ktravula – a travelogue!

Attention Egypt!

In a blatant crackdown on the right of people to protest, assemble, and demand for democracy and a better standard of living, the government of Egypt led by the 83 year old dictator Hosni Mubarak has turned off internet and mobile phone access in the country. Since yesterday night, citizens of the country have been unable to access the internet or use their phones to communicate with anyone outside the country. This is one of the most draconian measures taken so far in an effort to stifle protest rather than budge and give the people what they want. What will come next is predictable, the government will find it easy to shoot, kidnap, and round people up without word of it getting out to the outside world. This is unacceptable.

The protests springing up in the middle east and other parts of the world today represent citizens being fed up of the way things are run. First it was Tunisia where citizens rose up and sent a dictator fleeing. Now the heat is on Egypt, and this heated protests are led by young people. We’ve also heard of similar uprisings in Yemen. It is a fundamental right of citizens to be heard and for their grievances to be listened to. To have them shot at, arrested and punished for doing so not only makes the uprising justified, it makes it even more imperative. The United States, unfortunately, has not been unequivocally supportive of the people’s right to remove a non-democratic government that has been in power since almost thirty years. Come on, what ever happened to choice, to democracy and a representative government!?

My colleague here from Egypt has become worried since yesterday when all contact with her family in Egypt was cut off by government crackdown on the tools of global communication. Who knows what the government is doing to them now? I call on all people who hate dictatorship and government brutality and who love freedom and self aspiration to support the call on President Mubarak to support the aspiration of the people for better government and more freedom or resign his position and flee the country like his fellow dictator in Tunisia. Not only has he planned to remain in government for the rest of his life, he has even begun to prepare his son as a replacement when he eventually passes. Well, from what we see of people’s responses on the streets of Egypt, it looks like that is not going to happen after all. Or is it?

There is a planned protest of Egyptian students and friends here on campus today, and I plan to attend. Take that USA!

 

Attention Egypt! was published on January 28th, 2011, with the tags , , , under the Opinion category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Cycling Away the Cold

I realized two days ago just how many cars are on campus, and I can’t count them. In the parking lot behind my building on campus, there is a long row of cars that fill up everyday before ten o’clock. As every late comer knows, you would never find a place to park if you get there a minute later, and we are talking of just one parking lot. Our campus has dozens of them, and each of them fills up to the brim during busy campus hours. It’s unbelievable. For students whose graduate classes take place at night and end very late, there is an added disadvantage. Waking up late makes sure that you don’t get a parking space close to the building, and finishing classes late ensures that you never get the right parking space close to your apartment either. It’s a lose-lose. The first time I parked anywhere but the designated spot for my apartment residents, I woke up to find a fine ticket on windshield the next morning.

In any case, I’ve cycled to school two days ago, and hope to do so again for as long as I can. It feels good, it’s healthy, and it gives a chance to experience the beauty of the bike paths all over again.

Cycling Away the Cold was published on January 28th, 2011, under the Uncategorized category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Our Generation is a Running One

What do I have? Where am I? Where am I headed? These are three main questions that I always asked myself when things looked bleak. There was a stretch of two years not too long ago when I asked myself the same question everyday of the week and every hour of the day while running after very many things that provided not just a way to remain active, but an escape from the tedium of asking. Years later, when many of those endeavours paid back beyond expectation, I became grateful for the chance just to ask them, even in the dark of despair when there was nothing else to do. I’ve been grateful for those moments ever since although I would never hope to relive them.

Today, prompted by many running conversations with a few people, students wondering where their life is headed in these sea of expectation and uncertainty, I want to tell a little of my story and hope that it moves them to do something, or just keep moving – whichever works – as long as they do it with all focus and the realization that everything done with a passion and the best of one’s efforts will always be rewarded, sooner or later, in some form or the other. And a realization that every experience has something to teach that would be useful for the next stage of life.

Our generation is a running one, moving, searching for its own true relevance. In the dark days of those years when the world seemed closed down around my head, I thought about so many things that I could do to avoid waking up everyday to face the bright morning sun that seemed ever so promising, yet not forthcoming with anything but a quandary of many superficial exits. Yet somehow, I got through it. How, I can’t say now, except that one day, it all passed away along with its dark clouds of self doubt and despair. I woke up, and it was sunshine again, with the beautiful colours of a new day. Then I took a shower. (Haha, kidding!)

Many students today in the different areas and levels of school work are worried about the prospect of their future. They are not alone. I remember just how depressed I was in the last weeks of my undergraduate days, wondering just what the world had for me. All of a sudden, I was heading out of this cocoon into a bold new world with its own brand of rules and expectations. The only buffer between that exit and the big bad world was a mandatory national service. A year after the national service – actually many months before – I relapsed into the same state and wondered if anything more than gloom would come out at the end. With nothing but hope, resilience, tenacity and the willingness to endure the long nights, I somehow trudged on doing whatever I could, and here I am.

I guess the only thing else to say is that when life boxes you into a corner is usually the best time to get up and fight. Sometimes it seems impossible and totally hopeless. The good news is that it isn’t. I can call myself a living example. (Knocks on wood.)

Our Generation is a Running One was published on January 27th, 2011, with the tags , , , , , under the Opinion, Soliloquy category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

The President’s Sputnik Moment

I did not watch the first part of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address a few hours ago, but while reading the full transcript, I caught glimpse of these paragraphs in a speech written to direct the country’s attention to the prospects of innovation, change, evolution and industry from educated immigrants:

“One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.”

He continues:

“Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this nation.”

My interest here is not the case of children of illegal immigrants even though he has a point there as well. It is in the sense in making it easy for immigrants who come from abroad to study in American colleges to be able to integrate, if they so wish, and contribute to the country in professional capacities. The situation at the moment is far from ideal. In a world where innovation is fueled by ideas and commitment rather than just geographical boundaries, it’s hard not to see the President’s point. One could only hope that his aspirations are shared by more of his conservative countrymen.

The President’s Sputnik Moment was published on January 26th, 2011, with the tags , , , under the Academic category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Language by Stephen Fry

This speaks for a healthy attitude to language development, appreciation and use. Enjoy.

Language by Stephen Fry was published on January 25th, 2011, with the tags , , , under the Uncategorized category. There are currently 3 comments on this article so far.