Why no Palestinian Spring?

Eg minnest godt kor spanande eg tykte det var då forhandlingane mellom Israel og PLO gjekk føre seg på 90-talet. Gjennom den såkalla Oslo-kanalen vart ein avtale inngått. I ettertid har det vist seg at den ikkje akkurat har vore vellukka. Eg har lese ein artikkel i The Guardian som problematiserer tilhøva i dag. Det er litt av kvart ein kan snappe opp på Twitter.

My Road to the Middle East

My road to the Middle East has been through Greece and Turkey even if these countries never have been part of the region in the strict sense of the word. But Turkey used to be a major power in the area and controlled Northern Africa,  and most of the Balkans. At one point they even threatened the Austrian Empire.

Detail from Hagia Sofia

Greece and Turkey have a difficult past. They used to live side by side on the coast of Asia Minor, in the islands and in the towns. After WWI the Greek and the Turkish population were interchanged between the two nations - a harrowing experience for many families.

Turkey has the same borders today as in the 1920s. In the same period there were conflicts with the Armenians and Turkey is today accused by the Armenians for genocide. (Cp. the debate in the French National Assembly)

The history of Tukey is complex and today the relation to the Kurdish minority is difficult. 

Thanks to my friends from these two countries I have learnt a lot about the region, and also developed an ardent interest for what is going on in the Middle East. Luckily I discovered Al Jazeera English  at the same time as the Arab Spring happened. Thanks to them I am able to follow what is happening in this part of the world. A news team of dedicated, intelligent, and well informed journalists.

Vegen til Midtausten

Turkey of today is still a complex society with a great variety of social structures. However, the ecconomy is growing strong as well as the democratic institutions. During the Arab Spring Turkey was often referred to as a role model for the countries striving to get rid of long-time dictators. Turkey has supported the democratization processes, but has a difficult role to play towards Syria, with whom they share a long border.

My road to the Middle East has gone through friendship with people from these two countries. For one year of my life I was so fortunate to become friends with people from these two countries. More about this later... .

Tyrkia er i dag eit land som blir sett opp til  av mange land i Midtausten. Under den arabiske våren, vart Tyrkia ofte halde fram som eit føredøme for dei landa som sto midt oppe i demokratiseringsprosessar. Dei har heile tida støtta opp om demokratiseringa, men har ei vanskeleg rolle, ikkje minst  til Syria som dei deler ei lang grense med.

Min veg til Midtausten har gått gjennom venskap med greskarar of tyrkarar. I  eit år av livet mitt var eg så heldig at eg vart kjent med folk frå desse to landa. Desse vil eg introdusere etter kvart som bloggen viklar seg ut.

Detalj frå Hagia Sofia