtaking Alter, frescos, infinite number of candles.. thousands of people.. but yet silence..

-(outside again) a woman dressed up in the 17th century clothing posing for pictures..

- an old man, my guess that he is older than 60.. sitting on the grass, having his coffee.. and reading todays "le Monde"..

- infinte number of couples.. announcing their love to each other on probably the most romantic spot i've seen..

- a Violinist.. playing the Spring part of the Four Seasons piece of Vivaldi..

- Kids runnig and trying to fly a kite..

- 3 middle aged women.. laughing and talking loudly in french.. damn they sounded cool..

- A painter making a portrait of a small kid posing in front of him..

- Clear Sky..

- The Eiffel Tour visible from the Square..

- Me ... lost between all these people.. and everynow and then.. remembering to breath..

On Double identity...

2009-04-08T10:11:00.005+03:00

I wanted to join my voice and gratitude with AquaCool to Fadi Andrawos for his piece "Palestine and Lebanon". Its probably the first singer who attempted to approach this delicate "double identity" issue. Why? I mean why hasn't anyone before stumbled upon this problem that many many Palestinians scattered around the world in general or the Arabic countries in Particular?

I believe identity is created by direct interaction of the person with his present society, with his parents roots and with the personal belifes and ideologies. But often there are certain conflicts in such mixture.

Fadi Andrawos in his song "Palestine and Lebanon", adressed his personal double identity of being a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon. Some Palestinians may argue, that by speaking the lebanese accent or by declaring himself being Lebanese that he is forgetting his roots.. and that his not loyal to his own people.

He is only a simple example of thousands of refugees.. everywhere.. including those in Jordan.

Many times during my study period at the University, i faced the very direct question... "where are you from?" Are you Jordanian or Palestinian.. ? You have to choose.. either tick or tack!

And I couldn't help but thinking in myself.. why can't I be both? does that make me less of a Palestinian? if i feel obligated to respect the dignitity and soverenity of the country hosted my grandparents when they were refugees. Or if I declare my self as a Palestinian (even though i hold a Jordanian citizenship) ,does that make me less of Jordanian? or maybe accused of being a "careless" Jordanian...and thus treated as a second class citizen..?

I guess that issue, in the previous generations was solved by the Arab nationalism ideology. (though that doesn't resolve the situation palestinians faced in non-arabic countries). Ideology that at that time united everyone against the Israeli agression, but failed these days.

It gets even more complicated if you travel. Again the very same question... Where are you from? Am I Palestinian ? Am I Jordanian? :S so i settle down with answering "I am from Jordan".. but if the one who hears this question knows a bit about Jordan.. he will be like: " are you Palestinian or Jordanian Jordanian ?! So back in the loop.

Yes it is hard , to have double identitiy.. I am not Jordanian with Palestinian originis, i am not Palestinian staying temporarily in Jordan, i am not Jordanian Jordanian not Jordanian Palestinian.. I am not Palestinian Jordanian... I am simply both. Not 50 % Jordanian and 50 % Palestinian.. but 100 % Palestinian and 100 % Jordanian.

Yes we can be both, and am so proud of both as i happen to be proud of even anther whole issue of having even third identity.. the Macedonian one...

The T-Mobile Dance ! Refreshing..

2009-04-06T09:56:00.002+03:00

Watch the moment Liverpool Street Station danced to create this special T-Mobile Advert :

This is how it happened...the Making of the T-Mobile Dance.

Amazing Technology - The Sixth Sense

2009-04-02T14:54:00.001+03:00

Deja Vu - "The Historian - E. Kostova"

2009-03-24T02:19:00.003+02:00

"...The very young traveller knows little of this phenomenon, but before i knew it in myself, I saw it in my father, at Saint-Mattheiu der Pyrenees. I sensed in him, rather than read clearly, the mystery of repetition, already knowing he had been there years before. And, oddly, this place drew him into abstraction in a way no other we'd visited had done. He had been to the region of Emona once before our visit, and to Ragusa several times. He had visited Massimo and Giulia's stone villa for other happy suppers in other years. But at Saint Mattheiu I sensed that he had actually longed for this place, thought it through over and over for some reason I could not excavate, relieved it without telling anyone. He did not tell me now except to recognize aloud the curve of the road before it finally ran up against the abbey wall, and to know, later, which door opened into sanctuary, cloister or finally crypt. This memory for detail was nothing new to me; I had seen him reach for the right door in famous old churches before, or take the correct trun to the ancient refectory, or stop to buy tickets at the right guardhouse in the right shady gravel drive or recall even where he had previously had the finest cup of coffee

The difference at Saint-Mattheiu was a difference of alertness, an almost cursory scanning of walls and cloistered walkaways. Instead of seeming to say to himself," Ah there's that fine tympanum above the doors; I thought I remembered it was on this side", my father appeared to be checking off views he could already have described with his eyes closed. It came over me gradually, even before we had finished climbing the steep, cypress-shaded grounds to the main entrance, that what he remembered here were not architectural details, but events... "

- taken from "The Historian" By Elizabeth Kostova

Mira Awad : Palestinian Singer to Represent Israel on the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

2009-03-15T14:37:00.004+02:00

This years Eurovision Song Contest to be held in May in Moscow - Russia, is going to witness a un-expected move by the Israeli Broadcasting Television. They decided to send an Arabic & Hebrew Duet to the prestigious european song contest.

For that purpose the duet selected was by two female singers: Mira Awad and Noa and their song titled "There must be another way". Both singers have a long history of Peace Advocacy of the Palestinian Israeli Conflict, and the Israeli's decision to send them certainly has a message folded between the lyrics of the song to the world.

Mira Awad - Born in Rameh in 1975 in Galilee - Occupied Palestine, to an Arab father from the Galilee (Anwar), a physician by profession, and a Bulgarian mother (Snejanka) , currently she lives in Tel-Aviv. Awad is currently starring in a play about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the Cameri Theater. She became an instant star on Israeli television after appearing in the sit-com "Arab Labor"and "Noah's Ark".

While she has been the butt of criticism on either sides of the Arab-Israeli divide, she has many fans in both camps. The debate has exposed the uneasy position of Israel's Arabs, those Palestinians and their descendants who remained after 1948.

Achinoam Nini or Noa is born in Tel Aviv in 1969 Noa lived in New York City from age 2, but orignally her family is from Yemen.Noa has recorded numerous songs in Italian, French, Spanish, Galician, English, Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, Hindi, Yemenite Jewish and folk & Arabic pop.

Noa have collaborated frequently with Arab and Palestinian artists from around the world, including Khaled from Algeria, Nabil Salameh from Lebanon, Handallah from Nablus ,Rim Banna from Nazareth, Amal Murkus from Kfar Yasif, and Mira Awad from Kfar Rameh. These collaborations enable the duo to express, musically, their belief in the power of communication and dialogue as a means of promoting peace and understanding.

On November 4, 1995, Noa was on stage performing for an audience of 50,000 at the historic peace rally in Tel-Aviv just minutes before the late Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

In September 2002, she included a duet in her album "Now" with Israeli-Arab singer Mira Awad, a cover version of the Beatles' song We Can Work It Out in an effort to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Will leave you with the song they will sing at the Eurovision Song contest 2009 in Moscow :

Info: Wikipedia

Music stronger than Politics : Macédomienne from 1990

2009-02-24T00:28:00.002+02:00

My Macedonian woman

When she cries, it's the whole Adriatic
Who breaks out in her eyes
When she sleeps, it's not far from Ohrid
She dreams on the edge of the beautiful blue lakes
I see her again, a little girl on bare feet
With rain in her hair
In her house, on the earthen floor
She has left the illusions of all her games

Which she wants to keep to herself
She has the charm of Macedonian women
It's vital that I love her, that I hold her
Whatever you may do or think
But she is more beautiful
Those who don't believe me, let them come
They will see how much I have and that she is mine
You can shout, you can cry, you can laugh
But certainly not at her

When she sleeps, it's at the bottom of the hill
That she does with my body what she wants to
She's a sunflower that emigrated into the vines
In the middle of the arid and making flames of any fire
A gipsy(rom) cry hidden in her murmurs
She lives love without denial
When she fights from the top of her wounds
She pretends everything
She mocks the gods

Too many desire her
She has the charm of Macedonian women
It's vital that I love her, that I hold her
Whatever you may do or think
But she is more beautiful
Those who don't believe me let them come
They will see how much I have and that she is mine
You can shout, you can cry, you can laugh
But certainly not at her.

Eurovision 1990 Belgium - Philippe Lafontaine - Macédomienne

"It is a basic human right to choose a name for yourself and to express your nationality. Please respect that and call me by my name."

We will not go down...

2009-01-11T00:31:00.003+02:00

Ever since Israel went mad again 15 days ago, i tried many times to write...Every time i start the post, i ended up deleting it... i just lost all the abilities to express the mixture of sadness, anger, disappointment and hope...
I tried to wait and hope that it will end, that i will wake up and open the TV with a ceasefire news... But things went even uglier...

But i found something that truely expressed everything inside... most of you maybe have already listend to it.. but the following song is exactly how i feel.. is exactly how i hope the world will see Us.. how i hope the world will now that We will not go down..

We will not go down

In the night, without a fight

You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools

But our spirit will never die

We will not go down

In Gaza tonight

END THE OCCUPATION

FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE

Macedonia - Timeless

2008-12-26T17:22:00.002+02:00

For further info please visit :http://www.macedonia-timeless.com/

My little one...

2008-10-10T02:08:00.001+03:00

When day time still remains to get away
In my dreams i pray
One more time to see your face again,
That i will follow way.
Just one more time to see your eyes
Then you can go down to sleep
Just once to hold you,
That i will follow way.

You said: my little one don`t you cry
There was no time for me to say goodbye
A force beyond my choice was calling me
It was my destiny.
So many things more i need to do
Then if it looks like it`s stealing me from you
You got it always deep down in your heard
That we will never be apart.

Memories are always here to stay,
You gonna be holding on
You gotta be strong
That i will follow way
Just one more time to see your eyes
And i leave go down to sleep
You are too young
That i will follow way.
I`ll dry these tears, chase these fears this road you need to take
And angels are showing you the way
You wake up now in another world
But the promise you won`t brake
You`ll be watching me every step i take.

You said: my little one don`t you cry
There was no time for me to say goodbye
A force beyond my choice was calling me
It was my destiny.
So many things more i need to do
Then if it looks like it`s stealing me from you
You got it always deep down in your heard

The Land of Colours

2008-08-23T19:02:00.002+03:00

Music
By Dragan Dautovski

This video is courtesy of Publisher - Zona

Ethno Music (Part 2)

2008-08-22T22:06:00.001+03:00

Macedonian Ethno Music..

Vo Nashe selo - In our Village

Coming home

2008-08-20T23:05:00.002+03:00

How can I connect with these people, how can I
How can I tell who is friend or foe
Who will call me Bulgarian, Greek or non existent
Or embrace me as their own

Who will challenge, argue or deny me
Professing, to know more about me, than I, myself
Forcing me to instantly, brace myself
Against well known hurt, as now

It is not the prodigal daughter, returning to Ellada
With a false face, smile and heart
But a banished child of Macedonia, home
To pay homage, to my mother

The language here is foreign
Alien, inconsistent with the land
I strain to here something familiar
Native to my land

Time has passed, the weakened are now stronger
I see, I see, I see
The truth, will eventually surface
And it will set, Macedonia, free

By Lita G.

Lita is a Macedonian, born in Aegean Macedonia, now living in Australia. Lita remembers that, as a kid, she and other Macedonian kids were forced to learn Greek right from the first day in school, and that it was forbidden to speak Macedonian language.

That's Not my Name

2008-08-12T20:18:00.003+03:00

The Ting Tings: That's Not My Name

Four letter word just to get me along
It's a difficulty and I'm biting on my tongue and I
I keep stalling, keeping me together
People around gotta find something to say now

Holding back, everyday the same
Don't wanna be a loner
Listen to me, oh no
I never say anything at all
But with nothing to consider they forget my name
ame .. ame .. ame

They call me hell
They call me Stacey
They call me her
They call me Jane
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name

They call me quiet girl
But I'm a riot
Maybe Joleisa
Always the same
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name

I miss the catch if they through me the ball
I'm the last kid standing up against the wall
Keep up, falling, these heels they keep me boring
Getting glammed up and sitting on the fence now

So alone all the time at night
Lock myself away
Listen to me, I'm not
Although I'm dressed up, out and all with
Everything considered they forget my name
ame .. ame .. ame

They call me hell
They call me Stacey
They call me her
They call me Jane
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name

They call me quiet girl
But i'm a riot
Maybe Joleisa
Always the same
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name

Are you calling me darling?
Are you calling me bird?
Are you calling me darling?
Are you calling me bird?

My country's name is "Republic of Macedonia". It is a basic human right to choose a name for yourself and to express your nationality. Please respect that and call me by my name. Say: Macedonia!

R.I.P. Mahmoud Darwish (13 March 1941 - 9 August 2008)

2008-08-10T01:26:00.003+03:00

Identity Card (1964)

"Record!

I am an Arab

And my identity card is number fifty thousand

I have eight children

And the ninth is coming after a summer

Will you be angry?

Record!

I am an Arab

I have a name without a title

Patient in a country

Where people are enraged . . ."

Quotations:

"I thought poetry could change everything, could change history and could humanize, and I think that the illusion is very necessary to push poets to be involved and to believe, but now I think that poetry changes only the poet."

"We should not justify suicide bombers. We are against the suicide bombers, but we must understand what drives these young people to such actions. They want to liberate themselves from such a dark life. It is not ideological, it is despair."

weather forcast..how funny can it get ?

2008-08-01T00:14:00.002+03:00

Ohrid, Where Time Stopped

2008-07-09T21:25:00.005+03:00

Ohrid is slowly leaving behind its past, which embraces Medievalism, Revivalism and Communism.

When asked about Ohrid, people from other parts of Macedonia tell the following story: After God created the world and lay down to rest, the Devil got to work and set up Ohrid with all its beauties - the splendid lake, the steep mountains where the Galičica National Park is now located, a moderate climate and a fertile soil.

God woke up and looked around in astonishment. “What have you done, Devil?” he asked. “Your deeds are supposed to be evil!” “Oh, just wait, God!,” Satan replied. “You haven't seen Ohrid's citizens yet.”

Ohrid is said to have 365 churches, one for each day of the year. In reality, they are fewer, but the number is certainly large – a remnant from the time when the place was the residence of the Ohrid archbishops. Theoretically, they were under the authority of the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople. In fact, however, they acted in such an independent way that in 1676 the Ottoman sultan abolished the archbishopric at the patriarch's request.

Earlier, something far more interesting had happened in Ohrid and because of it you now have problems reading any road sign written in Cyrillic. What appears to you to be the enigmatic alphabet of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Russia was invented here by St Clement of Ohrid. He was one of the students of Cyril and Methodius, the brothers who created the first Slavonic alphabet, the Glagolitic.

Outside the town, on the south bank of the lake and nearly at the Albanian border, lies a more well-preserved monastery. St Naum boasts a miniature church with medieval frescos and a well maintained yard, which is the favourite walking area for tourists and peacocks.

Locals say everything in Ohrid is as it used to be a century ago, and changes happen very slowly. As if to show this, a 800-year-old plane tree stands in the middle of the cobbled square by the old market and the Ali Pasha Mosque. The only difference between now and 100 years ago is that the hollow in its huge trunk is no longer used as a barber's shop or a café; now, it is filled with cement.

This article is courtesy of the Bulgarian magazine Vagabond.

The Drama on the Greek Border

2008-07-04T12:38:00.001+03:00

We must never forget, never forget!

"Together with another two women and 40 children, on March 26, 1948, we abandoned the village after the attack by government troops, who kidnapped 13 children whose parents were in the DAG divisions, while we hid ourselves with the other women and children. They also bombed the village. We traveled through the snow and winter at night, while hiding during the daytime.

"Near the village Trnovo, two government planes shot at us, but luckily nobody was injured. We joined a group of about 400 children being led by a few women. They were from the vicinity of Kostur (present-day Kastoria in Greece) and the women told us that their group had been repeatedly attacked by government planes, and had lost four children as a result. Near the village of Mavrochori, more refugees joined us, women and children from four villages (Dolno Kotori, Lagem, Turija, and Tren)."

This dramatic re-telling of the children's eight-day journey from their birthplaces to the villages of Dolno Dupeni and Ljubojno near Prespa (in present-day Republic of Macedonia) is by Lena Sulevska from the village of Gorno Kotori, near Lerin. Misko Kitanovski and Gjorgji Doneski are retelling her story together with the traumatic testimony of other mothers regarding the uprooting of 28,000 children from Aegean Macedonia (present-day northern Greece) from their birthplaces in the book "The Child-Refugees of Aegean Macedonia."

Sulevska said that at the time 20 women and 500 children gathered and traveled towards the north, moving only at night. "Throughout the journey we each carried three children, two in our hands, and one on our backs. From the village of Konomladi strong snows and heavy winds trailed us. We massaged the children's feet to avoid frostbite," recalls Sulevska, who was a replacement mother for 25 of the children.

When they arrived at the village of Strkovo, a surprise air attack forced them with the children and local population to seek shelter in the mountains, where they remained the entire day. "The children were crying from fear and cold, and we were forced to light a fire. But then the planes came back, and we had to throw our clothing and the children rocks to put out the fire," says Sulevska.

Fear of the airplanes prevented them from lighting fires again. At nightfall, they continued their journey and in two days reached the village of German; the following day, they unknowingly crossed the Yugoslav border. At daybreak, women from the Yugoslav Red Cross met them and wept at their hungry and barefoot state. The refugees were fed and transported to Bitola.

"The difficulties of traveling in the cold left visible traces on the children. Even after arriving in Bitola (in present-day Republic of Macedonia), our children cried loudly, the same way they did during the entire journey. Many of them were vomiting, we women had tears in our hands and necks and shoulders from carrying them, and our backs and chests had dark bruises. The children were flea-ridden and dirty because they could not bathe the entire way, and the path was 100km and eight days long. Their eyes were bloodshot and only had rags for clothing," recalls "mother" Lena Sulevska.

Elena Eftova who fled from the village of Turje, also near Lerin (present day Florina in Greece), with 114 children tells a similar story. "The monarcho-fascists bombed the village with cannons. Six houses were destroyed and 34 houses were burned completely. Then they invaded the village, looted it, and let loose 500 sheep, while we watched hidden in the mountains. Our soldiers were nowhere, and the anger of the monarcho-fascists was unleashed on a few of the remaining villagers. During the bombing, a 10-year old girl named Lefterija Doneva was hit in the chest and wounded in her stomach. In her serious state, they took her to the basement of the house, while the bombing lasted. After the bombing, we took the girl from the village, but she died in the mountains in agonizing pain, and so we buried her near the village of Rula. The mother of this girl fled with us, though we lost track of her later and I don't know where she is now," says Eftova.

Vasilka Delova from Lagen fled with two other women and a girl, leading 71 children. "While the attacks by the government troops lasted, we hid in the trenches outside the village. We went into the village at night looking for food. By the village of Konomladi, we joined a second large group, and together we fled to Yugoslavia. Even after five months, even though the children were put up in orphanages, they could not free themselves from the trauma of the attacks on the village and the difficulties and tortures they endured while fleeing that military hell," she says.

After the death of her husband, Jordana Jančova, from the village of Trsje, near Lerin, was left alone with her five children. Fearing that she too would be murdered, she decided to flee across the border. "At the time the mothers in the village left their children in my care to save them from the fearsome bombings of the American, British, and Greek planes," she says.

"And thus came that black day - March 24, 1948. During the nighttime, the drama of goodbyes began. Near the school in my village of Rudari about 100 children gathered, divided in groups of 25; I was in charge of one of those groups. Among these children were two young brothers, Vasil and Goce. We gathered them into harnesses and left. The mothers ran after us to give the children their final messages: "Sandra, remember your mother;" Hrisula, daughter, don't cry, we'll come back;" "Kosta, be careful, son,'" tells, "mother" Stoja Jankovska, who was with the first group of 500 children.

Around midnight they arrived at German, and on morning of March 25, they left for Bela Voda, on the Yugoslavian-Greek border, where they met the other groups from German, Medovo, Rabin, Strkovo, and where they hid all day from the airplanes. They met three guides who brought them bread and cheese, a final goodbye from the mothers they left behind.

"At dusk, when there were no more of the black "birds" in the sky (who were unsuccessfully looking for us all day), we left for the border, on the path of our long-sought freedom. We reached a large opening, laid the children down together, and covered them with whatever we had, rags, leaves, branches. Some of the other guides and I went looking for our border guards," tells "mother" Stoja.

After arriving in Dolno Dupeni and Ljubojno, they were transferred onto trucks to Brailovo, and from there by train to Skopje. "On the platform at the old train station in Skopje there was a warm and heartfelt welcome for the children from Aegean Macedonia. They got off the train for a short break, while the women in white - the women from the Red Cross and from the AFZ gave them candies for the first time in their lives. What joy that was! My children didn't know that they had to unwrap the candy from the wrapper" recalls "mother" Stoja, who added that despite the outstanding living and work conditions, despite the outpouring of care they gave to the children, regardless, even when they matured, they still cried and sought their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.

"Later, when the decision was made to reunite the families, we sought the parents of the children, via embassies and consulates, through the Red Cross and via letter-writing campaigns. We wrote letters, to which we received many replies. Thus began the correspondence between the children with their mother, father, sister, or brother," says "mother" Stoja.

(To Be Continued)

Jordan Festival - w ba3den ?

2008-06-30T22:52:00.003+03:00

Reading Al-ghad’s article and reading the comments left by the readers regarding the Jordan festival, many questions popped up in my mind. I wonder till when we will have zeal to boycott musical and cultural events more than the zeal to improve ourselves and stop complaining and nagging about stuff everybody previously agreed.

For the past 25 years, the Jerash festival was an event that put Jordan on the map. It was a rich fusion of cultures, traditions and art bringing nations from all over the world. Did any one complain back then? Do you remember those evergreen Milhem Barakat’s and Majida el Roumi’s wonderful concerts on the south theatre in Jerash?

After an extreme failure in the past few years, the administration of the festival had to do something to revive the event. Although I admit it, there were some organizer’s faults in those failures but they did a great job reviving the festival by creating a new name, a new logo and a new theme. Celebrating the novelty they decided also to bring probably the most famous singers and performers in the Arab world.

Isn’t it all performed in Jordan? Isn’t it designed to serve Jordan and Jordan’s tourism and economy? So whether the company that organized everything is French or Arabic, that doesn’t matter at all and whether the company also organized the celebration of the Israeli state that’s totally irrelevant. We have been dealing with companies that somehow are related to Israel one way or another since the peace treaty but people didn’t argue because they were “satisfied” money wise.

So the real question in my opinion is who is desperately in need of money to the extent that he is willing to use patriotism as excuse to wage such war against Jordan’s interest and benefit. I’ve always believed and still believe that patriotism can’t be expressed with boycotting music, patriotism is that shivering feeling you get when you see Jordan’s flag up high and when you are ready to do anything just to raise the flag even higher everyone to see. But apparently many believe that by singing Omar Abdallat’s songs they are entitled to use the Patriotic adjective. Which resulted in an interesting turn of event, as of yesterday Omar Abdallat won’t be participating in the festival… because of the whole banana French issue! Or is it banana money issue… mmm...

Quit playing with people’s minds and let Jordan be part of the cultural and musical scene. Lets face it this is not the way to end the Israeli occupation but on the opposite its destructive act towards Jordan. And yea there is something called find proves before accusing randomly and let’s stop following every single rumor!

peace

Conflicts within the European Union

2008-06-20T22:46:00.009+03:00

One may think that the European Union is a strong, self-sustained, powerful and fault free Union. But the reality states a worse situation, the EU is in a strong crisis ever since the EU Constitution was rejected and until now they are struggling to turn down the tension. But aside of that constitutional or let me say existential problem they are also facing a lot of problems within themselves and with other European countries - non members or candidate countries.

Belgium (EU member) for example lately ran away from the possibility of partitioning its land between the French speaking community and the Dutch speaking community which may either lead to gaining independence or respective accession to either France or the Netherlands. After the June 2007 Elections they went into deep crisis spending a long time constituting their new Government. In March 2008 they managed to create a fragile government that many still wonder how long it will last.

Slovenia (EU member) has a major dispute with Croatia (EU candidate) over marking the border between them. Ever since their break up from the former Yugoslavia they haven't yet reach an agreement over that issue although Slovenia has several times warned their neighbour that this issue may jeopardize the EU candidacy.

Cyprus (EU member) is the only country in EU that has territories under Turkish occupation (as they consider) after the Turkish invasion in the 1970s. Although the United Nations tried to solve the issue before Cyprus' accession to the EU in 2004 with a referendum but the Greek population in Cyprus rejected the re-unification of the Mediterranean island whereas the Turkish population agreed. Whats more interesting is how Greece is meddling in between Cyprus and Turkey and Greece has warned Turkey several times that they will face a Greek Veto if Turkey doesn't withdraw its troops from northen Cyprus.

Greek-Turkish Dispute also referred to as Aegean dispute. The term Aegean dispute refers to a set of interrelated controversial issues between Greece and Turkey over sovereignty and related rights in the area of the Aegean Sea. This set of conflicts has had a large effect on the relations between the two countries since the 1970s. This led twice to crises coming close to the outbreak of military hostilities, in 1987 and in early 1996. And the dispute is also jeopardizing Turkey's aspirations to gain EU full membership.

Greenland which is until now under Danish rule but is granted home rule authority is seeking a way to declare independence since it is not part of EU and that will lead to a great loss for the Danish Economy.

Gibraltar, Spanish territory conquered by Britain in the 1700s. Spain attempted to recapture the territory militarily, with a number of failed sieges, and reclamation of the territory by peaceful means remains Government policy until today.

Greek- Macedonian naming dispute over the name of the Republic of Macedonia. Greece is still opposing the right of a nation of self-identification and is absurdly trying to impose a name to another nation just to cover Greece's massacre over ethnic Macedonians who were living in Greece during the Greek civil war (1950s). They consider that by denying the existence of a Macedonian state they can deny the existence of a Macedonian minority within its border. Greece's recently VETO-ed Macedonia's candidacy to NATO just because they don't like the name. Negotiations are still occurring under the patronage of the UN.

South Ossitia. (non EU member) is a self proclaimed Republic between Russian and Georgian Border that is still seeking UN recognition. It has been used by Russia as Trojan Horse in Georgia. The later still considers South Ossitia to be part of its territory and the dispute is still waiting for a solution. Recently Georgia expressed their intention to Join the NATO alliance to which Russia strongly opposed considering it a threat to Russia's Territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Bosnia and Hercegovina. Country consisted of two entities : Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina. The entities, based largely on the territories held by the two warring sides at the time, were formally established by the Dayton peace agreement in 1995 due to the tremendous changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina's ethnic structure. It is unclear till now till when this fragile union will last having three different ethnicities (Serbian , Croatian and Bosnian) and it is a possible war source.

Kosovo is another self-proclaimed defacto independent State, although Serbia still considers it part of its territory. So far about 40 something country recognized its independence but the new born country has a lot of to fight in order to get full UN recognition since they are facing a strong opposition from Russia who is Serbia's strongest Ally. Still waiting for a solution that also may reach a critical war level.

الحق ما بيموت

2008-06-17T11:26:00.003+03:00

لبنان رح يرجع

والحق ما بيموت

والشمس رح تتطلع تزين سما بيروت

"I will always love you" - Balkan Remix :D

2008-06-05T16:14:00.001+03:00

I came across this video the other day and thought of sharing it with you. Maybe Whitney Houston has sth to say regarding this remix :)

Performed by a Bulgarian Singer called Nena Tzoneva in the Bulgarian Idol.

What do you think? Whose better our Arabic Super star / Star Academy or this one ? :D

peace

When part of your childhood disappears...

2008-06-02T23:40:00.003+03:00

In memoriam - Toše Proeski 1981 - 2007

It was winter 1998, raining heavily.. had a fight with my dad because i wanted to go out and he wanted me to stay home away from the rain, but no.. i had to go.. it was Toše Proeski's first visit to my city.. his first concert in Esperanto Disco... and i wanted to take his autograph so badly.. so i gathered all what i had in my 13 years of courage and decided to go for it..

Streets were full, girls were screaming , wish to touch Toše's hand or have the chance to take a photo with him.. the excitment was growing, i had all the lyrics memorized.. just waiting for the concert to start. Somehow me and my cousin Jasmina, somehow managed to be in the first few rows..

We all went home with a big smile on our faces.. wondering when will be his next concert because i couldn't get his auto-graph. Then we went to Krushevo with my school... Toše's hometown.. the surprise of the trip was his un-expected performance in the Hotel we were staying for the entire school but yet somehow he was evacuated quickly as soon as he finished; because it was becoming very crouded.

Aaah... the Eurovision song contest.. my all time favourite show.. in 2004 he proudly presented Macedonia.. and even though i was in Jordanhaving my tawjihi exams.. i couldn't miss his performance.. i cheered for him and was simply proud.. and still looking forward to attend at least one of his concerts in the Gradski Stadium in the capital Skopje...

My attachment and home-sickness never been stronger when the Ethno- Macedonian Folklor album was released by Toše.. with the ever lasting "Zajdi Zajdi" he wrote his name with bold letters in the history of the Macedonian identity and made me anxiously wait the day when i will go to Macedonia and attend his concert and get his autograph.

That small 13 years old kiddo grew up.. but still has the wish.. 9 years after this Star rose on the Macedonian and Ex- Yugoslav sky it tragically left us... took with him all my hopes and wishes to go to Gradski in Skopje and enjoy with all his fans an ever-green concert..

A significant part of my childhood went with him.. May your soul rest in peace.. Every True Macedonian will remember you along with all the Icons of our History. You won't be forgotten .. your music will always be played and sang that i can promise.

You still owe me an auto-graph

Yours Samer

The Hardest Thing - Toše Proeski

2008-06-01T22:32:00.004+03:00

Song performed by the late Macedonian singer Toshe Proeski. He didn't have the chance to hear it in the world's radio stations as his very first english song. But we -Toshe's fans - are here to spread his angelic voice and his everlasting music.
Rest in Peace Toshe.
You won't be forgotten

i will leave you with the vedio clip made after his tragic death by MTV Adria.

Ethno Music

2008-05-31T11:37:00.006+03:00

I'd say its the soul of a nation put in musical notation.

Sometimes you don't need to actually visit a country

to experience its culture and elevate to their spiritual patriotism.

You don't have to know the people,

you don't have to know their background,

you don't have to understand their language,

just close your eyes and listen.

Elections

2008-05-28T17:43:00.002+03:00

Its interesting how different countries experience the Elections phenomena. There are ofcourse some general observations everywhere... that it's an event that takes the country's attention for couple of weeks or even a year...

Here in Jordan, this phenomena haven't changed much since it started 20 years ago; streets filled with candidates' names, mansaf, knafe, pink promises and ofcourse the Radio begging vote for me method. Its worth mentioning that within last year's elections campagne new more technologically inhanced methods were used like Facebook ads, or lets say Internet in general.
But hey lets take a look how other countries experience elections.. aside of our arab world.

In the United States -as we can see these days- the competition between Hillary and Obama has not only become a world wide discussio topic but also an entertainment for the US' citizens. Every meeting and debate between the leaders are widely followed at least by those who are interested in politics. All the candidates for the upcoming presidential elections in the US use professional agencies just to conduct their campagne moreover to take care of every little detail from the color of the balloons to the candidates speech. Ofcourse all that needs money to fund all these activities.
So since they don't need Mansaf or Knafe to feed the voters, they spend their money to make sure everything goes perfect in any meeting with the voters.

Lets take another example of a little bit modest campagne compared to the American one. This year, actually on the 1st of June , the Republic of Macedonia will go into its first early general elections. Their approach of campagning was different this year. In order to attract youth to vote, they decided to pull the popular singer and performers into singing a campagne song that carries the Party's main objective and moto. In every public apperance of the party they make sure to start their meeting with those singers performing the coalition song live which in a way secretly makes sure that the singer's fans will vote for that party.

Here is their song... i wonder if that will give a result on the 1st of June.

Eurovision Song Contest

2008-05-26T20:02:00.003+03:00

The Eurovision Song contest is probably the biggest musical event in Europe that has been occuring for the past 53 years. It's a contest between all the members of European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The winning song is selected by televoting, each country can give points from 1 to 12 but don't have the right to vote for its own song. The Country that gathers the most points wins the Contest and the Winning country becomes the new Eurovision Host.

Many famous singers kicked their carrier from this contest to name a few: ABBA, Celine Dion (as Swiss participant), Jonny Logan, Helena Paparizou, Dima Bilan and many others. This contest is usually organized in the second or the third week of May each year. During the previous 3 months each country organizes internal selection for their entry for the contest.

Due to the increasing number of participating countries (43) as of this year there were 2 semifinals in which the participants perform their songs and the best 10 songs from each semifinal proceed to the final with the Big 4 (UK,France, Germany and Spain - who go directly to the Final becoz they fund the contest) and the winning song from the previous contest.

It is a trend that the winning song or at least the participating songs become a Hit sometimes within europe other times to the whole world like the case of Greece's winning song "My number one" by Helena Paparizou that was extremely popular here in Amman (though i doubt that people new that it was an ESC winning song :) )

Its interesting to point out that Jordan Radio Television JRTV used to broadcast it live until 1999. Due to political reasons.. in 1998 Israel won the contest and the Israeli Television brought the contest to Jerusaelm and since then JRTV stopped the broadcast.

Another political trivial thing was the application of Lebanon to the contest 2 years ago, but because according to the contract the Lebanese channel had to broadcast all the songs including the Israeli song they withdrew. But it is expected to see Lebanon in 2009 since the applicant Television has changed.

Its also worth mentioning the technically Palestine has the right to participate since its an official member in the EBU, so who knows maybe we will see the contest in Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Last year's winner was Serbia (which many thought that it was Europe's way to tell Serbia that we appericiate you although we will take Kosovo from you) and they Hosted this years contest in their capital Belgrade. It was a magnificent show and for one week Belgrade was the center of Europe hosting thousands of young europeans from all over Europe.. from UK to Armenia..

Here is a small interval act during which the Televoting was occuring in this years Eurovision SOng contest . The music played is composed by a famous Serbian musician Goran Bregovic who is popular with his folk serbian music.

You can find more about the contest following this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision#Participation

Palestine (حقٌ يأبى النسيان)

2008-05-15T23:16:00.005+03:00

Many people through out the world, don't know what exactly happened on that 15th of May 60 years ago. As much as i tried to explain how cruel and inhuman was the Jewish act back then... still it isn't enough to express the agony, the homesickness, the sadness and anger our grandparents felt for being kicked out of their own country, their own houses, their own rooms, gardens, mosques and churches.

If only my grandma is still alive to ask her about those days...Ah she used to remember how every house looked like... and where each family lived in the small city of Ramlah. With a shining glance of hope her eyes can tell you what is Palestine... She passed away but her hope hasn't yet...I'm sure the key of the house is still hidden somewhere...

I truely admire the spirit of hope our grandparents still carry for so they are the best example of how to be patriotic, of how to love your land, your neighbours and your people. I pray to God to give me strength to keep that spirit and deliver it to my children incase i don't get the chance to see Palestine liberated.

My dear friends... No occupation lasted in the world... all nations at the end gained freedom.. thats what history taught us. No matter how many years is needed.. at the end it will be over. So be happy Grandma.. coz we will go back someday.

60 years of hope... are enough for this cause to be continued till the end of times..

Viva Palestine..

Lebanon Part 1 : Journalism w Mawdo3eyyeh

2008-05-12T18:47:00.002+03:00

International Fair at the University of Jordan

2008-05-04T22:21:00.005+03:00

Within the University of Jordan's campus, the University celebrates it's students' diverstiy, culture and background. Please Join me to celebrate the World's harmony and our determination to spread peace through out the world.

Traditional food.. traditional music...Tourist attractions.. travelling experiences.. traditional dance.. and more.

More than 20 countries...

Make sure to visit Macedonia's corner.. :)

Time and Place:

University of Jordan Campus

Wednesday 7th of May 2008 (from 11:00 till 16:00)

Thursday 8th of May 2008 ( 9:00 till 16:00)

Unworthy EU Member

2008-04-16T22:19:00.002+03:00

by Gunnar Nissen Danish newspaper Morgaenavisen Jyllands-Posten 2/26/1999

If this chronicle gives rise to conflicts or trouble, it is not the fault of the Macedonians, nor me. When the politicians in EU countries don't speak out, it is due to ignorance or indifference. Denmark is a member of the EU. It remains a mystery that Greece is too. The member countries must recognize human rights and minorities rights. Those are the demands put in front of the central European states and they must abide by them. That has been hard on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who are brought to recognize national minorities, especially that large Russian one. Slovenia is on that point influenced by the Yugoslavian constitution of 1974, an exemplary country with full recognition of small Croatian and Italian minorities. But Greece - Oh Dear! From official Greek side it is bombastically announced: Only Greeks live in Greece. Nonsense! In southeast Europe, not a single state exist of one nationality alone. In Greece, you find a large Turkish minority (who do not wish to be presented as Greeks that has converted to Islam) in Thrace, a small Albanian minority in Epiros and finally a Macedonian minority in Aegean Macedonia, who numbers somewhere between 75.000 and 500.000. An exact estimate doesn't exist, since Greece persistently deny there existence.

If one put some pressure on high ranking civil servants and self-proclaimed experts, one may achieve an admission that "a small Slavic speaking minority exist in Greek Macedonia", but they "do not wish to be a national minority; they can freely use their language". A pack of lies! For many years I have had a friendly relation with numerous Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia - a people that officially doesn't exist. I do speak Greek, but I speak fluently Macedonian. Almost every time I take the train south, over Munich to Balkan, I run into Macedonians from Greece (2. generation of workers). The same happens when I traverse the Greek border. Some people speaks only Greek, but a lot, really a lot, speaks additionally Macedonian ("our mother tongue") which is forbidden as language in school. Last year a couple of shop owners were taken to court -their "crime" was that they had written some words in Macedonian in their shop windows.

When I sit on cafe's in villages in Aegean Macedonia, the conversation always ends at "the Macedonian identity". "What do you in the rest of Europe know about us?" I must admit that it's very little. "We would like to have some Macedonian schools" the man continues at the cafe. "I speak my Macedonian mother tongue, but my son is struggling, although he watches Macedonian TV, Televizija Skopje". He, and the others speak in a low voice, while glancing towards the neighboring table where a man is picking up his phone. Moments later, two angry police officers enter and the gathering around my table splits up. The border control between the Macedonian Republic and Greece are, known to be among the toughest in Europe. Certainly the slowest. Not on the Macedonian side, where the border police take a peek at the Danish passport, after which it's over. But on the other side of the border, the border police confiscate all passports and later we have to spend a long time, be it snow storm or bumming hot, cueing to get the passport back. With particular thoroughness, the custom control ransack the luggage of travelers from the Republic of Macedonia. Foreigners can not be sure to get a travel permission, even when born in Aegean Macedonia in Greece. It has happened that a Canadian bus full of Macedonians with Macedonian names, but born in Aegean Macedonia, were not allowed to enter the country.

The Greeks gave as a reason for not recognizing the Republic of Macedonia, that " we have a Macedonia here in Greece and thus there cannot be a Macedonia just on the opposite site of the border". The logic in this is absurd and I'm ashamed that so many ignorant journalists quoted the Greek reason without comments. Apparently they were unaware that Macedonia is split between three different countries. After a meeting in Brussels, where the EU-recognition of the state of Macedonia was postponed, although Macedonia fulfilled all requirements for recognition, the then Danish foreign minister, Uffe Elleman-Jensen, in a final salute as EU chairman, commented to the Greeks that they had to get themselves together and get the problem solved, concerning the name Macedonia and called it despicable of the Greeks to treat the Macedonians in this way. The former Danish foreign Minister Elleman-Jensen stated in 1993 "not Macedonia is a problem for Europe, but our member Greece". The Greek spokespersons reacted violently, amongst them the former Greek vice prime-minister Athanasios Kannellopoulos, who angrily pronounced "with his comments, Mr. Jensen is a very bad example of the other foreign ministers. Mr. Jensen said that he'd be ashamed to be Greek because we're against that the new Skopje republic's use of the name Macedonia. To that my answer is: We'd be ashamed if Mr. Jensen was Greek!" In "Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten" the MP Ame Melchior published a letter to the editor that exhibited his lack of knowledge about the populations in the Balkan peninsula under the title "Show concern for our Greek allied". He was answered by "Jyllands-Posten"s correspondent Per Nyholm "Show concern for the Macedonians". Finally the Greeks accepted the name of Macedonia, but only in the form of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM.

Now to the decisive point that journalists ought to have oriented "themselves about: In ancient times and in the Osmanian era, Macedonia was an area without internal borders, where the people after the 6 century had the south Slavic language Macedonian as mother tongue. It was in Macedonia the Cyrillic alphabet came to life, named after the monk Kyril. The bible was translated by the Macedonians to old-church-Slavic, that had the same influence on ecumenical language in eastern Europe as Latin had amongst the Catholics in western and central Europe. The Cyrillic alphabet spread not only to Bulgaria and Serbia, but also to Russia and other eastern Slavic countries. "Genuine" Hellenes described the ancient population of Macedonia as barbarians and Phillip II and Alexander the Great greekness are rather dubious. Albanian historiansname them Illyrians, the oldest nation on Balkan and the Albanians are arguably their ancestors. Of higher importance was the Slav's immigration to the Balkan area in the 6 century. The Slavic tribe that settled in Macedonia took name after the province and preserved their language to modem times (with some grammatical exceptions...)

After the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, Macedonia was split in three. Aegean Macedonia came under Greece, Vardarmacedonia under Serbia and Pirimacedonia under Bulgaria. Vardarmacedonia was in 1945 after a heroic partisan war, one of the six republics in the new federal Yugoslavia and as promised by Tito, the republic got full national and cultural independence - with due acknowledgment of it's compact Albanian and small Turkish minorities. As Yugoslavia split in 1991, the country had 23 Mio. inhabitants. Had all of Yugoslavia had the birthrate of the Albanians in western Macedonia and Kosovo, they would have been at 50 Mio! Kosovo and western Macedonia would have had to let the Albanians migrate to the rest of Serbia and Macedonia with resulting unemployment rates around 50%. The Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia are not oppressed. They have all rights - except the one to rise the Albanian flag and get an Albanian university - which wouldn't make a lot of sense as soon as they again can study at the large university in Prestina in Kosovo, Tito's pride. By the way, the ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia in Denmark is Albanian, the much respected Muhammed Halili. Could one imagine the situation: the government of the North German federated state Schleswig Holstein declare: Schleswig is German and in Germany, Germans are living. Thus with no further notice, the Danish schools, including the "Duborgskolen" high school and "Jaruplund" high school, the Flensburg newspaper, Danish libraries and other foreign institutions will close. The Danish language is declared "not-wanted"? How about the opposite situation - if everything German was forbidden in southern Denmark? Unthinkable of course!

When a person misbehaves, it is in the first line the closest people's duty to intervene. National oppression is taking place in many countries outside the EU. But Greece is an EU member and is thus a "part of the family". But do we intervene, we, the closest people? No, we shut up. Of ignorance or misunderstood solidarity with the Greek leaders, who as the Serbs, consider themselves "superbalkanian". Other people knows more about the oppression than I, but I know a great many and every year more ignored and oppressed Slavic Macedonians in the Greek part of Macedonia. Can we justify our silence? I'm sure that Greece' unwillingness to accept the Republic of Macedonia is due to their black conscience over the oppression of Macedonians in Greece. Greece is (yet another) unworthy member of the EU.

All rights reserved to Mr Gunnar Nissen Danish newspaper Morgaenavisen Jyllands

Greece’s Foreign Minister: The US must change its name to ‘United States of Central North America’

2008-04-06T22:15:00.003+03:00

Greece’s Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis announced today that Greece would veto the US’s continued membership of NATO unless the US changed its name to ‘United States of Central North America’. ‘Greece is nothing if not consistent’, Ms Bakoyannis said at a press conference today, ‘Just as we object to FYROM [the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia] being the sole claimant to the name of the entire area of Macedonia, so we object to FBCOA [the Former British Colony of America] claiming sole use of the name of “America”.’

She pointed out that the territory of the FBCOA covers less than half of the continent of North America, which in turn is only one of two American continents: ‘We are concerned that the FBCOA’s use of the name “America” implies territorial claims on neighbouring states.’

My Bakoyannis added: ‘The leaders of this new country of 300 million insist on calling their homeland “America” even though that is a name that has been part of Native American history and culture for thousands of years.’ She then asked rhetorically, ‘Was Pocahontas an Anglo-Saxon ?’
UN mediators have been struggling to find a solution to the ‘name dispute’ acceptable to both sides, one that would allow the US to remain in NATO. UN envoy Matthew Nimetz has tabled several proposals, including ‘Democratic United States of America’, ‘New United States of America’ and ‘United States of America (Washington D.C.)’, but these have all been rejected by Athens.

President George W. Bush has accepted that at this week’s NATO summit in Bucharest, the US may have its membership of the alliance terminated at Greece’s demand. ‘We shall continue to seek a negotiated solution to this question’, President Bush said today.

Ms Bakoyannis has indicated that Athens is considering asking the United Kingdom to change its name as well, pointing out that ‘Britain’ is the name of a neighbouring French administrative region. There has been speculation that Greece may insist that the UK be renamed ‘United Kingdom of Northern Britain and Northern Ireland’ if it wishes to remain in NATO, although Athens has yet to issue a formal demand.

(Greater Surbiton News Service)

Greece’s policy of trying to crush the sovereignty and national identity of a European country has nothing to do with democratic ... Stop this nonsense.. We will keep rocking our name.. Go Macedonia

New Palestine

2008-03-08T22:53:00.004+02:00

Red and dark sky
the door bell is ringing, silence
a soldier and a small kiddo are standing behind it
but only one of them is real...

Children are screaming in agony
mothers are falling in despair
houses are torn down
this is the 21st massacared Palestine

The door is opened
the soldier comes in
tired from all the fired gun shots
the kiddo goes to the kitchen
it all seemed to him new

exhausted mothers walk together
holding pictures of that small kiddo
with pain, anxiety and desperate looks
but with pride, dignity and heroism

Our kiddo thanks the soldier
for so he helped him to go to paradise
for so he made Paradise our new Palestine
filled with innocent looks and honest hearts

Thats our new Palestine
from there comes our support
we will not give up
you will not be forgotten

Historian

We'll bring down the wall, Freedom for Palestine

Save Birgish...

Things i wanna do in 2010

Eid Mubarak

Just when you think this couldn't get any more ridiculous! Greece surprises.. this time with Iceland!

Greek-Macedonian spat splatters Iceland

نفسي في ... وتفو عليه

Featured campaign: "Khede Kasra - Women Empowerment"

لحن العودة إلى فلسطين

BAD09: Nature's revenge

Today is the best day of your life... Love it !

42 cm squared

Eid Mubarak

"How to tie a tie" pre-interview action!

Amman Twestival

What history tires to forget...

اسمحولي احكي

Al Jazeera..."professional" journalism

Ramadan Kareem

An entire city.. goes back to 1903.. just for the fun of it!

My friends.. the greatest gift of Amman.. am back

Tawjihi? Very over rated event..

City Center...

Thanks Wikipedia!

Things i miss in Jordan

Masonic Symbol in St. Stephan Church of Ohrid

Palestine : I resist!

Jordan takes you beyond...

The City of light...

On Love... by J.K.Jubran

الحلم العربي

Valley of Peace

"Let the first Blogger to die in prison be the last" - OR318

10 Years anniversary of being online! :)

Islam & Christianity in Macedonia

Hidden Candles in the mountains

There the Sun always shines..

Dubrovnik...a wonderful summer vacation spot

Flaming Border

Greek Neo-Nazis Attack Macedonian Minority

Impressions from Athens.. (24 - 5 - 2009)

Goodbye Sweden...

and the winner is... Norway! See you in Oslo 2010

*Blog About Palestine Day* - Silence

Who has the power to decide?!

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Yugoslavia

Swine Flu in the world - up until now

On simplicity...

where is Jordan?? :)

على الدنيا السلام

On Homesickness...

" بطاقتي الشخصية "-" الشاعرة الليبية ردينة الفيلالي "

Impressions ... Live from Paris.. Part 2

Impressions.. Live from Paris..Part 1

On Double identity...

The T-Mobile Dance ! Refreshing..

Amazing Technology - The Sixth Sense

Deja Vu - "The Historian - E. Kostova"

Mira Awad : Palestinian Singer to Represent Israel on the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Music stronger than Politics : Macédomienne from 1990

We will not go down...

Macedonia - Timeless

My little one...

The Land of Colours

Ethno Music (Part 2)

Coming home

That's Not my Name

R.I.P. Mahmoud Darwish (13 March 1941 - 9 August 2008)

weather forcast..how funny can it get ?

Ohrid, Where Time Stopped

The Drama on the Greek Border

Jordan Festival - w ba3den ?

Conflicts within the European Union

الحق ما بيموت

"I will always love you" - Balkan Remix :D

When part of your childhood disappears...

The Hardest Thing - Toše Proeski

Ethno Music

Blog About Palestine Day - Silence