Travel – Pike & Hurricane

The beauty of who we are

Eman Said Omran — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 10:49:49 +0000

If you have plans for exotic travel, then book a flight to South Asia, Pakistan, in particular. Once you arrive in Pakistan, prepare yourself for an interesting road trip on the famous Karakoram highway, where you will be surrounded by serene nature and breathtaking mountains all the way to the Gilgit Baltistan region. From Gilgit Baltistan, take a shorter ride to Hunza Valley, the land of apricot orchards, peaches, apples, mulberry, walnuts, and grapes. The land of glacial streams and forests of poplar trees. In Hunza Valley you will get to meet the famous Shukrat Bibi, the protector of Hunza cultural heritage and one of the guardians of its identity.

Ms Shukrat Bibi’s shop at Karimabad.
Photo credit: Eman Said Omran

Shukrat Bibi is an 86-year-old artisan who uses her needlework to preserve the cultural heritage of Hunza Valley. She owns a small shop in Karimabad, the capital of Hunza Valley. The shop looks like a safe cave made of rocks. At the shopfront, one can see colourful handmade products, decorated with exquisite embroidery hanging on the door. An enchanting sight that lures you into the shop where you will find many more treasures of meticulously handmade beautiful embroidery. Shukrat Bibi uses her magical needle to sew traditional dresses, handbags, colourful caps and festive accessories.

Ms Shukrat Bibi in front of her shop at Karimabad
Photo credit: Eman Said Omran

At the entrance of the shop, Shukrat Bibi sits with her needle in hand. Dressed in the traditional Hunza attire and wearing a colourful Hunza cap, she welcomes national and international visitors into her world. She has a warm and friendly demeanor, an air of serenity. Hanging on the wall behind her a newspaper article is displayed about her precious work. She sees the article as a sign of appreciation and acknowledgement that she is keeping her Hunza heritage alive and flourishing (The Express Tribune). Inside the shop, one sees the Presidential Pride of Performance Award, an award granted by the President to recognize people with “notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, and nursing”. Shukrat Bibi’s award clearly acknowledges Pakistan’s gratitude for her hard work in “keeping the delicate art of do sutti karhai (embroidery) alive in the region”.

The Presidential Pride of Performance Award, 1992.
Photo credit: Eman Said Omran

At the age of 10, Shukrat Bibi’s mother taught her the art of embroidery. Now, Shukrat Bibi at the age of 86 has passed her skills and talent to hundreds of women in Hunza. The skills which she has passed on to them have contributed to their financial independence and they have become members of her cavalry fighting to preserve Hunza culture. Shukrat Bibi takes great pride in her efforts to keep the culture of handmade embroidery of Hunza alive and hopes that her students will continue this tradition.

Nowadays, the world has become a village. Today, the exotic Hunza Valley is a famous touristic spot not only for Pakistanis but for international travellers alike. Visiting Hunza brings benefits not only for the travellers themselves lucky enough to see it but for the district itself and for Pakistan as a country. However, it is important that the Hunza Valley retains its identity and unique charm in this age of globalization. Hunza Valley is blessed to have inhabitants like Shukrat Bibi and all of her students. A talented group of women who love their culture and identity and are proud to share their timeless history in our modern, globalized world.

The post The beauty of who we are appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

UF trip to Albania

Isa Tiilikainen and Jasmin-Leyla Virta — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 13:57:12 +0000

Albania is said to be one of the oldest European nations and yet the history and the culture of the nation and the country itself are not very familiar to most of us. In the beginning of October 2019 we had the unique chance of travelling to Albania and getting to know the country as part of the fall trip arranged by UF Malmö.

On the first day of our trip, we took part in a walking tour of Tirana, saw a lot of important sights and heard interesting stories of its history. All the historical facts about Albania in this article are based on the information presented by the local guide on the tour.

The capital surprised us with its beauty, tons of greenery and colorful houses. The metropolitan area of Tirana hosts 1 million citizens, which is around a third of the country’s whole population.

The city of Tirana is located next to the mountains, to one of which we took a day trip.

Landscape of Tirana from Mount Dajti

Painting the city’s buildings in bright colours in the early 2000’s originally was the idea of the then city mayor, now Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama who is also a painter. It was his vision to highlight the bright and happy future ahead after the grey years of communism.

During our trip we gained a lot of insights into the historical chapter of Albania, in particular, when it was a lesser known communist dictatorship within Europe. However, this nation’s history starts from the ancient times, when the country was part of Illyria. Before the modern era, Albania was ruled under the Roman, the Byzantine and most significantly the Ottoman Empire, until it gained independence on 28th November 1912.

The most prominent feature of Albania’s recent history, has been it’s strict communist rule under Enver Hoxha from 1944 until 1991. Albania sometimes even was referred to as the ‘’North Korea of Europe’’ due to the personal cult surrounding Hoxha, strong restrictions to citizens freedoms and severe violations of human rights during this time period.

Small statue of Hoxha together with a statue of Lenin and two of Stalin

The beginning of Hoxha’s rule was strongly influenced by the Soviet leader Josef Stalin as Hoxha followed his footsteps in creating a communist regime with a closely planned economy. In the 1950s, once the Soviet Union abandoned Stalinism, Albania tightened its relations with the People’s Republic of China led by Mao Zedong but eventually also this relation was destroyed and Albania was left without allies. This lead to the isolation of the nation, and no man could freely enter or leave the country.

In the 1980s the Pyramid of Tirana was the Enver Hoxha Museum, today, it is waiting to be reconstructed as a youth center

The communist era was marked by Hoxha’s paranoia of foreign powers invading Albania. Its legacy is still one of the most visible features of the country, as the leader built over 700 000 bunkers all over the country to protect the people. Today, a great amount of these bunkers are still visible in the Albanian landscape and two museums called Bunk’art 1 and 2 are telling the story of communist Albania to the public.

Reconstructed bunker in the city center of Tirana

Collection of bunker photos at Bunk’art 1

In 1991 communism collapsed in Albania, surprisingly through elections, and the country was ready to open its borders and contribute to the international community.

Germany donated a piece of the original Berlin Wall to Albania as a memorial after the collapse of Communism

One rather ironic part symbolizing the end of communist era in Albania is the site of former leader Enver Hoxha’s house. The first international fast food chain ever to arrive in Albania was Kentucky Fried Chicken, and today their restaurant is located across the street from Hoxha’s house, the face of the logo smiling directly at it.

Enver Hoxha’s house

Since the communist rule, Albania has been developing rapidly, striving to get rid of the organized corruption and other societal issues, and today it is a member of many international organizations such as NATO and WTO. The modernization and shift to market economy took place quickly, as in the past 27 years the country has been able to establish remarkable reforms.

The country today is very pro-west and eager to join the EU, with as much as 94% of the population in favor of joining. Our visit in the Swedish Embassy in Tirana gave us more profound insights on Albania’s possible EU accession, and we discussed the role of Sweden as a big supporter of Albania’s accession after 50 years of bilateral cooperation. As you are reading this article, the EU leaders are discussing the opening of accession negotiations with Albania.

During our trip we also heard about the most current political and societal situation of Albania, when visiting CRCA – Children’s rights center Albania and Roma Active, an NGO helping Roma and working on challenges the minority faces in Albania. These visits gave us a lot of information about the current issues the nation is facing, especially in terms of becoming an applicant to the EU. One large problem is the fact that young people are leaving the country to study or work abroad and are not returning. NGOs like CRCA are working towards building trust and safety net for young people to return and invest in their home country. Though there are still major issues with transparency, grass-root corruption and trust in politicians, Albania seems to be on the right path in terms of becoming more and more democratic. It is likely that within the next decade, Albania will be ready to officially begin the EU application process, which we think would be beneficial to all parties.

UF Malmö visiting CRCA

by Isa Tiilikainen & Jasmin Virta

Photo credits

The post UF trip to Albania appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Sand, Salt, Stars: UF Trip to Jordan

Michael Schätzlein — Mon, 02 May 2016 13:16:16 +0000

Our trip started with a train to Denmark and Copenhagen airport a little before 5am on Saturday, the 26th of March. Our travel went smoothly, with a layover in Vienna Airport, before finally arriving at the destination our group of 14 had been long looking forward to and which we had planned for intensively: Amman, the capital of Jordan. With a new stamp in our passports, we went through security and out into Jordan.

Most of us slept surprisingly well, but were woken up when the muezzin started calling for prayer at 4.10 am. A quick fresh orange juice breakfast to go and four hours later, we sat in our buses and headed up north. Before noon, we arrived in Jerash – the Pompeii of the Middle East – and spent two hours exploring the ancient city and climbing rocks. Although culturally so different, it was very interesting to see that the city’s architecture resembles the one of most ancient Roman or Greek cities, including amphitheatres, pillars, and temples.

We got on our two busses again and headed to the Dead Sea. After a few compulsory tourist snaps, we floated around, tried to ‘swim’, and clumsy-us got some salt in our eyes, as expected. A quite painful experience! Most of us then paid for some healthy skin mud and before long, we were all muddy and black and enjoyed the view to Palestine on the other side of the Sea.

The first official day, Easter Monday started with an early wake-up call to make it to the World Health Organisation (WHO) by 10 o’clock. Even though we were in the world’s 4^th driest country, it rained heavily, with people shovelling and brushing water away around us. After a warm welcome, we were introduced to the WHO in Jordan, which mainly deals with communicable diseases and the changing epidemiology of disease, mainly due to the aging population, similarly to many countries in Europe. The situation is further complicated by the influx of refugees from Syria.

Apart from the WHO, we used our time in Amman to meet representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the embassies of Sweden and the United States of America, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), UNICEF, EcoPeace Jordan, and the Royal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. The meetings provided us with a broad background on Jordan, be it in terms of politics, religion, or foreign aid. We learned about the difficulties of being a journalist in Jordan and the potentially dramatic ecological changes that may arise if the Dead Sea dries out even further. At the School of International Studies of the University of Jordan, we got to meet some of our peers, and we were educated on LGBT issues when we met the owner of an Amman gay bar.

Our most engaging visit, which took place on the sixth day of our trip, was the one we paid to Shefighter, a gym created to train girls in self-defence. Its founder, Lina Khalifeh, greeted us warmly, and, after changing into gym clothes, we gathered round and listened to Lina speaking about her organisation, women in the Middle East, the legal response to domestic abuse, and the ways in which women organise themselves. During the practical part, we learned how to disarm a person attacking with a knife and how to escape from a situation in which somebody is trying to suffocate us.

After four days of interesting meetings and lectures in Amman, it was once more time to take in more of the country of Jordan. Running on only a few hours of sleep, we packed up the vans and headed south for the world-famous ruin city of Petra, which was built around 300 BC. The sun was out and it was the perfect day to explore the historical site.

We continued our journey to the next and final destination of our trip: Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, which is the biggest Wadi (valley) in Jordan. It is not a desert in the conventional sense – that is, if your mind unintentionally thinks of a vast sea of sand dunes – but rather a mix of various colours of sand, rocky sandstone mountains and numerous plants growing here and there. After adapting to the local clothing style (turbans) we jumped into jeeps and headed off into the desert.

Our first stop took us to a Bedouin tent with a spring. Nowadays, only a few Bedouin families are living directly in the desert – most of them congregate in smaller villages, with tourism being the main source of income. However, due to the negative developments in the region, the number of visitors has dropped significantly in recent times. Nevertheless, Wadi Rum continues to be a popular location for movie productions. Hence, our second stop was not only the main scene for the famous 1960s movie Lawrence of Arabia, but also provided the setting for Matt Damon’s last great extra-terrestrial experience in The Martian.

The jeep tour was not for educational purposes only, though. Our next stop took us to a small mountain with a sand dune, providing a perfect slope for sandboarding, rolling or simply running (and falling) down the hill. After some time, our group split up – while some took the jeep deeper into the desert and close to the Saudi border to enjoy the view a bit more, some others returned to the village and took camels for a ride to the ruins of an ancient temple. After that, our two groups reconvened at the best sun set sand dune in the whole of Wadi Rum, where we watched the sun slowly disappear behind the horizon. Enchanted by an atmosphere resembling A Thousand and One Nights, most of us decided to end the day by sleeping outside in the moonlight-bathed Wadi Rum.

On the next morning, it was time to return to cold, rainy Sweden. After a daring speedy drive to the airport and some difficulties involving the loss of a passport, we finally took the plane back to Malmö.

Written by the travel group, compiled and edited by Michael Schätzlein

Photo credits:

Carolin Jamusch for Malmö Association of Foreign Affairs

The post Sand, Salt, Stars: UF Trip to Jordan appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

UF Malmö Goes to Athens

Suzanne Snowden — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 12:59:45 +0000

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,” Socrates famously wrote. Greece holds a rich history that can be recalled as a source of inspiration for the present. Socrates words were a fitting phrase for the UF Malmö seven-day visit to Athens, Greece during October. Eighteen students from the Association embarked to visit Athens. Even now, Athens is a bastion of knowledge and a reflection of humanity’s greatest trials. This visit was timely as the group had the rare opportunity to actively engage in political issues with a wide variety of people at the forefront of Greek politics, humanitarian aid and the Greek economy. Visiting these officials and volunteers, one could not ignore how they are dealing with their financial crisis and the ongoing refugee crisis. Indeed, both crises are a hard battle. The serious agenda for the week was impressive and well-organised by the travel committee.

The week started with a prestigious visit to the Hellenic Parliament. It was not surprising that this former Royal Palace was impressive inside with exhibits depicting some highlights of the formation of the nation. The guided tour of this building was historically rich and culminated at the seats of Parliament with an explanation of how it is organised in Greece. This was a familiar structure of any nation where Parliament is run by a democratically elected body of Members of Parliament (MPs). In Greece there are 300 members, who are elected for a term of 4 years. This was a good introduction prior to our meeting with some members of the Syriza political party, which is the largest party in the Hellenic Parliament, with their party chairman Alexis Tsipras serving as Prime Minister of Greece. Once the UF group had a firm grasp of the political situation in Greece, the meeting with the European commission and the Swedish Embassy outlined the international community’s involvement in the recent political and economic developments in Greece.

All meetings emphasised the need to improve the economic and refugee crisis. Every meeting made sure to say that 60% of Greek youth are unemployed. The visit to Athens University of Economics and Business was a highlight as the UF Students met with Greek students studying their Masters in Finance. The Greek students were of similar ages to the UF students, which made the Greek economic crisis even more relatable and almost personal. Hearing the perspective of these Masters students and their concerns for their own professional futures was sobering as all acknowledged that they would most likely need to leave Greece if they were to have a career in their field of study. When considering the number of refugees currently entering Greece as their first step towards a new life while the Greek youth plan to leave their own country’s troubles, it is ironic.

The refugee crisis was on everybody’s minds when thousands of refugees are entering Athens everyday. The meeting with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was hopeful but unpromising. Statistics and stories of the 3,840 recent refugee deaths at sea illustrated the crisis. It is imperative that Greece is given the help it needs when facing this immense challenge. IOM is looking for donations, especially of warm equipment, regularly.

The UF group also had an informal visit to Victoria Square in Athens where refugees from various countries, such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, wait for buses to take them onward throughout Europe. There are many organisations and volunteer groups working tirelessly with the refugees. One specialist volunteer group from the Netherlands, the Boat Refugee Foundation, focuses on the needs of the most vulnerable demographic, such as women, children (including unaccompanied children) and pregnant women. The Dutch organiser of this group took the time to talk about their involvement as her team were packing up from their 15 hour day. Her main message was the same as the IOM – these refugees need donations of tents, sleeping bags, shoes and warm clothes as winter has befallen the country.

The UF Malmö trips are designed to be a healthy mix of political discussions and cultural appreciation. This UF trip was deeply impactful for all participants and, although the information from the meetings can be shared with anyone who would like to have copies of the slides, the personal perspectives and emotional connections that were developed first-hand are essential in understanding Greece. For the UF students, there was enough free time to fully explore the ancient sites and to discover the amazing food, music and dancing of Greece. It was a full immersion into the country. What was most significant was the kindness of the Greek people and refugees. If you are able to participate in a UF travel experience in the future, grab the opportunity with both hands because it is a trip that would be hard to replicate on your own.

By Suzanne Snowden

Image credit:

Picture 1-3: Carolin Jamusch for UF Malmö

The post UF Malmö Goes to Athens appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

UF Malmö Goes to Georgia

Mia Shoua — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 21:26:17 +0000

On the 30th of March twelve UF Malmö members embarked on a seven day trip to Georgia. The country’s capital city of Tbilisi is often considered to form the vibrant, bustling and eclectic central city of the Caucasus region and this was indeed an image presented to us as we explored the new sights and culture in awe. We noted the traces of Georgia’s time under Soviet Rule in the city streets, symbols of the unique and ancient cultural heritage, the heavy presence and influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church as well as elements of Eastern and indeed Orientalist culture. We found the culture and environment to be like nothing we had encountered before and unique to this vital location at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. However, the contrast between traces of the Soviet era and efforts towards modernisation define the struggle to develop a modern country since emerging from the Soviet Union as an independent state in 1991 and amidst ongoing tensions in the Caucasus region.

The main theme of the trip focused on Georgia’s political landscape. Georgia is said to be considered by many to be “the balcony of Europe”. This came under evaluation through discussion of the country’s aspirations to join NATO and the EU. Visits to various political and educational organisations and institutions lead to us experiencing a multiplicity of perspectives and opinions on subjects of Georgia’s economic and political development. The week began with a visit to Tbilisi State University where we received a lecture on the past and current political landscape from Professor Alexandre Kukhianidze. The educational visit painted a clear and vital backdrop to the contemporary issues of the nation’s threats and challenges further discussed and debated throughout the week.

A visit to the Embassy of Sweden in Georgia was fruitful in defining the links and relations between Georgia and UF Malmö’s own country of origin as well as prospects for Georgia’s growth, development and potential EU membership from the Swedish political perspective. Moreover, we discussed the value and history of Georgia’s relations to Sweden based on economic and strategic reasons. Upon our visit to the Embassy of Germany in Georgia we encountered the same wealth of knowledge and opinion on Georgia’s joining the EU and NATO, but from a perspective aligned with Germany’s own interests in and relations with Georgia and the greater Caucasus region. Furthermore, the United Nations Development Programme in Georgia hosted us and the Head of UN Georgia, Mr. Niels Scott, discussed with us the vision of the UN in relations to Georgia as well as its own perspective on the country’s development and challenges in achieving this.

We gained an additional insight into the experiences of the youth in Georgia as well as the degree of public involvement and social and political motivation in civil society upon our visit to the Future Diplomats’ Club and the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. This was vital in providing us a view of the social aspect of the nation’s development, in contrast to the discussions solely focused upon the political and economic spheres. Moreover, the Information Center on NATO and EU provided a perspective widely held in Georgia which is in favour of joining the EU as well as NATO. This is based on Georgia’s aims toward political and economic growth and development as well as its perceived need for strong and effective national security. However, there remained a looming question in discussions of this topic of whether Georgia truly knows the meaning of being an EU member state in terms of commonly held values and social standards (such as on topics of LGBT rights and gender equality) and whether the nation can compromise its conservative political nature in this regard.

We also jumped at any opportunity to experience and explore important Georgian sites and culture. During the week we gladly indulged in the delicious local cuisine consisting of Georgian dishes like“Khachapuri”, “Lobiani”, and “Khinkali”, as well as visiting the Dry Bridge Bazaar flea market and exploring the streets of Tbilisi’s Freedom Square and old Town to grasp the flow of daily life in the city. Additionally, on a trip to the beautiful nearby city of Mtskheta, which received the title of the “Holy City” by the Georgian Orthodox Church, we visited the church of Svetitskhoveli during the Georgian Christian Orthodox celebrations of Palm Sunday. A further example of religious sites we visited is the Jvari Monastery, which is a Georgian Orthodox monastery from the sixth century listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. It was an additional awe inspiring sight. Situated on a rocky mountain top, it offered a panoramic view of the city of Mtskheta close by as well as the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragavi rivers and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Within Tbilisi we visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi (commonly known as Sameba), which is known as the main Georgian Orthodox Cathedral and is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in the world.

Finally, upon the final day of our trip, a meeting with the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia’s Mr.Radoslaw Darski (Head of Political, Press and Information Section) and his Deputy Ms. Dorota Dlouchy-Suliga proved to be a valuable summation of the information and opinions we had encountered throughout the trip. Often times the parties portray differing viewpoints but more poignantly they portray different economic, political and social interests- which inspired critical thinking and analyst on the part of the UF delegation. However, essentially what we noted was the existence of an identity crisis played out in the geopolitical sphere, in a country which is aiming to define and establish itself in the world both economically and politically between the two worlds of the East and the West.

Overall, we each learned greatly from the trip and had an unforgettable experience. The relatively small Caucasian country mostly famed for its traditions, hospitality and cuisine and currently in the throes of interstate tensions, frozen conflicts and the looming threat of Russia won over our hearts and served to inspire further passion for each of our areas of academia, political sciences and international relations.

Related articles:

UF Malmö Goes to Athens

UF trip to Albania

Photo credits:

Carolin Jamusch for UF Malmö

The post UF Malmö Goes to Georgia appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.