We have been back for nearly a week and I am still processing everything that we experienced. For me there were three parts: the United Arab Emirates, the teaching/translation/logistics team, and the Iraqis.
The UAE
On a map the UAE is nestled on the tip of the “shoe” of Saudi Arabia. The northern most towns of the UAE and Oman are fewer than 100 miles from Iran on the Arabian or Persian Gulf. (In the UAE it is considered the Arabian Gulf; to the Iranians it is the Persian Gulf.) This geographical placement belies the excitement that defines this Gulf nation, where the building of spectacular high rises takes place 24/7. Sixty years ago pearling was a major source of the economy. Today, though still fueled by oil, tourism and finance are central. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are international cities inhabited by many fortune-seekers; it’s the southern California–or perhaps the Nevada–of the 21st century. Sun, water, heat, and amusements. Where else in the world can you ski in a shopping mall?
But what made the UAE our choice for this year’s courses is the government’s commitment to establishing important museums, libraries, and documentation centers. There are many new libraries, and within the next three years, Abu Dhabi will be home to branches of both the Louvre and the Guggenheim. Consider this July 10th headline in the Khaleej Times: ” MoU inked to train nationals to protect cultural heritage.” This Memorandum of Understanding– between Zayed University and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH)–establishes programs to “foster the conservation and promotion of the tangible and intangible heritage” in the UAE.
David Hirsch has studied, worked, and consulted in the UAE over the past 20+ years so his professional connections coupled with the rich cultural resources, made the Emirates an ideal training ground for the Iraqis.
The Simmons-Studded Team
Simmons College “irregulars” Michael Leach from Harvard, Will Wakeling from Northeastern, Harvey Varnet from the American University in Kuwait, and consultant Cynthia Correia, joined the Simmons College “regulars,” Pat Oyler, Michele Cloonan, and Carla Magenheimer. But regular and irregular are fluid terms. Carla is en route to Bangladesh to become a School librarian. Ian Johnson from Robert Gordon University and David Hirsch of UCLA deserve the title “honorary Simmons regulars.” And there is nothing irregular about the contributions that Michael, Will, Cynthia, and Harvey make to GSLIS. Special thanks to Sid Berger who guest lectured in my preservation course, ran errands, and kept Will Wakeling out of trouble (or maybe he got Will into trouble; I can’t remember which).
This was a great team; when we arrived in the Emirates to find that the Iraqis still had not been granted visas, we did what any high-functioning team would do: we drank beer. Then we proceeded to set up our classrooms, make photocopies, and wait for Godot.
And then there were 32
And miraculously enough, all of the Iraqis arrived. Of course the usual delays and dangers awaited them this year. I’m not sure that I can adequately describe the emotions I have felt over these past three summers as we waited for the Iraqis. The first year, in Amman, Jordan in 2004, we held a planning meeting to plan the courses we offered last year. Our Iraqi colleagues faced innumerable challenges and dangers driving across Iraq. When the first person arrived, her head was covered with gauze. I was sure she had been assaulted, but it turned out that she had fallen down at home just before she had left Baghdad.
Last year some of the men were detained. This year the only challenge was the issuing of the visas. It is getting more difficulut for Iraqis to receive foreign visas.
But even when things went well with our training sessions, the agonies of daily life in Iraq continued unabated. The brother of one of our participants was shot and killed in Baghdad, and she had to return home just two days after arriving in the Emirates.
Teaching was a lot of fun. I had seven students in my course, a couple of whom were with us in Amman last year including Fallah, of Tom and Jerry fame. One of my favorite classroom discussions was about the Wikipedia. We were discussing the challenges of preserving dynamic electronic resources. I mentioned the Wikipedia as an example and no one was familiar with it. We browsed it and the Iraqis were both amazed and puzzled by it. They were concerned about reliability and authenticity. They have not yet immersed themselves in social computing, except through e-mail.
At the end of the trip we had a banquet with much singing and dancing. Our stars were Harvey and Cynthia. The singer at the restaurant lent her mike to Cynthia who sang a jazzy/bluesy version of a bossanova song. And that Harvey–he can really dance!
The two weeks flew by. One of my going away presents was a magic lantern. The women who gave it to me asked me to use it to raise moe money for future courses. Enshallah.