Walk for Cancer

The Ministry of Health + National Association for Cancer Awareness + Salalah Nursing Institue have joined forces and are organizing a 'cancer walk' this Wednesday in Salalah. The event will be hosted by Sheikh Salim Aufit Al Shanfari (Dhofar Municipality). The purpose of this event is to (a) encourage people to walk and stay healthy (b) to spread awareness about cancer. In Dhofar cancer is still a pretty taboo subject and there are many people who can't even say the word.

Please come if you can. It's for a good cause. I'm sure every single one of you knows someone who has had cancer or is currently struggling.

Event Date: Wednesday March 14, 2012

Time: Gathering at 3:30. Walk starts at 4:30

Location: Airport parking lot is the starting point. The group will walk to Al Nahdha clock tower and back to the airport again (about 2.6 km).

See you there! (PS No registration required)

Ministry of Health: FAIL.

I've been off blog-duty for a little longer than expected. First it was weddings and funerals, then work became crazy, then I caught the flu.... but I'm back again thanks to Mimi who had my blood boiling this morning with her latest post on her sister's baby who was circumcized yesterday... at home. A little girl. A beautiful innocent little girl.

This topic has been discussed a lot in the Omani blogosphere, mostly by female bloggers here, here, and by former fellow blogger Reality in Oman who should re-open her site and start blogging again (hint!), but it isn't getting nearly enough attention. Muscat Daily & The Week have also made an effort to bring it out into the open, but that's about it.

Call it what you want ... female genital mutilation/female genital cutting/female circumcision..... It's a violation of human rights. It's shameful. It's ignorant. It is a CRIME. And yes, it is still widely practiced in Dhofar. BRUTAL genital mutilation. Whoever tells you otherwise is lying. They'll tell you 'it's only a small cut' to 'clean' the area. Who are you kidding?!

What disgusts me even more is that is it performed by women for women. Many men seem to think the practice no longer exists. The old woman in the hospital who charges 5, 10 , 15 OMR to chop up your baby's genitals has been there for years and the hospital KNOW about her. But are they doing anything about it? NO.

You know why everyone still does it? Because they don't know any better. No one talks about it, and the Ministry of Health isnt' doing ANYTHING to spread awareness. Most women think they're doing a good deed,... they really believe it's Islamic and that it 'purifies' the child. Whose responsiblity is it to educate them? Oman's Ministry of Health.

The ministry's 'Five-Year Health Plan: 2006-2010' announced that one of the ministry's strategies to promote women and children's health was to study the prevalence of FGM in Oman and design programs for community awareness. Did anything happen? As far as Dhofar is concerned, NO, even though the situation here is much worse than other parts of Oman. You can read the glorious five-year plan here. Scroll down to pages 8 & 9. A load of BS. The 2011-2015 plan isn't on their website yet, so goodness' knows whether genital mutilation is part of the current agenda or not.

Dear Ministry of Health. PLEASE pay attention:

1. Put up posters in all the maternity wards in this country explaning the dangers of female genital mutilation (FGM)

2. Spread awareness through the Women's Associations in Oman

3. Get a doctor or a nurse to speak to every single woman who gives birth to a baby girl right there in the hospital.

4. Find the evil old ladies who hang around the maternity wards.

5. Spread awareness in school & universities.

For heaven's sake .. DO SOMETHING.

Yours Truly,

Nadia (Dhofar Feminist Movement)

Tuesday Clippings

(photo taken in Taqah Castle)

Good Morning Everyone! Only one more day until we hit a much-needed weekend. Going back to work after Eid Al Adha holidays was ... blah. Here are some bits and pieces from this week:

1. I did not write a Eid Al Adha post because this Eid was truly uneventful. Men went to prayers, animals were slaughtered, meat was distributed, several family visits took place, and the pilgrims came back from Mecca. That's about it. I think because Eid Al Fitr was only eight weeks ago, the atmosphere wasn't too exciting. The Eid that follows Ramadhan is big because we really feel we earned it ... and unlike other parts of Oman, Dhofaris don't have specific Eid Al Adha traditions like Shuwa although sometimes I wish we did :)

2. MORE HOLIDAYS! Since National Day is November 18th and the Islamic New Year is on November 26th, rumor has it that both holidays will be merged into one long weekend at the end of November. Makes sense since His Majesty can postpone National Day holidays, but he can't change an Islamic holiday. So, Dhofari Gucci is predicting a holiday from the 23rd to the 27th. If that's the case, I might catch a plane to Muscat and do some much-needed therapy shopping.

3. I know I'm late and other bloggers such as Andy have blogged about it, but can I mention how stoked (happy) I am about Muscat being voted 2nd best city to visit in 2012 by Lonely Planet? Makes me so proud of Oman. I think the Royal Opera House just took tourism in Oman to a whole new level.

4. Speaking of tourism, I'm not a huge fan of medical tourism since I prefer to be treated at home, but apparently there's a huge market. (if you have at least 10 relatives who've been to Thailand for treatment and tourism raise your hand!) I blogged about this before, but it keeps popping up in the news everyday, so I'm just reminding you that Salalah is going to host a HUGE medical complex worth ONE BILLION dollars (Saudi investors). The project - covering 800,000 sq m- will include a 530 bed hospital as well as a regional organ trasnplant and rehabilitation centre. The thought of having an organ transplant centre here in Salalah totally creeps me out, but that's just me. I'm just wondering what kind of people this project will attract .... (to read more, here's an article from Arabian Business) .... any idea where the project is being built?

5. Yesterday, three French aid workers were freed from Yemen after being 'lost' for several months. The official Oman News Agency kept sending messages out saying they were 'lost' in Yemen (in Arabic مفقودين) ... so I googled it and as it turns out, they were held hostage by Al Qaeda militants. Why couldn't ONA just say that? And is the Sultan going to continue rescuring hostage westerners on a regular basis? I wonder how much these three cost. The three American hikers whom he freed recently from Iran cost us $1.5 million. So, yeah, Sarkozy called last night to thank him. Dear Western hikers/aidworkers/volunteers ... please stay away from dangerous Middle Eastern countries.

6. This article on empowering women in Oman was published yesterday. If you have the patience for Oman Observer lingo, read it. (lingo? Example: "the realisation of the proposals have started to gain momentum as a result of holistic approach of addressing the concept"..... who writes stuff like that?!)

7. Our papaya woes may soon be over here in Salalah! As you know, Salalah is famous for papayas and bananas, but unfortunately about a year ago, over 400 papaya farms were attacked by the evil mealybugs who ruined our papaya crops. For a year, it's been hard to find papaya and when you do buy some, it's usually very expensive and not very good. I haven't eaten papaya for a whole year, and I live next door to several papaya farms. Apparently, international scientists have been brought in to look for a solution and they will be distributing 100,000 new papaya seedlings to farmers in Salalah in the coming weeks. Folks, we may have our farms back a year or so from now! Read more here.

8. Only five more days to go before abalone fishing season is over! As you may already know, Dhofar is famous for abalone. After a 3 year ban (to renew reserves), this year over 5600 divers (Yes, all in Dhofar) fished for abalone. The cyclone warnings and angry sea slowed the divers down last week, but they're back in full force. Read more here.

9. Lulu Salalah is out of Onken. Sad day for me.

10. There's an Arabic calligraphy exhibition taking place this week at the Oman Society for Fine Arts (next to KFC on the highway). The exhibition is on till November 25th. Check it out if it tickles your fancy.

11. Last but not least, the sweetest piece of news.... Trygve Harris makes me happier everyday. After her success with selling frankincense ice cream in Al Haffa Souq in Salalah during the monsoon festival, she's starting up a business in Oman and will be producing frankincense ice cream (and candy) on a large scale by February. This is so damn exciting!!!!!!!!! My frankincense creativity has been limited to a drop of frankincense water in my tea, but ice cream? Oh yeah! Can't WAIT to try it. I'll let you know when I hear more. Read the Times of Oman article here.

Oman Hereditary Blood Disorder Association

Dear Readers,

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Many of you are aware that a LARGE number of Omanis suffer from hereditary blood disorders; namely G6PD (25% of males - 10% of females) , خلايا الدم المنجلية Sickle Cell Disease (6% of Omanis - mostly in Al Sharqiya region), and Thalasimia (2% of Omanis - mostly in Al Batinah and Muscat).
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Sadly, awareness levels are low and the Omani health system (and society) does not encourage pre-marital testing. Given that these diseases are so widely spread in Oman, IT IS OF EXTREME importance that couples have blood tests done before they even consider getting married. It is also important to learn more about these diseases and how to deal with them.

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Recently, the Omani Hereditary Blood Disorder Association was launched with the aim of spreading awareness on how to deal with these disorders and how to avoid spreading these hereditary diseases. The association also hopes to provide counselling for families with infants who were screened positive by the state labratory.

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To association will be observing the world's first Annual Sickle Cell Day on June 19 and 20 at Muscat City Centre. If you check our their website, you can find their bank account if you'd like to donate. Otherwise, if you live in the Muscat area and if you want to help or know someone with a blood disorder, GO AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Every small step counts. They need your support.

World Health Day - Part (2)

Hi Everyone! If you remember my post here on World Health Day celebrations in Salalah, just a quick update on what actually happened. The walk started at Salalah Airport parking lot at 4:30. I wasn't expecting a large number of people, and I was planning on leaving if I couldn't spot any abayas, but ......... yes there were women, children, men, government officials, doctors, nurses, etc, etc. I'd say around 1000 people showed up. It was fun. I ended up walking the whole stretch. It was HOT, but I survived. I dragged my brother along and he almost murdered me for forcing him to expose his beautiful skin to the sun. Oh well. :)

World Health Day in Salalah - Join the Walk

Hi everyone! I haven't posted anything this week because I have been enjoying the comments on my post on women. Keep the comments coming. I read every comment carefully, and even though I have not commented myself (I'll probably save that for a post), I appreciate all the opinions and thoughts.

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Anyway, tomorrow is World Health Day - April 7th. Salalah will be hosting a walk tomorrow afternoon. Everyone is invited. The meeting point will be the airport parking lot at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. T-shirts will be given to all participants. They're expecting over a thousand people.

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If you live in Salalah and you're free tomorrow afternoon, put on your favorite sneakers, and join the walk. It's for a good cause. I'm looking for a walking partner. Any volunteers? :)

Massage Parlours with Happy Endings

I haven't been able to write this week for a variety of reasons .. but I found an extra few minutes to get my daily dose of blogs, and I found Muscat Confidential's recent post rather interesting. Kudos to the Times of Oman for highlighting this issue again.

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A few years ago (I think it was 2007), the Dhofar Municipality shut down many of these so-called shady 'Health Clubs' in Salalah after discovering most of the masseurs were pretty Moroccan women who come from poor families and who are desperate for more money. Sometimes you can't blame them. Blame the men. I met the wife of a senior official at Dhofar Municipality and she told me about it in detail but wasn't able to answer all my questions.

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I was with some friends yesterday and one of them mentioned transvestites working at these parlours. Eek!

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Has anyone been to one of these massage parlours in Muscat or Salalah? (And no, I don't mean hotel massage parlours with harmless little Thai women/healers). What did you think? What have you heard?

Salsa Aerobics Salalah!

If you're going to San Francisco ... You're going to meet some gentle people there....

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Hectic HECTIC times. Thanks for all the positive comments on my OmanForum post last week. Very much appreciated. I haven't had time to write because of a 'Work Overdose' as my fellow blogger Bader likes to call it. I've been taking work home everyday now for the past two weeks. I'm also trying to write something for the new bloggers' campaign, but I need to concentrate when I'm writing, so I'll probably do it at home (with a nice cup of tea). .

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Anyway, I've been highly amused with a new gym I discovered in Salalah for women. Before I start explaining the reason behind my amusement, I'll explain a little about the women exercise situation in Dhofar. First of all, men are so damn lucky. They get to throw a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on and go jogging or swimming, and most of them play soccer on a daily basis in Salalah. Soccer is HUGE here. Some play badminton or tennis, and many just work-out in the gym. Easy.

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What about women, though? We spend all day in our black robes, and hardly ever get out on our own, let alone find time to exercise (unless it's within the four walls of our houses). I mean, seriously, how motivating is it to walk on a treadmill for an hour alone? Beyond Boring. It's the easiest recipe for depression. Many women walk along the airport road, but that's also depressing because they're fully clothed (many in face veils) and we live in a tropical town, so ..... yeah.... hot.Anyway, Salalah Al Hamdulillah has several hidden female gyms. In secret neighborhoods and dark alley-ways you may spot a building that has a tiny sign saying 'Health Club'.... on the door there's usually another tiny sign saying 'NO MEN ALLOWED'. Some have signs that say 'No Males Invited'.. I think that's cute. I'm not going to implement the 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' rule, and I'm actually going to explain to you what happens behind those closed doors. VERY amusing.

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Alright, so after sunset many females head to their cars (or their husband/brother/driver's cars) and discreetly make their way to the secret destination. They're dressed from head to toe in black. The car drives into a dark alley-way and parks in front of a seedy looking building with a red-lit sign saying 'Health Club'. The females get out of the car. The first odd thing you notice is that they're carrying a backpack and a suspicious looking roll of something. A what? Yes, a yoga mat. The car drives a way, the women look left and right then slowly open the door and slide into the building. The door remains shut.

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Once you shut that door, you're in another world. Men would kill to see what goes on in there. Big empty well-lit rooms. Mirrored walls. Women chillin' in tights and tank tops. Nike sneakers. Yoga mats. Puma shorts. Sweatbands. Che Guevara t-shirts (you heard me right). Ponytails. Bandanas. Loud Loud Music..... Hot stuff.

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At 8 p.m the aerobics class instructor arrives; dressed in pink tights and a t-shirt with a long blonde ponytail and lime-green sneakers. Women/girls start warming up and playfully shoving each other around the aerobics rooms. All the lights come on. Everyone takes their place in front of the mirror. Music system is ready. Press the play button and get ready to hit the dance floor.

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Global Deejays re-mix 'San Francisco Dreaming' blasts out of the speakers (listen to it. I need you to imagine with me). The instructor usually starts with warm-up exercises then gradually starts the heavy aerobics. Lots of hopping and jumping. Step-work. Mat-work. It goes on for an hour or more. Pain. Torture. But they love it anyway. Often the instructor will ask the girls if they're in for some hip-hop and break-dancing. Everyone will shout 'YEAH!' and out comes the hip-hop CD. She usually starts with The Black Eyed Peas 'Boom Boom Pow' and everyone will show off their dance moves. My favorite is Chris Brown & T-Pain's 'Greatness'. When the girls are feeling a little wild, the belly-dancing CD comes out. One of my expat friends who went there took one look at the place and said 'This is SO Ghetto!'.

The funniest part is that some instructors like doing aerobics to Salsa music. It actually works quite well with aerobics. Lots of hip and shoulder-shaking. The best is Marc Anthony's 'Mi Gente'. Dhofari girls pick up a lot of salsa moves from TV (So You Think You Can Dance/ Dancing with the Stars). After a couple of hours of fun and activity, one by one the women head to the cloak room (literally), change back into their abayas, tie up their hair, apply all the head-pieces until the hijab is complete, tie on the face-veil (burqa), change out of their sneakers, roll up their yoga mats and sneak out. The car is waiting outside (curious driver trying to get a peek as the door opens), woman gets in, and drives off into the night.

Nothing happened, right? Nope.

Salalah's best-kept secret. Dhofari Chicks Rock.

H1N1 - Part Two

I heard this morning that the official start of the school year is back to August 29. Long Live Oman for loving education so much! Let's pray the flu doesn't spread anymore than it already has, and Insha'Allah Salalah will go back to normal. Amen!

Yesterday I drove by the corniche at noon. It was so ... magical. Yes, ok, so I love fog and mist and crashing waves and rain! Don't have enough drama in my life.

Hey, random question, does anyone know where I can find a set of i-pod speakers in Salalah?

H1N1

I've been trying to ignore it for the past couple of months, but slowly it's beginning to affect people around me. My cousin is a doctor at the hospital. Three weeks ago (I think), someone died from H1N1 in Salalah. This morning, again, a young woman died. No previous illness. Just H1N1. So many people I know have had it and were tested positive. According to sources from the hospital, there are over 25 swine flu patients in intensive care on oxygen masks. Just an hour ago, it was announced unofficially (and I assume officially later on today) that the beginning of the school year has been postponed a month. It's too risky to send kids to school.

What totally baffles me is how some people totally recover and others die. No one understands it yet. I understand how young children and older people with weak immunity or with previous illnesses can catch it and die, but what about healthy people? What about the girl who died this morning? Doctors say she didn't have health problems.

What the hell is happening in Salalah anyway? EVERYONE is sick. It's either regular flu, colds, or swine flu, but half the people I know are sick. And numbers are increasing at a slightly alarming rate. Maybe the heavy monsoon weather is triggering it? Helping it spread? It is the tourists?

Weekend Post

Hello Y’all!

It’s Wednesday! Yay!!! Not quite sure why I’m so pleased. Nothing very exciting is happening this weekend except Obama’s speech to the Muslim world on Thursday. I’m really looking forward to that. He’s such a unique person. I mean, honestly, would you believe that he gave Queen Elizabeth an i-pod? He did. Remind me again how old is she?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/obama-gives-queen-elizabe_n_181862.html

The local newspapers have stated that the monsoon may be a little early this year. What blessing. I’ve almost reached the end of my patience with this heat. It’s not really that hot (only 33-34) but the humidity is plain murder.

Official wedding season in Salalah has started (June 1 – August 30). I still don’t understand how some people end up going to five or six weddings on the same day. There are SO many weddings. I guess because families are big in Salalah (average 8 kids per family?), so they usually try to marry two brothers off on the same day. This is the case with a cousin of mine who is getting married tomorrow to his first cousin on his mother’s side. They announced to the whole town that two brothers were getting married on June 4th. However, guess what? They couldn’t find a bride for brother number two! I love Salalah. Imagine announcing a wedding without a bride.

It’s quite unsettling that our society still encourages marriage of first cousins. I know it’s acceptable in Islam; however, in Oman we have a serious autism problem and other genetic disorders because of intermarriage. I know so many people who married their first cousins, and who now have autistic children, or children with special abilities and needs. It’s because their parents before them were first cousins and the generation before that. When intermarriage goes on for a long time, problems happen. I read a horrifying article in the newspaper a few months ago that 33% of children in Oman have genetic disorders, and 13% of children (in the South I think) have some form of autism. The statistics are shocking. Yet, we still go ahead and marry first cousins. That is the main cause for these disorders. I think they’re more common in the South of Oman and in the interior because of strong tribal traditions and family ties.

The problem is that once a child with a disability or mental disorder is born, the families (especially in the South) aren’t relaxed about it. Many of them hide the child in their house and never allow it to be seen my strangers. They refuse to send their child to any of the centers for children with special abilities and needs, because they think people will ‘talk’. It’s a difficult situation. Furthermore, the women who work at these centers are not qualified to deal with handicaps. They’re volunteers with big hearts but not enough experience, especially with autism. Autistic children are so special and needs extra care and attention. They are most certainly not retarded. They’re unique and very gifted. A two-week clay and pottery workshop was held at Dhofar University for these children in Salalah, and my goodness they are SUCH talented artists. I saw some of their work in the newspaper and was very impressed.

It’s Wednesday! (yes, I know I already said that at the beginning of my post!) I seriously need to chill in front of the air conditioner with a book and perhaps a good movie.

PS (Pray for the families of the 228 people on the missing Air France plane. What a tragedy)

I stand corrected!

Slight error in my facts. I did some research. According to the Ministry of Health, there have been around 1700 (not 1000) AIDS cases in Oman since 1984. 1119 of them are still alive. Most cases are men. Yup, men. Men returning from Asia. Men who can't stay away from their house maids. M.E.N.

Disturbing News ...

Holy Bananas! Over five HIV-positive cases at one of the two girls' high-schools in Salalah??! What the HELL is going on? (I'm afraid the news is VERY recent, and my source is the hospital). I know that some of the girls have been into drugs (pills, not injections). There were also a group of women distributing drugs at the high schools, convincing the girls that the pills would make them thin, beautiful, fat, white, pink, grey, whatever... but this...? There have (supposedly) been around 1000 AIDS cases in Oman since 1984. Oman is one of the 7 countries that imposes a complete entry ban on HIV-positive people (the others are Brunei, Qatar, Sudan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Yemen), and I hope the government soon imposes an entry blood-test for young men returning from places like Thailand. This is very disturbing. Why would high-school girls in such a conservative little town be HIV-positive? Comments anyone?