MEBlog2

February 29, 2008 By Haley VanGorder

It's about 8:20 a.m. in Mr. Wimmer's classroom, but today will not be another ordinary day. Today we will be participating in a teleconference with a 21-year-old student named Ezra, who is a resident of Bahrain. The preparation for the teleconference has started, we've put our questions in order, we've set up all our equipment and we've gotten ourselves seated. All that's left to do is the actual conference. Ezra just told us that she is waiting for one more person, so we're waiting a few minutes for him or her. Everyone's chatting with anticipation, unsure of what to expect. It's still kind of mind-blowing that Mr. Wimmer managed to get us connected with Ezra. Soon we'll be learning the other half of the story, and I hope that it will open alot of eyes and minds.

Ezra just told us she'll call right back so she can add her last friend to the conference. Mr. Wimmer is explaining to us how the microphone works, when Ezra sends another call our way. Ezra begins to introduce herself, but then the connection is lost. Maybe technology in the MIddle East isn't as sophisticated as ours. Mr. Wimmer tries to call again, but the connection is lost again. Looks like this might be a complicated beginning. "This is the real world," Mr. Wimmer jokes.

The phone rings again, and it seems to be working this time, but we're not sure. Ezra lets us know she can hear us, and introduces herself, saying Bahrain is the smallest kingdom in the world. She operates her own website, and wishes us luck in college. An Egyptian man introduces himself, and says he's a practicing Christian, unlike Ezra, who practices Muslim Ezra attends Franklin College, and the Egyptian man attends college in Chicago. They both seem to speak very good English, but Ezra's accent is a bit thicker than the man's.

Lucas comes up and says hello, then asks her what kind of criticism she faces on her website. She says they have been hacked 7 times by many Middle East citizen. She says that people of different races or religious backgrounds have hacked her because they disagree with the content she has on her website. She says she gets called an infidel almost on a daily basis. She used to be scared, but she now says that she thinks it's funny. The Egyptian man says that his site is a lot more lighthearted, mostly his own opinion, he says his main objective is to make the reader laugh. He says that he doesn't face criticism on Ezra's website, which he writes for, since she runs the whole thing. Both Ezra and the Egyptian man have good senses of humor, which allows some of the shyness to

When the tables turn to racism and religious segregation, Ezra says that she believe the number one racist group seems to be the Turks, Ezra says, because they are very nationalist, and don't appreciate other groups because of historical conflicts. She said that the Middle East has a lot of racism, because they are constantly killing each other. Her family is racist against Irans, and that they are against her having her website. She says that her belief in her values and standards overrides what her family wants. This shows her true passion for what she does. The Egyptian man adds that the Middle East is a much more complicated situation because of the individual nationalism within each country. But places like Iran and Turkey are much more nationalist than many others. Mr. Wimmer follows up, asking if it's mostly a result of the last 100 years, or if it's because of the conflicts before then. Ezra says that she hasn't lived long enough to know how people her age felt during the historical conflicts of the past, and she says that after 1966 with Israel that the Arabs felt the need to prove themselves and act accordingly. The Egyptian man says that a common misconception in the western regions, like the US, is that the strains of the Middle East are about racism, when they are really much more about politics, even though there is alot of racism there. Ezra continues, bringing up conflicts with Saudi Arabi, and censorship. She agreed that alot of the conflicts deal with politics, and adds that some of it includes economy, etc.

John comes up to ask Ezra if she would want to live in the US, and why. She said she has never been here, and she wants to visit, but she would not want to live there because of the opportunities she has in the Middle East. She says that she doesn't dislike the US or anything, but she finds that the Middle East offers her alot more opportunity. The Egyptian man, which we've dubbed DB since we think that's his name, says that he likes his experiences as a college student in Chicago. He said it's a typical college experience. Ezra asks him if he faces racism, and he says he really doesn't. DB says there are students from all over the world, so it's nothing new to his fellow classmates.

Maisie comes up to ask Ezra if her culture is as materialistic as ours. Ezra says that in the Gulf, they are extremely materialistic, especially the Upper Middle class. Saudi Arabians, she says, are also very materialistic. She says that because of globalization, she is surrounded by foreign merchants. She says that alot of people have problems with their culture, because they say they are influenced by foreign cultures. DB adds that Egypt is a largely poor country, and that 98% of the population live within a few miles of the Nile. Ezra says that since her area is smaller, they can afford to be materialistic. DB says that the wealth is easily passed around. They continue adding to one another's thoughts, comparing each other. In a way, it almost seems as if they are representing their own countries, and are battling to find which country is better. Ezra continues to talk about migrant workers, and how they affect the materialism in her region. She said that her country is growing, but it's not because they're working hard or doing anything. She said one of their biggest problems is "classes." DB says that there is different kinds of materialism, and begins to classify different regions. We think we may have lost the two, but we're not sure.

Mr. Wimmer asks how Middle Easterners perceive Americans. Ezra says that there are alot of different perspectives, she says that if you go to a private school, the students there try to act American "with their hip-hop." But in smaller villages, she says, they are more anti-America. She says that alot of younger generations have rallied against Americans saying "stay out of my country." She said that in her school, there were problems until 9/11, when teachers began to leave because they were abused by their students. She says that they have alot of American troops in her area. DB starts talking again, saying in general, people think positively of America. He says the likelihood of them actually meeting an American is pretty low, but they think well of America. Ezra brings up the media, saying that Fox News and CNN blame Middle Easterners for our terrorism. I noticed that she also mentioned these two news stations in a podcast that we listened to before. Lucas then asks how the media affects her and her peers. She says that certain groups take a lot of criticism, even if they are not responsible. She says that having a common enemy is important, but she feels the media plays on that alot. She said that they put alot of images of Prisoners of War, which fools people into thinking that is their America. She said its important for Americans and Middle Easterners to communicate more often to get the full truth. She says that her media is very corrupt and state-run, which is another reason why she began her website. DB says that its common for mass media to use loud pictures and things to get attention, which causes issues to grow. He said that its a little more "in your face" in the Middle East. They use rallying cries to get people to fight for what they think is important. He brings up the rumors about Barack Obama, and how he's a muslim and things, in order to get people to turn against him. Ezra adds that independent media outlets are not easy to start, so you're limited to what you may see. She said that the censorship there is extreme, and that there are 10,000 channels banned. Luckily, she says, the Internet helps them to expand their minds and communicate.

Brayden comes up to ask their opinion on the status of the Iraqi war. Ezra says she only has the media to rely on, so she can't have a strong opinion. She says that unfortunately, she thinks the war has worsened, not only because of the fighting, but because of illness and unsanitary living conditions. She also says that she doesn't think it's to improve anytime soon either.

Mr. Wimmer asks our last question, wondering how as high school students we can help Middle Easterners promote the ideals of MidEastYouth both in the US and beyond. Ezra thanks us for getting to know her, since it shows our interest in what is going on there. She says that alot of people get put in danger for speaking out, so it helps alot when people try to get to know the cause and help. She says that without us, her mission is impossible, so she wants us to keep in touch so we can continue expanding our knowledge. She says that is the best way to help, and adds that we should be proud to have our First Amendment Freedoms since they don't. She says that we can help with campaigns to promote new bloggers. We have the freedom to promote in the US, and she doesn't. DB adds that the whole point of MidEastYouth is to promote dialogue between the two sides, which helps us to understand each other. He says that miscommunication and confusion can be ended with dialogue. Mr. Wimmer tells them that we haven't yet studied the Middle East, and asks them if they will talk to us again at the end of the unit to learn even more. Ezra says that she would love to, and that she wants to get more than two people involved the next time. Apparently other friends of hers couldn't come because of censorship and technological difficulties. Ezra thanks us again, and adds that it's nice to hear our voices. We then learn that DB's real name is D.B. Shobrawy, and with that we say our goodbyes.

I think the session was insane, and I learned alot. I never realized how friendly and knowledgeable the Middle Easterners are about the same things as we are. We have alot in common, which I think can show how similar we all are, regardless of our race.