Month: April 2017

I want to write a feature on Palestinian owner and chef of King of Shwarma. Fares, known in the neighborhood as Freddy, is from palestine, he was able to incorporate his traditional Palestinian spices and style, to a popular street food known as Chicken and rice/Halal Food. He started as a small cart and gradually moved up the chain into a storefront and packaging and distributing his falafel mix in supermarkets. He is also the winner of several vendy awards. His store front blasts loud arabic tunes from the outside and inside there is a warm community of Palestinians working as well as a multicultural client base that welcomes all. What makes this place so special? Where are the next steps? How did the King of Shwarma begin cooking? What is in that FALAFEL MIX???!!

I plan to write and include either video or photos.

Ecuadorians in New York Unite to Support their Country

QUEENS —The warm, -sunny day made a more exciting experience for Ecuadorians who turned up to on Sunday. Thousands of Ecuadorians filled the Union of Students building at Queens College, where about 70 ballot boxes were installed.

The two candidates—Lenin Moreno, the former vice-president, and Guillermo Lasso, a former banker— were facing each other for the second time. Moreno was close to tasting victory in the initial presidential vote on Feb 19. The 39 percent of votes in his favor and the 28 percent to Lasso did not meet the requirements for a clear victory, so a second runoff vote was scheduled.

Should Moreno win, analysts have predicted that Ecuador’s reputation would be cemented “as a bastion of the left in Latin America.” Should Lasso win, Ecuador will take another direction after many years under the leftists.

“I notice there are more people voting today,” said Cesar Quintero as he walked inside the building along with his wife and his son, following the crowd. “It’s an important day and I think everybody needs to participate.”

Since the first election, both candidates have been rigorously campaigning, giving more interviews on TV, appearing more in social media and inviting citizens to follow them for “change” and a “better democracy.”

“I vote for a change,” said Jose Gonzales, 54, who has business in Ecuador and in New York.  He travels there frequently. He said he has experienced the corruption and that Ecuador is not as it used to be ten years ago. “Ecuador is bad now,” he said, adding that if the lift-wing Moreno wins, “Ecuador will be like Venezuela,” referring to the movement that is happening in Caracas.

Newsweek reported that the anti-government demonstration in Venezuela against the president Nicolas Maduro started when people ask the president to resign because of economy downturn that led to high inflation, shortages of basic food, goods and medicine. The government wants to control everything. The largest protest the country has seen got into a riot with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. The protester asked for “No more dictatorship.”

Lasso twitted during the Elections “This is a crucial day, this isn’t any election, here there’s a path; there’s a path to Venezuela or a path to democracy and freedom.”

On the other hand, Moreno wrote on his Twitter account, “I’m going to inaugurate the cleanest government in history. We will completely eradicate corruption. I count on you Ecuadorians!”

“I just want to get over with it,” said Juan Delgado, who was not willing to say who he voted for. “Both of them are liars. I don’t trust them,” he added.

Meanwhile, a group of people in a corner joked and laughed. “Let’s go Moreno,” they shouted.

While exiting the building, Victor Tocachi, 32, enthusiastically said he had voted for Moreno. “Ecuador has made a lot of progress,” he said. “We have new hospitals, new roads and more jobs.” Tocachi said that the former president Rafael Correa was “the first good president” Ecuador has had in a long time.

Lasso has promised in his campaign to help people boost their small business and cut taxes, so that way there be more jobs. But at the same time people are skeptical weather to believe him or not, Lasso has a bad reputation of being responsible when the National Bank collapsed as result most of the Ecuadorians lost their money.

“I didn’t vote. But I hope whoever is elected do good things for the country,” said Pablo who works in construction work and owns his small company. “We need to support the winner”

Sheila Haya

“Sometimes I have customers come in and tell me, you know Raymond, I just saw my lawyer, he’s Jewish, very nice guy, or my dentist is Jewish, or something like that, I don’t understand why, why they feel the need to tell me about every Jewish guy they know.” Raymond Dana shrugs from behind the counter of his small discount store in Astoria, NY. Dana like many Lebanese-Jews left his homeland around the 1980’s during the height of the Lebanese Civil War. Before Jews were living peacefully amongst Christians and Muslims, until they felt that their safety was compromised, and so they left. Now there is a population of less than 100 Jewish left in Lebanon.
Many Lebanese Jews resettled in Western Countries, like the US or France, while others moved to Israel seeking asylum. In Israel, however, they were faced with prejudices and tensions with the Ashkenazi Jewish community. Despite the stigmas, Lebanese Jews have a strong loyalty with their culture. They speak Arabic, they eat Lebanese traditional food, they dance dabke, a Lebanese traditional dance, and they listen to Lebanese music. Because of this Ashkenazi Jews often look down upon them, and don’t fully accept them into the community. Many Lebanese Jews don’t speak Hebrew or Yiddish. Rola Khayyat is a documentarist and film maker; she was born and raised in Lebanon, and is currently working on a project based on the Jewish community in Lebanon and New York, “they are more Lebanese than I am,” she explains that they have preserved the Lebanese culture, it is pure, and untarnished, whereas she feels that other Lebanese immigrants have assimilated more with Western culture. She recalls the sites that still remain in Lebanon and elders that reminisce about their old Jewish neighbors and she explains, “They are always very nostalgic.” In fact, there is a synagogue that is being restored in downtown Lebanon today. She says that the people of Lebanon would love to have their Jewish neighbors back.
Naturally, I assumed that this would be impossible, how can the Hezbollah be ok with such a project? Khayyat assured me that the Hezbollah are encouraging it and are very positive about the project, “Because they are Lebanese after all.” The country is largely run by the Hezbollah Leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, and although he has been quoted expressing his desire for the three religions to live peacefully in a democratic state, many Jews are still scared to return. Lebanese Jews, although A-political, may have received financial aid from Israel during the height of the civil war, a lot of Lebanese Jews carry a stamp on their passport, therefore it becomes a major risk when entering Lebanon. Although Lebanese Jews are not Zionists, they are still seen as traitors, for the sheer fact that Lebanon is at war with Israel.
Raymond Dana looks at me with tired eyes, “I am 100% Lebanese. Religion is not the issue, but people they make it the issue. Religion is inside of people it is very hard to take it out.” In Astoria, he is amongst the Arabic community and never faces any stigmas, regardless of the faith in which he follows.

Baruch College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), is one of the most diverse colleges in the United States. Ranked No. 7 on Forbes most diverse Colleges list, there are 17,063 undergrad students and 3,943 graduate students representing 166 countries, according to Baruch’s Fact Sheet.

The clubs offered at Baruch reflect this diversity with 35 out of 105 total being religious and or cultural. These clubs encourage students to learn about different cultures, religions, and ways of life.

The Hindu Student Association is a “community for Baruch students interested in all aspects of Hindu thought, worship, and spirituality.” This club welcomes all students regardless of race or religion and helps people build a better understanding of Hinduism through open discussions, celebration of Hindu festivals, and even yoga/mediation classes.

I want to write this story about this club and expand on the events they run, how it originated, and how it affects people at Baruch. I would like to talk to students who are not Hindu, but are in the club or have attended events as well as Hindu students.

 

Henna Happiness has been located at 6 Carver Street in Huntington, New York for the past nine years.

Owner Trudy Pellegrino started Henna Happiness after 10 years of working art-fairs and wanting to start her own business. Henna is her passion. When speaking about it, she tears up, “I don’t know what I would do without henna,” Pellegrino says.

Pellegrino was first introduced to henna art in 1997 at a craft booth at the New Life Expo in New York City. “I saw someone at the payphone wearing henna and I was like ‘well that’s cool.’” She tells me that this moment was meant to be, like divine intervention. After seeing the henna she went to find the henna booth, but it wasn’t what she was expecting. “These blonde ladies from Connecticut were doing the henna, pretty funny right?” says Pellegrino.

Pellegrino’s shop is decorated with crystals, jewelry and tapestries that she has hand-picked from all over the country.

The giant dream catchers come from an artist in Washington, D.C.

Pellegrino admits that when she first discovered henna, she thought that she had to be Indian to do it. Born and raised in Huntington, New York, she pursued henna anyway and now feels like a “messenger for henna” because when she started doing them 20 years ago it wasn’t as popular as it is today. She attributes much of the popularization to the Internet and social media such as Facebook and Instagram. American-based Instagram accounts such as “hennaforallny” have 145- thousand followers, and American celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus and Beyonce have been seen wearing hennas.

Originating in Ancient India, henna is the art of dyeing your skin with a paste made from the dry leaves of the henna plant. When henna is first applied it looks green, but after it dries and flakes off it leaves an orange-brown stain.

Jordan O’callaghan, 13, is getting her first henna done “just because,” she says.

Most of the clientele here are younger women, Pellegrino says. She does traditional wedding henna, but also gets a lot of her business from clients seeking temporary scar cover-ups. There are a wide variety of clients and reasons to get henna, including maternity hennas.

Kim Sudima, 36, gets a maternity henna for her fourth pregnancy. This is the second maternity henna Sudima has gotten. “It’s a way to honor the pregnancy,” she says. “It only takes an hour or so, and we go out to dinner afterward – make a day out of it.”

Pellegrino also does astrology readings with her dog Wilbur by her side. She attributes her success to her commitment with the shop. “I’m here everyday.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yemen crisis has escalated dramatically over the past few months. One pivotal development was when the United Nations announced on March 15 that the area was on the verge of falling into a famine. While Yemenis Americans are grateful to be away from the conflict, their families aren’t as lucky and are forced to face the worst of the crisis. Two such Yemenis, Marium Yalin and Alkhadher Sulaiman, share their thoughts.

On the March 31st press briefing at the United Nations, Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, expressed disappointment in Israel’s decision to build a new settlement in Palestinian territory. This will be the first new settlement in the West Bank for 20 years.

Under international law, Israel’s actions are illegal. The new settlement will be built in an area known as “Emek Shilo” and was previously mentioned by Israeli’s prime minister back in February. The decision has drawn controversy from both U.N. officials and Palestinian leaders.

Looking at how I would tackle this story, I would include the secretary-general’s comment regarding his disappointment, since the U.N.’s reaction to the crisis is key to the story. But looking at how Haq was running around any and all questions about Israel, direct quotes are not going to be that prevalent in the story.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2017/03/31/un-chief-alarmed-by-israels-approval-of-new-settlement/

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/israel-blasted-approving-bank-settlement-170330205451007.html

On Monday, April 3, seats at the Elebash Recital Hall at the CUNY graduate center were filled to discuss the question: Is This the End of The West?

Speaker for the event, Pulitzer prize winning author Anne Applebaum, focuses her writing on the state of western political affairs, and currently writes a biweekly foreign affairs column for the Washington Post.

Last March, in a Post article titled “Is This the End of the West as We Know It?” Applebaum said “we are two or three bad elections away from the end of NATO, the end of the European Union and maybe the end of the liberal world order as we know it.”

Just over a year later, Applebaum says we have had those two or three bad elections.

Applebaum’s talk outlined four factors that are contributing to the decline of the EU, NATO, and the West as we know it. These were the Information Age, immigration, economics, and globalization.

Applebaum noted that Russia knows how to use the Information Age to its advantage. Leaking information about an opposing candidate at just the right time, or spreading rumors of false information. For example, the rumor about the Syrian refugee raping a child in Idaho.

A far-right candidate taking office and suspicions of Russia meddling with the election is not only happening in the U.S. French presidential candidate Marie Le Pen of the “far-right” National Front is receiving campaign funding from Russia. Applebaum referred to Le Pen’s campaign as “Make France Great Again.”

Applebaum described president Donald Trump as “totally uninterested in the West as an idea” as all of his presidential predecessors have valued. Presidents democratic and republican have at least had in common something that is inherently American: the upholding of the western political system.

Trump has said that he “would not care that much” if Ukraine were admitted to NATO and that European conflicts are not worth American lives, and pulling back from Europe would save millions of dollars annually.

Applebaum believes that part of what lead to Trump’s election to office is a “desire for some sort of revolutionary energy” after “eight years of a calm and controlled presidency.” Applebaum cited George Orwell’s review of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, which said that people want struggle in government, they are simply not happy with having all their necessities.

There is a feeling of nostalgia among people who are voting for these far-right candidates, thinking “wouldn’t it be great if…” we could go back to a point in time where government was less involved with other countries.

There is an age old tradition taking place in films. It’s a practice that has been accepted and until recently, has never been openly questioned. Although Chinese Americans have been featured in American movies since the 1920s, actors had to face the regrettable practice of white washing. White washing is the practice of using Caucasians to play the roles of minorities.

Recently, the Asian American community has begun to speak out about their representation in Hollywood, in every type of genre. Even in the case of Asian cartoons, characters have been changed to Caucasian for their live action adaptations, as seen in the more recent feature Ghost in the Shell, which is based on the popular Japanese anime of the same name. The casting of actress Scarlett Johanssen as Major Motoko Kusanagi caused an uproar amongst Asian Americans in the industry and fans alike.
“I feel like it’s an unspoken given that the characters are Japanese, well because they’re created in Japan and their first language is Japanese before getting dubbed in America,” said Crystal Lam, 21, an aspiring film student. “In some cases (animes that have a more realistic storyline), Caucasian characters are portrayed with blonde hair and blue eyes.” Lam believes this makes it fairly easy for the characters to be recognized for the race they are so movie executives cannot make the excuse that the character’s race is unclear. The usage of whites for roles clearly written as Asian is just an effect of living in America where whites are the majority.

Another film that has been blasted for its overt whitewashing is The Great Eall, starring Matt Damon. Although it is a Chinese-American production and has a Chinese director, Matt Damon is the only actor billed and is the dominant face for the American poster, which implies that the studio may be relying on his face to sell the story even though the film stars two other Chinese-language cinema stars Andy Lau and Zhang Hanyu.

Initially, roles for Asian Americans in Hollywood weren’t plentiful, with available roles that only perpetu ated stereotypes in lieu of defying them. Or, there was the arguably more offensive option of having actors perform in yellowface, i.e. Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The first Asian American actors such as Bruce Lee and Anna May Wong encountered caricatures of Asians throughout the industry. This was evident especially in A list movies prompting both actors to leave Hollywood and pursue better projects. Anna May Wong’s early career consisted of stereotypical supporting roles and in 1935, she saw the lead role in S. Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth (which called for an Asian woman) go to German-born actress Louise Rainer.

What is the reason behind this common practice? Movie executives could argue that they need the big name stars to bring in the revenue, but members of the Asian community want the industry to realize that they can bring in profits as the lead in films and television. The Asian American community is not taking the situation lying down. There are organizations dedicated to holding network and film executives accountable for their portrayal of Asian
Americans. One such organization is the Media action network for Asian Americans, a non profit group created in 1992 by Guy Aoki. The group even meets with the four major networks to discuss their programming and the portrayal of Asians in their shows. MANAA has made SOME progress. “When I was cochair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition,” Aoki explained, ” I told them they’d been good at placing AAs (Asian Americans) in ensemble casts but the true test of diversity was not being afraid to put AAs, Latinos, etc. as the star of their show (1st name in the cast, not alphabetically). So in the Fall of 2011 I gave them 3 years to do just that with an Asian American.” And the networks rose to the challenge. The following fall, Fox debuted The Mindy Project, starring Mindy Kaling. For Fall 2014, CBS gave us Stalker starring Maggie Q & ABC was ready to debut Fresh off the Boat in mid-season. John Cho co-starred as a romantic interest in Selfie too. Only NBC didn’t come through.”

Another tactic to increase a more realistic and positive view of Asians and gain exposure is to create valuable work by using outlets such as YouTube instead of looking to major networks. Created by Philip Wang, Ted Fu, and Wesley Chan, Wong Fu Productions hopes to break stereotypes through their films. Their channel has over 2.5 million subscribers and over 384 million views. “We don’t all do martial arts and have accents. We have stories that most people can relate to as human beings…The same way African Americans can now be accepted into the mainstream without second guess, that’s what we hope will someday be the casefor APAs.”

In addition to these organizations, plenty of individuals have spoken up about their experiences in the industry and calling out filmmakers and directors who continue to whitewash characters. Actors such as Constance Wu, John Cho, and Margaret Cho continue to speak out, whether through social media and viral social media campaigns. Whitewashing may still be an issue, but it will no longer be ignored and accepted.

Katarzyna Garstecka is a wife and a mother of a 2-year- old daughter who currently resides in Torun, Poland.

On Oct. 24, 2016, Garstecka took a day off work, left her daughter at her parents’ house and traveled to the Old Town section of Torun. There, she joined other women who, just like her, were dressed in black. Some of them carried black umbrellas while others carried signs and hangers.

That day, thousands of Polish women took a day off school and work to protest the government’s attempt to curb the country’s already limited abortion rights. Although the protests stopped the bill from getting approved by the legislative branch, people have mixed feelings as to whether the protests had a lasting result. As a result, a smaller series of protests took place on International Women’s Day.

TK quote from Garstecka.

Poland has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. According to data collected by Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia, the Polish alternative to the National Health Service, abortion is only legal when the woman’s life is in danger, when there is a risk of serious or irreversible danger to the fetus or when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest.

In 2014, the latest statistics released by the NFZ, 1,812 legal abortions were conducted. The NFZ estimates that another 100,000 to 200,000 illegal abortions were also conducted. Furthermore, there is no estimate as to how many abortions were conducted outside of Poland, in countries like Germany, Holland or the United Kingdom, which are the most common destinations for Polish women to get abortions.

The proposed law would have completely outlawed abortion in the country. Women who were suspected of conducting illegal abortion or going outside of the country to get an abortion would have faced prosecution. Doctors who conducted abortion will be faced with five years of prison.

Medical experts expressed concern that the threat of a prison sentence would stop them from conducting C-section too early in the pregnancy or conducing prenatal tests that are too invasive in fear that they would be charged for the fetus’s death. It may also force mothers to carry their child despite knowing that the child will die before he or she is born.

As a result of the proposal, women across the country decided to organize protests in their respective cities. Despite a lack of central leadership, the protests grabbed the attention of the global community and women posted selfies with signs supporting the protest. However, there is estimate as to how many women participated.

 

Transcribing all my interviews from Polish is taking me a lot longer than I expected. I’m relying on my interview with Garstecka and Nika Ksiazek, who was so far not mentioned, for descriptions of the protests that took place. I also wanted to mention a Newsweek survey which provides insight as to whether the protests did anything good for the women, aside from preventing the anti-abortion bill from passing.