Week 11

Last week I watched a video about an Palestinian Massacre by Israeli militia.  The documentary is about the few Israeli families who can give a close an accurate account to what happened at Deir Yassin.  As the battle began early in the morning many Israeli woman and children had to flee for their lives out of the village.  From watching the video, the attack seemed to be an extremely violent and well thought out systematic murder of the Israeli  solely because they were not Jewish.  The video really gives a close and personal account of the massacre from survivors and witnesses of the execution of hundreds of people.  The website only gives on side of the struggle between the Palestinians and Israeli people, however subject to the issue and content of the website I feel the website obviously is done in this way to really express peoples sorrow for what happened.  Awareness of the atrocities from both the Palestinians and Israeli need to be publicized and analyzed so that they will stop fighting.  After watching To Live and Die in Jerusalem and now watching Deir Yassin Remembered, I feel that this war is utterly pointless between the two.  Its been realized through history that it takes time for divided cultures to co-exist, but someone needs to break this barrier and personal hatred for one another and unite as humans living together.  The problem is recognition of crimes committed against one another.  Its as simple as two kids in a fight where one simple needs to apologize for his companion to quickly forgive him with loving arms.

Week 10

During class we talked about Reza Shah, Mohammed Reza Shah and Mossadeq.  These leaders made reforms to Iran during the early 1900's.  We discussed the Arab struggle for Independence as well as the Authoritarian Reform in Turkey.  Its interesting to see that struggles that faced and crippled the Ottoman Empire, are causing the same future for many of the developing independent countries sprouting all over the Middle East after the empires collapse.  Turkey and Iran's dependency on European loans, manpower, and technology all steadily increase through out the century.  

Revolutions and reforms arise in these countries as citizens show their defiance to Europeans basically rapping their country.  The struggle to push for a constitution is an important as well as interesting action that occurred in Iran.  Its interesting to see through out history even in the Ottoman Empires past, that humans constantly fight for their idea of freedom. 

Week 9

Elif Shakfat's The Bastard of Istanbul tells the story of a young girl trying to find her identity in a family who's  two cultural back rounds struggle to co exist .  Shakfat's novel proclaims a powerful message, that a person can be proud of his or her culture, but must also realizes that everyone is related somehow if traced far back enough through time.  

Her novel's intent is to convey the idea that it is wrong for any culture to be at war with one another.  She argues that disputes from the past are carried through generations to the point where there is a cultural grudge that no longer has any reason to exist.  She expresses an inevitable truth that humans swiftly and strongly come together whenever they share a common enemy.  I really question my heritage and wish to trace my ancestry back to its origins.  I think if any individual does not feel complete in some sort of way and is searching for some sort of meaning in their lives, retracing ones own ancestry could really enrich ones life.