Blog

Was it necessary from the appearance of the first case of Coronavirus in Lebanon to suspend flights from Iran or to protect the vulnerabilities of Hezbollah? Give the reins to the army? Count on the civic spirit of the Lebanese people? Was it necessary to preserve access to care? Or was it pivotal to prioritize the need to eat? Around the world, States are faced with delicate trade-offs between health risks and political-economic imperatives, to which particular dimensions and sensitivities are added in Lebanon. A sectarian/political dimension, which raises fundamental questions about public service, national interest, and community-driven imperatives is also a firm reality. In other words, how does the Diab government decide, and according to what criteria? In most Western Countries, the answer is simple: the state acts in the name of the general interest, and in service of where it derives its legitimacy from its people. But when the state is deeply rooted in Confessionalism, and therefore in the defense of sectarian interests, citizens are faced with the delicate task of questioning the merits of the decisions taken by its representatives. Especially when the system in place, which is deeply clientelist, has led the country into the financial abyss which amplifies the health crisis and complicates its management. How do you import medical supplies when you run out of US dollars? How do you equip public hospitals when you have spent years gradually sucking them dry? How do you protect the most disadvantaged when government reserves are emptied? How do you ask for international aid when you are unable to aid yourself?   And at one of the most critical stages in our country’s history, all the state has found to do is ask the Lebanese to be what they have never been (and what they have never been requested to be): united – while politicians strengthen their grip on an increasingly destitute population. The pandemic is provoking reflections all over the world on the economic model, public policy priorities, and the role of the state. And amidst these debates, Lebanon is currently confronted with yet another major obstacle towards the annihilation of this epidemic: the 10,000 Lebanese expected to fly back to Lebanon between April 5 and 12, 2020. The plan for the repatriation of Lebanese from abroad who wished to return was adopted during the March 31, 2020 meeting of the Council of Ministers. According to ministerial sources, the adopted plan will be implemented in two phases. The first will take place from April 5 to 12, 2020 and the second from April 27 to May 4, 2020. The idea is, therefore, to carry out the first phase, to wait two weeks to study the curve of the epidemic and then to fill in any gaps. The plan is designed to allow those who wish to return home to do so without endangering the lives of residents in Lebanon. For this purpose, everything from screening and testing before the flight, to isolating infected individuals in separate planes has been taken into account. As the treasury is practically empty, the return journeys will be made at the passengers’ expense. Banks have subsequently been asked to facilitate transfers. On a more positive note, difficult times have proven time and time again that the Lebanese people are willing to step in when the government does not. In a true surge of solidarity, Lebanese living abroad have offered to help those who cannot afford their tickets according to multiple media sources. The fundamental obstacle toward the containment of the virus is, however, not how these Lebanese return but rather, the risk that Lebanese returnees will not strictly comply with the instructions they are given. The plan provides for medical monitoring by hospitals, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, to verify that the confinement instructions are followed, knowing that the Lebanese may be ‘unruly.’ This was also the reason why, without ever questioning the right of Lebanese who are abroad to return to the country, the government had reservations about massive repatriation initially. For the management of this crisis, it had planned a two-step plan: firstly closing the land, air and sea borders to passengers for two weeks to put an end to the contamination from a ‘foreign source.’ And secondly, the two-week extension of general mobilization and that of strict containment measures to make it possible to limit the spread of the virus and to flatten the curve of the number of people affected by it. Although the plan initially seemed rigid, Lebanon’s Prime Minister has had to step back from his initial stance to prevent repatriation until April 12th due to political pressures – once more proving that Lebanon is not geared by a state, but rather geared by fragmentation of political will. At this point, as it has been proven time and time again, we can only hope the Lebanese returnees will care enough about those who never left to take on the necessary precautions and be honest. As the state believes it can unrealistically ‘contain’ the massive influx of people returning to their homes to be on lockdown with the rest of us all we have once more, is each other watching each other’s’ backs, and washing each other’s’ hands.. Jasmin Lilian Diab MENA Regional Focal Point on Migration, United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth

Garba Diallo Director of Crossing Borders

While the coronavirus epidemic is putting our lives in turmoil across the world and turning our societies unrecognizable overnight with limited mobility; empty streets, schools, and airports; lockdown of countries; restrictions on our social pursuits and freedoms and militant directives on social distancing in order to urgently diminish its spread, it might just also provide a necessary reset and (ironically) connect us closer together. Infusing Interconnectedness The coronavirus is affecting us across continents, borders, ethnicity, skin color, gender, and income levels – it does not discriminate or favorize, and social status or privilege will not set anyone free. We are not only equal in the risk to be affected, but we are also bound together in our interconnectedness, depending on the action and responsibility of each other. Additionally, wherever we look across the world right now, the coronavirus grounds are common – the interruptive avalanche on our socioeconomic lives are similar, the protective and preventive measurements taken are similar, and the fear, anxiety, overwhelm, and uncertainty we experience is similar – it brings us all in the same boat – we can relate to each other and find compassion for each other from our own present reality. Standing Together We are all in this together and we will only win if we stand and come together. The coronavirus is demanding us to pause and to reset our lives as we know them – and to stand tighter together, whether as a family, neighborhood, country or global community. What if the coronavirus is a call to reset our lives and come back to what truly matters to us? What if it calls on us to see ourselves, each other and our world with new eyes? What if it is a call on us to be, come and stand stronger and better together? What if it is a call on radical compassion for each other across the world, reminding us that in fact, we are equal in our common humanity? While the turmoil of our everyday lives is real, equal to the deep uncertainty and overwhelming fear we might be experiencing, take a moment to reflect upon what the coronavirus reset came to teach you. Reset our Compassion for Each Other “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together”, Desmund Tutu What if the lesson the coronavirus is passing on to us is radical and actionable compassion? When seeing this epidemic with new eyes, we might start to witness the possibility in front of us for an emergency of more compassion for each other. At the heart of compassion is acceptance; the better we are at accepting the reality in front of us right now, the more compassionate we can become towards ourselves and others. This is true for the coronavirus times as well as beyond. Just imagine for a moment if these months of isolation, restricted movements and time in quarantine became our everyday lives, and now imagine that this “experience” in fact is what life looks like for millions of people around the world from slave camps in Libya, refugee camps in South Sudan, Lesbos, Bangladesh, DRC, Turkey, Syria, etc., indigenous people fighting for their survival (and ours) in the Amazonia, women being restricted in their movements across the world, across Latin America notably due to the risk of femicide and in Saudi Arabia due to the male guardianship system among other examples. In these times of complete reset globally, let’s recall that with or without the coronavirus we are equal and bound together in our common humanity and interconnectedness. Recognizing our shared humanity is a reflection of real compassion because it means that we are able to clearly see ourselves in each other. Helene Guldborg Life Coach and Crossing Borders board member

The CORONA Quarantine is not only limiting our mobility, bringing our everyday lives in turmoil and breaking down our social pursuits, but it might also expanding our imagination and compassion toward those millions of people whose daily lives in fact have been quarantine for decades, years, months for weeks by powerful people. Sadly, quarantining is an everyday reality The hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants currently held in slave concentration camps in Libya, in swamps and mosquito infested camps in South Sudan, on islands on Lesbos in Greece, on the Mexico-US border where a pregnant woman fell from the Trump wall and died on the spot today, refugee camps in Bangladesh, in the DRC, in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the jungles on the margins of rich cities in Europe and the indigenous people fighting for their survival (and ours) in Amazonia etc etc etc. Unlike the Coronavirus, the driving causes of those limitations are purely man-made out of greed, sometimes short sightedness or even unconsciousness and lack of compassion. Lack of understanding and respect for the fact that the wellbeing of people everywhere is inextricably interconnected to us – and our interconnectedness is inherent in the globalised world we have created. Thus, let’s turn the limitations the Coronavirus has imposed on us into opportunities – we can simply ask ourselves “how can we turn the situation we are in into an opportunity for something meaningful? How can we seize the extra time to reflect honestly and deeply on what the coronavisrus in fact is teaching us? What might it even teach us to let go of) Let’s seize the opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and those we love. Let’s take advantage of the online platforms to phone, email, chat with those we forgot or didn’t have time to reconnect with, because were too busy running around – to care for one another. Let’s also clear, clean and re-arrange our indoors, bookshelves, old CDs, clean, fold and give away the many clothes, the booths, the shoes, we know we will hardly have the time or the needs to use. Let’s clean our gardens (those who have the luxury), parks and other surrounding spaces to help it them be clean, healthy and beautiful. Let’s be creative in making and eating according to our needs to avoid hoarding food from the shops. Let’s go for a long and fresh walk and enjoy the opportunities while we consider and support those in need  in our families, neighbours, friends, networks and other fellow humans and other beings we share this planet with.  Let’s do some non-violent or non-competitive sports, like meditation, yoga, Thai-Chi and dances. Let’s read the books we did not have the chance to read and read again the books we read long time ago. Let’s listen to our favourite music while we open old photo albums and rejoice in and reflect upon the good old days when we were younger and our kids were babies, teens and parents were with us, younger and stronger Let’s recognise, appreciate and share the privileges we are blessed to have and enjoy. Let’s use our position of power and influence  to consider, talk about and do something to help relieve the pains of and sufferings of those who have been unfortunate to find themselves in the wrong places, at the wrong time with wrong people in power shaping the circumstances of their lives. Finally, also remember that limiting our often-unnecessary mobility is good for Mother Earth as it reduces the severity, frequency and size of our footprints on Her body and soul I stop here and walk the talk by going for a long walk and do some of this I wrote about above Stay calm, safe and smiling  Love and respect Garba

Like, many other good people around the world, we celebrated International Women’s Day in true Crossing Borders way. in this CB way, some 150 people from many different backgrounds, nationalities, ages, genders, and professions came together under the same roof to shed light and height the lives of women on the move, who have made it against multiple odds. For this we had 8 amazing women from 8 different countries share 8 powerful stories, songs, and poems with delicious food prepared by 8 men 8 different countries. The hall was full of people, deep emotions and inspirations. People left the place with positive energy, smiles in their faces and tears in their eyes and determination to make the world a better place for all. A billion thanks to all those who came to be with us on this day, many thanks to the powerful speaker that gave us some food for thought, the poetries that we heard from Wanjiku Seest and Sarah Diallo were super powerful and made us think, the talks by Mozhdeh Ghasemiyani, Suzana Milovic, and Mary Consolata Namagambe opened our eyes on a lot of struggles that women still facing up to those days, and we don’t forget the very amazing music and powerful song words by Pernille Tolou Isedora Johansson that you are hearing in the video below. Special thanks go to our Vice-Chair of CB board, Rikke Rønholt for moderating the whole event and introducing the speakers, as well as a big thanks, go to our CB Board Chair, Vibeke Quaade for the event opening speech. You all have made our night unforgettable. We don’t forget the CB team and the great cooks who made the food, the great team that makes things happen, we feel so lucky to have such a team from different countries in one place, working on the same missions, to create a place where people could live in peace. Thank you dream team. Photos credit: The pictures are taken by one of our very own, the talanted photographer Kannan P Samy, Project manager and CB board member.  Facebook: Kannan P Samy  Instagram: Kannan P Samy 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV6eBdK1AuE On February 6th we held one of our Food for Thought Events and we were excited to hear an inspiring story about the motivation behind Gorilla Media Denmark. We had the honor to have all the “gorillas” present, along with its Creative Director and founder Alex Sabour. Alex shared with us the journey of Gorilla Media from the very initial idea and desire to do projects that he truly “burns for” to the publication of its first successful projects and all the challenges and struggles along the way. 78 Awards and over 500 million people reached are just some of the stunning numbers achieved by this creative advertising agency and production house which started in December 2016. It first began as Alex´s dream of doing projects on important topics and at the time, it seemed an impossible dream. He started with a simple Facebook page, logo and website, but when the opportunity came, Alex took his chance. On 9th February 2017 the Danish parliament released the official statement, which stipulated: “The Danish parliament concludes with concern that there are today areas in Denmark where the share of immigrants and descendants from non-western countries is more than 50%. It is the apprehension of the Danish parliament that Danes should not be a minority in residential areas in Denmark.” In short: Danes within housing projects should not be in a minority. As a reaction to this statement, Alex wanted to do something about it, so together with Lelo Shalby and Sasan Askari made a video named “Jeg er Dansk” (I am Danish).  The video received mixed reactions from ecstatic to enraged, with some groups severely disagreeing with Gorilla. Alex´s expectations were exceeded when the video went viral in such a short amount of time. In just under 24 hours, the video had 1.5 million views and received a huge reaction not only from the Danish market but also internationally; it went viral in Sweden and Norway and shortly after started spreading throughout Europe and South America. The main motivation behind the video was to change the perspective on minority groups, not only in Denmark. The message they sent out started a domino effect and Alex realized that when he pushed, he could get a reaction. The campaign was therefore successful because they brought a different perspective to the entire debate on who is actually Danish; Danish parliament subsequently re-wrote the statement and made it more inclusive for minority groups. It had a direct effect. Alex and his team won a London prize for the “Best Viral Campaign” for reaching over 100 million people worldwide. It was a huge honor and success – they beat big brands in the category like Ikea, Norwegian air and Adidas.The successful campaign #JegErDansk was a milestone marking the official start of Gorilla Media. Knowing that they could do something beneficial, the team started to play with multiple perspectives on the topics that were not discussed or challenged yet. Their purpose became clear – “to see the video and leave the viewer with an impression regardless of what that impression is”. Gorilla got its first real client, Dansk Kvindesamfund (Danish Women Society), followed by a partnership with Extra Bladet (a Danish tabloid newspaper) where Gorilla published 12 episodes on minority topics on their platform. Their received a lot of views but also provoked hate, debates and comments. Throughout 2018, Gorilla Media was growing bigger and settled in its new office. The team kicked off a big and successful  campaign on Revenge Porn in partnership with Dansk Kvindesamfund and PornHub. Further collaboration enabled them to spread the campaign and, as a result, porn sites began to remove illegal content. 2019 was a general election year for Denmark and there were more successful projects for Gorilla Media. Danish media was under fire for giving a platform to promote the agenda of Danish lawyer Rasmus Paludan and his far-right party, which had gained traction ahead of the election. His political movement Stram Kurs (Hard Line) called itself the party for “ethnic Danes” and wanted to ban Islam and deport all Muslims from Denmark. The party was forecasted to win 2,3% of the vote, which would be enough to enter parliament. Gorilla media decided they need to get involved and, together with Rasmus Paludan´s brother, Martin Paludan, they launched a video in which Martin urged Danes not to vote for Rasmus Paludan´s party. The video spread rapidly over social media and gained hundreds of thousands of views with both negative and positive reactions. Paludan lost 30% of people who wanted to vote for him, blaming Gorilla Media for his failure to get Stram Kurs into parliament. Whether it was a result of the video or not is unproven, but one can admit that its intention was achieved, and that’s surely what matters. With successful campaigns on controversial topics, Gorilla Media inevitably face groups of angry people. With it comes hatred and death threats too. Gorilla Media produced a number of videos which were either removed from Facebook or pulled from publishing due to “controversial” content. Alex revealed to us that some of the videos and publications never previously shown to the public. One can wonder, what is it behind the decision of big players to not publish content intended to offer different perspectives on fundamental topics. Is it fear that people’s eyes will be opened, or are their personal values not aligned with Gorilla Media´s content? Gorilla Media is continuing to do innovative work and such rejection will not stop them.  Successful projects have already proven that through hard work they can inspire, provoke and change people’s perspectives. Alex´s story inspired us to believe in ourselves and that following one’s passion is possible even if the system is against you. Their success is not final and failure is not fatal, it is their courage to continue that truly counts.  Gorilla Media has great courage. As Albert Einstein said: “Never stop questioning”. We are very excited to see what comes next, how

I spoke to Garba Diallo – the managing director of Copenhagen-based NGO Crossing Borders and self-proclaimed citizen of Globalistan – about how the organisation was created, the value of education and dialogue and his nomadic origins in West Africa. Garba explained the normality of human movement, the dangers of “Hygge Democracy” and, most importantly, why Jeff Bezos doesn’t own any cows… “I come from a nomad culture in West Africa. We don’t really see borders. I am a part of an ethnic group spread over 25 countries. We are not settled people. You know, we are always crossing borders, we don’t really give a damn up to today about them – if it’s green on the other side, then…!” Garba Diallo is from a community named the Fulanis who constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa, despite being spread across 25 different countries. They usually find themselves marginalised due to the fact that they are, by nature, unsettled minorities. Before setting off on a journey that would eventually see him settle in Denmark, Garba grew up as a cowboy in Mauritania. As a teenager, he went to a local school he said he felt was a prison: “I ran away after a few months because it was not a school but a torture camp. Our languages were banned and our culture was not respected. We only learnt about French history. Vive la France! What you gained at that school did not make up for what you lost!” He escaped this place and returned to his village, where at the age of 19 he decided to pursue his own education and begin his journey across the world. In doing so, he achieved fluency in French, Danish, Arabic, Norwegian, Swedish and English as well as his native tongue of Fulani. Using any transport he could, he made his way to Libya and later received a scholarship to study and work for two years in Qatar. It was from here that Garba swapped the barren heat of Asia for the bleak cold of Norway to study his dream subject of International Relations and Development Studies. After I asked him about his experiences as a migrant here in Denmark, Garba was quick to correct me: “First of all, I am not a ‘migrant’, I am an expat! I was invited as an expert from the North (from Norway) and landed here in little Denmark. The expat should be white! Normally it’s a contradiction to be black and to be an expat!”. Crossing Borders’ activities began in 1999 with a project that brought 60 people from Israel and Palestine together to debate and produce articles. According to Garba, changing formal education and the curriculum isn’t easy. “In all the arab textbooks, Israel doesn’t exist!” he says, “And in all the Israeli textbooks, Palestine doesn’t exist! Then I joked with them and said, well then, there is no problem!” It is instead through informal education and the media that change can be achieved. The Israelis and Palestinians produced articles together and exchanged roles during debates: the Palestinians became part of the mainstream zionist movement, the Israelis the Palestinian Liberation Organization. “No one is born Jewish or Muslim or communist or capitalist. It is society that makes you into that. And education. From the school, the home, the media. We felt the key was education, but informal education. The formal one is a no go. You go from A to Z, studying what is decided by the authorities. There is space, with extra-curricular and informal education, where you can influence.” Crossing Borders is clear about its motivations – to produce dialogue in society and in the process create active global citizens. Garba says that this now occurs in the context of a battle over information in modern society, where data is fast becoming our most precious resource. “Information is not only power but money. Powerful people in the world are producing information, there are no cows running around belonging to Jeff Basos”. Now based in Ubuntu House right in the centre of Copenhagen, CB coordinates over ten international projects in a variety of locations from Uganda to the Caucasus; they all aim to promote dialogue in society. Here in DK, Crossing Borders has a school workshops program, aiming to bring the world into Danish classrooms and bring Danish classrooms into the world. Crossing Borders views maintaining authenticity as extremely important and when it goes into schools and creates dialogue among young Danes, it isn’t Danes who convey the message. “We use people who are part of this story, we use migrants, we use refugees to talk about refugee issues and immigration issues, we use people actually who are suffering from climate change, from Somalia and the Middle East, where water is running out, or certain parts of the African Sahel, to talk about climate change”. In Garba’s view, Denmark offers great opportunities if you have the vision and knowhow to carry out your ideas and funding is plentiful. However, he also discussed how hard it is to be an expat in a country with such a tight knit population. He railed against a phenomenon he cheekily brands ‘Hygge Democracy’ – what he sees in Denmark as a kind society ready to take care of each other, but simultaneously excluding those who are different. In a challenge to such thinking, Garba takes pride in the sheer diversity of his organisation. Crossing Borders has volunteers and employees from 20 different countries in the central office in Copenhagen alone, and many more among its representatives across the world. Time has run out, but Garba feels he needs to sum things up: “We are united as human beings, as people who have the energy, will and vision to create a world that they want and deserve to live in. Crossing Borders is there for you and you are welcome to join. All ideas are welcome, nobody is dismissed and we are ready to go out learning and

Last Thursday, at the first Food for Thought of 2020 Crossing Borders hosted Dr. Samay Hamed. The event opened as usual with a presentation of Dr. Hamed’s experiences in Afghanistan where he has been trying to bring various means of non-formal education and break cultural taboos, all with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of his fellow Afghanis. Following that, our wonderful intern, Ms. Yuka Fuji, and her friend Hika presented an incredible Japanese dinner for us featuring five different dishes (and which very well could have been presented as a 4-course, five-star meal). Like all of our FFT speakers, Dr. Hamed is a man of many talents. He is a trained medical doctor, a journalist who won the 2003 International Press Freedom Award, a prolific author of books and songs (32 book, 100 songs, and counting), and is committed to challenging the status quo of culture, education, and ways of thought in Afghanistan. In Dr. Hamed’s mind, the way to change society is by starting from the bottom rather than the top. To do this, he says, you must change the way people think and help encourage critical thinking. After noting the lack of space for critical thinking in Afghan society and education, Dr. Hamed decided the best way to do this was by creating these spaces himself. These spaces include (among others) musical festivals, workshops, satirical T.V. shows, and underground publications. His first attempt at this initiative was to create a new alphabet song for children. The song provided an alternative way to learn about letter sounds that the common methods (used in mosques and schools) had not employed. The alphabet song ended up becoming so popular that the Afghan Ministry of Education now employs a similar method throughout the country. Furthermore, to counter the concept that only famous individuals can create art or stories worthy of public consideration, Dr. Hamed invited students to a workshop that produced an original story that which received international publication. In a similar vein, he also developed an initiative that collected discarded blackboards from around the country. Workshops about the physics of light, color, and shapes were turned in to painting events for children and the resultant works were sold around the world. Proceeds from the sales were used to purchase 1000 whiteboards for classrooms throughout Afghanistan.  To bring spaces for critical thinking to adults, Dr. Hamed has employed a variety of methods. Of particular note were magazines that included poetry, art, and poignant political satire. He has also helped facilitate a clothes recycling workshop for women that simultaneously discuss social issues and political rights. Ultimately, it can be said that Dr. Hamed is seeking Afghan-led solutions for the issues he has identified. As a cabinet member of the government, he is seeking to “shake a hand” for the country rather than relying on international monetary deals. He called to our attention the corruption that comes from dumping money into problems rather that digging into society’s roots to look for solutions. He spoke about an older tradition in Afghanistan what was similar to the community kitchens/and meals he saw during his time here. He would like to renew this concept but make it larger in scale so that a sense of local and national community is refreshed, and social bonds strengthened. Speaking of food, the culinary portion of the night centered around a traditional Osaka pancake called okonomiyaki, filled with onion and drizzled with mayo and a wonderfully tangy brown sauce brought by Hika. Dish number two, nikujaga, featured boiled potatoes and vegies which were essentially a vehicle for the infamous umami flavor that can be difficult to find in Denmark. Takikomi gohan (rice with veggies) provided additional heft to our plates as dish number three. The meal was rounded out with piping hot miso soup and weafed salad covered in a sesame dressing. As usual, there were hardly any leftovers and I was left begging for recipes.  Thanks to all who attended, the CB team looks forward to seeing you at our next event! I would like to leave you with a poignant thought from an original poem by Dr. Hamed that speaks specifically to Afghan-US relations but is relevant to our hope for a peaceful future: There are children who play and dream/of a free and fresh future/they could understand each other/and/they will meet each other as tourists/not as soldiers.