“Don’t tell my mother I’m in Iran”

 

Tensions continue between Tehran, D.C. and Jerusalem but life in Iran continues like any other ordinary day (as ordinary as days can get in the Middle East). Iran seems to be one of the biggest examples of the disparity between media portrayal and political policies and its everyday life. It seems like a fascinating country. I can’t wait to visit one day..

Iran, Turkey, and Israel – the 3 main non-Arab (and democratic) nations in the Middle East. Their relations amongst themselves is also full of so many interesting dynamics.

 

I don’t think there can be a day without adventure in the Middle East.

________________________________________________________

*The “Don’t tell my mother” series captures stories that gives a taste of the country’s culture and people, what are at the heart of the nation rather than its politics, international relations , or media rhetoric that define or stereotype the country. I envy Diego Bunuel, the journalist-turned “Don’t tell my mother” host who’s visited some crazy exciting places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Somalia, etc. etc.

“My goal is to show them that there is a world out there that is open and not a scary place; if you show them there are a lot of exciting places and interesting people to meet, you can touch them and give them hope that our world can change.” – Diego Bunuel

oppa’n masri style

전 세계 사람들이 사랑하고 따라하고 소화하는 ‘강남스타일’의 패러디는 이집트까지 왔다. 대-박.

며칠 전 동네에서 한 무리의 젊은이들이 지나가는 나를 향해 여느 날과 같이 뭐라고 소리를 질렀다. ‘강’? ‘강’? 지나가면서 자세히 들어보니 “강남스타일”을 외치는 것이였다. 싸이 덕분에 이집트에서 나는 ‘강남스타일’이다. 푸하하

________________________________

‘Gangnam Style’, the song by Korean popstar ‘Psy, which has enraptured and been parodied by people worldwide has also reached Egypt.

A couple of days ago as I was walking past, a group of young guys in my neighborhood were yelling something at me like any other day. It sounded something like ‘gang.’ It was only after I passed them that I made sense of the words: ‘Gangnam Style.’ Thanks to Psy, in Egypt I am ‘Gangnam style’.

(Note: Gangnam is a posh upper-end neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea that Psy was being cynical and making fun of in his song and music video.)

________________________________________

A great insight into ‘Gangnam’ and the latest ‘Gangnam Style’ phenomenon by my friend Juliet: 

“Everyone’s talking about “Gangnam Style” lately. It’s got catchy tunes and surprisingly I love it. But what in the world is Gangnam style?

Gangnam is the wealthiest district/neighborhood in Korea, sort of like the Beverly Hills of Korea. As somone who lived in Gangnam for a couple of years where the rampant consumerism and materialism is nothing new to Koreans, I have a few stories to share. This comes from personal experience and I don’t intend to overgeneralize.

Your “social status” is different once you’re from Gangnam. It’s invisible, noone talks about it, but it’s there.

One time I went to a counseling session at my college, totally unrelated to Gangnam. The counselor noticed my file records and asked me “Do you live in Gangnam? Wow! that’s great! What does your father do?” and she went on and on about how she loves Gangnam. I’m not sure why she asked me what my father does for a living but I doubt she would’ve asked it if I was living somewhere else.

When you have a social ID card with the words Gangnam written on the address you get better service. Cranky employees (esp in banks) start bending over backwards, to exaggerate a bit. Of course not all employees are like this and I hate to overgeneralize but I am sharing what I’ve seen.

Even on the telephone with a phone bill company they treat you like a VIP and once you feel that they’re not doing their job properly you could probably shout at them “Do you have any idea who I am? Or who my dad is? Do your job properly!!” and they will probably start to because some Gangnamers are influential figures.

It is no wonder (some) people in Gangnam are pretentious and ostentatious and wear that “superior” attitude with them. It is personally a huge wonder why people who live outside of Gangnam ironically dislike the Gangnamers and at the same time wishes to be “one of them”.

 Things are highly overpriced, not to mention the crazy real estate situation of Gangnam. Even tiny houses can cost you a fortune. And yet it continues to entice Koreans just like PSY’s “Gangnam Style” did.”

“You’re no Jack Kennedy”

AHAHAHAHAHA I found this video while trying to catch up on the latest U.S. presidential debates. Don’t you just love good zingers ;)
________________________________
Dan Quayle: “I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of vice-president of this country. I have as much experience in the congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush administration if that unfortunate event would ever occur.”

moderator: “Senator Bentsen?”

Lloyd Bentsen: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine, senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”

Quayle: “That was really uncalled for, senator.”
LOL

The Battle of the Camel

Egyptians like to make fun of everything, my Egyptian friend Asmaa tells me. On Friday (12th), there were protests in Tahrir Square which turned violent injuring over one hundred. There were those out to express discontent over the new constitution (passed by an overwhelmingly Islamist majority panel), those out to support President Morsi, and those from the Muslim Brotherhood angered over the judicial decision to acquit 24 men charged with plotting an attack on protesters in Tahrir on February 2, 2011. Known as the ‘Battle of the Camel’ because Mubarak supporters stormed into the crowds in Tahrir Square on camels and horses from all directions to break up the crowd which had been demanding the removal of Mubarak for over a week, the ‘battle’ resulted in the deaths of 21 people whose names are stenciled on the walls in Tahrir, and injured several hundred more.

Included in the Friday protests were the demands for the removal of the Prosecutor General Mahmoud whom President Morsi attempted on Thursday, to send to the ambassadorial position to the Vatican (somewhat unsuccessfully it seems since Mahmoud simply refused to go).

Where is justice?

If the 24 men are acquitted, and if the prosectuor general who acquitted those men goes undealt with, then at least put the camels to jail, Egyptians are saying.

:)

(But what crime did the camels commit, some people also jokingly respond.)

__________________________________________

이집트인들은 모든 것을 유머로 소화해 낸다고 이집트 친구가 얘기해줬다. 이번 금요일(12일), 타흐릴 광장에서는 100명이 넘게 부상당할 만큼 거친 시위가 벌어졌다. 새로 통과된 헌법(‘Islamist’들이 대부분인 패널이 통과시켰기 때문에)에 대한 불만을 나타내려는 자들, 무르시 대통령의 지지자들, 그리고 작년 2월 2일 타흐릴 광장에 시위자들을 상대로 습격을 계획했다고 혐의를 받은 24명의 무죄 판결이 난 것에 대해 화가 난 무슬림 형제단이 한 자리에 모였다. 무바라크 지지자들이 타흐릴 광장에 낙타와 말을 타고 광중에 돌진 했기 때문에 ‘낙타의 전투’이라고도 불리는 작년 습격 사건으로 인해 21명이 사망하였고, 그들의 이름은 타흐릴 광장 벽에 남겨져 있다. 100명 넘는 부상자도 생긴 사건이다.

이번 금요일 시위는 마흐무드 검찰총장의 해고 또한 요구 사항 중 하나였다. 무르시 대통령은 그를 바티칸의 대사 자리로 보내려고 했지만 실패한 셈이다.

정의는 어디에 있다는 말인가?

24명이 무죄 판결을 받고, 무죄 판결을 내린 검찰총장 또한 아무런 조치를 받지 않을 것이라면 낙타라도 감옥에 보내라고 이집트인들은 농을 나눈다.

그런데 낙타는 또 무슨 죄가 있냐고 맞장구 치는 사람들도 있단다. ㅎㅎ

재밌다, 나도 어서 빨리 아랍어로 농담 던질 수 있었으면!!

my peace prize goes to,

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee has awarded this year’s peace prize to none other than the EU. Yes, the entire institution. It seems dismissive of its current plight: the far from peaceful relations between the economically struggling European nations and the economically stronger nations within the EU, not to mention the increasing riffs between Germany and France on a viable solution to save Europe’s finances. If the Nobel peace prize to Obama in 2009 was based on futuristic hope for peace from Obama’s policies (only a mere nine months into his presidency), then their decision to award the EU is perhaps a nostalgic acknowledgement of past achievements of its contribution to the advancement in peace.  Which is why receiving it in the present European state of affairs leads to raised eyebrows. Nonetheless, can we expect celebrations in Europe? Only if it’s on the house (EU).

The Nobel prizes were established in in the early 1900s after Alfred Nobel’s death, and according to his will, Alfred Nobel originally intended the peace prize to be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

I don’t find the EU very inspiring for peace. But there is another individual who I do find very inspiring. Someone who worked to bring change to a cause they believed in and stood their ground, someone who instills their courage into peers and other people worldwide, someone who raised their voice against the Pakistani Taliban abusing the basic right to education for girls: Malala Yousafzai.

Malala Yousafzai
Copyright: Pak News

Armed masked men stop a school bus heading from school. “Which one of you is Malala? Speak up, otherwise I will shoot you all,” the Taliban gunmen yells. Shot 1 to the head. Shot 2 to the neck.

At gun point a simple nod of acknowledgement at that moment, a ‘yes I’m Malala,’ is inspiration enough. The fact that the Taliban found her voice to be so threatening to their value system that they sought her out, the fact that although she is in critical condition after her surgery her family proudly say that she will go back to school and continue her cause, the fact that she stands for peace in Swat, the fact that as a 14-year old girl she possesses greater courage and perseverance than most of us who have lived twice the years in her life.

She is not ‘a symbol of infidels and obscenity,’ as the Pakistani Taliban claim. She does not stand for U.S. interests. She stands for the universal right to education. Something that is not against Allah’s will, surely.

As a female, I support her cause for girls’ education. As an individual, she gains my respect and she inspires me to stand my ground for the things I really believe in, for peace where aggression and hostility abound and where the Taliban wage war against education for girls. She makes me ask myself what is something I stand for, something I could take a bullet for.

Malala, you get my peace prize this year.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim

*Link to Malala’s diary blog from 2009 when the Taliban issued an edict banning girls from attending school: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7834402.stm

a scared idealist dreamer.

I’m scared. I can’t see myself working for a big company. I can’t see myself being a full-time housewife. What do you want to do, what do you want to be people ask. So I just say what’s deep down on my heart, what I would love to do – help people in conflict-torn places, be at the center of conflicts, help refugees. But I feel vulnerable every time those words leave my mouth because I’m scared. What if that’s not what I end up doing? What if I compromise? But I can’t see myself being truly content and happy with my life settling for anything else. That also makes me scared. I don’t know exactly how things will look like in several years down the road, but being a ‘dreamer’ and an ‘idealist’ who wants to make a difference in the world, I just continue to be vulnerable and dream. And since God placed all of this on my heart, I trust that He’ll lead me on the best path as He’s been doing for the past 23 years, because His heart and His plans are bigger than mine. :)

at Tahrir Square, Cairo

The MBTI (Myer-Briggs Type Indicator) says I’m an “INFP.” I 100% agree. I’m an idealist dreamer through and through, with all my flaws. :)

INFP – “Idealist” or “Dreamer”

What different sources say:

“INFPs are introspective, private, creative and highly idealistic individuals that have a constant desire to be on a meaningful path. They are driven by their values and seek peace. Empathetic and compassionate, they want to help others and humanity as a whole. INFPs are imaginative, artistic and often have a talent for language and writing. They can also be described as easygoing, selfless, guarded, adaptable, patient and loyal.”

___________________________________________________________________

“According to Myers-Briggs, INFPs focus much of their energy on an inner world dominated by intense feeling and deeply held ethics. They seek an external life that is in keeping with these values. Loyal to the people and causes important to them, INFPs can quickly spot opportunities to implement their ideals. They are curious to understand those around them, and so are accepting and flexible except when their values are threatened.

The polite, reserved exterior of INFPs can at first make them difficult to get to know. They enjoy conversation, however, taking particular delight in the unusual. When INFPs are in a sociable mood, their humor and charm shine through. Disposed to like people and to avoid conflict, INFPs tend to make pleasant company.

Devoted to those in their inner circle, INFPs guard the emotional well-being of others, consoling those in distress. Guided by their desire for harmony, INFPs prefer to be flexible unless their ethics are violated. Then, they become passionate advocates for their beliefs. They are often able to sway the opinions of others through tact, diplomacy, and an ability to see varying sides of an issue.

INFPs develop these insights through reflection, and they require substantial time alone to ponder and process new information. While they can be quite patient with complex material, they are generally bored by routine. Though not always organized, INFPs are meticulous about things they value. Perfectionists, they may have trouble completing a task because it cannot meet their high standards. They may even go back to a completed project after the deadline so they can improve it. They continually seek new ideas and adapt well to change. They prefer working in an environment that values these gifts and allows them to make a positive difference in the world, according to their personal beliefs.”

_________________________________________________

“As an INFP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. Their primary goal is to find out their meaning in life. What is their purpose? How can they best serve humanity in their lives? They are idealists and perfectionists, who drive themselves hard in their quest for achieving the goals they have identified for themselves.  

INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP’s value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life. The goal at the end of the path is always the same – the INFP is driven to help people and make the world a better place. 

Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. Although they may be reserved in expressing their emotion, they have a very deep well of caring and are genuinely interested in understanding people. This sincerity is sensed by others, making the INFP a valued friend and confidante. An INFP can be quite warm with people he or she knows well. 

INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. They focus on the way that the conflict makes them feel, and indeed don’t really care whether or not they’re right. They don’t want to feel badly. This trait sometimes makes them appear irrational and illogical in conflict situations. On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people’s conflicts, because they intuitively understand people’s perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them.

INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. In the face of their value system being threatened, INFPs can become aggressive defenders, fighting passionately for their cause. When an INFP has adopted a project or job which they’re interested in, it usually becomes a “cause” for them. Although they are not detail-oriented individuals, they will cover every possible detail with determination and vigor when working for their “cause.”

___________________________________________________

my trip to el-mugamma

El-Mugamma at Tahrir Square

 

El-Mugamma, Day 1

I approached the daunting dust-colored building where a female security guard asked me to open my backpack. “Do you have a camera?” she asked, and asked to see it. Being told to give it to the other security guard, I reluctantly handed it over, trading it for a number on a laminated piece of paper. What would happen if I took pictures with the camera on my phone, I wondered as I proceeded into the photo ‘studio’ on the first floor (located on the right of the corridor from the entrance). I was immediately greeted over-enthusiastically by a young employee. After being told to look at a mirror, I was told to sit on a stool at the back where a young lady took out a small camera, told me to smile – and, click. After a few minutes, my awkward smile popped up on the computer screen. While I was waiting for the photos to be printed, the young boy danced around me like an over-excited bee. “Aayiz 3arusa,” he kept repeating, to my dumbfounded stares and the giggles of the women in the room. He offered me his arm, and kept motioning for me to follow him somewhere but an older woman next to me clasped my arm and shook her head. “He crazy,” she said, holding onto me for me to stay put. I later learned that this word (3arusa) means ‘bride.’ After paying 20 Egyptian pounds for 6 brutally honest photos, I headed upstairs where I wandered in search of the correct booth, the separate windows for refugees and Palestinian nationals catching my eye on the way. I found #5 where the lady handed me an application form and redirected me to another window to buy stamps. I stood in the non-existent line and returned with 11 Egyptian pounds worth of stamps, a completed application, my photo, and photocopies of my passport and visa. I was a bit alarmed when the lady stapled my eyes onto the application form. ‘Can they recognize me without my eyes,’ I wondered feeling like the whole purpose of the photo was defeated as now the only visible part of my face in the photo was my nose and my awkward smile. “Come back on Sunday, 10 a.m. Go to number 38,” she said.

That wasn’t so bad, I thought. Until Sunday-

 

El-Mugamma, Day 2

I returned on Sunday and headed straight to window #38, passport in hand. Unfortunately, I had company. Everyone was so squished together, I could see and smell the beads of sweat on the neck of the men squished in front of me, and the voices of the ladies in the black burqas behind me were ringing in my ear. It was as bad as thee line 2 Korean subway at 8 a.m. in the morning. It appeared as if I were making progress toward the narrow #38 window where a middle-aged woman was calmly choosing from the passports that were being stretched out to her, when a plump man cut in front of me in the now vaguely pseudo line. I think several did.

This aroused a very lively chatter in Arabic amongst the ladies in burqas behind me. Then one of them tapped me on the shoulder, “Excuse me, you were here before the men,” she said in her parrot-like sing-songy voice. “You go front,” she said in our non-existent-line-turned-vaguely-pseduo-line. If only..! Then our eyes met, and she began petting my shoulder with an additional note of C-minor pity, “Oh, she’s just a little girl.” “You have to push,” she told me, and they showed me how. I was receiving so much support and encouragement from behind that thanks to their help and shoves, I began somewhat to go closer to window #38. “YES, THAT’S IT, PUSH,” the sing-songy voice exclaimed when I finally reached the front. Once I was close enough, I stretched out my passport in the slot of the window for the lady to take. When she finally took it, she found my visa application papers with my staple slotted eye photo, and “Come back after 2 hours,” she said. Only so happy to finally escape the 360 degree surround pressure of body weight, I squeezed out of the vaguely-pseudo-line-turning-into-mosh-pit, stepping on someone’s foot and hearing some yelps. But wait a minute, I had just handed in my passport and they hadn’t given me any waiting number – how will they recognize me when I come back, I wondered. Or how was I to prove that I was the girl in the eyeless photo? I was to find out.

After resuscitating at a nearby ‘Beano’s Cafe’ for 2 hours, I returned to the Mugamma dungeon. “Again?” the security guard asked me with a look of pity, as I opened up my bag for her to check for the second time. Back upstairs at window #38, I recognized some of the same people who had been shoving and were being shoved in the non-existent line 2 hours ago – the dark plump man in the tan galibaya, the blonde Westerner a head taller than everyone else, the short Japanese lady (I can tell because I’m Asian). We were now standing in the #38 mosh pit together. Because I was in the outskirts of the mosh pit, I had to tiptoe to get an idea of what was going on – something was not right, there was less pushing to go to the front. The same middle-aged lady in the pink hijab and stoical face was holding up one passport after another. Like birds stretching out their necks full-length to take a bite of the worm their mother bird has brought them, we were all on our toes and stretching our necks to be able to see if the ‘worm’ was ours. “HERE,” someone would cry and the application papers would be handed to them. One had to sign on the lower left-hand corner. A pen was being shared. Then the signed papers would be passed up front. This exercise was making my face look like a running faucet in the heat of the adjacent bodies, and the man beside me handed me a tissue. A sort of camaraderie was being formed amongst those of us trapped inside, us (Prisoners-of-Visa-Applications) against the inefficient Mugamma. In Egypt, everyone looks out for one another.

I was on my tiptoes in various positions in the #38 mosh pit for an hour, until my passport was finally held up. “ANA. ME.” The tall African guy in front passed back my papers and his friend beside me lent me his pen. After the papers were passed up and my passport found its way to me at last, I hurriedly flipped through it. An extended 6-month visa.

Al-hamdu-lilaah!

Ma3a-s-salaama, Mugamma.

 

Note: The Mugamma is the Egyptian government’s centralized administrative building in Tahrir Square, Cairo. This means that ALL the related paper work of the governmental agencies is done here in the 14th floor building.

 

my visa, al-hamdul-illah

2:28 a.m.

10 Best McDonald’s meals to get you drooling
Copyright: Foreign Policy

 

“The 10 Best McDonald’s Meals You Won’t Find in the U.S.”: what I’m drooling over at 2:28 a.m. I’ll have to follow up on my immense hunger pang by visiting the nearest ‘Maakdunaaldz’ and checking out the Egyptian burgers.  Come morning, come.

top left: Turkey’s Köfte Burger, top right: Morocco’s McArabia
bottom left: Thailand’s Samurai Pork Burger, bottom right: China’s prosperity burger
Copyright: Foreign Policy Magazine

 

we are proud of our prophet Mohamed

at Tahrir Square, Cairo
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

The response to the “Innocence of Muslims”, a trailer that upset millions of Muslims around the world, at Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt: “We are proud of our prophet Mohamed” 

The different languages represents the voices and mutual feelings of Muslims worldwide.

Turkey: 25 years of refocusing

President Abdullah Gül
Copyright: Hürriyet Daily News & AA

Old habits die hard, but so do ‘childhood’ dreams. At least for Turkey. Since the birth of the republic of Turkey and Kemal Mustafa Atatürk’s (the founding father of the republic) drive towards ‘westernization’ (in the forms of the nation’s  secularization and purging of Ottoman remnances), the aspired goal has been to be part of the ‘West’, the pinnacle of which has been the European Union since its inception in 1951.

This makes for an interesting but long hackneyed topic. Geographically, only 5% of Turkey technically lies in Europe. Istanbul (former Constantinople and Byzantine) lies at the ambiguous boundary. While Istanbul’s commercial hub lies in the ‘European’ side, most of Istanbul’s residents live on the ‘Asian’ side. In half an hour, one can travel from Europe to Asia and vice versa on the frequent ferry rides across the beautiful blue Bosphorus. Culturally and in terms of religion, Islam perveates Turkish society, customs, traditions, and national holidays which gives Turkey a closer cultural proximity to its Middle Eastern and Arab neighbors. Speaking in the language of sports and culture, Turkey is part of the European Cup (soccer) and participates in the Euro Vision (yearly singing contest).

When the AKP (Justice and Development Party) came into power in 2001, with much talk about whether its leaders with political Islamic pasts would shift Turkey’s long track for the EU bid (the general assertion being that ‘Islamization’ is on the opposite course from ‘European-ization’), the AKP has been doing as much if not more than other previous political parties to join Europe’s club despite the constant disappointment along the way.

Turkey’s ambitious goals are to be a role model in the Middle East (Foreign Minister Davutoğlu’s ‘strategic depth’ foreign policy) as well as to join the EU. Will it be able to accomplish both or is it one or the other? How will one affect the other? I think having EU membership while retaining a strong Islamic tradition and culture (and bashing Israel once in a while), not to mention having a strong economy might make Turkey the utopian beacon of the Middle East. And having good relations with its neighbors can’t hurt Turkey’s EU bid either. Turkey won’t ever give up on EU membership, hence President Abdullah Gül’s recent call to the Turkish parliament to refocus on Turkey’s EU membership bid. In the end the well-known formula is, after all [economy = power + influence]. Although Europe’s economy isn’t doing so well at the moment (an understatement to be sure), yet through good and bad, Turkey’s still on the EU track for 25 years.. I call that, commitment. And focused.

Here, I also have to add that while Turkey is hailed as a role model by Arab nations by the likes of Egypt, it isn’t exactly Turkey’s politics or its secularization that is being deemed as exemplary. The dress codes of Turkish women, its free drinking culture, and its more open and liberal society, the aspects of Turkey that gives it its resemblance to Europe is not up for emulation for Arab countries – la’ shukran, not quite yet. Then what is it about Turkey that makes it a role model, I asked one Egyptian. Its economy, they replied.

Afterall, wasn’t it frustration with a poor economy that ignited the Jasmine Revolution and the Arab Spring across the Middle East? Were the Arab peoples really demanding democracy or were they demanding their daily bread? Let’s revisit the formula, [economy = power + influence (foreign policy)/ = stable domestic politics & content citizens (domestic policy)]. As long as Turkey keeps up a good economy, its chances of achieving its dual goals will only increase insha’allah.

NOTE: BUT, what’s interesting is that the best and the brightest of Turkey, including the Turkish friends I have gotten to know here (in Egypt), don’t plan on going back to live in Turkey because they see a lack of a good opportunity in politics/economics back home. Will EU membership stop a drainage in the new generation of intellectuals? We could probably discuss a number of consequences of Turkey’s accession into the EU, but realistically viewing the current possibility, maybe they should start focusing on getting their new generation of intellectuals to come back home for one thing.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim