Oud, and job nibbles

[ziasudra]

The long road from Gaza

A Palestinian musician finds that playing with Israelis
leads across more than one border

After almost three months of intense travel and interviews, my friend Vanessa finally got her Palestinian musician article published. This piece is a unique look into the lives of asylum seekers/immigrants -- and even detainees -- who live in a small county in northern New Jersey. She gives Zaher, the featured "character" in the article, a chance to speak his words and tell his story. She also skillfully interjects U.S. immigration laws (and biases, imo) and sensitively contextualizes one person's story into the broader history of the U.S.-Israel and U.S.-Palestine relations.

If you read and like the article, please take a moment and comment to the article (login required). If you'd rather not log in, I'd be happy to connect you with Vanessa so she could hear what you think about the piece.

---

And... I got an interview! Two interviews, actually, but one is an informal meeting next week with someone from CNNMoney, which, business-challenged that I am, I actually find very interesting because the Web site devotes a lot of space to tech and gadget stuff that I can lose hours in just reading all the articles. Not to mention the handy Jobs & Economy section that I've frequented *g*

My main interview, however, is a campaigning job with the Working Families Party, a "grassroots, community and labor based political party with chapters throughout New York State." The party endorses candidates who are already affiliated with a major party, but is pushing for the open ballot option so that voters can voice their concerns for what issues matter to them even as they vote for candidates they otherwise would support in either of the two major parties. This is active voting here, and I like it. We'll see how the interview goes.

Comments

[sad1225.livejournal.com]

All in all, it's a fantastic article, but I have a couple of comments.

--
"meeting he is serious, but he soon reveals himself to be someone who likes to laugh.

“He is quiet, and he doesn't make a problem, and when you ask him to do something he does it. And he’s smart,” said his sister, Abeer Haj Ahmmed, who immigrated to the U.S. seven years ago and also lives in Clifton.

None of these qualities seem surprising in someone who taught himself to play the oud while growing"
--

This would be a good transition EXCEPT the quote is attributed to his sister. I would trust a statement like this from his boss or coworker.

--
"Eventually, Zaher joined a traditional Arabic music ensemble in Gaza called “Orient Strings,” composed of about 15 musicians playing Middle Eastern instruments like the oud, qanun (zither), ney (flute), and darbuka (drum), as well as violins and a cello. The group performed classical Arabic music — some of it as old as the muwashahat, a body of songs that originated during the period of Muslim rule in Spain — as well as more contemporary music by Arab divas like Umm Kulthum and Fairuz."
--
This would be a great place for hyperlinks.

[ziasudra.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll pass your comments along to Vanessa, I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

I do know what a heck of a hard time she had with getting access to people for this article. She spent weeks traveling back-and-forth between NYC and NJ to interview all sorts of people, and months trying to get into the detention center. I totally know what you mean about the authority of the quote depending on who gave it, and I suppose interviewing the Domino's supervisor wouldn't have been too much trouble, but that's journalism for you -- in hindsight there's always things that could have been done better.

I'm crazy about hyperlinks too! That's why I love Wikipedia so much ^_^

[sad1225.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia is the bomb!

Sure there's a little untruth in just about any article, but that's true everwhere.

Some days when I want to waste a whole afternoon I'll go onto Wikipedia and keep following links.

[kaskait.livejournal.com]

That was a wonderful article. Congrats to your friend.

Also congrats to you as well on the interviews. Good Luck for the CNN job.

[ziasudra.livejournal.com]

I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that people are reading the article and liked it :)

Thanks! The CNN one is mostly just an informal "chatting." As far as I know, Time Inc. is having a hiring freeze and has been having one for who knows how long. But I can always get my resume on file with them and keep hoping that something will come up in the future.

[sparkly-stuff.livejournal.com]

Aww, I would LOVE to work for CNN. So far I've had no luck. If you get the job can you put a word in for me? ;) Good luck with the interviews, they both sound awesome.

[ziasudra.livejournal.com]

lol, it's tough to get a Time Inc. job. sunnydlita and WG are the only ones I know who work for them, it's a tough market.

I actually wouldn't mind campaigning for the cause of lower income bracket families. I can definitely use my Chinese skills to help the Lower East Side crowd, if only more of them would register and vote. Grrr.

[methegirl3.livejournal.com]

im appreciating your blog a lot. thanks for keeping your readers informed and updated.

[ziasudra.livejournal.com]

*g*

Same with yours! I've never actually toured so many places in China before -- Beijing and Taiwan I've been to, but they were all tour groups and I felt like I was there for a few days and then I wasn't anymore. It's good to be feeling like "traveling" with you :)

[methegirl3.livejournal.com]

i don't think u'd want to stay here long.
press censorship would drive you nuts.
they blocked FACEBOOK here...of all the stupid things to block.

[ziasudra.livejournal.com]

I probably wouldn't :\ I was already all picky about HK's press culture, and they have freedom of the press there. I'm glad you can access LJ still.