Crazy question for the MENA people

[allousa 1]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

I know this will derail this already derailed thread, but you have said this before.

What are you getting at when you say Algeria managed to free itself from occupiers, Palestine did not?

I'm not sure either. In previous posts, Wahrania has "painted" Palestinian men to be violent and abusive based on her marriage to her first husband. In no way am I denying how awful her experience was, I am just trying to illustrate that HE does not represent ALL Palestinians in much the same way that her experience with her now Algerian husband does not represent ALL Algerians.

Edited May 13, 2008 by allousa

[sandinista! 1,816]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

I know this will derail this already derailed thread, but you have said this before.

What are you getting at when you say Algeria managed to free itself from occupiers, Palestine did not?

clearly it has to do with why algerians make acceptable husbands but palestinians can only be dreadful husbands.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

I dunno but I can tell u what I'd expect if I were being petitioned to go to his country (if it worked that way).. I'd expect to be lonely and cry a lot. Then, I'd expect to stay with his family coz we'd not have our own home and prolly be expected to cook and clean all day, which would only make the lonliness and crying worse.... that's what I'd expect.

amal

After what I went through on this last trip ( me getting really sick) and my daughters accident over there... as much as I think things are pretty there... and now expecting a baby... I would not go. I saw things very differently this last trip ( the blinders were off)

Its very fun being a man over there.. they wander around,,, walk out at night... enjoy themselves.. listen to music. If you are a girl that has a brother or are married , you can pretty much expect to be stuck in the house, tearing the feathers out of chickens and sitting around waiting for your husband to show up at home. I also was made to dress in ways I did not want do the fact that he wanted to project a certain image for me so I was sweating to death half the time and extremely unhappy even though I had been to Algeria 3 times before. I can imagine, with heavy hijab, a jilbab, a screaming unhappy and tired pre schooler and a new baby, then being subjected to places with no ac , no sanitation on a regular basis and all kinds of cultural norms... I just cant adjust to.. I just would want to live there if I wasnt married to my husband honestly because if I was allowed to be just a western person it wouldnt be so bad, but I am really expected to tow the whole islamic barbie line and I aint having that again like December.. I really really was pissed at alot I saw... I saw men throwing things at women, slapping them in the head in the streets.. just all kinds of #######.. I like being in America.. Its different in some places.. but I was put through alot and my memories are very unhappy ones

Speaking for myself, your post came across as viewing this type of behavior as "abhorrent" and controlling. I'm not talking about Sara's posts.

You seem to forget previous posts from different topics where you have openly bashed Palestinian people, even Moroccans. You cannot presume to know anything about our SOs unless you have personally met them and have knowledge of their wishes for their families. You are assuming an awful lot when you make these broad statements.

\

Ok

I have NOT bashed Moroccans EVER. Palestinians? I will not discuss them. Period. End of story.

I like Morocco and Algeria immensely. I also work and deal with Moroccans and Algerians daily in work and in my outside life.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

Are you actually attempting to compare these two entirely different conflicts in any way, shape or form -- or even more outrageous, trying to insinuate that the outcomes of these two conflicts are in any way due to differences in "culture" ???????????

Lawdy somebody hold me back......

[jpaula 20]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

Are you actually attempting to compare these two entirely different conflicts in any way, shape or form -- or even more outrageous, trying to insinuate that the outcomes of these two conflicts are in any way due to differences in "culture" ???????????

Lawdy somebody hold me back......

I don't think that is what she is trying to say. Flip the causality. I think she explains alot of Algerian culture by way of looking at the fight for independence and the civil war. Fair enough. The conclusions reached? Well those are debatable. Endlessly it seems.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

Are you actually attempting to compare these two entirely different conflicts in any way, shape or form -- or even more outrageous, trying to insinuate that the outcomes of these two conflicts are in any way due to differences in "culture" ???????????

Lawdy somebody hold me back......

I will not talk about Palestine, Palestinians their culture or their conflict because due to a horrific experience I had with one, I cannot speak unbiased.

Algeria as chaotic as it has been is not living under and occupying force. Palestine is and therefore they are entire different places with an entirely different mindset and entirely different things to deal with . I will not talk about Palestine or Palestinians or what they are like or compare and contrast them . Allousa brought this into the topic not me and again it has nothing to do with Algeria at all. I could give example after example of things that I saw and experienced and none of it would be relevant. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about at all

[~Jackie~ 30]

*holding back WOM.........it's not worth it sis.

jJ

[aisha kandisha 0]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

I will not talk about Palestine, Palestinians their culture or their conflict because due to a horrific experience I had with one, I cannot speak unbiased.

Algeria as chaotic as it has been is not living under and occupying force. Palestine is and therefore they are entire different places with an entirely different mindset and entirely different things to deal with . I will not talk about Palestine or Palestinians or what they are like or compare and contrast them . Allousa brought this into the topic not me and again it has nothing to do with Algeria at all. I could give example after example of things that I saw and experienced and none of it would be relevant. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about at all

You have interjected at least two times that I have read on this forum how the Palestinians did not manage to liberate themselves from their occupiers. I am only asking what you mean by this. What is your point? I don't get how this relates to your bad relationship experience or how said relationship keeps you from talking about it, since you have brought it up at least two times.

I am not assuming you meant anything bad, I only want to know what your point is in formulating that sentence on more than one occasion.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

Are you actually attempting to compare these two entirely different conflicts in any way, shape or form -- or even more outrageous, trying to insinuate that the outcomes of these two conflicts are in any way due to differences in "culture" ???????????

Lawdy somebody hold me back......

I don't think that is what she is trying to say. Flip the causality. I think she explains alot of Algerian culture by way of looking at the fight for independence and the civil war. Fair enough. The conclusions reached? Well those are debatable. Endlessly it seems.

Thats exactly what I am trying to say. Everything in the Algerian culture from money to monuments to street names is based on their successful overthrow of foreign occupiers, the only MENA country who has been able to do that. Morocco has a king, Tunisia a dictator, Libya a dictator , Egypt I am not entirely sure how to explain who is in charge there. Ideally Algeria should be ruled by a democratically elected president but many Algerians believe the generals run their country.

You have a country that lost over a million people hand to hand combat fighting the French ,expelling both Jewish people and pied noirs ( settlers) from Algeria. Despite horrible odds,foreign interference from outside terror cells, they managed to somehow build a petroleum industry although the wealth doesnt trickle down. They have horrible relations with Morocco ( the borders still remain closed) and havent always had the best relationship with Tunisia either.

They are mineral rich, historically wealthy with a land mass that represents the 13th largest country in the world . They have not benefitted from mena. On the contrary,much of their islamic front has been imported from Al Qaeda and Hezbollah with arms cache that were used to massacre innocent civilians originating in the middle east. They are not an arabic country by genetics, they are a diverse melting pot of all kinds of people, turks, arabs, berbers, celts ,germanics.

The branch of Al Qaeda that blew up the UN in Algiers in December 2007 was affiliated with terror cells all over the middle east.

As far as Palestine goes, I cannot objectively talk about Palestinian although I do have empathy for them as a people because of their mistreatment and the wrongs perpetrated on them.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

I will not talk about Palestine, Palestinians their culture or their conflict because due to a horrific experience I had with one, I cannot speak unbiased.

Algeria as chaotic as it has been is not living under and occupying force. Palestine is and therefore they are entire different places with an entirely different mindset and entirely different things to deal with . I will not talk about Palestine or Palestinians or what they are like or compare and contrast them . Allousa brought this into the topic not me and again it has nothing to do with Algeria at all. I could give example after example of things that I saw and experienced and none of it would be relevant. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about at all

You have interjected at least two times that I have read on this forum how the Palestinians did not manage to liberate themselves from their occupiers. I am only asking what you mean by this. What is your point? I don't get how this relates to your bad relationship experience or how said relationship keeps you from talking about it, since you have brought it up at least two times.

I am not assuming you meant anything bad, I only want to know what your point is in formulating that sentence on more than one occasion.

Again. I will not discuss Palestine, Palestinians or their culture period. I do feel empathy for them. I do not feel comfortable talking in anyway about the palestinian conflict , their culture or their people.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Crimson flames tied through my ears

Rollin high and mighty traps

Pounced with fire on flaming roads

Using ideas as my maps

Well meet on edges, soon, said I

Proud neath heated brow.

Ah, but I was so much older then,

m younger than that now.

[aisha kandisha 0]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

I will not talk about Palestine, Palestinians their culture or their conflict because due to a horrific experience I had with one, I cannot speak unbiased.

Algeria as chaotic as it has been is not living under and occupying force. Palestine is and therefore they are entire different places with an entirely different mindset and entirely different things to deal with . I will not talk about Palestine or Palestinians or what they are like or compare and contrast them . Allousa brought this into the topic not me and again it has nothing to do with Algeria at all. I could give example after example of things that I saw and experienced and none of it would be relevant. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about at all

You have interjected at least two times that I have read on this forum how the Palestinians did not manage to liberate themselves from their occupiers. I am only asking what you mean by this. What is your point? I don't get how this relates to your bad relationship experience or how said relationship keeps you from talking about it, since you have brought it up at least two times.

I am not assuming you meant anything bad, I only want to know what your point is in formulating that sentence on more than one occasion.

Again. I will not discuss Palestine, Palestinians or their culture period. I do feel empathy for them. I do not feel comfortable talking in anyway about the palestinian conflict , their culture or their people.

Why allow the experience with one man destroy your ability to discuss a country? What does your horrid experience have to do with him being Palestinian? Jerks come in all flavors. If you are aware of a bias you may or may not hold, don't you want to work toward overcoming it?

[sandinista! 1,816]

speaking of...i've rather missed MBP.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Algerians and Palestinians are two completely different cultures. Algeria managed to free itself from its occupiers . Palestine did not. They are a completely different group of people with strikingly different lifestyles, food culture and history

I will not talk about Palestine, Palestinians their culture or their conflict because due to a horrific experience I had with one, I cannot speak unbiased.

Algeria as chaotic as it has been is not living under and occupying force. Palestine is and therefore they are entire different places with an entirely different mindset and entirely different things to deal with . I will not talk about Palestine or Palestinians or what they are like or compare and contrast them . Allousa brought this into the topic not me and again it has nothing to do with Algeria at all. I could give example after example of things that I saw and experienced and none of it would be relevant. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about at all

You have interjected at least two times that I have read on this forum how the Palestinians did not manage to liberate themselves from their occupiers. I am only asking what you mean by this. What is your point? I don't get how this relates to your bad relationship experience or how said relationship keeps you from talking about it, since you have brought it up at least two times.

I am not assuming you meant anything bad, I only want to know what your point is in formulating that sentence on more than one occasion.

Again. I will not discuss Palestine, Palestinians or their culture period. I do feel empathy for them. I do not feel comfortable talking in anyway about the palestinian conflict , their culture or their people.

Why allow the experience with one man destroy your ability to discuss a country? What does your horrid experience have to do with him being Palestinian? Jerks come in all flavors. If you are aware of a bias you may or may not hold, don't you want to work toward overcoming it?

The Mena message board is not where you do that. There are people with spouses from there and people petitioning people from there. Talking about it is insensitive to them

speaking of...i've rather missed MBP.

I never knew why she left.

[aisha kandisha 0]

The Mena message board is not where you do that. There are people with spouses from there and people petitioning people from there. Talking about it is insensitive to them

And saying things such as the Palestinians were unable to liberate themselves but the Algerians were able to can also seem insensitive. This isn't meant as an attack. It seems a shame that someone with your knowledge on at least some of the MENA region is unable to discuss a country and its people based on a bad personal experience.