Students led rallies in Sana'a, Yemen.
Tunisia's foreign minister walked off the job today.
Mourners were car-bombed in a Shi'a section of Baghdad.
Meanwhile, I got a pedicure and enjoyed a long afternoon nap in Saudi Arabia.
Anyone looking at the headlines for the Middle East today would think the whole region has gone crazy. Life here must be so stressful and unpredictable. It's very bizarre to me that today was very much like a typical Saturday at home: girl time at the salon, dinner with the husband, a good book, some shopping.
I don't say this to be flippant about the atrocities that are happening in Iraq right now, nor to down-play the revolutions that have broken out in the past week. Things in some parts of the Middle East are certainly tumultuous right now. I just thought it was funny that while talking to friends back home, one of them asked how we are doing "with all the stuff going on in that part of the world." It struck me that many people in the West assume that if unrest is affecting one area, the whole region has gone to pot.
We're doing fine. Saudi Arabia is chugging along as normal--perhaps with a few extra leaders who happen to be taking refuge in one of the many royal palaces, but normal nonetheless.
Vicariously yours,
No comments:
Post a Comment