Skydiving: Jumping into a Disaster

To listen to the radio story, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McgxQOb7IzU&feature=youtu.be

Tennis Court Flames Kill Two

On the 21^st of February, a tragic incident took place in the American University of Dubai at around 6:00-6:30 a.m. near the tennis courts. According to Chief constable Meedo Taha, this could have been a result of the lack of security on duty around the time of the incident, however; the cause of this tragedy remains unidentified. 

Although there were costly damages done to the facilities caused by the fire, "Cost is not our biggest concern right now; our biggest concern is the loss in lives," explained Chief Meedo Taha in sorrow in relation to the two lives lost during the incident.

Information about the victims was not disclosed as respect to the family of the student lost in this accident and also due to the fact that the other victim is still unidentified. However, as Chief Meedo Taha spoke on the phone he said “yes, he was an engineering student, he’s 25…” which did reveal some information about the student killed in this incident. 

When asked about potential suspects, such as students present on campus during the time of the incident, who could have been initiators to this horrific accident, Chief Meedo Taha explained how only “3 students were admitted to campus prior to 6:30, however; they had not been spotted outside the tennis court. The security guard who allowed them into campus believes that they were going to their respective schools.” 

Could these students be the reason? Should these students be questioned? “However, it is curious that we see students on campus on an off day since our students are known not to come to school,” he continued.

When asked about drug history amongst students, Chief Meedo Taha assured assertively that there haven’t been any problems at AUD caused by drugs, however; he did say that this does not mean that it does not exist. 

"Whether or not we will qualify that as a crime scene depends on whether the incident itself is identified as a crime," expressed Chief Meedo Taha. Although the reason to the sudden fire that destroyed the AUD tennis courts remains unknown and surprisingly unclear, it is important to at least decipher whether this was a crime or an accident to be able to look further into the case.

Taste of... what? [Audio/Visual slideshow]

To access the video, please click on the link below:

http://vimeo.com/37102603

To view photo slide show, follow the link below:

http://www.slideshare.net/Maria-Botros/bedouia-from-the-mountains-11492235

Photo that struck me the most...

Showcase: Dubai’s Improbable Tale

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/showcase-85/

          Personally, the photo that stood out to me the most is the one of the Poseidon suite in the Atlantis hotel which overlooks the Ambassador Lagoon. To me this photo stood out to me since it amazes me how people are willing to spend a significant amount of money for a night or two in this suite in return. This photo stood out to me particularly because in the same photo slide show there are pictures of laborers in their camps who, according to the caption, “have not been paid in seven months.”

It is heart breaking to see that while some people enjoy unnecessary and exaggerated luxuries, others struggle to cover their basic needs. This photo fits in perfectly with the other photographs in the slide show since it demonstrated images that juxtaposed the poor and wealthy as well as the desert landscapes with the rising sky-scrapers.

The photos presented in the slide show allowed the text to be more effective since they were visuals for the reader to use to further understand the photographer’s approach and argument. Each photograph tells a story on its own about one aspect in Dubai. For instance, the photograph taken of the club Plastik portrays the rich foreigners or the elite who have the luxury to go to clubs and spend money. In another photograph, Ms. Greenfield photographs workers sitting on the ledge of building with the Burj Al Arab fading in the horizon behind them.

This photo slide show successfully portrays the diversity that is continuously growing in a booming city as Dubai which; consequently, struck me the most.

Videos Analysis

“Linking Gaza to the Outside World” & “Barbers’ Tales” Analysis

There are various differences between the two videos presented. In terms of tone, the video about Linking Gaza to the Outside world presents a more serious issue than the video about Barbers’ Tales.

The video about Linking Gaza to the Outside world presents to the viewer an issue that many Palestinians today are facing. In order to get food, water and many other necessities required for survival, they turn to these dangerously constructed tunnels that link Gaza to Rafah (Egypt). According to Muhammad, a tunnel smuggler, this is their source for nutrition and people take the risk of working in these tunnels even if it costs them their lives. As for perspective, this video skillfully presents both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to the viewer. They demonstrate how Palestinians claim that they use tunnels for nutritional reasons while Israelis bomb these tunnels claiming that weapons are being sent through the tunnels.

As for the video about the Barbers’ Tales, it is evident that the tone of that video is happier than of the video about the Gaza-Rafah tunnels. This video presents four different barbers and their stories. It presents this ordinary profession from their perspectives in terms of how they pursued it and their goals as barbers. The viewer is typically relaxed when watching the video of the barbers sharing their stories as opposed to the Gaza video through which the hearts of viewers are pacing as they await what comes next.

The voice of the presenters also contributes to setting the mood of the videos. For the Gaza video, the presenter is firm and talks at a steady pace since the matter is grave. In the second video; however, the presenter’s voice is calmer with vivacious music in the background suggesting a chirpier mood.

Denouncing the Voting

Denouncing the Voting

As she walked up to the desk, she presented her identification documents and waited patiently for her form to be printed out. Sylvia Henein listened carefully to the instructions on how to vote for parliament and who the parties in question were.

Her heart started pounding as she began thinking about her decision. Her vote as an Egyptian living abroad will, for the first time in Egypt’s history, count and make a difference. Once she was sure of her decision, she placed her form in an envelope, sealed it with a signature and handed it over to the representative in order for her votes to be mailed.

In the United Arab Emirates, Coptic Egyptian churches allowed Egyptians with any inquiries or doubts to come for assistance. They provided computers, printers and information about the different parties running in the election in order for people to choose with some knowledge rather than blindly. Churches provided this service for Egyptians who do not have access to facilities such as computers and for individuals who did not know the sequence of the voting process. Others, who happen to be literate or have access to computers, were able to complete their votes on their own by accessing their form online using the number found on their National ID. In both cases, forms could not be mailed or emailed; they were handed in physically to the Egyptian Embassy located in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Egyptians in Egypt and abroad were looking forward to voting for a new parliament in hope of a brighter future for themselves and the generations to come. The overall goal is to get rid of any systems or organizations that were once related to the Mubarak regime and replacing them with newly reformed ones. However, the recent elections for the parliament were denounced by Egyptians due to the fact that corruption still exists.

 “We thought that this would be a good chance for us to get to choose our leaders, but the truth is that people are incapable of trusting anyone since they have seen too much in the past,” says 51 year old pharmacist Emad Labib. “The problem is that the people are right. After going through the voting process, they had to re-vote due to the fact that ballots were found on the floor and potentially altered,” he continued. After the ongoing corruption found in Egypt, how can the people trust the results presented to them? “For once we had hope that our votes could one day make a change,” expressed 25 year old Sylvia Henein.

“It is sad when you feel like you have done everything you could, but in the end the result is the same,” said Sandy Azmy, a student in the American University of Sharjah. “It was frustrating to hear that some votes were found on the floor when people broke the voting boxes, I mean, how do you know that votes were not cheated or altered?” she questioned sadly. Although Sandy is not entirely optimistic, Mr. Erian Youssef, and engineer and resident in the U.A.E for more than 25 years, expresses that, “Although the recent elections for parliament were not successful as some Egyptians would say, I have hope for the presidential elections coming up in April.”