tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13301908268098291202024-02-06T18:38:42.747-08:00Huma SheikhHuma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-14916603891081141732020-06-03T04:12:00.002-07:002020-06-03T04:13:26.953-07:00Protests Under Cover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.arrowsmithpress.com/protests">https://www.arrowsmithpress.com/protests</a><br />
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It’s mid-March and I’m walking through Gandhi Park in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani, where a massive, ongoing sit-in has been organized by protestors of the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA — passed last December by the Indian Parliament — threatens to erase the existence of Muslims in India. Most of the protestors today are Muslim women.</div>
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One good thing about the Coronavirus is that I now walk the streets wearing a surgical face mask. I’m hoping it will not only protect me from the virus, but will also conceal my face in case it isn’t brown and Hindu-looking enough. I have a noticeable yellow and a pale pinkish hue around the cheeks — like many Kashmiris or immigrants, Afghanis, middle easterners.</div>
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It’s <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Maghrib </em>time as prayer chants can be heard from a nearby mosque. The scraps of polyester fabric and plastic sheets hanging from wooden poles make the tent that is crowded with women protestors. One wearing a black <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">abaya</em> and a headscarf is presiding over other similarly dressed women, and those in <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Salwar Kameez</em> — long loose shirts and creased pants<em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">. </em>They are seated on the floor in clusters around her while she recites Arabic prayers and translates in Hindi, <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Allah hum sab ko shehan sakhti de</em>, <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Sab taraf aman-chain ho. </em>“May Allah give us strength. May peace prevail.”</div>
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One elderly man is backing out of the entrance on a scooter. Two skull-capped men, three teenage children, and a woman in a saree are shopping at the neighborhood stores owned by both Hindus and Muslims. Everyone appears mindful of who’s entering the neighborhood. Not all are allies. From the park fence along the entrance, no one can miss the towering portraits hanging over the stage where protestors are gathered. These portraits are of our heroes: Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and Babasaheb Ambedkar. Gandhi, the leader of India's struggle for independence from the British, is admired for his dogged, non-violent methods; Singh was a folk hero executed in the pursuit of Indian independence; and Ambedkar inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement, by peacefully resisting the dominance of upper class Hindus and calling for equal rights for the untouchables.</div>
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These portraits inspire the protestors, remind them that progress has been made on their soil before. They symbolize a united India — Sikhs, Christians, Parsies, liberal Hindus, and activists have joined Muslims in protesting the CAA — while the bill represents Modi’s divided one.</div>
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Without an <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">abaya </em>and a headscarf, I worry that someone might point at me and call me a traitor.</div>
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Done praying, the women avoid my presence. I sit on the willow mat with them while they chat amongst themselves. A woman protester comes up and asks me who I am. Her voice sounds confident but can’t conceal the fear in her eyes. She blinks nervously and keeps looking around. Other women tug at her <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Kameez</em>, shaking their heads, signaling to her that she should not talk with me.</div>
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I tell her I’ve come to show my support for their cause, which is mine as well.</div>
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“It’s just that we are scared,” she says, blinking, continuing to survey the area for danger. “We can’t trust anyone. We want peace. We are all humans. This is a mixed neighborhood. We come and go into each other's houses, have always been eating together and participating in each other’s weddings. We are all one. Our Hindu neighbors stand with us in solidarity. But Modi is dividing us.”</div>
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I ask the woman about the recent attack on the marchers by the police.</div>
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“We had just finished marching and were coming back from the nearby neighborhoods — Malviya Nagar, Khirki <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Gaon </em>(village) — when some strange person pushed a cop. The man was an outsider none of us knew. Three days before, another woman popped up in the tent and started calling us names. I asked the women to stay calm and took her outside. These are the people who are trying to break us.”</div>
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As I leave the park, police barricades block the two entrances. I squeeze my way through the entrance across from the Max Hospital, where police attacked anti-CAA protestors just days earlier, injuring many of them.</div>
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With the passing of the CAA, Modi effectively abolished religious autonomy in India’s only Muslim-majority region: Kashmir. The day before President Trump’s visit to India, the first protests broke out in northeastern Delhi. Over eighty people have died so far at the hands of police, while many others have been injured.</div>
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Recently, a legislator in Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, Kapil Mishra, condemned the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh in south Delhi, urging his followers to clear out the protestors or he would. Riots followed the statement. A Muslim woman in her early 80s was burned alive after her house was set on fire by a Hindu nationalist mob carrying saffron flags and chanting <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Jai shri Ram.</em></div>
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I turn down the main road, unaware that I’m walking in the wrong direction. My heart skips a beat when an auto rickshaw driver pulls over behind me. When he asks where I am headed and if I need a ride, I realize that I’m a mile away from the Saket Metro train that will take me home.</div>
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Though he’s not wearing his skullcap, the driver turns out to be Muslim. I ask him to take me to Saket, but instead of taking the most direct route, he embarks on a longer one. This route is safer. It will steer clear of the traffic caused by the sit-ins, avoid the dangers that passing through Gandhi Park might present. The cops at the park might ask for my driver’s identification and his Muslim name might get him in trouble, trouble I avoided because of my facemask and American ID.</div>
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The driver tells me he has two daughters and is from the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. We’re neighbors, I tell him.</div>
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Suddenly, he pulls over: "Sorry, my tire punctured.” He can’t go on any further. He tells me he is scared for his two daughters. Many children have died during the anti-CAA riots. More have been arrested.</div>
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He refuses payment and waves down an oncoming auto to give me a ride. Before we say goodbye, he reaches into his breast pocket for his wallet to show me pictures of his daughters, six and twelve.</div>
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“Beautiful,” I say.</div>
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“Be careful,” he replies.</div>
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His advice is sound. There are plenty of reasons to be careful.</div>
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Born and raised in Kashmir, I learned caution early. My Grandmother and I were at a neighborhood grocery store, only a few hundred meters from my parents’ house in Srinagar, when a bomb went off. Suddenly, the weight of a mountain fell on my leg. As smoke slowly began to clear, I saw people running for safety, faces contorted, arms thrashing the air as though they were trying to fly. I closed my eyes. After the surgery, I was laid up with a broken leg for months. My father spent days sitting beside me, unable to go to the national Radio Station where he worked as a Program Executive in charge of the music department.</div>
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I was eleven years old.</div>
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A decade later, my father, a family friend, Jawahar, and I were traveling to New Delhi where I planned to enroll in school for journalism. It was an overnight train, and the three of us were set to move me into an apartment the next day. We all settled into our bunks for the evening. It was the last time I’d see my father.</div>
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When I got up to use the restroom that night, my father wasn’t in the bunk below mine. I woke up Jawahar. We looked around the berth, in and around the restrooms, and then through the other sections of the train. But my father was nowhere.</div>
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I asked the people sitting in the compartment if they had seen him. In their half-asleep daze, no one had an answer. I alerted the railway police, but they said he probably got off at the last station and we couldn’t do anything until we arrived in Delhi. Two days later, the police finally responded: they said that they “found” my father at Mukerian Village, in the state of Punjab, a hundred miles away from where our train had stopped.</div>
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When I asked the police how he ended up in Punjab, they said that he’d fallen from the train.</div>
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How?</div>
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“He probably had gone to the exit by the restrooms to pee or smoke.”</div>
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They also said they’d cremated him immediately, yet offered no reason or explanation. Their action violated a law that requires police to allow 72 hours for a body to be identified. I filed complaints in the Indian courts and with various human rights organizations. Three years of lawsuits did little to resolve the mystery of his death. But that is a story for another time.</div>
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The driver who picks me up is noticeably Hindu. He drives nonchalantly around Ghandi Park, past a popular Bikaner Sweets shop where he chats briefly with a passerby about wanting a tea break. He asks me about my day but I don’t respond. I pray my face mask won’t fall off. I make it to Saket Metro safely.</div>
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At the moment, a virus which doesn’t distinguish Muslims or Hindus has provided me with the cover I need.</div>
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Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-28928943194634596662020-06-03T04:10:00.001-07:002020-06-03T04:10:12.735-07:00Not Shadows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://solsticelitmag.org/content/not-shadows/">https://solsticelitmag.org/content/not-shadows/</a><br />
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About my past life, my American friends<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />shake their heads, blinking.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Pints of shadows fall,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />a mother’s womb swept bare.</div>
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Some things are good unseen.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />They see nothing that looks<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />like that girl I was, cherry- dappled cheeks, fingers curled around<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />my mother’s hand,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />unclenching, picking on an elephant bell<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />ringing in the window,</div>
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the swinging branches of childhood<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />suspended in space,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />ivy penumbra of the days of our siege. War in Kashmir.</div>
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But my American friends, mimic, visualize;<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />a floating flame, a grenade, from the old kitchen window<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />before a thud, mirror like branches in the wind.</div>
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Mother’s screaming locked in tarnished silver pots.</div>
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Daddy’s away.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />In the mirror, I see his remains,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />pluck my sideburns,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />the red veins in my hand, a reflection of Daddy’s lifetime,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />growing thicker and thicker in his absence.</div>
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Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-70953170007654680032020-03-28T23:45:00.004-07:002020-03-28T23:45:54.297-07:00Our Orchards Weep in Silence in Kashmir https://www.thequint.com/my-report/letters-to-kashmir-article-370-abrogation-poem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.thequint.com/my-report/letters-to-kashmir-article-370-abrogation-poem">https://www.thequint.com/my-report/letters-to-kashmir-article-370-abrogation-poem</a><br />
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Our Orchards Weep in Silence</div>
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By Huma Sheikh</div>
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What’s left is a broken picture<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />weeks after Article 370 was revoked.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />August 2019 – <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">shikaras</em> in Kashmir<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />tied to the shores, turning dry,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />kites overhead looking for carrion;<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />a lone woman’s face in a houseboat window,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />a baby’s scream chipped away by curfews.</div>
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In such silence, who will we be?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />We thought, we’d never be without the 370,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />without such privilege, that’s no one’s but ours –<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />without such code, bonded land, who will we be?</div>
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My mother’s fingers fumble on the phone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />in our Delhi apartment.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Silence follows the dial tones<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />instead of her mother’s <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">ach che theek.</em><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“Phone lines in Kashmir down for the 20th day,”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />my mother says. I haven’t been able to talk with Apa.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />We are not fine. We are not <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">ach che theek</em>.”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Who will we be without the red soil trodden by Indian military boots?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Grandma pats the children on their heads<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />as they walk out the door.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Her fingers summon protection,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">dua</em> that lifts fears of a shooting, a bomb explosion<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />on every bend of the road filled with bunkers,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />military trucks.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />I wonder if her fingers tremble today to stifle the silence.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Perhaps she wants the ghostly clock to explode.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />We dream of freedom<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />when the waters of Jhelum and Chenab<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />are stolen;<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />when a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pheran</em>-clad woman runs<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />through the lingering smoke of grenades<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />to smell the apples in her ancestral orchard.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The 370 held us like bran over a grain of rice – <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Kashur tomul</em>.</div>
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(<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The author was born and raised in Kashmir. She’s presently based in the US where she’s pursuing her doctoral degree in Creative Writing and teaching at Florida State University.</em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to</em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Quint</strong></em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">. Though</em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Quint</strong></em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own.</em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Quint</strong></em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)</em></div>
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Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-68236072332021041312020-03-28T23:23:00.002-07:002020-03-28T23:23:18.778-07:00IN THE AFTERMATH OF KASHMIR'S FEBRUARY 14, 2019 ATTACK ON AN INDIAN ARMY CONVOY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2019/03/in-aftermath.html">https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2019/03/in-aftermath.html</a></h3>
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IN THE AFTERMATH</h3>
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">OF KASHMIR'S FEBRUARY 14, 2019 ATTACK ON AN INDIAN ARMY CONVOY</span></b></div>
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<b>by Huma Sheikh</b><br /><b><br /></b><b><br /></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRnlTl47YjW9aYLeCgPC8sxnCoOStkXeN1ZUDWnuBxwsHAX7PuTeja65xA7ZgRkssa_XkYach5V3wQlz8B8cgLBQcz790oLMdHajUvU58i6Hnrg1s6VFD0OVMdObvPnK573S_ePfQ3V1q/s1600/SRINIGAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1225" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRnlTl47YjW9aYLeCgPC8sxnCoOStkXeN1ZUDWnuBxwsHAX7PuTeja65xA7ZgRkssa_XkYach5V3wQlz8B8cgLBQcz790oLMdHajUvU58i6Hnrg1s6VFD0OVMdObvPnK573S_ePfQ3V1q/s400/SRINIGAR.jpg" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: justify;">A bitter winter in Srinagar had just started to ease when the latest crisis in Kashmir was sparked on 14 February. That afternoon a local member of a Pakistan-based militant group rammed a car laden with explosives into a bus carrying Indian paramilitaries. The explosion was heard for miles around. At least 40 people were killed, the highest death toll from a single attack in the history of the insurgency. Above: A Kashmiri Muslim woman looks on as Indian government forces stand guard after clashes with separatist protesters. Photograph: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images. —<i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/02/kashmir-india-pakistan-stand-off-war-border" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The Guardian</a></i>, March 2, 2019</td></tr>
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<br /><br />No matter what the glistening forms<br />in blue cosmic wings tell me, I see<br />drones soaring in despair.<br /><br />I left Kashmir lives ago and my veins<br />drained of past gore,<br />hallucinate in this world—Florida’s panhandle,<br />pounding, floating wraiths, spanning the distance,<br />gasping—<br />Rumi’s chaotic freedom.<br /><br />Today, on the internet, a deceased trooper's daughter wailing;<br />forty mugshots scrolling the dead across the screen;<br />Kashmiri students, children of Indian Kashmir,<br />disappearing in Dehradun dungeons,<br />eyes of Sikh keepers burning a storm—protestors’ roar outside;<br />Kashmiri traders in Lucknow, whipped and kicked;<br />pack animals, carrying identity wares.<br /><br />How to rebuild a sense of refuge when hope beans spill,<br />dissolve, in a battle?<br />Hadn’t these students, traders, escaped warfare in Kashmir?<br />Deaths bloom for the kith of the slain;<br />memories of dear ones an endless crackle of real flesh storm<br />dropping to ashes.<br />For Kashmiris still there,<br />war an everyday meal,<br />some eat, some fast by chance.<br /><br />I question violence;<br />India and Pakistan’s territorial land-grab war,<br />ask myself if voicing feelings,<br /><i>otherness</i>, isn’t transcending bitterness?<br /><br />Kashmir floats with me even here,<br />new crises piled on old ones—<br />a pedantic coop, winged prison,<br />war crumb confetti.<br />I do the ant’s painstaking<br />weight lifting of fragments—<br />senile Socrates.<br /><br /><br /><b>Huma Sheikh</b> is originally from Kashmir, currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Creative Writing at Florida State. Her prose and verse have appeared in various journals and magazines. A memoir and book of poems are in progress.<div style="clear: both;">
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<span class="post-author vcard" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1em;">Posted by <span class="fn" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/05823236060736279760" rel="author" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" title="author profile"><span itemprop="name">Editor2</span> </a></span></span><span class="post-timestamp" style="margin-left: -1em; margin-right: 1em;">at <a class="timestamp-link" href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2019/03/in-aftermath.html" rel="bookmark" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" itemprop="datePublished" style="border: none;" title="2019-03-12T06:00:00-04:00">6:00 AM</abbr></a> </span><span class="reaction-buttons" style="margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="star-ratings" style="margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="post-comment-link" style="margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="post-backlinks post-comment-link" style="margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="post-icons" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span class="item-action"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=11107642&postID=7715445273131813788" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Email Post"><img alt="" class="icon-action" height="13" src="https://img1.blogblog.com/img/icon18_email.gif" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none !important; border-width: initial; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5em !important; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" width="18" /> </a></span></span><div class="post-share-buttons goog-inline-block" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;">
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<span class="post-labels" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;">Labels: <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/%23TheNewVerseNews" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">#TheNewVerseNews</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/attack" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">attack</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Dehradun" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Dehradun</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Florida" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Florida</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Huma%20Sheikh" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Huma Sheikh</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/India" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">India</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Kashmir" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Kashmir</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Lucknow" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Lucknow</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Pakistan" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Pakistan</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">poetry</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Rumi" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Rumi</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Sikh" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Sikh</a>, <a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/search/label/Socrates" rel="tag" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">Socrates</a></span></div>
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Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-330713304941915532020-03-28T23:20:00.001-07:002020-03-28T23:25:40.509-07:00For Kashmiris in India, War is an Everyday Meal https://livewire.thewire.in/author/huma-sheikh/<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://livewire.thewire.in/author/huma-sheikh/">https://livewire.thewire.in/author/huma-sheikh/</a><br />
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<img src="https://i2.wp.com/livewire.thewire.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/children_conflict-Reuters.jpg?fit=647%2C363&ssl=1" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px;">By Huma Sheikh</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span>
For Kashmiris in India, War is an Everyday Meal</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br />
No matter what the glistening forms<br />
in blue cosmic wings tell me, I see<br />
drones soaring in despair.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I left Kashmir lives ago and my veins<br />
drained of past gore,<br />
hallucinate in this world – Florida’s panhandle,<br />
pounding, floating wraiths, spanning the distance,<br />
gasping –<br />
Rumi’s chaotic freedom.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Today, on the internet, a deceased trooper’s daughter wailing;<br />
forty mugshots scrolling the dead across the screen;<br />
Kashmiri students, children of Indian Kashmir,<br />
disappearing in Dehradun dungeons,<br />
eyes of Sikh keepers burning a storm – protestors’ roar outside;<br />
Kashmiri traders in Lucknow, whipped and kicked;<br />
pack animals, carrying identity wares.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
How to rebuild a sense of refuge when hope beans spill,<br />
dissolve, in a battle?<br />
Hadn’t these students, traders, escaped warfare in Kashmir?<br />
Deaths bloom for the kith of the slain;<br />
memories of dear ones an endless crackle of real flesh storm<br />
dropping to ashes.<br />
For Kashmiris still there,<br />
war is an everyday meal,<br />
some eat, some fast by chance.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I question violence;<br />
India and Pakistan’s territorial land-grab war,<br />
ask myself if voicing feelings,<br />
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">otherness</i>, isn’t transcending bitterness?</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Kashmir floats with me even here,<br />
new crises piled on old ones –<br />
a pedantic coop, winged prison,<br />
war crumb confetti.<br />
I do the ant’s painstaking<br />
weight lifting of fragments –<br />
senile Socrates.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Huma Sheikh is originally from Kashmir, currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Creative Writing at Florida State. Her prose and verse have appeared in various journals and magazines. A memoir and book of poems are in progress.</em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This poem was originally published at </em><a href="https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2019/03/in-aftermath.html?m=1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #66727d; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">TheNewVerse.News </a><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and has been re-published with the author’s permission. </em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #283037; font-family: "noto serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-bottom: 1.4em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Featured image credit: Reuters</em></div>
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Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-79854686410154037302016-06-19T12:29:00.002-07:002016-06-19T13:05:27.844-07:00Kashmiri Kahwa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://thelongestisland.blogspot.com/2015/07/downtown-brooklyn-journal-of-writing.html" style="background-color: white; color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">http://thelongestisland.blogspot.com/2015/07/downtown-brooklyn-journal-of-writing.html</a><br />
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Downtown Brooklyn: A Journal of Writing Issue# 25, pages 57 to 59<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://huma123.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=vFnaa1UBAAA.z0df3_Cw7As5N7YHNzRQEasq3fAiPiTCW86r3VqBVKKnEyBq8Usk17XMJNyWf5uXr-kFxdYVS4tqg_mW3Ybt_Q.g7w_pgnMEBQJDDh277C11Q&postId=7985468641015403730&type=POST">KashmiriKehwa </a><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hang
on,” my mother says softly <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I am arranging the
table.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
look on while she pours <i>Kehwa</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">to
fondle the ceramic sides of the cup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
saffron antennas of <i>Kehwa</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sleek
nectar of saffron<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">twigs,
gold rods/and coral/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">a
color yellow to orange<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">like
a kaleidoscope, that alloys<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">the
hints of cracked cardamoms <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">against
their own amber <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">or
taste as pomegranates<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">full
and fine of the lilacs <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sweet
to tongue and sound to eye<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Or morsels like almond pearls <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">and
beads of the rosary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">film
rising to the top<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or
bamboo-like cinnamon sticks hazel with tinge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">fresh
from the vine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Its framework a glitter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
of ashen-gold porcelain cup <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> over saucer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> My father sitting across from me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
tips the cup up, sips the last of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
It is the saffron vineyard room<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
not far from red-gold fields <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
where ashen
sparrows peck at cherries—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> their <i>copious</i>
meal <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">a
genteel <i>wazwan</i> in rose-water—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">melted
minced meat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">flavor
blown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">that
tastes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">rista</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> : coral lamb/ mini ovals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
It’s the seasoned vineyard field<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
not far from our saffron room<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
where the
ceremonial <i>gustuba</i> lamb balls sizzle,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sheets
of yogurt smoke soaring from it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everyday </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through the Sun that hangs at noon
and sets at night <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everyday<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through a yoke of tangerine that
soothes mingled flavors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everyday<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through a rising tide of fragrances
that last and swell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Everyday<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everything
becomes a yoke of tangerine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-90870117543383766362016-06-19T11:09:00.003-07:002016-06-19T12:22:03.087-07:00Kashmiri Kehwa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thelongestisland.blogspot.com/2015/07/downtown-brooklyn-journal-of-writing.html" style="background-color: white; color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.3px;" target="_blank">http://thelongestisland.blogspot.com/2015/07/downtown-brooklyn-journal-of-writing.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Hang
on,” my mother says softly <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I am arranging the
table.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
look on while she pours <i>Kehwa</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">to
fondle the ceramic sides of the cup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
saffron antennas of <i>Kehwa</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sleek
nectar of saffron<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">twigs,
gold rods/and coral/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">a
color yellow to orange<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">like
a kaleidoscope, that alloys<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">the
hints of cracked cardamoms <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">against
their own amber <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">or
taste as pomegranates<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">full
and fine of the lilacs <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sweet
to tongue and sound to eye<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Or morsels like almond pearls <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">and
beads of the rosary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">film
rising to the top<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or
bamboo-like cinnamon sticks hazel with tinge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">fresh
from the vine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Its framework a glitter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
of ashen-gold porcelain cup <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> over saucer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> My father sitting across from me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
tips the cup up, sips the last of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
It is the saffron vineyard room<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
not far from red-gold fields <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
where ashen
sparrows peck at cherries—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> their <i>copious</i>
meal <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">a
genteel <i>wazwan</i> in rose-water—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">melted
minced meat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">flavor
blown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">that
tastes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">rista</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> : coral lamb/ mini ovals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
It’s the seasoned vineyard field<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
not far from our saffron room<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
where the
ceremonial <i>gustuba</i> lamb balls sizzle,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sheets
of yogurt smoke soaring from it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everyday </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through the Sun that hangs at noon
and sets at night <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everyday<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through a yoke of tangerine that
soothes mingled flavors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everyday<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through a rising tide of fragrances
that last and swell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Everyday<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">everything
becomes a yoke of tangerine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-39947285339601039072015-12-10T07:48:00.001-08:002015-12-10T07:49:27.814-08:00Some of my poems (published in Chicago Literati)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
http://chicagoliterati.com/2015/07/14/a-furious-tide-other-poems-by-huma-sheikh/<br />
<br />
<br />
--<br />
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A Furious Tide</h2>
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My mother’s voice was calm, not dipped in raging water, when<br />
she spoke to me on the phone moments after death un-hugged<br />
her during a flood. Her tender breath rose</div>
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.</div>
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The next minute her voice wavered in a vibrato, unsettled, perplexed.</div>
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It ran back in rocky water, floating, like balloon heads of submerged people<br />
oddly cocked. By then, of course, she’d begun to reminisce.</div>
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.</div>
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Trapped for four days at her brother’s submerged house in Kashmir, with<br />
the younger daughter and other relatives’ escaping the flood. She described the<br />
experience to me on the other side of the world:</div>
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.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The water rose, drowning the first few steps of the third floor.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Before it began soaring further up, I cradled your sister, though<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />24, like a baby, in my arms. We shall die soon, I whispered in her<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />ear. Close your eyes, let us slip away in our sleep, let raging<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />water wash us away in our sleep. It will be least painful.</em></div>
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.<br />
The torrential rain swelled the River Jhelum, the raging water tearing through its banks,<br />
unsettled, perplexed. Suddenly, hundreds of people, dipped in raging water, the<br />
valley soaked into streams of nothingness.</div>
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.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> I dealt with the four days like surviving a life without a trickle of water, half<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />drowned, in the house’s third floor. Through the window, I saw yellow<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />inflatable rings around people’s necks, floating. Some were<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />bare-necked and grasping tree trunks. A woman in a blue plastic<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />water tank hugged her arms around its mouth.</em></div>
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.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The water contained debris, broken pieces of houses, animal carcasses and some dead bodies. “Help, help, I screamed out the window, at the rescue team.” They never looked up.</em></div>
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.</div>
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At this point, I saw my past life as in a dream. My childhood<br />
at my parents’ house in Kashmir. The beautiful red brick house<br />
stood once on the parched land, among a warren of similar surrounding houses.</div>
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.</div>
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The hand-crafted, black iron-gate and its gold rims, the flowering<br />
vines of evergreen trees. My mother coiling the green grape vines<br />
around the top, crescent-like.</div>
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.</div>
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But I found myself in my Texas apartment, the mother’s voice becoming clearer.</div>
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I saw Ganesha’s photo</div>
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.</div>
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a friend had just posted, on Facebook. Ganesha sat, crossed<br />
legged, beside high rise minarets of the temple, half immersed<br />
in raging water.<br />
The Hindu God’s right hand, palm facing out, glowed<br />
toward Kashmir.</div>
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His colossal gold coronet crown came drifting toward me.</div>
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I saw in it my mother’s crescent-like grape vine wreath<br />
around the iron-gate, the green thriving in gold streaks of the crown.</div>
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My parent’s house in Kashmir was calm, not dipped in raging<br />
water, not in furious tide.</div>
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</h2>
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Reflection</h2>
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A pair of<br />
coal hinged frame<br />
glossed over my dark circles.</div>
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.<br />
The unprescribed mirrors<br />
piercing brushes<br />
of tender twitches<br />
bridge, screws.<br />
The piercing brushes of reflection.</div>
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</h2>
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Soulful Moments</h2>
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A shade of beard<br />
loosely clung to his smooth<br />
left cheek.<br />
If just I could caress in my hand.<br />
.<br />
The tasseled out residual fleck<br />
nuanced sparkles—<br />
desires uncoiled.</div>
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.</div>
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The hard knuckle dabs over his closed eye lids<br />
glasses on table, immersed in thoughts–<br />
the conversations, their merger with time.</div>
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.</div>
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I wished a moment’s clock–<br />
its lifetime<br />
The soulful melding<br />
locked in time<br />
hands swearing continuity.<br />
Yes, if just.</div>
</div>
Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-28109950175734695522012-03-16T09:35:00.000-07:002012-03-16T09:37:41.486-07:00Payback Blizzards: Warm Weather EconomicsBy Huma Sheikh<br /><br />The Sun’s face in January mirrored the gleaming semblance of summer. His pretty glittering rays were blossoming sprouts most days this winter. January 31 broke record high temperatures all over the Mid-West. But it was no surprise for people in Vermillion; winter weather has been unusually warm this year. This amazingly embracing change though manifests psychological fear in people’s minds as they dread they may have to pay for it.<br /><br />“A lot of people say we will pay for good wintry weather but I think we may have already paid for it last winter. Whether weather is good or bad has nothing to do with paybacks,” Jerry Prentice, a Clay County resident, said.<br /><br />“In January, twenty days out of the thirty-one days had above average temperatures in whole South Dakota. Of some of the records that have been broken, one in Nebraska has stood since 1931. It is hard to deny that over the long term the weather is getting warmer. The average temperature of the years seems to rise. There’s no doubt the glaciers are melting like never before. There is no doubt that it’s global warming; the cause of it is still unproven. I am not unhappy that there’s been the warm snow-free winter year. I am happy that it’s like this.”<br /><br />Mike Carlson, City of Vermillion finance office, said, “This year in January, forty-three hundred dollars ($4300) were spent on snow removal compared with last year’s seventy-four hundred ($7400) dollars for the same month. We had had more over-time work for snow removal in the previous years but this year, weather has been pleasantly different.<br /><br />Helen Eason, a Vermillion resident, said, “There’s not only been less snow this winter but it’s been warmer. I got my heating bill and it was much less this year. It was only 346.61 for December and January. Last year, it came to 463.41 for December and January. Apart from snow, just the warmer weather is helpful when it comes to heating bills.”<br /><br />“I went to get my car filled up with gas the other day. The guy who runs the service station said “isn’t this weather great? I suppose we will suffer later. I said yes but if bad weather will come, it won’t last.It’s unusual. I have been in vermillion for the last 14 years. I remember that one year we had a big snowfall on the Veterans Day (November 11). My grandson was then in high school; he and his friend came and shoveled me out. In my next life I will make sure my house is not on the corner with too many sidewalks. In 2009, I was supposed to go to my daughter’s for Christmas. I couldn’t get out of the house. I couldn’t even push the screen door. I had Christmas all by myself, reading a book my granddaughter had sent me from Maryland. I associate that book with that snow.”<br /><br />Kyle Miller, USD student, “I never remembered a winter like this before. I have been in the Mid-west my whole life. In winter, to be in 50s and 60s is unusual. It’s been an odd winter.”<br /><br />About global warming, “We will find out in 30 years. This winter has been great. What it’s going to lead to, I don’t know.My home is in Iowa and I keep close track of the weather as I often travel between Vermillion and Iowa. It’s nice having clear roads.”<br /><br />Tina Nelson, another USD student, said, “It was wonderful and I wanted to cry out of joy. I spent the whole day out in a dress and went for a nice long jog that night when it was still amazingly warm. I wish every winter was this amazing, even though it probably means global warming and we are all going to die.”<br /><br />Bob Stoner, former USD professor, said, “I grew up on a farm and even though I have long been living in town, now since high school, I still sell farms. This weather doesn’t give moisture to crops. And unusual warm weather in winter doesn’t kill pests. Besides, trees bud out earlier than they should.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-50768583686200709482012-01-09T13:04:00.000-08:002012-01-09T13:13:37.130-08:00Kashmir Unmarked Graves; UN MediationBy Huma Sheikh<br /><br />In August 2011, the unmarked graves atrocity came to light in Kashmir after the Jammu & Kashmir Human Rights Commission confirmed that more than two thousand bodies were buried in those graves in several districts of the Valley. The commission said many of the dead were civilians who had disappeared over the past two decades, the time of the bloodiest violence in Kashmir. The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) ---an association formed by parents and relatives of victims of enforced disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir--- had in 2008 reported to the commission about the presence of unmarked graves, and about their fears that those unidentified bodies might be their missing children. <br />According to the commission report, 2,730 bodies were buried in thirty-eight sites in North Kashmir’s Baramulla, Bandipora, Handwara and Kupwara districts. Five hundred seventy four (574) among the 2,730 bodies were those of missing local Kashmiris. <br />The Jammu and Kashmir government had earlier said the bodies in unmarked graves were those of unidentified militants, most of them Pakistani insurgents who were handed over to local people for burial. After the commission report, Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said all missing persons were not buried in unmarked graves. Some of these people had been doing small businesses—either driving cabs or something else-- across the Line of Control (LOC), the de facto border dividing Indian and Pakistani Kashmir. “I can say with authority that some of the persons buried in these unmarked graves were killed by militants,” Omar had told the Hindustan Times newspaper in India.<br />The issue of unmarked graves has become a major problem in the eight-decade-old conflict in Kashmir. People in Kashmir feel they are unsafe in the valley because of civilian disappearances by security forces and their subsequent killings in fake encounters to label them insurgents. The government, on the other hand, maintains the situation in Kashmir has improved and the Chief Minister established a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate unmarked graves. But this problem remains unresolved but can be resolved with the help of international third party mediation, or more precisely the United Nations mediation--mainly for two reasons: <br />1. The Kashmir conflict is a regional conflict because its resolution must include both India and Pakistan.<br /> 2. India is primarily Hindu and Pakistan is Muslim, and Kashmir, which is predominantly Muslim, is part of Hindu India. <br />The UN was involved in the Kashmir conflict from 1948 to 1965 after India reported to the Security Council on January 1, 1948 under Article 35 (chapter VI) Pakistan’s involvement in aiding tribal invaders. Pakistan denied, however, having ever supported the tribal invaders. Several resolutions were passed by the UN during its 17-year-old active involvement in the conflict. But neither India nor Pakistan agreed to them. <br />The recent Kashmir conflict (1989), however, is not the same. It’s one of the most dangerous conflicts of the world having now killed over 70,000 people in Kashmir. The U.N mediation to resolve the Kashmir conflict is a necessity for the best interests of people in Kashmir, India, and Pakistan. Here’s why! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Background: Kashmir Conflict</span><br />The Kashmir conflict is principally a regional conflict dating back to 1947 when two states of Hindustan---India and Pakistan-- were divided into two countries. Before 1947, Hindustan was ruled by Great Britain and Kashmir was one among 584 princely states not directly ruled by British Empire. Following Independence, the Hindu leader of the Muslim-majority Kashmir Hari Singh opted to accede to India as armed invaders from Pakistan were advancing on the Kashmir capital, Srinagar. According to the accession agreement, autonomy was promised to the people of Kashmir upon defeating the Pakistani invaders, autonomy to decide their future course of action i.e. whether to be part of India or Pakistan. This right to self-determination, has, however, always been bypassed by the Indian government. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since 1947. The two countries negotiated a Line of Control in 1971 dividing Indian and Pakistani Kashmir, but that border has always been restive.<br />The recent conflict--- a secessionist movement--- in Kashmir began in 1989 and has now killed over 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims, mostly civilians. The main demand of people in Kashmir is sovereignty and freedom (azadi) from India. This new wave of violence turned religious when minority Kashmiri Hindus left Kashmir in 1990. Kashmiri militants claim that Kashmiri Hindus left the state because it was the conspiracy of the Indian government so that it could without a hitch kill all Kashmiri Muslims in Kashmir. Kashmiri Hindus, on the other hand, claim that Kashmiri militants killed many of them, and they threatened them to try to move them out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Similar Conflicts</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995)</span> was an ethnic conflict over the partition of Bosnia. Ethnic Muslim Croats and Bosnians wanted to secede from Yugoslavia. But most of the Serbs opposed this desire for independence. The war claimed around 100,000-110,000 lives.<br />In 1992, the UN mediated the conflict and established the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to facilitate peacemaking in the region. To extend its mandate, it passed many resolutions over time such as more UN military involvement and allowing NATO air strikes against insurgent Bosnian Serbs. In October 1995, all parties agreed to a ceasefire that resulted in Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) in December, 1995.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Iran-Iraq (1980-1988)</span> war lasted eight years over several border disputes, the most important being the Shatt al-Arab, the major waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Iranian ports of Khorramshahr and Abadan, and the Iraqi port of Basra. The war killed about one million people.<br />The eight-year old war between Iraqi Arabs and Iranian Persians came to an end in the summer of 1988 after UN resolution 598 was accepted by both the countries. According to the resolution, the UN supervised ceasefire was established and UN Iran-Iraq Observer Group (UNIMOG) created by the security General monitored the ceasefire. The resolution also included prisoner exchanges and pulling out of forces to internationally recognized boundaries. <br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"> Appropriateness of UN mediation in Kashmir conflict</span><br /> The Kashmir conflict has essentially much in common with Iran-Iraq and Bosnian conflicts in regional and religious contexts, and it calls for the UN’s involvement in effectively resolving the issue. The continued UN involvement after 1965 would have prevented 1989 freedom movement in Kashmir. Now the unmarked graves issue may have repercussions for another bloodier war in Kashmir especially after the commission report confirmed the burial of 574 civilians in those graves. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weaknesses and Strengths of UN Mediation</span><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">Weaknesses:</span> The UN mediation is arbitrary. Decisions are based on agreement of conflicting parties. In other words, the problem of mediation is to get the conflicting parties to agree. In Kashmir, the UN resolution 47 on April 21, 1948 called for holding a UN-supervised plebiscite in the Valley among other things, but both India and Pakistan rejected it. India feared that Kashmiris might vote for Pakistan because of their same religious identity. Pakistan refused the resolution for fears that referendum might be rigged because the Prime Minister of then still autonomous Jammu & Kashmir-- Sheikh Abdullah was an Indian ally.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> Strengths: </span>Arbitration insures a less formal setting to the mediation process. Unlike legal process, mediation compels the conflicting parties to change and see the common ground that can resolve the conflict. The UN is the most powerful international organization with 192 member countries from across the world. It can extend its mandate by passing several resolutions. For example in Bosnia & Herzegovina war, the UN passed several resolutions to extend its mandate that enabled UNPROFOR (United Nations Protection Force---to take control of Sarajevo airport in 1992 for humanitarian relief following fighting between Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs over Bosnia’s referendum a month before. <br />The UN can also seek help from its member states, if necessary, to bring an end to the conflict. For example in 1995, UK and France—the two member states of the UN---supported NATO operations after the Sarajevo Markale market massacre and arrest of UNPROFOR forces by Bosnian Serbs.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weaknesses and Strengths of war</span><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">Weaknesses: </span>War results in the deaths of thousands of innocent people as well as widespread destruction of material and financial resources. Iran-Iraq war claimed lives of some five-hundred thousand to one million people and the financial cost was estimated at a minimum of $200 billion. <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Strengths: </span>War brings an end to the vexed conflict. People are willing to give in on ideological stances in order for the violence to stop because losses incurred in war are huge. In other words, war has the ability to bring about conclusion to the conflict because of casualties and costs. The winning country controls everything. There may be little negotiation. . <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weaknesses and Strengths of international law</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Weaknesses:</span> If a country is strong enough that it doesn’t care about the international law, then it doesn’t abide by the law. Example: When the US invaded Iraq the second time, it was against the UN mandate but the country could get away with it because of its superpower status.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Strengths:</span> International law constricts countries (member states) in organizations such as the UN to abide by this law. This gives leverage to the UN because belligerents can be tried in the international criminal court. (ICC). Example: In Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, the UN passed resolution 827 in May 1993 to create International Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to prosecute people responsible for serious violations of international Humanitarian law .<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weaknesses and Strengths of avoidance</span><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">Weaknesses: </span>Avoidance is simply not addressing the problem as if it doesn’t exist. In some cases, the conflict may resolve itself with time or otherwise it may become a major problem. In case of Kashmir, avoidance is ignoring the reality of unmarked graves, human rights violations and thousands of people being killed.<br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">Strengths:</span> If conditions aren’t too violent or too extreme, time and changes in politics or world economy will resolve the problem peacefully without mediation, revolution, or military conflict. Any time a conflict is and will likely to continue to be violence-free, avoidance of violence might be one of the best solutions.<br /><br />The Kashmir conflict is obviously too violent for the avoidance strategy. It is a major regional and religious conflict that has plagued not only people in Kashmir but also the two nuclear nations of India and Pakistan. India may be looking at the Kashmir conflict through the “strength of war” lens and assuming that Kashmiri people will eventually grow tired and give up violence. Pakistan, on the other hand, may be looking at the Kashmir conflict in the context of India’s weakness and hoping that its rival nation would finally leave Kashmir in favor of preserving its good reputation in the world as one of the fastest growing economies globally. But these assumptions are not valid and the continued large-scale violence in Kashmir proves it. The only resolution strategy for the Kashmir conflict is to develop an agreement that is mutually beneficial and will provide long lasting benefits to the people of Kashmir and India and Pakistan. This agreement should also help strengthen the ability of Kashmir as well as India and Pakistan to work together in the future. UN mediation is appropriate for the Kashmir conflict because neutrality is crucial to the UN’s record in peacemaking and peacekeeping and its final decisions are future-oriented and based on objective criteria. The UN recently expanded its peacemaking operations in regional conflicts. These services include provision of mediation services, good offices, and other forms of intermediary assistance; provision of fact-finding and observation commissions and the provision of humanitarian aid and assistance. India and Pakistan have not been able to resolve the Kashmir conflict since 1989. More importantly the conflict transformation since 1989 and its effects on the people of Kashmir and India and Pakistan—the two major nuclear powers--- threaten the security of the whole world. In other words, this conflict makes it a world security problem--- not just Kashmir and India-Pakistan conflict--- and therefore makes it a prime candidate for UN mediation. UN mediation will enable the conflicting parties to work toward a sustainable agreement and bring about positive change in Kashmir as well as India-Pakistan and the rest of the world.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-11712455564532376062012-01-06T23:10:00.000-08:002012-01-06T23:10:43.261-08:00Various cultures welcome 2012 in United States<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/news/story-418322.html#.TwfvlozxcO8.blogger">Various cultures welcome 2012 in United States</a><br /><br />By Huma Sheikh<br />Published: Friday, January 6th, 2012<br /><br />New Year celebrations unite cultures as every culture celebrates the beginning of a new year. But what’s even more interesting are the different ways the New Year is celebrated in various cultures.<br /><br />In Venezuela, people set afire effigies made with explosives and gun powder on New Year’s eve. These figures symbolize failures, sorrows and anger of the old year and by burning them, people hope to enter the New Year which is full of happiness, joy and peace. “We call it ‘Muneaco De Ano Viejo’ and people are more passionate to practice this tradition because it gives us a new hope of cheerfulness for the New Year,” said Andreina Gomez from Venezuela.<br /><br />“People in each neighborhood would burn the doll on New Year’s eve which gives them a sense of relief. They would then do fireworks, have drinks, sing and dance to celebrate the New Year.”<br /><br />Gomez says family reunion is very significant part of the New Year in Venezuela. “We celebrate New Year’s eve with family and not with friends. New Year celebrations are very family-oriented.”<br /><br />“December is a month of celebration. It offers great opportunities for families to get together; for family members who haven’t seen each other in a very long time, “ says Alfred Maingi from Kenya. Jamhuri – Kenya Republic Day – is celebrated on Dec. 12. It’s a national holiday in Kenya and patriotic songs are played the whole day on radio and television. Also on this day, articles about Jamhuri are published in newspapers. Then comes Christmas on Dec. 25, which is a very big celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ Finally we have the New Year. On New Year’s Eve, people like Christmas, attend the midnight mass till six in the morning to seek God’s graces for the New Year. For those who missed the midnight mass, they can attend daytime mass on January 1.”<br /><br />“In Kenya like the European system that allows for four weeks of paid vocation per year, people get 30 days of paid holidays each financial year. Most employees in Kenya take a month-long vacation in December because of the three big holidays – Jamhuri, Christmas and New Year – of the month,” says Maingi.<br /><br />Arman, a Bangladeshi student at USD, said Bangladesh is a Muslim country. There’s no obligatory or special prayer for New Year. But on New Year’s eve, we do ‘nafl salah’ (optional prayer) to thank Allah for His gracefulness and to seek His forgiveness for the mistakes we made in the previous year. We also seek Allah’s blessings for our good life in the New Year. People would then gather outside their houses to do fireworks.”<br /><br />“Special TV and radio shows are broadcast on New Year’s eve that run till midnight. These programs cover highlights of all important political, social, as well as entertainment and sports events of the old year. Talk shows are also broadcast on New Year’s eve featuring major events of the previous year and discussing ways on what needs to be done in the New Year. Various cultural shows are also organized across the country.”Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-79534127005364781162011-12-24T10:34:00.000-08:002011-12-24T10:34:30.039-08:00Customs may differ but Christmas remains a global celebration<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/news/story-415796.html#.TvYayQXOJyw.blogger">Customs may differ but Christmas remains a global celebration</a><br /><br />By Huma Sheikh<br />Published: Friday, December 23rd, 2011<br /><br />For Moses Ikiugu, who is a professor in the department of occupational therapy at the University of South Dakota, Christmas is a celebration that rekindles memories of his country Kenya – elaborate mass at church on Christmas Eve, a huge extended family get- together, and a wide variety of foods. “The midnight mass ends around six in the morning. The Creshe is quite Africanized also; a thatched house built around the manger.<br /><br />“We have a special goat for Christmas. This goat is domesticated for about a year before it’s killed on Christmas Eve for a big traditional meal for Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with our extended families – aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents besides parents and siblings Because this is a massive get-together, the main dish of goat meat goes along with other foods like chicken, beef, potatoes, vegetables, chapattis (flat bread) and rice.” New clothes are worn for Christmas. People go to church in coat suits and wear new shoes. Everything that you are wearing has to be new. Parents buy clothes for their children to wear on Christmas.”<br /><br />Christmas is, says Wycklyffe Mogondo, also from Kenya, “a very religious festival for us. We celebrate Christmas with fervor and devotion. The ‘Way of the Cross’ is the custom in my part of the country in Matunda that prepares us for Christmas. The priest, a few days before Christmas, would choose a spot some miles from the church and people and members of the church would gather there. The priest would then carry the cross and walk to the church with others following him in a procession. This follows the rosary broken into different parts for worship at the church.”<br /><br />Roberto Gomez from Venezuela says Christmas is much louder in his country. “We celebrate Christmas in extended families and do a lot of partying, fireworks, and eating. The traditional Christmas food menu is extensive – bread stuffed Turkey, ‘Empanadas’ –corn meal meat pie (the pie has a half-circle shape, and it’s usually stuffed with ground beef), Ham, ‘Hallacas’ – meat wrapped in corn dough and steamed in a banana leaf, and sweet rice made with cloves, cinnamon, and Nutmeg.”<br /><br />But good food doesn’t come easy. “We have ‘Novena’ – nine days of worship – that culminates into Christmas. We pray together for nine successive days to thank God for the special graces and to obtain God’s special favor.”<br /><br />For Amimul Ehsan, a Bangladeshi student at USD, Christmas reminds him of Bengali New year (Pohela Boishaka) celebrated on April 14. “We do a lot of fireworks and make traditional food such as ‘Panta Ilish’ – Hilsha fish with rice. Cooked rice is soaked in water overnight and then eaten with Hilshaw fish the following day. On this day, people wear clothes of red and green which represent the colors of the Bangladesh flag.<br /><br />Another USD student, Tridib from India, says Christmas evokes ‘Diwali’ feelings for him – ‘Deepavali’ or ‘Diwali’ is the festival of lights and is one of the most important Hindu religious festivals. “We celebrate ‘Deepavali’ in families and decorate our homes with ‘diyas’ – small clay lamps. ‘Diyas’ are placed in varied shapes inside the house, and they are usually in rows outside the house. Sweets are also shared with friends and families on Diwali.”Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-42707151762230625102011-12-11T19:26:00.000-08:002011-12-11T19:26:08.669-08:00YALC changes lives of illiterate adults<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/news/story-411788.html#.TuV0GgXxgLY.blogger">YALC changes lives of illiterate adults</a><br /><br />Higher level grade requirements discourage adults to be part of literacy programs but at the Yankton Area Literacy Council (YALC), adults who cannot read beyond a third-grade level are welcome.<br /><br />“Yankton adults don’t need a driver’s license to get in the program,” said Ms. Bev Calvert, YALC program coordinator. “We understand they can’t get a driver’s license without reading and writing skills.”<br /><br />This is one of the major successes of YALC. Ninety three percent of adults in Yankton County are trained in reading, writing and speaking English as a second language. In Clay County, 6 percent of adult learners are American while in Bon Homme, the percentage of Americans stands at eight. All other adults are ESL learners. In a 2003 assessment, more than 550 Clay County adults lacked basic literacy skills.<br /><br />Students work individually with a tutor for a minimum of two hours per week. None of the students are charged. Tutors are volunteers. Students and tutors set up times and locations to meet at the Yankton office. <br /><br />“Students start at a lower level and do assignments. Their progress is assessed for about a half-hour by their tutors each time they meet,” said Calvert. “We have been blessed in Yankton. We have some wonderful teachers in Yankton.” <br /><br />YALC is planning on coming to Vermillion. <br /><br />“We are trying to set up for readings in Vermillion if we find a small location and funding will be best to go along with it. We buy books for students and each book costs about $25-30,” she said.<br /><br />Community programs are held in malls and libraries to encourage kids to read so that they force their parents to read.<br /><br />YALC also holds literacy programs in Yankton County and surrounding areas to inform people about their literacy activities. In September, a week-long ‘Adult Education and Family Literacy Week’ was held in Yankton to remind people that YALC helps students of any educational background to improve their literacy throughout the year. The second annual “Scrabble Tournament Spellebrate for a Good Cause” Scrabble tournament is set for Jan. 29, 2012, to raise funds for and awareness about the program.<br /><br />Brochures are also issued to get the message out about the YALC. People who wish to volunteer or know someone in need of literacy services complete the form at the end of the brochure and send it back to the YALC. The brochures are available at the Yankton library and YALC office.<br /><br />YALC is a volunteer-based organized founded in 1987. It organizes literacy programs in Yankton, Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Clay counties. Its work is funded by United Way and Volunteer Services of Greater Yankton and by community fundraisers.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-73645691055091629422011-09-30T11:38:00.000-07:002011-09-30T11:38:52.044-07:00Vermillion Plaintalk - Jolley, Austin become PBIS schools<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-274659.html#.ToYMXTN2K4I.blogger">Vermillion Plaintalk - Jolley, Austin become PBIS schools</a><br /><br />Huma Sheikh<br /><br />Vermillion’s two public elementary schools – Jolley Elementary and Austin Elementary – have become Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) pilot schools as they implement the behavior management program to teach kids what behavior is expected for each student in each possible school setting.<br /><br />At Jolley School, students on the first day of school last month went through Expectation Stations which briefed about school wide expectations. These expectations were a list of broad, positively stated behaviors that were desired of all students and faculty.<br /><br />“We had, for example, each grade come to the lunch area to have the students watch our teachers go through the lunch line while discussing the expected behaviors and the proper procedures for going through the lunch line. We had the students attend stations for the lunch room, the playground, in the hallways, in the bathrooms and while in lines for morning and recess time,” said Principal Mark Upward.<br /><br />“PBIS is a positive behavior management system to create a safer and more effective school. This system provides clear school wide expectations for our students and teachers so we can all work as a team for a common goal which is to have less behavioral issues and more learning time, “said Cindy Weis, who is the program coach at Jolley.<br /><br />Austin Elementary School Principal, Kim Johnson said the school staff participated in professional development for positive behavior interventions three years ago. They had organized a School Climate Committee and studied the basis PBIS framework. The committee began developing a school discipline plan based on that framework. <br /><br />“Becoming a pilot PBIS school through the Department of Education was a perfect extension of our philosophy, but also incorporated training, support and accountability,” she said.<br /><br />Both at Austin and Jolley, the entire teaching staff had been involved in implementing the program to assure that the skills necessary to meet the PBIS expectations were worked on and evaluated frequently.<br /><br />“Our PBIS team attended two workshops over the summer to train on the PBIS system. After the workshop, we trained the rest of the staff on PBIS. PBIS is a school wide system so every staff member, from the school lunch aides to the Principal, are involved in implementing this program,” said Upward.<br /><br />At Austin, the PBIS Team had gone through the training and then devoted their back-to-school in-service to training the entire teaching staff. <br /><br />“We also held a 'Welcome-Back-to-School Brunch' for our support staff (educational aides, playground and lunch supervisors) to show appreciation for their important role as well as build consistency and support for the PBIS philosophy,” said Johnson.<br /><br />The schools also assess students’ progress toward reaching the behavior expectations in a number of ways. At Austin, progress is measured through data (i.e. office referrals) as well as through classroom and school-wide feedback of student behavior. The progress of students at Jolley is assessed daily and weekly by counting the number of students who get a Tanager Buck in each classroom.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-31037846707989326612011-09-30T11:36:00.000-07:002011-09-30T11:36:48.753-07:00Vermillion Plaintalk - Jolley, Austin become PBIS schools<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-274659.html#.ToYMLR5PQLo.blogger">Vermillion Plaintalk - Jolley, Austin become PBIS schools</a>Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-38765170031474445662011-09-16T21:46:00.001-07:002011-09-16T21:46:48.458-07:00http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/resources/education/aplp_pdfs/newsletter09s.pdfHuma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-11543574696242255252011-09-16T21:45:00.001-07:002011-09-16T21:45:39.813-07:00http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2009/April/10%20n/US%20recession%20to%20end%20in%20second%20half%20of%202009.htmHuma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-6623037437201511162011-09-16T21:32:00.000-07:002011-09-16T21:32:37.413-07:00Story of a Successful Internship: EWCA Beijing Chapter Head hosts APLP Fellow at Xinhua News Agency<a href="http://forum.eastwestcenter.org/alumni/2009/09/28/story-of-a-successful-internship-ewca-beijing-chapter-head-hosts-aplp-fellow-at-xinhua-news-agency/#.TnQi1Tia75A.blogger">Story of a Successful Internship: EWCA Beijing Chapter Head hosts APLP Fellow at Xinhua News Agency</a>Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-80521552873185801832011-09-14T11:19:00.000-07:002011-09-14T11:20:49.972-07:00Kids get cardio workout at skipping rope eventWhen kids were jumping ropes to Kriss Kross’s “Jump” song at a jump rope event Friday afternoon at the Clay County Fair, they weren’t just doing it for fun. They were getting a good cardio work out. <br /><br /><br />The “Join in Jump Rope” event was sponsored by Sanford Health and was part of the Clay County Fair that began Wednesday and ended Saturday. “The kids who took part in the event had a great time. They learned that jumping rope does get your heart pumping,” said Mary C. Merrigan, director of public relations, Sanford Vermillion.<br /><br />“The jump song was also longer than most kids are probably used to jumping rope, giving them a good cardio work out,” she said.<br /><br /> Sixty-six jumpers ages 3–14 participated in the event, setting a new Clay County record for kids jumping rope at the same time. Last year, which was also the first year for “Join in Jump Rope,” the event had set a record with 38 jumpers ages 7-17. The participants each received a free jump rope from Sanford. <br /><br />“We had 66 kids who jumped rope on Friday afternoon from different age groups. They all wanted to have some fun exercise and break last year’s record jumping at once,” said Carol Lavin, the organizer of the event.<br /><br />“Exercise is important for kids and doing it together in a large group can be even more fun! My son and daughter participated and they brought friends to join in. Kids who participated also got to keep their jump ropes, hoping they would continue the healthy exercise at home as well. ” said Carol, who is also a Sanford Wellness Nurse.<br /><br />In the past, Sanford provided health screenings or set up an information booth at the fair. In 2010, they organized the first “Join in Jump Rope” event at the fair to involve youth in skipping sport whose health benefits include improved cardio fitness, muscle strength and flexibility.<br /><br />Carol’s daughter, Maddie Lavin, 11, who participated in the event, said she had fun jumping rope.”I really didn’t realize how much time I spent skipping rope because I was really enjoying it,” she said. ”Jumping rope gets you up and going and it’s good for your health.”Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-90919704338079076782011-09-14T11:18:00.000-07:002011-09-14T11:18:50.059-07:00Vermillion Plaintalk - Kids get cardio workout at skipping rope event<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-260915.html#.TnDwAPWFTME.blogger">Vermillion Plaintalk - Kids get cardio workout at skipping rope event</a>Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-36118468436757456792011-08-05T11:10:00.000-07:002011-08-05T11:10:32.170-07:00Vermillion Plaintalk - Turnout is strong at July 20 blood drive<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-258617.html#.Tjwx1YXnQdw.blogger">Vermillion Plaintalk - Turnout is strong at July 20 blood drive</a><br /><br />Extreme heat didn’t deter 53 people from donating the gift of life.<br /><br />The third annual All American Community Blood Drive was held July 20 at Sanford Vermillion Medical Center. The drive was a joint donor program by Sanford Vermillion Center and Community Blood Bank.<br /><br />Each pint of blood donated that day has the potential to save three lives, meaning that July 20's drive could possibly have a positive impact on as many as 159 individuals, said Ken Versteeg, executive director, Community Blood Bank. “This was the third annual event at the Sanford Hospital and each year it gets better.”<br /><br /><br />A patient needing 180 units of blood over the July 4th weekend placed a heavy burden on the blood supply. “Besides, some additional traumas coming to our emergency rooms also challenged the blood supply that put blood usage up by nearly 20 percent,” said Versteeg. This drive was crucial to keeping the blood supply at an adequate level.<br /><br />In addition to this, community drives are extremely important throughout the summer months when attendance is much lower at colleges and schools. During the fall and winter, “we have blood donation drives going on at the colleges and schools,” said Versteeg.<br /><br />Sixty-three people attempted to donate blood but only 53 were able to donate. Others were excluded from donating because they were either running a temperature or had travelled out of the country earlier in the year.<br /><br />Community Blood Bank serves 29 hospitals in South Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. It has donor rooms in two Sioux Falls hospitals where people donate blood Monday through Friday. Besides, Community Blood Bank drives also take place at the WalMart and Jones' Food Center. <br /><br />Joan Reed, a donor from Sanford Vermillion Medical Center, said, “I have been donating for several years now and continue to do so because it gives me a sense of pride to know I am helping someone or impacting someone else’s life by doing so. <br /><br />“Growing up my dad gave gallons of blood and was always on call with the blood bank because he had one of the rarer types of blood. Dad always told us they didn’t want to waste his blood and so they would call him and have him donate only when they were in need of his type. It was not uncommon that he would get a call and a short time later, he would be on the road to deliver,” she said. “Finding out that I also have one of the rarer types of blood and being told at one point they didn’t want me to do a 'double red' because they wanted my blood to send over to Afghanistan further inspired me to keep on giving. I have to admit, the first time giving I was a little nervous, but once I did it and realized how easy the process is, I donate as often as possible now.”<br /><br />Nancy Ellison, laboratory manager, Sanford Vermillion, said, “We are always happy to work with the Community Blood Bank to promote blood drives hosted in Vermillion. On average, we use two to four units of blood products each week in Vermillion. Community Blood Bank is the sole supplier of blood products to Sanford Medical Center Vermillion.”<br /><br />Mary C. Merrigan, director of public relations, Sanford Vermillion, said, “We want to thank all the community members who came out for the blood drive. We were especially pleased to have such a great turn out on a day of such extreme heat.”Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-26597257569464923132011-08-04T10:27:00.000-07:002011-08-04T10:27:56.481-07:00Vermillion Plaintalk - Kids receive hands-on experiences at science camp<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-255768.html#.TjrWYjGaBLw.blogger">Vermillion Plaintalk - Kids receive hands-on experiences at science camp</a><br />Like previous years, the 10th Lawrence Brothers Science Camp this year became a place for kids to do hands-on science.<br /><br /><br />Thirty middle school kids entering seventh, eighth and ninth grades participated in the 10th Lawrence Brothers Science Camp held at the University of South Dakota. The week-long camp started Sunday, July 10 and ended Friday, July 15, and was focused on the theme “Light and Vision.” Students got hands-on experience in a variety of activities like building a robot and programming it to seek out a light source and doing experiments with ultraviolet beads, investigating bird’s eyes and watching birds, and studying the effects of polarizing light. <br /><br />“The purpose of the camp is to engage kids in fun science activities. The camp stimulates interest in science for kids by giving them opportunities to experiment with science. The camp also gives them a chance to see what the college is like,” said Sally Stoll, camp coordinator and Vermillion seventh grade science teacher. <br /><br />Fifteen male students and 15 female students participated in the camp. The students came from 18 different schools from Chicago, IL, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. <br /><br />“The camp has grown, and kids are coming from all over the place. We offer scholarships and each year we have a lot of students coming for free,” said Stoll. The camp is supported by a grant from Battelle to the University of South Dakota Foundation for $15,000 each for five years. That five year period ends in 2011. Other sources of funding for future years are being sought. <br /><br />In addition to Stoll, six undergraduate honors students acted as counselors for the camp. They were Kevin Cwach, Renita Goetz, Ashley Lynch, Steffani Donahoe, Tyler Bloch and Nahuel Telleria. SD BRIN Information Specialist Mark Maxon was in charge of photography and taught kids how cameras work.<br /><br />Kevin Cwach, 22, who has been the camp counselor for four years, said “I am here to spread my science knowledge and share it with the children. That’s the reason I keep coming back every year. It’s a lot of fun.” <br /><br />Dr Barb Goodman, director and principal investigator of SD BRIN/INBRE said, “The camp is in honor of E.O and John Lawrence, USD alums, who contributed to science by winning a Nobel Prize in Physics (E.O.) and being the “Father of Nuclear-Medicine (John).”<br /><br />Kiana Cabrera, 12, from Jane Adams (Joliet, IL) school said, “I never used to like science. But it’s really fun. I really liked building robots. We also learned why older people lose their vision. Before coming to the camp, I couldn’t have imagined that the older people lose their vision because their eyeballs get stiffer. I also liked going to the Wellness Center.”<br /><br />Hannah Doohen, 14, who was at the camp for the third time this year said, “It’s my last year. It is fun and I hope that USD does it again next year for more kids because it’s a really good opportunity and a great learning experience.”<br /><br />Seventh grader Jack Padmore, 12, from East Middle School, Sioux City, IA, said, “It’s great to have kids know about science. The camp also gives us an opportunity to meet new people. Some students have roommates and its fun being around them and learn from one another.”<br /><br />Another East Middle School student from Sioux City, Liam Parry, 11 said, “All the instructions help us learn about science. It’s fun. We also went to movies and the Wellness Center.”<br /><br />The kids were housed in the residence halls at the USD and were provided daily meals.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-17184726155494099882011-07-19T10:11:00.000-07:002011-07-19T10:15:00.723-07:00It Was Not Just Any Other Loss. But It Reminded Me Of You Dad<strong>Your subconscious foretells tragedy! Dad’s last song “Kam yaar sapidt Khaab, wadan aase kune zoun” and Sajid Iqbal’s last post on Facebook “Daayaem aabaad raheygee duniyaa...hum na hongey koi humsa hoga” say so. </strong><br />It was not just any other loss but a loss caused by tragedy. And it reminded me of you dad. It renewed the pain that took years to heal. It tore apart my heart and would have destroyed me if no changes had happened over the years to cure my wounds. I cried out loud, hoping to get some relief, but the pain got much worse as memories of the past played out. <br />Sajid Iqbal’s—a promising lawyer and senior IAS officer Iqbal Khanday’s son, death in a road accident gave me the pain I felt on your death dad. Both you and Sajid left home happy and never came back. Both were victims of tragedy. Sajid died at the young age of 27 when he was returning home from a wedding. Prominent Kashmiri Ghazal singer and Radio Kashmir senior Program Executive Ghulam Nabi Sheikh was murdered when he was travelling on a train to Delhi on the night of July 13-14, 2003. <br />Should we even count you as dead dad since we never saw your dead body?<br />I had never met Sajid, never spoken to him and never befriended him on Facebook. I wouldn’t ever have imagined that the tragedy of his loss would make this connection. It took me back to those painful memories, particularly when we heard about dad’s murder. It was word of mouth by Punjab police, and a picture of his blood-covered body. In the picture his face was severed and he was barely identifiable. We never were given his body which the Punjab Police claimed had in only a few hours been cremated. <br />Time is the great healer! All these years brought about changes that helped divert my and the family’s attention from those dreadful memories. The changes were mesmerizing for every passing moment took us farther away from painful memories. But Sajid’s tragedy drew us back to those memories because agony causes instantaneous change. Change to overcome trauma on the contrary happens over the years.<br />I was curious to see Sajid’s last post on Facebook. I had a reason! Two days before dad’s murder, he sang a song that spoke of pain, death and sorrows: “Kam yaar sapidt Khaab, wadan aase kune zoun.” I wondered if Sajid was feeling the same or had some death related vision before the tragedy happened. I could access Sajid’s Facebook wall page because no privacy settings let me see it. Scrolling down many tributes that had poured in from his friends only a few hours after the tragedy, I finally found his last wall post: “Daayaem aabaad raheygee duniyaa...hum na hongey koi humsa hoga.” (The world would continue to prosper. If I am not there someone else like me will be there).<br />I was right. Sajid’s last wall post, just like dad’s last song, spoke of death. Even when our conscious mind is unaware, our subconscious does foretell tragedy.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-65451983633173418942011-06-22T08:20:00.000-07:002011-06-22T08:20:28.810-07:00Vermillion Plaintalk - Local citizens pitch in to help battle flood<a href="http://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-249117.html">Vermillion Plaintalk - Local citizens pitch in to help battle flood</a>Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330190826809829120.post-60874378242050403092011-06-21T14:09:00.000-07:002011-06-21T14:10:37.215-07:00Local citizens pitch in to help battle floodhttp://www.plaintalk.net/cms/news/story-249117.html<br />By Huma Sheikh <br />Published: Friday, June 17th, 2011<br />On June 2, people from Vermillion pitched in and filled sandbags to help people in battle flooding in Dakota Dunes and Yankton. The large group of volunteers included people involved with the Clay County 4-H Youth Organization, University of South Dakota employees, and other residents of Vermillion that gathered in an empty lot near the Clay County Courthouse.<br /><br />Julie Fallan, senior secretary at USD’s dental hygiene department, who was representing the Clay County 4-H Youth Organization, was unhappy that it came down to this. <br /><br />“If thought was put to what was happening months ago, we would not have come down to this,’’ she said. She was concerned about the people whose houses were affected. <br /><br />“I and my family are not affected by flooding. But it’s the people whose houses are affected that we are worried about,” Fallan said.<br /><br />Tom Sorensen, assistant dean at the USD School of Law, said many people from the Vermillion community are helping flood victims.<br /><br />“These sandbags are 40 pounds each. It takes about 1,000 pounds to load a half-ton pick-up truck. We are also grateful to USD President James W. Abbott for allowing the use of university equipment,” said Sorensen. <br /><br />Hundreds of USD employees and students have come together so far to help with flood control efforts. The university is allowing its employees to volunteer up to four hours per shift to help with sandbagging and other tasks with no loss of pay or leave.<br /><br />Todd Mechling, CMJ Faculty at the USD, said, “I did something … I did what I could do. I brought my son. When all these things happen, you have got to help.” <br /><br />He also said he would appreciate people coming to help from all walks of life. “There is some silver lining when a disaster happens. People are here to help,” he said.Huma Sheikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01350537376070144536noreply@blogger.com0