BIG deal~

Background baru..hehe

2009-07-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

this is a new template from Pyzam.com..got it from Zetty..ok..i'm soooo outdated. punyer laa susah nak tukar background nih..wuteverrrr........

You're old when....(in respond to Mamau's post)

2009-05-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

i was reading through Mamau's blog, her latest post..entitled the same as this.

What makes me feel old?

1 When i think i need a break after 6 long years of continuous non-stop studying of torturous architecture, to add to that..5 years of high school, 6 years of primary and a year or two of kindergarten..all continuous with those occasional weekends and festive holidays. Then i realized..how i've elaborated this fact..gheesh..

2 When i browse through wedding photography and videography on a regular basis. No intention there, just peer pressure..everyone seems to ask me to look at this video, that video, which photographer, door gifts..etc etc....for opinion of course.

3 When the body starts to ache here and there...which was entirely caused by lack of excercise obviously. I suggest Tae Bo.

4 When the global issues start to matter. When you see pictures of dying people in Palestine and you wonder..how have you lived your life so far..gratefully? I'm doing this course..Development and Emergency Practice.. maybe that is the reason.

5 When London is obviously too crowded and staying home during the weekends is something you look forward to.

6 When the taste buds suddenly refuse to take extreme sweetness...less sugar in every single thing..this is sooo like my mum

7 When listening to old songs brings back memories of childhood..how we've grown~

8 When forgetting something is normal..and you never recall them back.

i really can't think of anything else. But i feel old anyhow

Cheers~ x

K.A.M.I.

2009-04-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

I found these pictures in my lappy.....see how much we've grown.....

We've got a secret code..it's Code Alert P.I.N.K. ok..mcm power rangers plak..

21st July 2007 @ Kelana Seafood (now demolished~)

When Smuggling is the Only Way In, and Out: The Depriving Economic of Gaza

2009-04-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

The population of Gaza have long suffered from economic deprivation since the occupation of Israel. Gaza is surrounded by a barrier wall, built by Israel after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1994, with crossings, closed most of the time due to attacks or fear of attacks from the Palestinian militants towards the Israeli military and civilians. Since then, the Gaza population have lived their lives under siege, where their basic needs – fuel, food, medicine, clothes and etc, were never met.

To cope with the blockade, apart from very limited aid from international bodies, the population of Gaza resorted to illegal smuggling, digging tunnels between Gaza and Egypt to bring in food, fuel and other items of scarce. The smuggling activity has prevented Gaza’s economic from collapsing, with increasing importance as the borders continues to close every single day. Omar Shaban, a Gaza economist, estimates that smuggling comprises about 90% of market activity in the territory.

The tunnels have been used to smuggle almost everything that can get through it – fuel, cigarettes, food, auto parts, foreign currency, electronic items, alcohol, livestock, clothing and etc. The tunnels also ferry people who cannot leave or enter Gaza without permission from Israeli or Egyptian. Hospital patients were sometimes drugged and shipped on a trolley along the tunnel to prevent panic attacks underground.

Hamas have also excavated tunnels to launch strategic attacks towards Israel Defense Forces and to stock up weapons and bombs within the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli domestic intelligence agency, since June 2007, 175 tons of explosives, 10 million rounds of ammunition, tens of thousands of machine guns, grenades, land mines and precision-guided missiles, have been smuggled into the region.

These tunnels have been registered with the Hamas authorities by their owners, signing pledges to pay workers’ compensation and hooked up their underground operations to the local electricity network. Hamas have also been cashing in on ‘usage fees” and “value-added taxes” from tunnel owners for goods and “insurance policy” from gasoline buyers. The charge of smuggling a person is exorbitant, reaching up to $3,000 per person.

Tunnels, recently, have been equipped with power cables for electricity, oxygen tubes and intercom systems. Some of the rich owners have also managed to siphon Egypt’s heavily subsidised fuel through plastic pipes, rigged within the tunnel. A standard 500 meter tunnel costs $60,000 to $90,000 to build, while tunnel built with extra safety features can cost up to $150,000. These tunnels employ over 25,000 workers, mostly those who became unemployed from the closing down of factories and farms. Some of the tunnel builders were also children, small enough to dig through holes, in desperate need of money for food and has dropped out from school due to poverty.

During ceasefire, the underground business suffered because goods from Israel and Egypt were allowed to pass through the borders above ground, at a much cheaper price. Having spent an enormous amount of money on the tunnel’s construction and its usage, the tunnel owners, being businessmen, fired home-made rockets into Israel to prompt the government to seal off the borders again in order to resume their business.

The demolition of these tunnels was done by Egypt, Palestinian National Authority and the Israel Defence Force. The tunnels were mostly located within houses and school buildings for safe passage, especially for weapon smuggling and attacks. Explosive were used to destroy them, leaving the building totally unsalvageable. These tunnels, excavated with many branches, reopened almost too soon after the demolition, resuming the smuggling business.

The demolition, in a way, benefited the Palestinian, as the Palestinian National Authority will compensate house owners whom houses have been destroyed, with new concrete houses in the nearest neighbourhood. This policy have led the Palestinians to construct fake tunnel openings and spreading rumours of tunnels located under their house in order to receive these compensations.

The tunnels, so far, have managed to provide immediate needs for the population. Job opportunities in the tunnel business has been plentiful – excavation ‘engineers’, selling excavation tools and the actual smuggling workforce, with a much better pay from their previous jobs. The Gaza population, despite the exorbitant price of goods brought in through the tunnels, have managed to meet their short-term needs such as food, fuel, clothes and drugs.

However, the longer the tunnel remains as a lifeline for the Gaza population, the harder it gets for a proper Palestinian economy to be developed. Most of the population have sold off their disposable assets and relied on credit to buy the smuggling goods. Small industries still cannot resume their operations because the amount of goods and raw materials smuggled through from Egypt has been very limited and extremely expensive, making it unfeasible to run their business and actually gaining profits from it. This has caused some industries to close down and invest their limited amount of proceeds left towards, either building tunnels or operate a smuggling group to collaborate with the tunnel owners.

In the case of the ceasefire, the tunnel owners were somewhat afraid of peace, as it will get in the way of their wealthy business. When the borders start to reopen and more truck loads of supplies were allowed to enter Gaza, they will have to shut down their operations and resort to consuming products brought in from Israel. There is also a question of dignity there. With these selfish, yet understandable act of a mere business man, the road to peace will be interrupted and more Palestinian will suffer.

It is the right of the Palestinian to do whatever it takes to break the siege. Those with money, in a way, have helped to provide basic necessities for those in need. The desperate ones will settle for anything that comes along the way, even illegal goods. The liquidation of family assets has neglected the sustainability of their livelihoods. Land tenure, infrastructure, education and other investment that have long-term development impacts were no longer their priorities.

The ethical values of the Gaza population have become questionable when smuggling is no longer considered as illegal. The Islamic notions of ‘halal’ and ‘haram’, in this dire situation, have challenged the Muslims of their beliefs. The cost of human death from collapsing tunnels and breathing fumes within the tunnels have become acceptable, only to be compensated with money to the victim’s family. Smuggling weapons and bombs were no longer seen as an offence as they continue to pile up within the so-called vulnerable land.

The situation in Gaza is very unpredictable resulting from the ongoing conflict. Numerous attempts have been made to secure peace within the Strip, but due to the unwillingness and untrustworthy of certain main parties, it is almost impossible to reach a state of harmony and to save the falling economic of Gaza. The idea of peace can only be instilled if a mutual understanding can be reached and human greed can be breached.

Peace brings in more opportunities, short-term and long-term. A stable economic can foster a brighter future for Gaza. These smuggling tunnels are merely the basic survival instinct of the Palestinian, but its importance is growing as the borders remained closed and the population becomes hungrier. Who is to blame?

Be still my child. We are fighting for our freedom.

Armed Conflict & International Humanitarian
Oxford Brookes University

Setahun Satu Update...Astagaaaa

2009-04-22T02:04:00.000-07:00

Maaf yer rakan2....i'm not good in blogging..lagi laa plak nak bercerite2 dongeng nih...akan berusaha update lagi ok

RAYA 2008

2008-10-27T13:20:00.001-07:00

i skipped 2 weeks of classes..and it was well worth it..

the usual..rendang..

and lemang..

and the AJK pintu

and don't forget the Queen herself

and her loyal subjects..

and of course..the photo session

we started off with the usual formal 'tangga' pictures..with all of us girls..n wan of coz

then it became bigger..with the guys..

and some fathers and mothers..

and the whole clan!

then we got carried away.....

and went a bit crazy..rumah hantu konon scary laa..

and Mr. Jerald Pinto who managed to come back on Raya Eve
(in one piece..no hijacking of the MISC thingy)

the 1983's..getting older...

priceless...

this is what happens when everyone is dispersed all around the world and had one chance of coming back for Raya..Alhamdulillah for the Reunion

Till next time..InsyaAllah

23 AND GORGEOUS

2008-10-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Siti Najwa.. "23 AND GORGEOUS"

and to those whom i will not exchange for anything in this world..my non-superficial friends~
ude, bulu, alut, ayna, buna, kak chik, hanim n a few that went missing that night..

Love you guys to bits and pieces..and i mean..bits and pieces~

let's do this every year..one common ground..one solid friendship

THE REUNION

2008-10-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

at last..

Location : Italiannies, Sunway Pyramid
Date : 20th August 2008
Event : Mama's Birthday Dinner

it has been estimated that another reunion like this can only occur in the next two years..

Thinking Architecture

2007-11-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

i heard people talking about me today...strange? am i being liked? or is it just hypocracy? those people..all kinds of people..they are still talking about me..and will always do..

i am after all..a piece of art..reflected in too many languages, too many signs..far too many notions.am i loosing my identity?

today,i've found myself admiring my sense of taste..exotic, tasty and colourful..simply irresistable..i wonder if anyone else in this foreign land has it?

how fast things changes around me..what used to be so peaceful now seems to uproar in the pursuit of capital.. i am no longer calm..always agitated by the crowd, their wealth, their cravings..i've become dangerous, fast and furious..disguised under my monotonous skin of which the name i will bear forever..

who cares about the crowd? i am me..still vibrant..still diverse..still exciting..they just havent seen the whole me.. i am the untold story that needs telling..

i thought about myself a lot today,,how different i am..how special..

this is who i am..let me be me...

Dedicated to the enchanting Brick Lane..with love...

Design Studio 6,
Department of Architecture,
School of Built Environment,
Oxford Brookes University,
Oxford, United Kingdom

THE TRUTH ABOUT AN ALL-FEMALE FLAT

2007-10-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this in concern for those of you who wishes to further your study abroad n wanting to stay inside university-owned accommodation..

I've been given the choice to have an all-female flat..which i happened to choose..

This is the truth about an all-female flat

1 You are probably much older than anyone of them if you are taking postgraduate courses

2 Undergraduate students just love to party and hangout..the different is that the guys will normally just go to the pubs to get drunk while the girls prefer to bring their guy friends to their flats to impress them with their cooking..and they will stay on until 3-4 in the morning

3 Girls just love to cook (excluding me of course!)..so the kitchen will be packed with all the 6 of us trying to stir here and fry there, microwave here and roasting there..some of them even have friends along..

4 Guys seldom like to cook..so you can actually have the kitchen all to yourself..they wont even bother to hang out with their male friends at the flat or the kitchen because it is so uncool..Pub and getting drunk is their definition of cool..cooking is just for mommy's boy

5 Since I'm wearing tudung..I have to always wear tudung all around the flat because my flatmates might suddenly decide to bring male friends..without notice..

6 This is typically me..if you happen to get a cute male flatmate..it's like something you will always look forward to when you come back from a hectic day at the studio..female flatmates? i don't think so..

So..what's the point of living in an all-female flat when you cannot walk around freely, the kitchen is most-of-the-time occupied, and there's always guys hanging around the flat..

Might as well get a mixed flat then..so much better..

Think for yourself.

TO DIORANG..WHOM I WILL NOT EXCHANGE FOR ANYTHING IN THE WORLD

2007-09-26T07:05:00.001-07:00

hey2..sorry for taking so long to upload these pictures..sbb mengade2 malas nak transfer to the laptop..anyway..thanks for the birthday celebration..best in the world..nnt aku balek buat lagi ok

THEY ARE MY DEFINITION OF NON-SUPERFICIAL FRIENDS!!

To Mama, With Love from Oxford

2007-09-23T05:32:00.001-07:00

This blog page is dedicated to Mama who's used to having me around..and will still do..

Maa..i'm 22 yesterday..no birthday celebration..*sigh~ I got back from London after sending Abah n Along off at Marble Arch..the bus ride from Oxford to London is approximately one and a half hours at the cost of 8 pounds for return ticket..so Abah said can go to London often.

I arrived in Headington at 5 pm..after asar pegi laa amek bus to Ezna's for buka puasa..she's cooking..it's about 10 minutes away..by the way..i got a free Brookes bus pass for the year..

sorry laa..gambar tak clear..so I got on the bus..sampai je depan rumah Ezna, I ring the bell but the bus refuses to stop sbb there was this one idiot that rang the bell earlier tapi tak turun so the bus driver thought i was kidding around also..until 4 stops when i finally went up to him n tell him to stop baru die stop..idiot..i was so far away from Ezna's and it's already 7pm...I had to catch a bus back to Ezna's n arrived nearly 8pm..marah sangat..what a lousy birthday!

Ok..today i thought of showing you my room..

B3C,
CHENEY STUDENT VILLAGE,
CHENEY LANE,
HEADINGTON, OXFORD,
OX3 OBD UK
tel: 08707560832 ext. 6081

that's my address..jangan silap bilik! Cheney got 750 rooms..

It's at the top floor by the way..hmm..studio pun top floor..insyaAllah boleh kurus..

So this is my room..pretty cool, right?!

Size wise is sufficient enough for me but if you come later..agak sempit..but still ok..I had to tidy up the room since morning just to take a picture of it to show you..banyak effort tuh..

Maa..the comforter set yang you gave me tu was sejuk sbb kain die licin..so Abah bought me a thick duvet from Argos..cover die baru beli semalam from Woolworth..nampak tak yang kat bawah comforter tu?

The shoe rack was also bought by Abah..with the bedroom slipper..tak payah pun sebenarnya tapi alang-alang..

Sebelah bed tu ader laundry basket..pun baru beli.. I had two pillows sebab satu tak cukup..hehe

Softboard tuh i put my friend's pictures..

This picture was taken with the door opened..so you can imagine the size of my room from its door.

Bawah katil ader storage..that's where I put all the luggage..tapi kene angkat mattress laa..

That's my desk..sempit jugak kalau nak buat drawings tapi rasenye buat drawing semua kat studio..

This softboard i put up the pictures of our family..

Can you see the white with a red line package at top-right of my shelves..that's the kinder bueno x 5.. i am sure you have it also at home..it was unbelievably cheap..

Box hitam sebelah jam tu tersalah beli..suruh beli magazine file tapi tercakap box file...Abah laa ni..

The telephone is behind my laptop..you can always call if you want..

Kiblat die senget sket..muat-muat jer nak sembahyang..

Nampak tak bendera Malaysia?..semangat!!

Maa..I had to kemas this cupboard also tau..

Baju tak banyak pun..even Along said the same thing.. so what was it that i brought from Malaysia that was so berat? I wonder~

Ader cermin..thank God for that..

The black bag at top-right of my cupboard tu is Izza's bag.. I had to borrow her bag in London sebab Abah bought me a 12-piece set of pinggan and mangkuk, 3-piece knive set and 5 x kinder bueno..so i carried that bag all the way from London to Oxford..

Ader baju baru dalam cupboard that Abah bought for me in Bicester..but am not going to show you..you'll say it's no necessary..

Toilet ok laa..bare minimum..toilet bowl, sink, mirror, shower and shower curtain..but slightly sempit..

Maa..this is the view from my room.. That is the Sports Centre..haha..sangat motivated!

Tapi..to become a member is 29 pounds a year n you will get a discounted fee for every entry..to go in without having to pay anything at each entry is 200 pounds a year..

So there goes my motivation of going to the gym everyday..tengok jer laa from my window..

There is also a bar there where everyone gathers. So basically it is quite noisy around my block.
The only ventilation for my room is through that small opening..That is enough to make my room cold..

I think that's about all there is to my room.. Let's go to the kitchen..

Maa..sorry the kitchen is a bit messy..I'm sharing the flat with 2 other Malaysian Chinese, Amy and Yin, a spanish girl, Natalia, Jordan from Malta and Jinny from Hong Kong..I'll introduce them to you later..Yin and Amy cook almost everyday.

microwave, kettle and toaster provided.. fridge also..see the one with the blue towel hanging..that's my storage..tak payah laa tengok dalam ekh..

So that is basically what you will expect to see when you come later..I am alright..don't worry, ok? My class will start this Tuesday..Hope to see you soon..

Love,
Najwa from Oxford