Reflection 7

I thought Andrea Shalal did a great job talking about Arab-Americans. This was the first that I was in a class that Skyped someone from Germany. I was envisioning more difficulties regarding Skype, but it went smoothly for the most part. Andrea is a journalist, and studied literature in college. She made a good point that until 2010, Arabs were categorized as white, but treated as people of color. I also remember talking in class about the importance of poetry and how children memorized the Koran, which Andrea mentioned in her lecture. I also learned that getting something published is not easy as there are only a few publishing houses that dominate the market. When we learned about Khaled Mattawa, a translator of numerous books of poetry from various Arab countries, I learned that word choice matters and it is important to keep the meaning of the poem. For some translators, English may be a second language, therefore, this makes translating poems more difficult. She also talked about Mohja Kahf, who uses social media to spread news about issues (war in Syria). She showed us a video of Omar Offendum, a rapper on YouTube who brings awareness of issues in the Arab world. Andrea talked about a number of other famous Arab-Americans who have made an impact on the world today. I liked one of the speakers doing a Ted Talk, but I can’t remember her name. She was only 20 years old, and was able to shed light on stereotypes of Arabs, and Westerner’s reactions, which I found funny. I had a great time listening to Andrea speak, and learned a lot from her lecture.

Weekly Report #6

Khalid Khannouchi, is a Muslim American marathon runner. He was born on December 22, 1971, in Meknes, Morocco. He currently resides in Ossining, N.Y. He has had an impressive career. He is the U.S. men's marathon record holder; 4-time Chicago Marathon winner; 2002 London Marathon champion. I love running, and am always amazed at how fast Khalid and others can run. Many people do not understand how truly difficult it is to run that fast. When you watch runners like Khalid on television, they make it look easy. Running 4-minute miles for 26.2 miles is insane. As a promising young runner during the early 1990s, “Khalid Khannouchi of Morocco asked the track federation of his home country for assistance with training expenses. When the federation refused assistance, Khannouchi traveled to the United States in 1992, found a job in Brooklyn washing dishes took up residence with three friends in an apartment and then began serious training.” This shows Khalid’s determination and hardworking attitude to travel to the United States, likely with little to nothing, find a job, put in some serious training, and become a famous, successful runner. In addition, professional running will not give you $15 million dollars a year for sitting on a bench like some famous football players. Therefore, this is shows his sacrifice and love for running. His story can inspire other young runners to follow through with their dreams, and know that some sacrifices in life pay off in the end. Hopefully, in following years, he will receive even more recognition, which he deserves.

http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/TrackAndFieldArchive/2005/Khannouchi_Khalid.asp

Weekly Report #5

I found an article from the New York Times on 30 March 2018, which talks about how Trump ordered the State Department to suspend funds for Syria recovery. “President Trump, having this week signaled a possible withdrawal of American troops from Syria, has ordered the State Department to suspend more than $200 million in funds for recovery efforts there while the administration reassesses its role in the conflict.” Part of the reason for the suspension of funds are due to the fact that two members, one American, and one British solider were killed, and five others were injured. President Trump ordered 2,000 troops out of Syria, however, “the comments surprised Defense Department officials who have maintained that some kind of American presence in parts of Syria may be necessary to avoid recreating the conditions that led to the rise of the Islamic State.” It is unclear how the death of the soldiers, and injured soldiers led to his decision. I am unsure why funds for Syria recovery were suspended after reading this article because I don’t understand what purpose that serves. In addition, I agree with the Defense Department that it is essential to have some presence in Syria to make sure ISIS does not gain territory. I don’t understand what triggered President Trumps decision because even though it is extremely sad that soldiers were injured and killed, it is not like 700 soldiers were killed, or something more significant like that. I would be curious to know how long the suspensions last and what the future holds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/world/middleeast/syria-us-coalition-deaths.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmiddleeast&action=click&contentCollection=middleeast&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront