Sa’da, May, 1978; Photo by Daniel Martin Varisco
With this post I start a new theme for Tabsir: my photographs taken in Yemen since my initial fieldwork in 1978 in the springfed irrigated valley of al-Ahjur. As Yemen is currently embroiled in political turmoil, it is easy to lose sight of the marvelous scenery and cultural heritage of this land. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but for most of these pictures few words are needed.
Revolution in Their Eyes: Activist Photography from Yemen’s Revolution
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Opening Friday, January 27, 2012, 6.30 to 8.30 pm
The images in this show are the work of several activist-photographers. They provide a glimpse of the reality—both brutal and beautiful—of daily life inside Change Square, the heart of the revolution in Yemen’s capital, San’a.
The Revolution
Since February 2011, hundreds of thousands of citizens from every walk of life have taken to the streets of Yemen’s cities and towns to demand the ouster of President ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh’s regime, which has ruled the country for 33 years. In spite of violent repression, the revolutionaries have pledged to persevere until Yemen is free.
The Yemen Peace Project
Founded in early 2010, the Yemen Peace Project is an international network of activists and scholars whose mission is to develop and promote peaceful solutions to the challenges faced by the people of Yemen. It provides up-to-date, accurate information about events in Yemen, and is a conduit to Yemeni activists so their voices are heard in the U.S. The Yemen Peace Project has also launched a series of fundraising campaigns to support medical and humanitarian efforts among Yemen’s most vulnerable citizens.
Cosponsored by the Yemen Peace Project
Opening Friday, January 27, 2012, 6.30 to 8.30 pm
Room 6304.24 (MEMEAC space)
Photos will be on view until June 2012
The Salafis, Politics and the Revolution in Yemen
Monday, January 23rd; 12:30pm-2pm
208 Knox Hall ~ 606 West 122nd Street, New York, NY
A lecture by Laurent Bonnefoy
Moderated by Brinkley Messick
Since the early 1980s, Salafism in Yemen has developed as a mostly apolitical movement. Yet, the revolutionary process that emerged in 2011 is changing much of its face in the country and fostering deep recompositions in the Islamist field. This lecture will analyze these changes and concentrate on showing why this political movement matters beyond issues of counter-terrorism.
Laurent Bonnefoy (PhD), born in 1980, is a researcher in political science at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) based in Palestine. Building on four years spent in Yemen, his research focuses primarily on contemporary religious identities in the Arabian Peninsula. He is the author of Salafism in Yemen. Transnationalism and Religious Identity (Columbia University Press, 2012).
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Institute and the Alliance Program.
How the camel kept its cool: Dromedary in the desert finds shade under rare tree that does the job of a parasol
By Chris Parsons, Daily Mail, January 4. 2012
When the temperature soars around the sweltering 40C mark, you’ll take anywhere as respite from the scorching rays no matter how unusual it looks.
This camel sought refuge in the baking heat on the Island of Soqotra in Yemen by sheltering in the shade under an unusual tree which looks like a giant mushroom. Continue reading Cool as a Camel
غيول» اليمن تموت استنزاÙاً
عمر الØيان
المصدر أونلاين – الØياة
January 5, 2012
تعدّ الأنهار، أو الغيول كما يسميها اليمنيون، الشرايين الØيوية للموارد المائية ÙÙŠ اليمن، Ùأرض اليمن هبة الغيول، مثلما مصر هبة النيل. ومنذ آلا٠السنين اعتمدت الØضارات اليمنية المتعاقبة على جريان الغيول ÙÙŠ الأودية، وعلى ضÙاÙها شيّد الإنسان اليمني Øضارته وأقام جنات سبأ ومعين.
ومقارنة بشبه الجزيرة العربية، أضÙت الطبيعة الجبلية وكمية المتساقطات والمدرجات الخضراء طوال العام جمالاً وغنى على اليمن، ما جعل الأوروبيين يطلقون عليها لقب الأرض السعيدة. لكن الوضع اليوم مختلÙØŒ إذ تربض العاصمة صنعاء Ùوق Øوضها المائي المهدد بالنضوب سنة 2025ØŒ ÙˆÙقاً لدراسة أجراها مشروع إدارة Øوض صنعاء، Ù„ØªØµØ¨Ø Ø£ÙˆÙ„ عاصمة ÙÙŠ العالم بلا مياه ربما بØلول سنة 2017.
مدينة صنعاء، الواقعة على ارتÙاع 2150 متراً Ùوق Ø³Ø·Ø Ø§Ù„Ø¨Øر، والمتربعة على قاع منبسط تØيط به الجبال من كل الجهات، كانت قبل أربعين عاماً منبعاً للغيول التي يعتمد عليها السكان ÙÙŠ الشرب والزراعة، ولعلّ أشهرها الغيل الأسود الذي ينبع من شمال صنعاء.
تغيّرت Ù…Ù„Ø§Ù…Ø Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø¯ÙŠÙ†Ø©ØŒ واندثرت الأراضي الزراعية تØت مباني الأسمنت المتمددة ÙÙŠ كل الاتجاهات، مع ارتÙاع عدد سكانها إلى Ù†ØÙˆ مليون وخمسمائة أل٠نسمة، يعتمدون على الآبار الجوÙية للØصول على مياه للشرب وللأعمال الإنشائية والصناعية والزراعية. وقد Ø£ØµØ¨Ø ÙÙŠ سجلات أمانة العاصمة Ù†ØÙˆ 16 أل٠بئر، بعمق بات يتجاوز 1000 متر.
ÙŠØكي الØاج Øسين علي، من أهالي صنعاء، أنها كانت تعتمد على الغيول والآبار اليدوية التي لا يتجاوز عمقها عشرة أمتار. ÙˆÙŠØ´Ø±Ø Ø¨Øسرة كي٠جÙت آبار صنعاء القديمة بعد «مشروع السائلة»، الذي رص٠مجرى السيول وسط العاصمة.
Muslim Hadramis in “Christian Ethiopiaâ€: Reflections on Boundary Making Processes
by Samson A. Bezabeh, Bergen University
[Note: This is the Introduction to a recent article on the Hadrami experience in Ethiopia. The full article can be downloaded from the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs.]
Introduction
Throughout recorded history sporadic population migration from Arabia to East Africa and Ethiopia has been a noted phenomenon. In the modern era Hadramis started to migrate and settle in Ethiopia at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. Thus, by the beginning of the twentieth century, Ethiopia hosted a number of Arab families who were mainly Yemeni or Hadrami by origin. Although the exact population of the Hadramis at that time is not known, various statistical estimates and narrations, including narration of present day Hadrami families indicate that their number was substantial. This is particularly true in the case of major Ethiopian towns and trading centres such as Harar, Jimma and Asmara.
Despite their pronounced presence, however, their numbers, declined during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of negative factors that have forced them to leave the country. One such factor was the movement of pan-Arab nationalism which gained momentum in the 1960s. To be more specific, in 1969 Hadramis were expelled from Ethiopia for “supporting†the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), whom Arab nations, particularly Syrians and Egyptians, were supporting for fulfilling their goal of creating a united Arab land which in their vision also included the highlands of northern Ethiopia. In this scenario, Hadramis along with other Arabs were accused by the Haile Selassie regime4 in Ethiopia of sympathizing with the Arab backers of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), and hence undermining Ethiopian unity. This has led many Hadrami families to voluntarily and involuntarily relocate themselves to Yemen and to oil reach countries in the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia. Continue reading Muslim Hadramis in “Christian Ethiopiaâ€
