Project seeks to get more women into the workforce
By Grace Peacock
AMMAN — Civil society organisations joined forces with the business community, government representatives and the European Union yesterday to tackle the high rates of unemployment among women in both Jordan and Gaza.
“We want to find a way to help men and women work together. We want to target women of all parts of society and help them use the skills they have to match them with a job,” said Elena Abu Adas, managing director of Tatawor Association, a nonprofit organisation that hosted the workshop.
Over 70 people took part in Tatawor’s project ‘Free to Work’ — a 24-month initiative financed by the European Commission to determine employment opportunities in Jordan and Gaza and help women assess their skills, undergo further training and ultimately find a job.
“Unemployment here is really high and we want to know why most of the unemployed people are women?” said Mariam Abu Adas, Tatawor’s project manager.
She pointed out that women account for 82 per cent of Jordan’s unemployment rate.
A recent report by the Ministry of Labour put the country’s unemployment rate at 15 per cent, while the poverty rate is estimated at 14.8 per cent.
“There are so many women here who are disempowered because they don’t have jobs. But if they use their skills to find work then they could really be empowered,” she added, explaining that the policy framework in both Jordan and Gaza needs to change to make the workforce more accessible for women.
Abu Adas also hopes to challenge what is commonly referred to as the “culture of shame” that exists in these regions whereby women are prevented from working due to objections from family members.
The project Free to Work is in its first stage and is designed to study the economy for actual and potential markets and identify the resources needed to develop further job opportunities.
Women who take part in the programme will have their skills analysed and will receive personalised training to help them meet their career aims and ambitions.
“We hope to assist a wide range of women from 16 to 60, educated or uneducated from all walks of life,” said Abu Adas, who encourages unemployed women to contact Tatawor.
Hanan Quirdy is a mother of three and says she was the first female industrial machinery driver in Amman. She believes the Free to Work initiative will help other women break through the same barriers she experienced to take on what has traditionally been a man’s job.
“This project helps me and other women be more sure that we can do what we want. It’s become my own personal challenge to do this job and be a driver and it should be every woman’s challenge to find herself the job they like,” she said.
For more information on the Free to Work project, call: 554 6556 or email info@tatawor.org.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
12 July 2006
Poems
I wrote these when I was still in Jordan, and just now found them on a disk...
Found
You are reminiscent of the
Desert of my dreams.
An unattainable desire,
A need that will not be filled,
The only place resembling home,
An emotion I have yet to claim...
Or lay a finger on.
If love exists it is in your gaze.
As elusive as that which
Stirs my heart to passion.
Wadi Rum
The Canadian Geese have arrived, with them memories of the desert have also taken flight.
I had awoken at 5.30 in the morning to catch the miracle of the desert sunrise. It was surprisingly cold, my breathe visible upon my pale hands - I suppose I'd never believed a place so hot and dry could get so ghastly cold.
Peering out of the beitshar across the flat plane of sand to the crest of the wadi we were encamped within, I began to trek to where the land seemingly disappeared from the eye, but not the mind. I wondered at the piles of sand at the base of this rocky outcropping where I found myself in the early morning twilight. Gently stepping onto the top of one my leg was immediately engulfed to the knee, surprisingly reminiscent of the snow drifts of my winter home.
Finally finding a place where I felt comfortable I settled in for the sunrise that had always inhabited my dreams.
In front of me tiny feet marched across the ripples and waves of sand. I could only guess at who they might belong - Rodent? Scorpion? Better not to think of what might reappear to take the journey back to whence it had come.
Gradually, nudging its way above the distant peaks, the sun began its daily pilgrimage above one jabal and then another.
Startled; looking up for a plane, tank, or unknown monster. A sound like a million running, pounding feet, yet closer to the sound of a jet taking off. Sounds like this make the simple word sound seem too small and unable, or maybe unwilling, to capture the full measure of what was heard.
Across the horizon a flock of birds whose size was incomprehensible appeared and disappeared as quickly.
Desert silence returns; was that the true sound of a bird? Where had it previously hid before that instant? Could it be that they only shared their true essence in the absence of all others...
Missing
Unrecognizable to those that
Surround me.
Living in distant lands
And memories.
The sandy wind blowing through
My hair,
Tangled and uncontrollable-
Resembling the web of
My life.
Blown back into
My present reality,
Walking sidewalks that fade to
Desert horizons inside
My mind.
Neither belonging
Here
Nor there;
The world I was born into
And that of
My own choosing.
Found
You are reminiscent of the
Desert of my dreams.
An unattainable desire,
A need that will not be filled,
The only place resembling home,
An emotion I have yet to claim...
Or lay a finger on.
If love exists it is in your gaze.
As elusive as that which
Stirs my heart to passion.
Wadi Rum
The Canadian Geese have arrived, with them memories of the desert have also taken flight.
I had awoken at 5.30 in the morning to catch the miracle of the desert sunrise. It was surprisingly cold, my breathe visible upon my pale hands - I suppose I'd never believed a place so hot and dry could get so ghastly cold.
Peering out of the beitshar across the flat plane of sand to the crest of the wadi we were encamped within, I began to trek to where the land seemingly disappeared from the eye, but not the mind. I wondered at the piles of sand at the base of this rocky outcropping where I found myself in the early morning twilight. Gently stepping onto the top of one my leg was immediately engulfed to the knee, surprisingly reminiscent of the snow drifts of my winter home.
Finally finding a place where I felt comfortable I settled in for the sunrise that had always inhabited my dreams.
In front of me tiny feet marched across the ripples and waves of sand. I could only guess at who they might belong - Rodent? Scorpion? Better not to think of what might reappear to take the journey back to whence it had come.
Gradually, nudging its way above the distant peaks, the sun began its daily pilgrimage above one jabal and then another.
Startled; looking up for a plane, tank, or unknown monster. A sound like a million running, pounding feet, yet closer to the sound of a jet taking off. Sounds like this make the simple word sound seem too small and unable, or maybe unwilling, to capture the full measure of what was heard.
Across the horizon a flock of birds whose size was incomprehensible appeared and disappeared as quickly.
Desert silence returns; was that the true sound of a bird? Where had it previously hid before that instant? Could it be that they only shared their true essence in the absence of all others...
Missing
Unrecognizable to those that
Surround me.
Living in distant lands
And memories.
The sandy wind blowing through
My hair,
Tangled and uncontrollable-
Resembling the web of
My life.
Blown back into
My present reality,
Walking sidewalks that fade to
Desert horizons inside
My mind.
Neither belonging
Here
Nor there;
The world I was born into
And that of
My own choosing.
10 July 2006
Courtesy
I read this article in the Saint Louis Post Dispatch on July 3rd, and wanted to laugh my ass off. Who'd have thought!?!?!?! Courtesy? I mean that must have taken some real geniuses in D.C. to come up with that one. What saddens me is that they are trying to put it off as a cultural phenonemon. I'm sorry, but if you break into my house, kill or beat up the men in my family, and then yell at me to answer questions possibly using force, shit I'm NOT answering you. I'll spit in your face, and give you a reason to be doing what you're doing. This is NOT cultural!!!!!! Arabs are not inately violent people who are out there trying to kill Americans, its human nature to be pissed and in shock when something like this happens to the people you love. What is cultural is that these women probably only know these men, and very few if any others. Family is everything, and you don't talk to strange men, so maybe if these soldiers wer taught something about Middle Eastern culture they would learn that men and women do not socialize outside of the family sphere and sometimes work.
SECTION: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
LENGTH: 885 words
HEADLINE: U.S. Troops Try Courtesy in Iraqi City
BYLINE: By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: RAMADI Iraq
BODY:
U.S. troops are switching tactics in the fight against insurgents in parts of this rebellious city, replacing confrontation with courtesy in hopes of winning public trust and undercutting support for the militants.
It's too early to assess the change, which is largely confined to the more affluent western areas of Ramadi, a city of 400,000 people that is considered the most violent in Iraq's restive Anbar province.
Still, U.S. officers believe the new approach is paying off. Attacks are down enough in western Ramadi to allow Iraqi soldiers to patrol larger areas without Americans at their side.
"We've had some success in making inroads to the population there," said Army Col. Sean MacFarland, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which oversees all U.S. military forces in the city. "We're beginning to see a turn there for the better."
Marines based in western Ramadi now regularly knock on people's front doors instead of storming through. Instead of roaming the streets in armored Humvees, Marines took a census of the area sitting down and listening to people's concerns and complaints.
"You'd be surprised at how many people in Ramadi are shocked when we knock and ask to come in. And in Arab culture, it makes all the difference," said 2nd Lt. Ryan Hub of Sumter, S.C., who as a teenager lived in Kuwait for two years while his Air Force officer father was stationed there.
To reinforce their goodwill gestures, Marines are trying to repair Ramadi's water works to demonstrate that Americans can improve conditions. Reconstruction projects in the city have long been stalled because of persistent sabotage by insurgents.
The changed approach also applies to the Iraqi army. Marines recently held public meetings where residents could scold Iraqi soldiers for allegedly mistreating residents and stealing from their homes.
"It was time for a different fight in Ramadi," said Capt. Max Barela, 36, commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. "I've been told that we're conducting ourselves more as police than Marines."
Less U.S. firepower is being used. Commanders say they are content to let gunmen escape if retaliatory fire could injure civilians or cause serious property damage.
No airstrikes have been called in by Barela's unit, which arrived here in March. During the winter, Marines ordered more than a dozen aerial bombings in western Ramadi.
In more dangerous areas of the city, Marines still use aggressive tactics such as blowing in doors with shotguns when residents don't immediately answer the door to evade possible gunmen. But they want to get away from that.
"You've got an enemy that understands the effects of our mistakes," Hub said, referring to damage caused by U.S. forces that insurgents trumpet in propaganda. "I think part of the battle of Ramadi is the (information campaign) that insurgents are winning."
Earlier this year, Marines believed the city was not ready for softer methods. Tactics such as random vehicle searches took a sharp edge: Marines would toss stun grenades at randomly selected vehicles, then rush the drivers with guns pointed.
"If you're treating everyone like terrorists, kicking down doors and tearing through their homes, that's what you'll get terrorists," said Cpl. Daniel Tarantino, 21, of Gainesville, Ga.
There is little sign of change in central Ramadi, where street battles are common, or in southern neighborhoods where few American patrols have ventured in months. And violence still flares in western Ramadi, although at lower levels.
But Marines believe the new approach is working in the west, where wealthier and better educated Iraqis live. The provincial governor, along with hundreds of fellow tribesmen from the Alwani clan, live in the area. Two sprawling U.S. bases are nearby.
Basic military tactics have also helped reduce violence in that area. Marines installed concrete roadblocks on getaway routes once used by insurgents. Marines also walk some 15-20 miles a week through the area's streets, citing the refrain, "Patrol it or you don't control it."
Even here, though, the tension of war still grates on Marines. One Marine, sweating during an overnight patrol that snaked deep into the city, cursed at a boy in a driveway to keep his lights off. Another Marine struggled to contain his temper with an Iraqi man who didn't understand English.
"It's difficult for a lot of Marines to accept. It's not the Marine ethos," Hub said of the new tactics. "The history of the Marine Corps is that they're known for overwhelming firepower."
Commanders point to the long stretch of devastated buildings that make up downtown Ramadi to skeptics who argue that the city's people first need to fear the U.S. military before order can be restored.
"It requires 10 times more discipline to win a counterinsurgency than to win a total war. Any Marine can go out in the city and kill people, but this requires discipline, and to think more," said 2nd Lt. John Warren, 27, of Greenville, S.C.
Barela, the company commander, concedes the approach carries added risks, but says his Marines try to vigorously follow tactics that make them "hard to kill." Several Marines in the company have been wounded but none have been killed.
"We've risked a lot to put ourselves in contact with the Iraqi people," Barela said.
LOAD-DATE: July 3, 2006
SECTION: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
LENGTH: 885 words
HEADLINE: U.S. Troops Try Courtesy in Iraqi City
BYLINE: By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: RAMADI Iraq
BODY:
U.S. troops are switching tactics in the fight against insurgents in parts of this rebellious city, replacing confrontation with courtesy in hopes of winning public trust and undercutting support for the militants.
It's too early to assess the change, which is largely confined to the more affluent western areas of Ramadi, a city of 400,000 people that is considered the most violent in Iraq's restive Anbar province.
Still, U.S. officers believe the new approach is paying off. Attacks are down enough in western Ramadi to allow Iraqi soldiers to patrol larger areas without Americans at their side.
"We've had some success in making inroads to the population there," said Army Col. Sean MacFarland, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which oversees all U.S. military forces in the city. "We're beginning to see a turn there for the better."
Marines based in western Ramadi now regularly knock on people's front doors instead of storming through. Instead of roaming the streets in armored Humvees, Marines took a census of the area sitting down and listening to people's concerns and complaints.
"You'd be surprised at how many people in Ramadi are shocked when we knock and ask to come in. And in Arab culture, it makes all the difference," said 2nd Lt. Ryan Hub of Sumter, S.C., who as a teenager lived in Kuwait for two years while his Air Force officer father was stationed there.
To reinforce their goodwill gestures, Marines are trying to repair Ramadi's water works to demonstrate that Americans can improve conditions. Reconstruction projects in the city have long been stalled because of persistent sabotage by insurgents.
The changed approach also applies to the Iraqi army. Marines recently held public meetings where residents could scold Iraqi soldiers for allegedly mistreating residents and stealing from their homes.
"It was time for a different fight in Ramadi," said Capt. Max Barela, 36, commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. "I've been told that we're conducting ourselves more as police than Marines."
Less U.S. firepower is being used. Commanders say they are content to let gunmen escape if retaliatory fire could injure civilians or cause serious property damage.
No airstrikes have been called in by Barela's unit, which arrived here in March. During the winter, Marines ordered more than a dozen aerial bombings in western Ramadi.
In more dangerous areas of the city, Marines still use aggressive tactics such as blowing in doors with shotguns when residents don't immediately answer the door to evade possible gunmen. But they want to get away from that.
"You've got an enemy that understands the effects of our mistakes," Hub said, referring to damage caused by U.S. forces that insurgents trumpet in propaganda. "I think part of the battle of Ramadi is the (information campaign) that insurgents are winning."
Earlier this year, Marines believed the city was not ready for softer methods. Tactics such as random vehicle searches took a sharp edge: Marines would toss stun grenades at randomly selected vehicles, then rush the drivers with guns pointed.
"If you're treating everyone like terrorists, kicking down doors and tearing through their homes, that's what you'll get terrorists," said Cpl. Daniel Tarantino, 21, of Gainesville, Ga.
There is little sign of change in central Ramadi, where street battles are common, or in southern neighborhoods where few American patrols have ventured in months. And violence still flares in western Ramadi, although at lower levels.
But Marines believe the new approach is working in the west, where wealthier and better educated Iraqis live. The provincial governor, along with hundreds of fellow tribesmen from the Alwani clan, live in the area. Two sprawling U.S. bases are nearby.
Basic military tactics have also helped reduce violence in that area. Marines installed concrete roadblocks on getaway routes once used by insurgents. Marines also walk some 15-20 miles a week through the area's streets, citing the refrain, "Patrol it or you don't control it."
Even here, though, the tension of war still grates on Marines. One Marine, sweating during an overnight patrol that snaked deep into the city, cursed at a boy in a driveway to keep his lights off. Another Marine struggled to contain his temper with an Iraqi man who didn't understand English.
"It's difficult for a lot of Marines to accept. It's not the Marine ethos," Hub said of the new tactics. "The history of the Marine Corps is that they're known for overwhelming firepower."
Commanders point to the long stretch of devastated buildings that make up downtown Ramadi to skeptics who argue that the city's people first need to fear the U.S. military before order can be restored.
"It requires 10 times more discipline to win a counterinsurgency than to win a total war. Any Marine can go out in the city and kill people, but this requires discipline, and to think more," said 2nd Lt. John Warren, 27, of Greenville, S.C.
Barela, the company commander, concedes the approach carries added risks, but says his Marines try to vigorously follow tactics that make them "hard to kill." Several Marines in the company have been wounded but none have been killed.
"We've risked a lot to put ourselves in contact with the Iraqi people," Barela said.
LOAD-DATE: July 3, 2006
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