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Quote by Annia Ciezadlo

“So much of what we see and hear about the Middle East focuses on what we call politics, which is essentially ideology. But when it comes to the Middle East, and especially the Arab world, simply depicting people as human beings is the most political thing you can do.”

Quote by Annia Ciezadlo

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Annia Ciezadlo
Annia Ciezadlo

Annia Ciezadlo is a respected journalist recognized for her work in international journalism. The specifics of her birth and death dates are unknown. more

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“I chose to write about food: food is inherently political, but it's also an essential part of people's real lives. It's where the public and private spheres connect. I wanted to show readers that the larger politics of war and economics and U.S. foreign policy are inextricably bound to the supposedly trivial details of our everyday lives.”

PeopleWritingWarRealShowsWantedPoliticalPolicyReaderEssentialsEconomicsEverydayBoundsDetailsReal LifeSpheresForeign PolicyEveryday Life
Author:Annia Ciezadlo
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“In the Middle East, bread is so essential to everyday life that word for it in Egyptian Arabic is aish, which means life. It's always been the staple grain. But the predicament is that the Fertile Crescent, where wheat cultivation began, has now become the part of the world most dependent on imported wheat.”

WorldMeanMiddleEssentialsEverydayEastBreadDependentMiddle EastGrainEveryday LifeWheatFertileCultivationEgyptianMeaning LifePredicamentsStaplesCrescent
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“If you look at the list of the top wheat importers for 2010, almost half of them are Middle Eastern regimes: Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Tunisia. Egypt is the number-one importer of wheat in the entire world. Tunisia leads the entire world in per capita wheat consumption. So it's no wonder that the revolutions began with Tunisians waving baguettes in the streets and Egyptians wearing helmets made of bread.”

IfsWorldLooksMadeNumbersHalfWonderStreetsMiddleRevolutionIraqListsBreadRegimesConsumptionEgyptEasternWheatArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisHelmetLibyaMoroccoYemenTunisiaAlgeriaBaguettes
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“Rulers like Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser started subsidizing bread as a way to buy loyalty, or at least obedience, and this system became so pervasive that the Tunisian scholar Larbi Sadiki described countries who used it as dimuqratiyyat al-khubz - "democracies of bread." But the problem with this system of offering bread in exchange for genuine democracy is that it can never last - sooner or later, the bread will run out, and people will start demanding bread and roses too.”

PeopleWayCountryProblemRunningLastsUsedDemocracyRoseLoyaltyGenuineBreadObedienceAlsOfferingScholarRulersSooner Or LaterEgypt
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“There's a long history in the Middle East of "bread intifadas," starting with 1977 in Egypt, when Anwar Sadat tried to lift bread subsidies. People rebelled and poured into Tahrir Square, shouting slogans against the government just like they did earlier this year. Sadat learned his lesson and kept bread subsidies in place, and so did a host of other Middle Eastern dictators - many of whom were propped up for years by the West, partly through subsidized American wheat.”

PeopleYearsLongGovernmentMiddleLessonsWestStartingEastBreadLiftsSquaresHostMiddle EastDictatorEgyptEasternSlogansShoutingWheatSubsidiesSadatTahrir Square
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“Being an American journalist can put people on the defensive. In countries where people assume the press is partisan, like in Lebanon, or where it had essentially become an extension of the government, like in Iraq, people tend to see a journalist as an agent of his or her government. That can be dangerous if the United States military is occupying their country, or aligned with their enemies.”

PeopleIfsCountryStatesGovernmentUnitedEnemyUnited StatesMilitaryDangerousPressesAssumingIraqAgentsJournalistExtensionsPartisansLebanonUnited States Military
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“You [can] become part of someone else's narrative. Every once in a while I would get people asking me questions like, "If your husband is a Muslim, then why haven't you converted to Islam?" Interestingly enough, almost every person who asked me that was a Sunni, and it was their not-so-subtle way of implying that my Shiite husband was a bad Muslim for letting his infidel wife run around unconverted.”

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Author:Annia Ciezadlo
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