I can’t tell you the first time I heard her voice- all silk and honey and orange blossom water- gently emanate from my parent’s record player. It was always there in the background, caressing the air around us as my mother rolled grapeleaves, or had sweet mint tea with company, or chatted on the phone with my aunts as I played on the carpet. It was just part of the atmosphere of my home. It’s quiet Sunday afternoons after church. It’s holidays and the smell of roast lamb or turkey- my mom and my aunt Sona dancing dabke in the kitchen together as they cooked. It’s their fond memories of a childhood in Jerusalem and vacations visiting cousins in Boorj Hammoud (the Armenian quarter of Beirut). And this is something they share with so many people of the Middle East, Christian, Sunni, Shi’ite, Druze… Everyone loves Fairuz. Continue reading
Interntional Politics
2 posts
A decade after the start of the Yugoslavian Civil War, Serbia is still grappling with extreme nationalist groups that advocate violence against their opponents both within Serbia and in neighboring countries. The groups also participate in violent activities and have battled with police during political protests. This is especially troubling because these groups are not hold-outs from the war in the 1990s, but rather are are increasingly made up of young people who barely remember the conflict. Continue reading