MIDDLE EAST
COVER UP:
A Western Woman’s Journey into the Middle East
A sneak peak at…
EXCERPTS FROM MANUSCRIPTS (Books # 2 & 3, sand & snow)
PROLOGUE
Serendipity…a discovery of things by accident…
At a job fair in Toronto, I kept hearing the word “Kuwait”…and wondered where on earth it was. I knew it was somewhere in the Middle East. I knew of Desert Storm…But I did not know it would become my home six months later…unveiling people, places and events that I never would have dreamed of, let alone experience.
I had always kept a diary; but now, living in the Middle East, away from family and friends, I wrote more in my diary and began writing lengthy emails and newsletters and sent them home. Everyone kept saying, “write a book”, “keep your stories”…so, this is it: my story of a journey into the Middle East.
Although all the stories are based on true events, names have been changed to protect the individuals involved. This choice is, in itself, a “cover up”.
We all “cover up” for different reasons: protection, deception…
So much in Kuwait is kept under cover, unshared, unspoken; from the individual Kuwaiti’s way of life, to their families, their institutions, right on up the pyramid to their Amir. One of the most often-used words in Kuwait is “haram” meaning forbidden, not allowed. Alcohol is “haram”, yet high ranking officials have it “secretly” brought into the country by the shipload. But this “cover up” is what makes Kuwait fascinating, alluring, a dichotomy.
As I began putting the book together, I noticed how different the west is from the east…but I also noticed how similar they are. Each individual, each nation has its own hidden agendas and issues, whether we like to admit it or not…including myself.
It is my hope that this book will help a little to bridge the huge gap between west and east. We may not understand our differences; we may fight and disagree…but in the end, we all sweat, cry, bleed…and cover up.
Consider my story a sneak peak into a world vastly different from the western side of the globe…and yet, in many ways the same.
Consider it the unveiling of a plea to embrace diversity…an open letter to both sides of the world.
Consider it a mosaic of many tidbits put together to hang on the global wall of memories and memoirs.
Consider it a discovery of things by accident…
_____________________________________________________
Chapter 1
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we give account.”
Hebrews 4:13
August 20, 2000 DIARY
Tonight I said goodbye to my family for a whole year…maybe more. I’m off to Kuwait. They really don’t want me to go. They’ve been watching CNN and have visions of terrorism in the Middle East; Palestine and Israel at war; men getting their hands chopped off for stealing; women being stoned to death for infidelity; Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait. It’s funny how, even though I know they’re worried, I’m not…I feel good about it actually, almost like I’m meant to go. I’ve tried to reassure them. I’ve contacted teachers already there, single women who have been teaching in Kuwait for over a year; and they tell me that CNN is way off center… All I know is that I’m tired of teaching in Ontario and all the turmoil that goes with it; the strikes, the antagonism, the discontent… it’s time for a change, time for a new experience, a new adventure…maybe, just maybe I can make a difference somewhere in this world. Am I running away? Maybe that too…all I know is this feels right…crazy maybe, but right…
Had to look on the map, though, to see where I’m going! Somewhere in the Middle East.
I feel empty leaving everyone, but I know in my heart this is where I’m to go…
As my Dad always says: “Out of chicken shit grow roses…”
August 22 DIARY
I’m so damn lonely…can’t believe I’m doing this again…overseas…am I a fool? I know I’ll get over it eventually; but right now it’s so hard, without family, friends…I don’t have a computer or a phone or a car ---yet.
This will pass, I know, I know, just like Mexico. But living in the present, here, now, is so damn lonely.
My little apartment is cute and cozy, decorated in Indian style with a big glass window that overlooks the Persian Gulf, blue, blue, blue water! It’s been too hot to walk down to it --- about 120 degrees F. At least I’m cool in my apartment with the air conditioning… I don’t even know my address---all I know is the name of my neighbourhood, Mahboula, which means “crazy women”.
Well, this is what I asked for: a totally different culture.
I sat next to a young Muslim woman on the airplane. In disbelief I listened to her talk about her life, one of total control by her father. She’d just finished three years of studying engineering in a university in Canada and was now going home to an arranged marriage, to a man she’d never met. A man her father had chosen. And she’s ok with that! She said, “I don’t need to worry about anything. Now my husband will look after me.” I can’t believe she’s giving up her career! One of the reasons I’m here in Kuwait is because of my career…and, of course, to travel, to be wild and free, to be single again!
All of my adult life I’ve spent devoted to my kids as a single parent; “now it’s your time, Ma” they said.
So, here I am… free, but stuck in an apartment in Maboula.
Maboula (crazy women in Arabic)
THE ARCTIC
EXPOSURE:
A Southern Woman’s Journey into the Arctic
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Nunavut Newsletter #4 Clyde River
"Inuit Then and Now"
Greetings family and friends "down south"...
Never in my wildest dreams have I ever pictured what it would be like to live in darkness for 24 hours a day. We reached the 20-hour-a day-total-darkness today...and I have to confess...it is depressing. Sorry!
I don't want to bring you down to where I'm at right now...suffice to say that climbing the stairs to go and sit at my computer and write this was a struggle in itself; I had to force myself to do this, to get off my ass and do something. It's too weird to be tired at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and want to go to bed for the night. I honestly can't get my head around it. Darkness when there's supposed to be daylight is just not normal...it's more than weird, it's depressing...
How DO the Inuit live like this??!! Months on end, total darkness. Year after year, another session of total darkness. I can't imagine. I just can't imagine.
And then I think...it's not really so bad...they have lights now, electricity...and radio, television, computers, furnaces, beds, fridges, stoves, stores, fast food, ski-doos...all the modern conveniences that we take for granted...
BUT for 4,000 years, the Inuit had none of these luxuries.
This is the way they lived for thousands of years...and according to the archival accounts, they lived healthy fulfilled lives that unfolded entirely out on the land. Land that I see as barren, no end in sight, flat snow-covered land, flat snow-covered ocean, no trees. And then...for months on end, total darkness...to crawl into a freezing igloo, no warmth except the heat from a seal oil lamp and other bodies.
I can't imagine. I just can't imagine.
Who am I to judge?! I'm a "qallunaat", a white person from "down south. The term "qallunaat" was given to the first white men the Inuit saw, men with mustaches and big bellies who came from Scotland to hunt whales. Most of us up here in the Arctic dislike being called a "qallunaat"...but then, most Inuit hate being called "Eskimo" which means "eater of raw meat". Tit for tat, I guess you could say.
All I can say is I have the utmost respect for the Inuit, for their stamina, their courage, to live in the north as they have done and as they still do today. Take away the igloo; they still have the 24 hours of darkness day after day for months on end. It's sooo depressing...sorry...!
Time for a more exciting topic: bears. We had 4 of them wander into Clyde River a few weeks ago for a visit. The whole hamlet was abuzz as the word spread. There were two mothers and their cubs. Clyde River is allowed to hunt a quota of 22 bears for the fall season, and they are strongly encouraged NOT to shoot mother bears and their cubs. So I guess these bears knew they were safe, since they prolonged their visit for three days and the only thing shooting them were cameras.
I went around town before this month of darkness arrived and took pics of the multiple bear and seal skins hanging on frames drying in the wind and sun. The Inuit sure know what they're doing! They utilize every part of the bear and seal that they harvest and proudly display them in the school as part of their culture, using them for clothing, boots and tents.
When the bears come to town, the dogs let out howls that make your skin crawl. The sled dogs are kept on the other side of the harbour in huge pens...and when they smell bear, it's like you've been transported to Transylvania. Howwwl....howwwl...howwwl ...The howling reaches a crescendo that sends shivers down your back and makes you stop in your tracks to listen. How close are the bears, you wonder?
Whether it's 24-hour darkness, bears in the bay, or eerie dog howls...there's nothing like it anywhere else in the world...hats off and a deep bow to the Inuit.
I'll be home for Christmas...it's a treat I'm giving myself of sunshine and family...God's blessings to you all!
Love Dawn
