On Being in an Evil Place

(ORI WROTE THIS, BUT IT GIVES YOU A GOOD SENSE OF WHAT WEÂ’VE BEEN UP TO,
SINCE I HAVE BEEN CRAPPYÂ…)

Having just returned from Syria, I can confidently conclude that if
there is any evil lurking in the country, it is more than compensated
for by the friendliness of Syrians and the kilos of delicious ice cream
and sweets that tempt you every 5 meters in Damascus - how cavities
aren't a national crisis there I don't know.

Tova, Mike, and I were all able to obtain the often-elusive US visa to
Syria (after a somewhat complicated diplomatic mission on Mike's part,
having to shuttle between the Syrian and US embassies in Amman to obtain
arbitrary documents for the sake of
both sides wanting to be difficult & having to swear on his first born
child/bible/life to the Syrians that he has never been to "Occupied
Palestine" – they didn't believe him although every American I know who
got a visa without question has been there at least 2 times).

The easiest way to get to Syria is by a shared taxi and for some reason,
all of the taxis are large Buick and Chevy sedans from the early 70s -
not the most fuel-efficient mode of transportation, but a styling ride.
Our taxi was particularly impressive as, when we stopped at the duty
free store between the Jordanian and Syrian borders, we learned that the
back passenger door was hollow and the inside panel could be unscrewed
to store (or embezzle, depending on your perspective) 20+ cartons of
cigarettes. Fortunately we were not stopped by the Syrian customs
officers and the Syrian black market is all the stronger for it. (I
relayed this story to a friend today who one-upped my by telling me that
in a taxi from Iraq to Jordan the car was stopped and instead of
contraband cigarettes the authorities uncovered an impressive arsenal of
kalishnikovs and pistols - emphasizing the range of gray areas of
conspiracies and trafficking).

Damascus was amazing - the city has so much history and character -
especially in comparison to Amman, which is modern and quiet and less
than 20% of the population identifies as being Jordanian. Unfortunately,
part of Damascus' character is marred by the obscene level of pollution,
mostly from the run-down cars that crowd the streets and the lack of
interest in any sort of environmental concern. In Syria (as in Jordan),
littering is commonplace. The justification for it is that the presence
of litter everywhere causes the need for clean up and, hence, job
creation. I still can't throw trash on the street, but I will place it
neatly in a pile of existing refuse, to lessen the strain of the street
cleaners. There are some customs here I just can't adapt to.

Of our 4 days in/around Damascus, I think the most memorable moment was
when we were in Busra (a small town in the south that is home to a large
and incredibly preserved roman amphitheatre, citadel, and old city). We
arrived in the morning at the same time as a local school group and,
when a few of the students figured out that Tov and I could speak
Arabic, we found ourselves surrounded by 50 students, all asking
questions at the same time about what America was like, if we had ever
heard of osama bin laden, if we knew Eminem and Dr. Dre personally, and
if we knew their relatives who were computer engineers somewhere in
America, although they couldn't remember the specifics of where they
lived. We must have spoken with them for an hour, ending with their
teachers (literally) pulling them away and an exchange of email
addresses and phone numbers. Needless to say, there are not many
Americans in Syria (or at least open-Americans, although there are
several with assumed Canadian identities) and this was probably the
first time that most if not all of these kids had a chance to talk to
Americans and learn that we have opinions very different from those of
Bush and Rumsfeld and that there are Americans who do not hate/fear the
middle east and that there are even a few who aren't Muslim or Arab but
know about Islam and can speak Arabic and just want to have a good time
like Syrians and eat ice cream and listen to pop music and do regular
things.

The other striking thing about Damascus was the number of Iranians
there. Damascus is home to the Great Umayyad Mosque, the 3rd holiest
mosque in Islam and particularly important to Shi'i Muslims as the
mosque not only claims to have john the BaptistÂ’s head (also holy to
Muslims for his relationship with the prophet Jesus), but also Imam
Hussein's head (a descendent of Muhammad who was murdered at Karbala - a
city again in the news over 1,400 years later). With the majority of
Iranians being Shi'a, Damascus is one of the primary tourist/pilgrimage
destinations. It was odd not only being one of the few western tourists
in Damascus, but often being surrounded by a group of 50 Iranians - all
the women wrapped in black chadors - with digital cameras, silly tourist
souvenirs, and wailing with overwhelming emotion at the shrines of
important figures in islamic/shi'i history. Amman seems incredibly
liberal and clean and sterile in comparison.

I think that's just about the jist of Syria – we didn't find any evil or
even rudeness. I don't know how the axes of evil maintain their cabal,
but I don't think that most Syrians feel any allegiance to North Korea,
Iran, or any substantive animosity towards the 'coalition of the
willing' or the us in general. A little bit of a let-down, but how
could anyone be expected to be malicious while enjoying the ubiquitous
fresh waffle cone of vanilla ice cream covered in crushed pistachios? I
swear that if Bush had a taste he would drop this whole war-making mess.

Life in the Middle East is a balancing act – of balancing an autocratic
government whose functions and interests are too often far removed from
the public
needs or interests with an intense practice of enjoying life - of
spending time with family and (new) friends over an argileh, coffee,
pastries, fresh fruit, and always animated conversations.

I can't believe that I only have 2 more weeks here before returning to
the land of shopping malls and processed food (and tank tops and spicy
Chinese food, I guess a different sort of social balancing act...)

Illa Likum,

Ori & Tov (and mike)