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This page features articles written by Americans and their friends who lived and worked in the Middle East. They advocate better understanding of the Middle East and its people by the American public. Selected Writings
| Ladah Foundation Home | Palestinian Embroidery | Armenian Embroidery | The Ladah Network | Links Ramzy Ladah Personal Injury Lawyer Las Vegas Read the complete "More Messages from Palestine" by Gabrielle Sellers on Other Voices |
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Articles M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah N. M. Al-Ajmi N. M. Al-Ajmi N. M. Al-Ajmi N. M. Al-Ajmi Br. Jack Curran M. S. Ladah I. I. Nawwab M. S. Ladah Brother Jack Curran William Tracy Pit Pinegar N. M. Al-Ajmi M. S. Ladah The Ladah Foundation in Arab News The Arab Isreali Conflict
in Print M. S. Ladah Ismail I. Nawwab Appeal for Scholarship Donations - In Memory of Rachel Corrie Laney Littlejohn M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah F. L. Blanchard N. M. Al-Ajmi M. S. Ladah Bobby Alexander M. S. Ladah S. B. Alturki F. B. Fugate F. B. Fugate Tim Barger M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah F. L. Blanchard P. M. Pinegar Arthur Clark N. M. Al-Ajmi N. M. Al-Ajmi F. B. Fugate M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah
M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah In Memoriam - Stanley Carl Waechter
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Featured Article *********************************************
"The only conflict in the world in which people are not even allowed to flee" - High Commissioner
******************************************** Urgent action needed to alleviate desperate plight of Gaza’s civilians – UN rights expert Steps to alleviate the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza must be taken immediately, an independent United Nations human rights expert said today, calling on the world body to turn its words into action. [Read the article on UN News Center]
************************** Aramco Appointment Changing of the guards at Aramco is scheduled to take place on January 1, 2009 when the current President and CEO Abdallah S. Jum'ah will retire and be replaced by Khalid A. al-Falih, the son of a dear friend and colleague. Our congratulations to Khalid and our dear friend Abdulaziz al-Falih, and our best wishes to our colleague Abdallah for a happy retirement. Click here to read the announcement.
************************* REFUGEE CAMP PROFILES Courtesy of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) The following is a list of the Palestinian refugee camps, their population and their locations. For more detail and for a better appreciation of the size of the Palestinian refugees' problem, visit the UNRWA refugee web pages at http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/index.html The UNRWA web site states: One-third of the registered Palestine refugees, about 1.3 million, live in 58 recognized refugee camps in the area of operations in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Click here to see the distribution by camp and by country.
************************* A Friend of the Ladah Foundation Receives the Erice Prize Richard Wilson, Malinckrodt Research Professor of Physics at Harvard University where he has been since 1955, was awarded the 2005 Erice Prize for Science and Peace. The award was presented at a meeting of the World Federation of Scientists in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on December 21st 2006. The award citation reads: For his long lasting involvement in "The Spirit of Erice" and its promotion to people of different cultures and various civilizations with remarkable success, that allowing the new generations to envision the future with hope and confidence. Confidence and hope rooted in frontier Scientific Culture of which Professor Wilson is an illustrious contributor. The World Federation of Scientists briefly describes the criteria for selecting the recipients of the Erice Prize: “The recipients of this prestigious award are elected every year by the members of the World Federation of Scientists, who cast their votes for men of culture and science who have played a leading role in promoting and implementing the goals outlined in the Erice Statement.” The Web Site of the World Federation of Scientists displays a list of recipients of the Erice Prize over the years. The list includes John Paul II and Andreij D. Sakharov among many others to whom the world is indebted for their contributions to humanity. Professor Richard Wilson's accomplishments are too extensive to list on this web site, and include major accomplishments in science and human rights. He is an avid supporter of peace in Palestine-Israel and is a friend and supporter of the Ladah Foundation. Professor Richard Wilson accepted the Award on December 21, 2006 in the Pontificia Acadamia Scientarium (Pontifical Academy of Sciences) and delivered his acceptance speech there. The Ladah Foundation is proud to have Professor Richard Wilson and Andree Desiree Wilson as friends of the Foundation and benefactors of its programs. We congratulate Professor Richard Wilson for his contribution to humanity which the Erice Prize Award recognizes, and thank Professor Richard Wilson and Andree Desiree Wilson for their friendship and support. The Ladah Foundation January 1, 2007 ********************** Tears for Lebanon I cried a thousand tears today,and then a thousand more,I raised my hands up to the Lordand begged Him “Please, no more.” I heard the cry of a little one,it filled my heart with pain,The mother with her head bent low wadingAllah’s name.Her little child was hurt you see,her husband dead as well,Another child whose eyes were shut,his body you could tell,Was damaged far beyond repair,and marked from where he fell. And on and on the killing goes,the sadness builds within,For don’t they know that in the endit’s nobody who wins. What evil madness has gripped the world,we stand so silently,While the Devil makes His mark on earth,laughing triumphantly. By Danya Kousaie Rossi Toronto, ON [Courtesy of The Word, a publication of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]
********************* Letters from Beirut By Rev. Paul Haidostian, Ph.D. President, Haigazian University – Beirut, Lebanon Letters from Beirut is a series of five letters received from our friend, the Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of Haigazian University in Beirut, during the war of destruction in Lebanon/Israel: Beirut - July 19, 2006 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Thankfulness is a good starting point whether in Christian worship or in human relationships. Indeed, as I write these lines, I cannot but thank those who, during these past days of turmoil, have exhibited a sense of solidarity with the people of Lebanon, prayed for peace, made concrete suggestions, or silently felt with us. [Click here for the complete Letters from Beirut] ************************
The West Bank (Extract from Quicksand Oil and Dreams) By Michael S. Ladah I spent all of my years on the West Bank in the town of Ramallah. Al Taibeh, which was strictly a farming community, proved to be too small for most of the refugees who went there, with few amenities and no jobs. After only a few months in al Taibeh we moved to Ramallah. Life in Ramallah provided my father more opportunities for work and was close to one of the large refugee camps on the West Bank, al Am'ari, with its makeshift tent homes, mud brick houses, tin roofs and burlap for doors and shutters. Even though life was miserable in exile for most of the refugees, they had some comfort in that they all shared the same misery. [Click here for the complete article] ************************
I Am A Christian Arab-American
By Michael S. Ladah
This speech
was given by the author during an Interfaith Forum on “The Opportunities for Peaceful
Co-existence between Muslims, Christians and Jews” in
In the Arab
Middle East, a Christian has an Arab culture and lives in a tradition of Islam. An Arab Christian understands Islam, respects
Moslems and respects Islamic traditions.
In
that part of the world, a Christian understands that at a time when the world was less
civilized, his Christian ancestors could have been forced to abandon their religion and
become Moslems, but Islam gave them a choice and a banner of protection with inscriptions
engraved in stone with the Arabic Islamic saying ‘La Ikraha Fiddeen’:
Religion must not be forced upon anyone.
So
unlike what most Christians in the west believe, Christian Arabs, or Arab Christians if
you prefer, are not new converts to Christianity; our beliefs survived the Islamic
conquests by the grace of God and because of the tolerance of Islam. (Click here to
read the complete speach)
************************ The Difficult Road Ahead
Whose Right of Return?
By Michael S. Ladah During the first state visit by
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to the
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Pentecost and De La Salle
By Brother Jack Curran
I hope all
is well --
Happy
Pentecost Sunday -- also the traditional feast of
Later today
- Pentecost Sunday - the University community will be gathering to celebrate not only
Pentecost but also the feast of Saint John Baptist De La Salle.
Allow me to
share with you some of my reflections as we approach this celebration in the year 2005
here in
Classes
have ended at the University and final exams are in process – graduation is Friday, 3
June -- amazingly early for us given the lack of curfews and closures this semester –
for this we are grateful!
On campus,
life is truly life-giving and I will miss the students once exams are over and graduation
takes place. The students are youthful and engaging -- warm and sociable
– true sources of encouragement and hope! They describe the campus as "an
oasis" for them ... a place of refreshment and calm in the midst of the chaos and
hunger and thirst for peace and justice around us. For me, the students are a source
of tremendous hope! ************************ Message from Bethlehem BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY MOURNS DEATH OF POPE JOHN PAUL II Today Bethlehem University, its President, Board of Trustees, Board of Regents, faculty, staff and students, join the entire world in mourning the death of Pope John Paul II. As the only Catholic institution of higher education in the Holy Land, and as a University supported through the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, we have lost a friend, mentor, supporter and benefactor. Bethlehem University will have a Mass of Resurrection in memory of Pope John Paul II on Friday, April 8, 2005 at 12:45 p.m. All are invited to join us at this Mass in the University Chapel. We will forever remember the visit of Pope John Paul II to Bethlehem in March 2000. His words at the Duhaisheh Refugee Camp spoke eloquently of the mission of Bethlehem University. “The Catholic Church is particularly happy to serve the noble cause of education through the extremely valuable work of Bethlehem University, founded as a sequel to the visit of my predecessor Pope Paul VI in 1964.” Though we mourn the loss of this holy man of God and revered world leader, we rejoice at his entrance into eternal glory.
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Palm Sunday
By Michael S. Ladah My father…explained how he had been opposed to leaving all along and thought that little harm would come to his family, but that today's explosion changed his mind, especially when he thought of the children. My father told everyone that if they decided to leave Jafa, he would agree to leave also, but that either the whole family would leave or the whole family would stay. After many arguments, a decision was made that everyone would leave within two days, to give my father a little time to recover from his injuries. During the same meeting it was decided that all the families present, ten families in all, would leave on my grandfather's truck to a small Christian village called al Taibeh outside Ramallah in the Palestinian highlands. It was therefore necessary, my grandfather emphasized, that no bulky belongings were to be carried on the truck to ensure enough space for all the people. We would take enough water and blankets and bring money and jewelry. The decision was made on Friday evening, and the exodus was to be on Sunday, Palm Sunday 1948. [Click here to read the rest]
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The International Oil Fund
A Credible
By Michael S. Ladah
Recent polls have made it clear that the
The invasion of
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Messages from Gaza
"And so each week,
I write a short essay about some element of life here or something that has taken
place…. I am not a reporter, an activist, or a politician. I am just a
woman who needed to see the reality here for herself.”
I do not meet the eye of the man when I
give him my passport. But even so, I can feel
his surprise. “You are going to
I want to be able to be arrogant, to toss my hair and ignore his concerns. But the weight of all of the things I never seem to know when I should is like a lump at the back of my throat. “Yes,” I said firmly. “Are you all—are there a lot of problems today?” The soldier smirks. “It is
September 12, 2004 - Gaza, Part II: Youth Clubs It is hard to believe that I have not traveled through space or time, along the curved, smooth ridge between now and some time in the past or future where happiness and prosperity were possible in the Gaza Strip. I am in Jabalia Youth Sporting Club in the Gaza Strip, on the edge Jabalia and Beit Lahia. The club is not what I expected to find in the Gaza Strip: enviable lawns, fountains, performance stages, rooms for arts and crafts, a physical fitness hall. The men with whom I am meeting, too, are different than I had anticipated. They do not greet me with hollow cheeks and whispered needs, but rather, with an expansive and easy pride in what they have accomplished. The youth are polite and organized, and show me proudly the activities that they have accomplished. The president of the club insists that I see their blueprints for an indoor swimming pool. It is hard for me, the only woman in the room, not to feel self-conscious. (Click here for the complete message) August 29, 2004 - Gaza
Courtesy of and © 2003/2004 by Gabrielle Sellers. The
writer is a 25 year old American woman who,in May, 2003 decided to accept a job with an
NGO in Ramallah, Palestine. She has been writing articles which reflect her observations,
experiences and feelings about life in Palestine, and sending them to the Ladah
Foundation. The articles have been posted on the
Other Voices page of this web site
as a series of More Messages from Palestine ************************
ZIONISM:
THE ECSTASY OF DECEPTION
(The ends justify the
means) obiter dicta: For publication and distribution without permission:
By Nassir M. Al-Ajmi Dear Mr. Concerned Citizen When I returned from my summer holidays,
I found your e-mail response to my
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DEFEATING TERRORISM
(The History of Betrayal and
Injustice)
Viewpoint: For publication and distribution without
permission by Nassir M. Al-Ajmi Terrorism is a complex international problem which has been poorly defined and superficially addressed. It is an age phenomenon embedded in the fabrics of human societies under different names and for different reasons. The current war on terrorists is more of a fuel than a cure to terrorism because it depicts a twig trimming operation in a rain forest. Although the war on terror may, on occasions and at great costs and human sacrifice, defeat terrorists, it will never alone eliminate terrorism – to gouge out terrorism, a different war is needed. (Click here for the complete article) | Selected Writings | Ladah Foundation Home | Palestinian Embroidery | | Armenian Embroidery | Other Voices | The Ladah Network | Links | Last Updated October 30, 2008 © 2000 Prepared by HBL - All Rights Reserved
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Letters
Brother Jack Curran Richard Herman Frank Fugate Bobby Alexander Mary Norton A Statement by Birzeit University
Not Walls
but Bridges Tom Schultz William Tracy Mike Ladah Bob Norberg Richard Herman Bobby Alexander M. S. Ladah M. S. Ladah Bobby Alexander Billie Tanner Fred Blanchard Bob Norberg Bob Norberg Ismail I. Nawwab Huda I. Nawwab Bert Golding Sarah Neely B. L. Alexander P. Neely M. S. Ladah F. B. Fugate F. L. Blanchard T. Q. Schultz M. S. Ladah &
F. B. Fugate B. L. Alexander B. L. Alexander B. L. Alexander
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