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Japan: Yokozuna gets the boot

Hanako Tokita · 08:17 · East Asia , Central Asia & Caucasus

Never far from controversy, Mongolian Yokozuna (sumo champion) Asashoryu (朝青龍) is again in hot water. Just before a regional sumo tour started, the yokozuna left for Mongolia claiming that he would not be able to participate, having submitted a doctor's note indicating that he had injuries in his arm and lower back that needed to be treated. Shortly after his departure, a video image showing the yokozuna playing soccer in Mongolia made it onto some of the major Japanese TV networks, sparking a controversy. Asashoryu has been penalized by the Sumo Association with suspension from the next two tournaments and a salary reduction. When the yokozuna was then reported to be suffering from depression, the story became further sensationalized.

Many bloggers were harshly critical of Asashoryu's behaviour. Kazusan writes:

もし、横綱をモンゴルにこのまま帰すならば、、、、、帰って来るな！！朝青龍！！と言いたいですね。実に簡単な、「迷惑をかけました」の挨拶も出来ない人間が、心技体を求める国技相撲には不必要で、謹慎が開けた後にも、精神異常者を横綱と認めるわけにはいかないと考えます。

If they let the yokozuna go back to Mongolia… I just want to say “Don't ever come back, Asashoryu!!” This kind of person, who cannot even say something as easy as “I am sorry I created trouble”, is not needed in sumo, the national sport in which good spirit, technique and physical condition are required. Even when he comes out of the probation, I don't think we should accept a mentally-ill person as a yokozuna.

Another blogger also criticizes Asashoryu's misconduct:

診断書を出しモンゴルへ帰国。モンゴルで治療していると思いきや、それがみごとなヘッディングまでやってのけていたのだ。これは、相撲協会だけでなく日本国民すべてがいきり立った。朝青龍が、涼しいモンゴルでサッカーに興じていたとき、日本では４０度にも達する暑さの中、関取集は地方巡業で汗をかいていた。結構な強行軍で、長野から北海道まで興行と移動の連続を強いられていたのだ。そこには、モンゴル出身の関取集３４名も含まれているのだ。誰一人文句も言わず、ファンサービスを一生懸命やっているではないか。

He submitted his doctor's note and then went back to Mongolia. We thought he was recuperating in Mongolia, but instead he showed off his great [skill at] heading [the ball]. This outraged not only the Sumo Association but also the people of Japan. While Asashoryu was enjoying playing soccer in cool Mongolia, other sumo wrestlers were sweating on the sumo tour in the heat reaching almost 40 degrees. It was quite a forced march, and they were forced to continuously do the shows and then travel from Nagano to Hokkaido. There are 34 Mongolian wrestlers. None of them complained and they did their best to entertain the fans.

On the other hand, a number of bloggers express their concern about the treatment of Asashoryu and how the Association and others involved have been handling the sitution.

One blogger criticizes the old style attitude of the Association towards mental illness and its failure to deal with the problem:

朝青龍は謹慎処分が下って以降一切自宅を出ていない。はっきり言って異常事態であり、早く帰国させるべきである。今後の進退については本人の意思と親方、協会が競技をして決めれば良い。協会内部、特に巡業部は朝青龍に対して「汗を流せば治る」等と馬鹿馬鹿しい発言をしていた親方もいたが、彼らは精神的な病をいまだに「病は気から」何て思っている古臭い考えを持っているのだろう。ストレス障害やうつ病は立派な病気である。早く治療するに越したことのない病気であり、放置していて手遅れになればそれこそ大問題だ。

今回の件は朝青龍にも非がある。しかし、もっと問題なのは朝青龍がこういった態度を取ることを容認してきた親方、そして協会にもあるはずだ。特に始動すべき親方の対応にはほとほと呆れるばかりだ。協会と親方はもっと問題意識を持ってこの件に対応すべきだろう。

Since the time the suspension was issued, Asashoryu has not come out of his house once. To be honest this is an insane situation, and he should be allowed to go home soon. Whether he should stay on or not should be left up to him, his oyakata (master) and the Association to decide. Within the Association, particularly its tour division, there were some masters who made a stupid comment in which they said that “(the illness) can be treated if you work up a good sweat”. I guess they still have an outdated view about mental illness, thinking “all illness comes from the mind”. Stress disorder and depression are legitimate illnesses. They are illnesses that are always best treated as soon as possible, and it can be a big problem if they are left [untreated] for too long.

Asashoryu does have faults in this case. However, what's more problematic is his oyakata as well as the Association, who have let Asashoryu behave this way. Particularly, I am really fed up with the way his oyakata, who is in the position to supervise him, has been handling the situation. The Association and the oyakata should deal with this with more awareness of the problem.

Another blogger expresses his anger at the media and Japanese society over their attitude towards mental illness:

ここのところの朝青龍の報道や世論には失望させられる。
テレビでこの話題が出ると、静聴できなくなる。
２１世紀に入っても、精神的な病いを理解できない、大部分の愚かなマスコミや日本人。
周囲がそっとしておくことが、最も大事だと理解できず、医師の診断が出ているのに、そもそも仮病のように、勝手に決め付ける、大部分の愚かなマスコミや日本人。
ほんとーに腹が立つ。
無知ほど愚かで、おぞましく、残酷で、馬鹿なことはない。

The recent coverage of Asashoryu and people's opinions [about this issue] make me feel hopeless.
Whenever this topic comes up on TV, I cannot listen to it.
The majority of the Japanese are still not able to understand mental illnesses even in the 21st century.
The majority of the stupid Japanese press and of the Japanese people do not understand that it is best to let him be, and they assume that he is faking his sickness even though he was diagnosed by a doctor.
It really gets on my nerves.
Nothing is more hideous, cruel and stupid than ignorance.

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Bahrain: Thoughts on Sectarianism

Amira Al Hussaini · 03:24 · Middle East & North Africa

Bahraini blogger emoodz shares with us this thoughts on sectarianism in this post I am translating from Arabic today. From a discussion over lunch, Mohammed Al Maskati discusses sectarianism and its impact on society, ending his treatise with a question with no answer: Will we Arabs ever wake up?

تعاني أسرتنا (كما الكثير من أسر البحرين) من نوع خاص من التفكك الأسري لظروف العمل و المشاغل التي لا تنتهي، قليلاً ما نجتمع كأسرة على وجبة الغداء في أيام الإسبوع، أصبحت مائدة الغداء في أيام العطل تحوي جواً فريداً وإن خلت من العيوش و الصوالين تجنباً لللكرشة اللتي أصبحت في النصف الثاني من العقد المنصرم هي البعبع الذي يخشاه كل من في البيت و شغلنا الشاغل و إن كان على حساب لذة الطعام.

My family, like a lot of other families in Bahrain, suffers from a breakdown due to work, which never ends. We rarely meet as a family for lunch on weekdays. This gives lunch gatherings during holidays a special flavour, even if they lack in all the rice and curry dishes as many of us are avoiding getting obese - which has become the boogie man many families have been avoiding in the last half of the previous decade, mostly at the expense of delicious food.

كان في خضم الحديث بيني و بين الوالد وهو يلتهم قطع الميد بشراسة بحرانية فريدة موضوع الطائفية و التفرقة على أساس المذهب المتفشية في أوصال المجتمع البحريني بخاصة و العربي ككل اليوم.
تكلم مسهباً كيف أن الدين هو أساس الطائفية و مصدرها، مضيفاً إياها إلى خانة الويلات التي آل علينا كمسلمين تقبلها دون إعتراض، فالإسلام أوصى بتوحيد المسلمين و أنهم سواسية كأسنان المشط إلا بالتقوى و العمل الصالح، و لكنه في الوقت نفسه فتح الباب إلى تعدد المذاهب الذي إنتهى بدوره إلى تأجيج التنازع الطائفي بين المسلمين، و أوصى الإسلام كذلك بتربية أجيال جديدة على أسس حميدة و أخلاق عالية، و إنتهى اليوم بتفريخ الإرهاب الذي لا يعدو أن يكون إجراماً و بربرية مغلفة بغلاف سياسي، و في حين أوصى الإسلام على رص الصفوف و توحيدها و رفع راية الجهاد ضد الغزاة ترى الفتنة اليوم حلت بالمسلمين في كل مكان. فالإسلام، و بالأحرى النظري الإسلامية فرخت ثلاثة أبناء هم الطائفية و الإرهاب و الفتنة، هؤلاء هم الثالوث الذي كان من تبعات النظرية الإسلامية و سيقبرها غداً و يقوم بدلاً عنها، و نحن (المسلمون) من سيدفع الثمن.

While speaking to my dad as he was devouring a piece of Mullet (type of fish) in a unique ferocity associated with Bahranis (Shia population of Bahrain), we started speaking about sectarianism and the division in society based on sects, particularly in Bahrain, and around the Arab world in general. He spoke in depth about how religion was the basis and reason for sectarianism, adding that it is now one of the woes we as Muslims have to accept without objection. Islam has ruled on the unification of Muslims,, and that are as equal as the teeth of a comb, with the only differences being their righteousness and good deeds. But at the same time, it (Islam) opened the door for the plurality of sects, which in turn, created a sectarian dispute between Muslims. Islam too decreed on upbringing the new generations based on a sound basis and immaculate behaviour. However, today it has become a hatching ground for terrorism, which is crime and barbarism, enveloped in politics. Although Islam called for unifying the ranks and waging Jihad on the conquerors, today we see it replaced with sedition between Muslims every where. So Islam, or rather Islamic theory, has spawned three sons. They are sectarianism, terrorism and sedition. This is the trinity which has resulted from the Islamic theory and which will one day bury Islam and replace itself in its place. And we Muslims will be the ones to pay the price.

“لا أقول أن الإسلام ذو إيدلوجيا طائفية، و لكن الطائفية هي أحد نتائج النظرية الإسلامية الطبيعية” قالها و هو يلفظ العظم من على السمكة مقرباً صحن الجح إليه. لم أستطع الرد عليه، خصوصاً و أن وجهة نظره تحمل في ثناياها الكثير من الصحة، فالنظرية الإسلامية و إن طرحت توحيد المسلمين إلا انها لم تكن قادرة على أن تؤسس قاعدة يمكن أن يبنى عليها الوحدة الإسلامية المرجوة، و تحول المجتمع الإسلامي من مجتمع متوحد إلى آخر متكون من (جماعات) ضيقة التفكير يدعي كلاُ منها تمثيل الدين و التاريخ مكفرة من لا يقف في صفها ولا يدين بالولاء لأمي

“I am not saying that Islam is a sectarian ideology but sectarianism is a nature consequence of Islamic theory.” He said that while spitting the bones of the fish from his mouth and getting closer to the plate of water melons. I didn't respond to him, especially when his views had a lot of truth in them. This is because Islamic theory, even if it called for unifying Muslims, it couldn't build the foundation upon which the desired Muslim unity could be established. As a result, the Muslim society changed from a unified one to another made of narrow minded groups, each alleging that they represent religion and history and accusing all those who don't share their views as being apostates.

و لكن، هل نحن حقاً مجتمع جاهز للوحدة؟ هل نمتلك مقومات الوحدة، هل نستطيع أن نعيش كشعب متجانس على هذه الأرض واضعين المواطنة و النفع للمجتمع ككل كأساس للمفاضلة؟ هل حقاً إن ذللنا العائق الديني نستطيع ذلك؟
فهل نستطيع إغفال الطبقية المتفشية في هذا المجتمع؟ فبعد أن يتم تمييز الفرد كونه سنياَ أو شيعيا، يتشعب الوضع أكثر بعد ذلك، فإن كان سنيا تتم المفاضلة على أساس القبيلة التي ينحدر منها و إن كان (عربي) او (هولي) أو غير ذلك، و هما بدورهما يتشعبان بعدها إلى طبقات يتم التفاضل بينها على أسس معروفة مثل القرب من العائلة الحاكمة أو النسب و غيرها. في الشطر الثاني إن كان شيعياً يتفرع أولاً إلى كونه من أبناء المنامة ، أو من (الحلايل)، فأبناء المنامة هم ابناء المدن و بالتالي أفضل و أعرق من أبناء القرى الذين إتخذوا الزراعة و صيد البحر كمصدر للرزق، يأتي بعدها المقلد الذي يتم التفاضل على أساسه، فأتباع هذا المقلد يقللون من شأن أتباع ذاك، و أتباع هذا المأتم في صراع أزلي مع أتباع ذلك المأتم. و هلم ما جرى.

However, are we really a society which is ready for unity? Do we have the basis for unity? Can we live as a homogeneous nation on this land, putting citizenship and the general good of our society as a basis for showing preference to each other? Is it true that if break down the religion obstacle we will succeed in achieving this? Will we be able to overcome the class system which has become so widespread in this society? After a person is classified as Shia or Sunni, the situation gets further complicated. If he was Sunni, he is further sub-classified depending on the tribe he comes from and whether he is of Arab or Huwala origins and this further breaks down to whether he is close to the Ruling Family or related and other factors. On the other hand, if he is Shia, then the classification depends on whether he is originally from Manama or a villager. Those from Manama are city people and are thereby better and more sophisticated than those from villages, who depended on farming and fishing for their livelihoods. The next basis of classification is their religious role-model and that is a cause for preferences as the followers of one look down on the followers of the rest. Another cause of friction is whether they are the followers of this matam (Shia religious gathering place), who are in constant fights with the followers of that matam, etc.

القصد هو أن الطائفية (أو الطبقية) متجذرة فينا حتى النخاع، و من حيث لا نعلم. و إن أجزنا بعدم المفارقة بين أبناء هذا الشعب، إن لم نستطع أن نوضح الفرق بين أفراد هذا الشعب، سيكون من المستحيل القضاء على الطائفية (أو الطبقية) بالوضع الحالي.
كل ما أقوله هو أن التفرقة و الطائفية إنما هي وليدة الجاهلية المتجذرة فينا، و إن النظرية الإسلامية (و إن كانت الشماعة التي ألقي عليها جل مشاكلنا في هذا اليوم) لا تغدوا كونها وسيلة إستعملت لتطبيق الطائفية من خلاله

The end result is that sectarianism (or the class system) is something deeply rooted in us, in more ways than we know. And even if we agree that we shouldn't differentiate between the people of this nation to the degree that we wouldn't be able to make out one person from the other, it would be impossible to completely eradicate sectarianism (or the class system), given our current conditions. All that I am saying is that this division and sectarianism is the result of the backwardness which is deeply rooted within us and that Islamic theory (even if it is the scapegoat we can hang the blame on for all our troubles today) is only a means which was used to implement sectarianism among us.

الموضوع مقلق، فنحن نعيش اليوم على (خزان بترول يوشك ان ينفجر)، تذكروا كيف إن إستغلال الدين و التدين في حرب ما يسمى بالـ(مجاهدين) الأفغان و ما تسبب من ولادة عقلية طالبان و هي الأخطر من بين التيارات الإرهابية و التشددية اليوم. تذكروا كيف المواجهة مع إيران خلال فترة الثمانينات و ما صاحبها من مصطلحات خطيرة لا زالت تتردد حتى في صحافتنا لهذا اليوم من المجوس و الصفويين مسببة شرخاً عميقاً في المجتمعات المسلمة لا تزال جراحه ظاهرة للعيان بعد أكثر من عشرون عاماً.
فهل نفيق؟

The situation is critical. We are living today on a keg of oil which is about to explode. Remember how religion was abused in the so called war of the Afghan Mujahedeen and how is resulted in the birth of the Taliban mentality which is among the most dangerous terrorist and extremist mentalities today. Remember how the conflict with Iran in the 80s resulted in dangerous terminology which is still being echoed in our newspapers today such as calling people Majoos (fire-worshipers) and Safawis (in reference to the Shia Safawi dynasty in Iran) and how these terms have created a rift in our society and how its wounds are still apparent after 20 years?
Will we ever wake up?

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Morocco: Peace Corps Bloggers Part 2

Jillian York · 02:33 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → pt · es

As last week's post, an introduction to Peace Corps Bloggers, garnered an overwhelming response, this week's post will continue to introduce this illustrious and hardworking category of bloggers, complete with photos.

We'll start off this week with a rare glimpse into the home of a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). Samuel Gunter, of Life Called, has posted some photos of his home in Morocco. Here's one of the kitchen:

Now remember that there is no running water so I have to go collect that which can really be a pain. I have the conversation almost every day about why I don't have a wife to do that for me. The Peace Corps of course didn't put “Wife to carry water” on the packing list so I didn't bring one. I'm very upset about that and am lodging a complaint through the proper channels. I'd get one in country, but my budget doesn't allow for that.

Connie in Morocco has been traveling, and shares with us a beautiful photo from the Cascades d'Ouzoud, Morocco's most famous waterfalls.

The next day we took a day trip with another nearby volunteer to a place called Cascades d'Ouzoud. The drive there in the taxi was rather spectacular, but mostly uncomfortable. It was quite hot, the driver had the native music playing very loudly, and it was hairpin turns in and out of mountains for a couple of hours. But the place, once we got there, was quite pretty. I think it must be very beautiful early summer. Most Moroccan people there, many kids enjoying the cool water, lots of folks brought picnic lunches, blankets, and just spent the day in the shade.

Sometimes when abroad, it's nice to come across something - anything - familiar. James Collins of واخا (or wakha, which means “ok” in Moroccan Arabic) is another PCV with a blog, who shares this story of spotting The Wizard of Oz in Morocco:

Several months ago I stayed with my neighbor Meddi and his family in Oujda, where he’s a school teacher for most of the year. On a satellite TV with more than 200 channels, less than 10 of which are in English, we found the original “Wizard of Oz” being shown with Arabic subtitles. I then took the following photo, showing Oumayma watching this classic.

And lastly, a repeat performance of one of last week's bloggers. Cory Driver of 32n5w demonstrates what air travel from Morocco can be like:

the plane was 5 hours late, but that didn't really affect me. what did have some effect on me was the man who lit a cigarette in his seat and merrily puffed away until two somewhat mortified flight attendants asked him to put it out. he asked why, because he wasn't dropping ashes or anything (he had a henry's cookie package open and was dropping his ashes into it, after all). the flight attendants not-so-calmly explained that smoking was not allowed on the flight. the man very calmly replied that it was allowed on the bus, so it should be allowed on planes too. the flight attendants then snatched the cigarette, lightly burning the smoker's neighbor and told the man not to light up again. he said it was his last cigarette anyway. the flight attendants came on the loud speaker and told everyone on the plane not to lend the smoker a cigarette. the flight continued…

A special thanks to last week's readers, who posted some helpful links for Peace Corps or would-be Peace Corps volunteers (as well as those of us who just find the Peace Corps interesting!). Here are the links they shared:

Peace Corps Writers
The Blog of John Coyne, a Returned PCV
A Site for Returned PCVs
A Collection of English-Language Morocco blogs from Friends of Morocco

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