Category Archives: Blog

I took this photo at an old Buddhist monastery in Ulaanbaatar, while on the road researching Buddhism in Mongolia…

There’s a lot of talk these days about where Mongolia’s future is headed. Despite the tugrik currently falling to record lows as the price of copper tumbles, some analysts believe that Mongolia’s rollercoaster economy is actually poised to take off. Either way, the Mongolian government is planning to revive growth this year by selling stakes in its biggest coal mine and 10 state-owned enterprises. It remains to be seen in which direction these upcoming economic maneuvers–in addition to brewing political tensions–will end up driving the Mongolian economy…

Here’s another sample of graffiti from Ulaanbaatar near the street art series I featured in my Huffington Post article, “Street Art and Gender in Mongolia.”

Over the past five years, Tanzania has lost 60% of its elephants due to poaching–a dramatic and disconcerting decline. Over the past fifteen years, the giraffe population in Africa has fallen by nearly half. Unless drastic and committed global action is taken soon, these animals will likely become extinct within our lifetime…

Ramadan can be exhausting! As I’ve done for Ramadans past, I’ve been joining up with others in Beirut to serve nightly Ramadan iftars. Every night at sunset, we serve dinner to 600 people–many of whom are Syrian refugees. It often feels like a mad dash to get everything on the table before sundown. But by the time the call to prayer begins, the tables are usually all set–and then all of our running and rushing slowly segues into stillness and silence, as the communal feast begins…

As I’m writing up my research today on Mongolia, I’m finding myself daydreaming about the desert’s vast expanse…

This week-end, one of my young Syrian refugee friends and I were greeted by an enormous whirling dervish on our way to see an Indonesian dance and marital art demo at Ramadaniyat Beirutiya. Last summer, when I was preparing to travel to Indonesia on a Fulbright, I taught him and his shoe-shiner friends a few phrases in Indonesian. So it brought me great joy this week-end when he was able to share his knowledge of Indonesian with Indonesian diplomats at the Ramadan festival in Beirut.

The Syrian kids I’ve befriended from this “lost generation” have now missed several years of school, and they’ve lost all hope that they will ever return to a classroom. Instead, they’re pouring their time, attention, and energy into working day and night–shining shoes on the streets of Beirut. Syrian refugee child labor is a growing, dangerous problem. According to a new report by Save the Children and UNICEF, children are working in more than 75 percent of households surveyed inside Syria–and in neighboring countries, nearly half of Syrian children refugees are joint or sole breadwinners in their families. In the words of the report, “Syria’s children are paying a heavy price for the world’s failure to put an end to the conflict.”

With renewed calls for European governments to not turn their backs on Syrian refugees, it remains to be seen if the wider international community, host governments, and civil society will do more to address child labor, release funding for income-generating activities, and provide education for this lost generation. In the meantime, these “kids” are growing up fast and getting more depressed–as they realize their futures appear doomed and they aren’t going home anytime soon.

Last night, I attended Ramadaniyat Beirutiya–a cultural festival intended to “revive Beirut’s authentic Ramadan ambiance, while promoting the virtues of the holy month embodied in the values of brotherhood, sympathy, tolerance, solidarity, love, and peace.” Since I spent last summer on a Fulbright in Java studying religion, music, and martial arts, I was delighted to join last night with friends from the Indonesian Embassy (and one of my young Syrian refugee pals) to watch Indonesian music, dance, and martial arts performed in downtown Beirut. It was the perfect marriage of two lands that I love–Lebanon & Indonesia…

A few months ago, when I was exploring the Sahara in Tunisia in wake of the Bardo attack, I had the opportunity to visit the sacred city of Kairouan. A new BBC article asks if this celebrated medieval city has become a breeding ground for jihadists…

Everywhere I turn in Beirut these days, I bump into whirling dervishes floating over the streets for Ramadaniyat Beirutiya–a cultural festival intended to “revive Beirut’s authentic Ramadan ambiance, while promoting the virtues of the holy month embodied in the values of brotherhood, sympathy, tolerance, solidarity, love, and peace.” This annual festival, which features art, music, dance, and food, is sponsored and organized by The Makhzoumi Foundation. This year’s theme is: “Islam, Advocacy for Peace.” A few days ago, the Indonesian Ambassador to Lebanon invited me to attend the festival on July 4th–when the Indonesian martial art pencak silat (which I studied while on a Fulbright in Java) will be showcased. If you’re in Beirut, don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience cultural traditions from around the world.

While on a stroll home today in Beirut, I passed by this dilapidated house–still in ruins from the civil war…

Here’s another photo of graffiti in Ulaanbaatar from the street art series I featured in my new Huffington Post article, “Street Art and Gender in Mongolia.”