When Fear, Terrorism & Earthquakes Strike...

by Silvia Uribe

Talking to my daughter, a senior at Dos Pueblos High School, I realized the effect that the struggles of our days have on our youth, which took me by surprise. She was talking about the Mexican news broadcast images of a terrorist bomb exploding in broad daylight in the middle of Mexico City, our hometown. Her expression was not the relaxed, smiley one that she usually has, and as the conversation progressed her eyes became watery; her breathing became fast, as if she had just come back from her afternoon run, and she kept looking at me in fear, waiting for a comforting answer to her question. She asked, "Where will we go if things become so dangerous here in the States due to terrorism." In her mind, she figured that if the situation would ever get really dangerous here, we could go to Mexico, where most of our family resides, to get away from a possible attack. Now, with this terrorist event, she felt not only fear for our family's safety, but also a sense of loss of what she perceived as "our safe heaven." She was about to start crying. Realization hit me then. Our youth live in constant fear, and we don't know it. The kind of fear that cripples minds, limits wills, and destroys the desire to go ahead and try to make dreams come true. What for, if sooner or later everything could be destroyed? Yes, in the U.S., fear and depression have taken over our youth; the future of our country, and we have inadvertently allowed it!

Even though I didn't know how to make her feel reassured, it was clear to me that she needed to gain some perspective on the issue, so I shared with her that for me, the word, the concept and the consequences of terrorism were way more familiar and less threatening. Having family also living in Spain, I grew up hearing about the ETA, a Basque terrorist organization formed in the late 50's which is still very active now. I grew up knowing that every so often the terrorists would attack; that the attack would almost always kill some people, and that those attacks would never become something constant. As a society, we have another word for constant terrorism, we call it war. Terrorism, in order to work as such, needs to have the surprise element on its side. So, no, I don't fear that it would make me move from my town, or that it would become so frequent that my plans for the future will be cut short, or that my children and one day my grandchildren would for sure become victims themselves. Having said this, I sadly admitted that no one is inoculated against a terrorist attack, and that anyone could become its victim. My daughter wanted to know more.

Most of the world has co-existed with terrorism for many years, even though some people, our youth included, may think that this is a new trend. From the first centuries A.D. with the Zealots of Judea, which the Romans knew as "sicarii" to our days, terrorism has always been present, causing instability and fear within the population. I did a little research on the known terrorist organizations active today. According to the CDI (Center for Defense Information) this is a list per country and number of terrorist organizations: Afghanistan (1), Algeria (2), Cambodia (1), Chile (1), Colombia (3), Egypt (2), Georgia (1), Greece (3), Honduras (1), India (1), Iraq (3), Israel (1), Japan (3), Lebanon (2), Northern Ireland (6), Occupied Territories (4), Pakistan (4), Peru (2), Phillippines (3), Rwanda (1), Sierra Leona (1), South Africa, Spain (2), Sri Lanka, Siria (2), Turkey (2), United States (1), Uzbekistan (1). Fifty four terrorist organizations altogether, some in existence for over fifty years and the world has been able to coexist with it, and fight it quite effectively.

I asked my daughter to compare the threat of terrorism to living in a seismic zone. Earthquakes are not under our control. We know that they may happen, but we don't know when, and we do our best to be prepared to respond when they hit our area. We also know they could be deadly, yet we conduct our lives every day in a normal fashion, and we make plans for the future, as if the possibilities of an earthquake were remote. I realize that this comparison is quite a simplistic way of looking at terrorism, but knowing that there is not a real solution that would end the threat, it may be a good way for us to cope with it, and still live a life without fear, and have hope for the future.

Our conversation ended as they usually do, when her phone rang and she took the call. Minutes later, with a smile again on her face she gave me a hug, and a kiss and said "Thank you mom, I'll be back soon."

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com

Super Tuesday

By Silvia Uribe

As much as I wanted to stop hammering on people's eyes, ears, and minds about this never ending, and still long presidential campaign, I just have to recognize that it has been fascinating to watch our democratic process's wheels turn as they have. Do you think there have been surprises so far? What about Bill Clinton, who seems he has lost some of his touch, and frankly his sharpness, mental agility, and wit? (I am a little concerned for his health in general.) Reading between lines, don't you think that Republicans might prefer Obama over Clinton to win the primaries, so they can more easily sweep him at the national election? And what about the dirty tricks, the manipulation, the media doing its part with the air time each candidate gets during the debates, plus the strategies and the money campaigns put to work? To me, all of these are both entertaining and desolating at the same time.

We are almost ready for "Super Tuesday" on Feb 5th. We hear a bunch of well spoken words, but are they well explained or backed up? For instance, the "change" that Barack Obama's followers (so naively) hope for, and that he talks about all the time, is it something real or just empty words on his part? What exactly does he mean? We should ask ourselves for example, where is the money for his campaign coming from? What kind of concessions will he have to make as a pay back, if he in fact becomes president? I see nothing different from the rest of the candidates here. I also wonder...when Obama speaks about grass roots and his compromise with these kind of movements, what is he really talking about and why are people so pumped up by it? After his days as a community organizer, how has he supported grass roots movements, organizations or activism in general? On the other hand, his comments are getting personal and ugly, and he might have already shown an attitude problem by looking away from Hillary at the "State of the Union." Do you see anything really different in his deeds? And what about the celebrities who support him, and their shallow reasons for doing it, like Oprah's who by her own words, doesn't understand about politics but she just "believes in him". Caroline Kennedy's only reason, by her own explanation is because her son, now eighteen, is excited about voting and "feels inspired" by Obama. Is that enough to endorse, and trust an individual to be in the highest position of our country? What a disappointment! We all got excited the first time we voted, remember? Wouldn't you say that Caroline could do better than that, and that she would have more expectations and a greater vision for what a presidential candidate should be, other than an inspirational speaker? I guess not.

I have to admit that Ted Kennedy's support was definitely a move that could weigh in on some Democrats' decision, but if you're one of those Democrats that I'm referring to, let me ask you, have you looked at the individual's history? What are his positions on abortion, energy policy, or foreign affairs, for instance? Ted Kennedy has been a senator for 46 years, how do you think he has been able to remain in his position for all those years? I wonder...would you find out that he is an excellent politician, or one who's only committed to politics?

Now, it is pretty much a "two men" race on both sides. The bids are open! Like many others, I wonder too...which will be the finalists for each party? Who will Huckabee, Paul, and Edwards endorse? And finally, what's your educated guess for the final ticket on each party?

The real question here shouldn't be who do we like best, but who is better able to effectively lead our country?

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com

Adios To The "Crooked-Necked Giraffe"

By Silvia Uribe

Gemina was her name, although I didn’t know it until she died. However, come to think about it, I clearly remember the first time I saw her. It was 1993, and my daughters then, 9 and 3 and I went to the zoo for the first time, just a few weeks after moving to Santa Barbara, from our Aztec land. She was rather far away from us in the beginning, but we saw her immediately, and noticed her unusual neck. With curiosity, we approached her enclosure a little more to take a better peek. We confirmed it, she was different! Our first reaction was to pity her, “pobrecita!” (poor little thing!), we said and we started guessing what the “problem” with her neck was. Then we tried figuring out if she had any difficulties moving around. We observed her intently as we, at the same time, compared her with her peers. Their movements were pretty much the same, but our conclusion was that she was ill, and maybe in pain or at least uncomfortable with that protuberance on her neck. We also noticed that she kept to herself, for the most part, while the other two visible giraffes hung around together (could her condition be contagious, and they could feel it? – I wondered.) At some point she approached the area where we were watching her, to eat some leaves. We looked at her from up close trying to catch any strange movement, sound or whatever it was that would confirm our theories. Nothing! Still, we continued assuming any number of things, following our pre-conceived ideas (even my three year old had them) of what a “normal” giraffe was.

I had never stopped to think about these memories. Moreover, I didn’t know I had them. It was when I heard that Gemina had died that I realized the assumptions, the pre-conceived ideas, and the conclusions that we reached, just because she was different. Another thing that I had not consciously realized, until then, was the fact that most everyone in Santa Barbara knew about her. Her particularity distinguished her and made her stand out from the rest of the animals, giraffes and otherwise. She was the “celebrity” of the zoo precisely because she was different. Since we as a society tend to admire celebrities so much, and almost idolize them, I thought we could probably learn a few lessons from Gemina’s life. 1) She behaved with dignity, as she was not trying to hide her crookedness 2) She didn’t care about what others said, wondered or assumed. 3) Her sole presence brought the Santa Barbara Zoo to the media’s attention (her uniqueness, as well as her death were reported on various newspapers, nationally.) 4) Due to her different appearance, she was able to demonstrate that being different is ok, and change the perspective of a three year old boy with severe scoliosis who appeared on an ABC medical reality show who saw her, and with a smile on his face said “she has a bump like me”.

Another lesson to be learned was that of Tolerance and Respect. We embraced Gemina, but frequently we feel that those who are different are bad, weird, and somehow not trustworthy. Many times we do not take the time to accept, and appreciate our differences in appearance, customs, cultures, religions, political views or taste. Constantly, we confuse tolerance and respect with letting people be “as weird as they want”, as long as “they don’t come next to us”. In reality, that’s anything but... It sounds more like judgment and isolation of the different. As spectators, and human beings, this attitude takes away from us the opportunity of learning and growing. On the other hand, if we try to conform to “the norm” all the time, we tame our individual greatness, and take away the joy of being able to leave our personal mark in the world with humility which to me, is the last lesson to learn from Gemina. She was always one more in the herd, notwithstanding her “celebrity” status.

I wonder, how is it possible that non-rational beings can give so many lessons to us, the rational ones? Food for thought.

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com

A “Mestiza” Holiday Celebration

by Silvia Uribe

Being from Spanish descent, but born and raised in Mexico, I got the best of both worlds. On Christmas and New Year Eves we usually had a parade of Spanish and Mexican dishes. I could describe it as a "mestiza" season, if you know what I mean. My parents used to invite my aunts and uncles or "t’os" (my parents' close friends were considered my t’os as well) and their children, my "primos", between ten to twenty altogether. Everybody would sit in the living and dining areas, (in Latin America, when someone comes to one's home, he or she is immediately offered a seat; stand up gatherings are not common) forming quite animated chatting groups.

[The word "loud" does not properly describe our gatherings to their full extent. Everyone talking at the same time (the American rule of not interrupting, seems either unknown or irrelevant to my family), we use our hands to emphasize our words, and every now and then we role play whatever we're describing. The two cultures put together are quite a boisterous combination. However, the most outstanding characteristic, which I love, is that my family never refrains from laughing out loud, and at once. Whenever we gather at a public place, such as a restaurant, people would find us by following the outbursts of laughter, just as you would follow the hints to the end of a scavenger's hunt.]

On my Spanish traditional Christmas Eve, as we talked and laughed, finger food (asparagus dipped in a "secret" dip recipe, "jam—n serrano" (prosciutto), and cashews among other things) and chilled apple cider made their rounds. We had to watch ourselves in order to avoid reaching out as many times as we wanted, since the enticing smells of a full dinner were promising. Growing up, dinner meant 5 different homemade dishes, each served on its own plate (boy, am I glad I've simplified things!): a salad, a cream of "something", bacalao (cod fish), turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes, and "flan" with golden brown caramel dripping from all its sides. After dinner, adults stayed at the table drinking coffee, and cognac, and talking politics, while children were taken to the bedrooms to sleep. Before leaving, every family would take their child with them, and some food to go.

One of my fondest memories is getting up the next morning to go find what "El Ni–o Dios" (baby Jesus) had left for us under the tree. Since it was pitch dark and I didn't know the time, I was always afraid that I would scare him away, interrupting the year long awaited delivery of presents. (Thank God he was always prompt, and my early bird bare little foot steps never crossed with his!)

As for my Mexican traditional Christmas day, one of my aunts on my mom's side of the family would have us for the "recalentado" (leftovers.) It was always a happy day. I got to eat "romeritos" with "mole" and tamales, yum! I got to see my other "primos" and we all got to play, and brag a little about the presents we got. Interestingly enough, neither one of my families exchanged presents, and my friends' families didn't either. I guess the gift buying frenzy was not the focus of Christmas in my childhood days (I kept the "present-less" tradition in my own family until my children started feeling depraved of the exchange fun, a few years after we came to live in Santa Barabara.)

The New Year was almost an "instant repetition" of Christmas Eve, except for the midnight bells and the grapes. We had dinner at home at 10 p.m. just in time to finish before 12 midnight. With each bell stroke, we ate one grape at a time. It was (and still is) a challenge to stuff more grapes in our mouths after the fifth one, but we had to keep going, no matter the giggling, the inflated cheeks, or the dripping through the corners of our mouths, otherwise our wishes for the New Year would not come true, they said. Once we managed to choke the grapes down, we raised our glasses and wished the best to everyone. The hugs and the games followed (throwing rice over our head for abundance, coming in and out of the house with suitcases to ensure copious traveling during the year, and using a broom to sweep the bad luck out the door) the music, the laughter and some tears here and there. We were determined to follow through on our resolutions, but the determination only lasted a couple of weeks. I guess things have not changed much in this regard! This was almost the end of the parties, except for Epiphany or "La Rosca de Reyes" on Jan 5th (which I will explain in due time.)

Many of us have similar memories in our hearts about celebrations and other life experiences. Here's a toast for the things we have in common, and may we use them to promote peace, and understanding in 2008.

Happy Holidays, and a great New Year to you!

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com