Mohammed Ammar Bayrakdar

I have been somewhat quiet recently in terms of the this subject. But, sometimes the only way to fan out your anger is simply through blogging. I do not expect any form of recognition or fame out of my blogging, however I am just looking to speak what’s on my mind. I am no political activist and will never be one. Some may agree and some may disagree, but as I respect your opposed opinion I hope you do mine as well.

I have been on vacation since August 6th and have been in Syria ever since. While watching the news and keeping an eye on the “Arab Up Rise” all over the world and it just aches me to see how the Arabs are being killed. Regardless of politics and agendas, innocent people are being killed. In Somalia, there is a starvation catastrophe. Don’t see much of that on the news anymore. Has this been resolved? The Arab region is experiencing, for it’s first time in history, a major protest from the people against their ruling parties.

The first thing I would like to discuss is the term “Political Activist”. Where the hell did all these political activists come out from? What, all of a sudden because you have an “opinion” in politics you’re termed a political activist? Ooh wait, you term yourself as a political activist, appear once on TV to get some fame and then never appear again. I despise and scorn those people who think that they can use the existing crisis we are living in to get fame by smearing themselves with such titles.

Secondly, there are anonymous people (I’ll explain why I use the term anonymous) appearing on TV claiming that they are speaking on behalf of an entire nation, or a group of people. I just have two things to comment on this; 1) Where were you previously if the situation is so bad? Why is it that you kept quiet all these years and only now did you start to speak and make outrageous claims.

I have been closely monitoring a number of news channels over the past couple of days and its simple to say that you can no longer get an objective opinion about the situation in Syria. Some channels are claiming that there is severe unrest through the following alleged justifications:
1) Anonymous eye witness calls: Random people call in to news channels reporting the situation as they see it. Now, there are a number of problems with the calls for example, an eye witness claims to see something and when asked how close he is to the situation he says I am 300 Meters away. Another example is that an eye  witness calls in to a news channel reporting that communications and electricity are down. When asked how he is calling he says that he is using a foreign number. The simple mind can easily reach to the conclusion that if communications are down, not even foreign numbers can make calls; unless you have enhanced technology such as satellite phones.

2) Short video footage: Random protesters video certain situations where you hear gun fire, complete panic and chaos. Part of the analysis of such footage claims that the army is the one who is firing upon protesters. Now, all the footage I have seen, on the news channels I have been watching, is very hazy. The footage is shaking throughout the video, resolution is bad, and you really can’t see anything. You really cannot deduce who is firing at who because you hear the gun fire however you don’t see anyone firing.

3) Army moving into certain cities: The army has moved into a city to stabilize the situation and according to reports their presence is 1) to answer the call of the people to interfere and 2) to eliminate the threat that exists. Unfortunately, and going back to the first point, eye witness accounts are claiming that the army is firing on protesters, etc. However, there has been recent footage released on youTube that clearly shows the intentions of the army. The people have clearly provided a nice and warm welcome to the army and are greeting them, etc. Furthermore, the army is trying to calm down people informing them that they are there to support the people, answer their call, and address the threat at hand.

I think its important to not make any deductions based on what is seen on any news channel or on any “eye witness accounts”. The accounts are clearly misinterpreting the truth and at a time like this we cannot afford such a thing. Think objectively, think rationally, analyze based on logic and you will be able to put the pieces together.

Lately, the series of events that have unraveled in Middle East is quite astonishing. We have seen governments overthrown in Tunis and Egypt through massive peaceful protests. Following Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, and most recently Syria are witnessing protests. The recent uprisings are a call for freedom and democracy in these Middle Eastern countries. Furthermore, it is no secret that the people are sick and tired of certain corruption in their country.

What interests me the most is the uprising that is taking place in Syria; given that I have a Syrian background. The media is portraying the uprising in a way that shows that the public want freedom, government replacement, etc. The government has listened and immediate actions have taken place and a road map is set to make certain resolutions and reforms. However, watching the news lately I have noticed that the media, while preaching a pro-Freedom Rights Movement, they are in fact doing quite the opposite. Part of being free includes any person offering their opinion about any other entity, person, etc. Right?

Well I saw the clip on Jazeera news of two people calling in and offering their opinion about the news channel and immediately they were cut off. And the reporter apologized to the viewers!! If you preach freedom, let the people talk!!!

I was sitting in a coffee shop yesterday, a nice one as a matter of fact, and they have their ceilings designed with some facts and proverbs about coffee. The proverb that mainly caught my mind, specifically about coffee, is as follows:

“Good Coffee Should Be Black Like The Devil, And See Through All Things With His Half-Shut Eyes, Hot Like Hell And Sweet As A Kiss”.

I really like that; meaningful and gives you a deep meaning about what good coffee is all about!

Remember the Titans, a great movie. A movie that teaches us that differences between people are not absolutely based on race, but what has been passed down from generation to generation. It is unfortunate how differences are generation inherited when its crap at the end of the day.

Watching this movie may remind us that no such differences exist if you really get to know someone.

A movie I definitely suggest people to watch!!!

Lately, the weather in Jeddah has been amazing and because of that I have been going to a coffee shop with some close friends to enjoy the weather, smoke some sheesha, and watch a game or two. Because we sit long durations, it gives me time to think; something which I like to!!!

Anyhow, I just like to sit back, some my sheesha and rethink the past; the good times, the bad times, and the mediocre times. Whether it being personal life, work life, and so on. The question that keeps popping in my head and I find quite hard to answer is, “Where is my life going?”. Now, sometimes it is right to make predictions based on history, however I have noticed that with this question I cannot seem to do so. I guess there is a reason for people not knowing about the unknown future; it is an adventure not knowing what your future holds rather discovering it and making it your past as you age through life.

One thing I do know, the reason why I like to reminisce about the past to recall the good things I have done, the fun times I had, and the adventures I experienced. I guess we all hope that we learn from our mistakes, and I just hope that years down the line I will not regret how I deal with my future.

On a final note, “Learn from your past to pave your future”.

Lately, work has been quite hectic. One of the projects that I am responsible for has gone some what south due to a number of reasons (not relevant to this discussion). Anyhow, the last two weeks have been quite tough; especially for this project. The last week has I put in a total of 75 hours just to try and smooth out the tension at work. While this took a major negative tool on my health, I do believe that it was totally worth it.

This week, I walked into my CIO’s office with the flu, unshaved, blood shot eyes, and barely holding my stance. His first words to me where, “Ammar, what happened to you? Why are you not smiling?” My first response to him was because of the problems we are facing and I am trying to do my best to make this project succeed. He had an amazing response. The punch line of his conversation was that there always are problems, but it shouldn’t have a negative effect on me to an extent that I don’t smile anymore.

This got me thinking a little. Could it be that I am taking my work to personal? Could it be that I let my work and my worries get ahead of me? Could it be…? I think it is very important that personal and professional are not confused and mixed up with each other. While it is easier said than done, it is true. It actually is the best thing to do. Leave work every day and leave everything behind for the next day. Taking it home with you will do nothing but have a negative effect on you when you go home.

Currently, I am consulting in one of the banks in the Saudi Arabia (don’t know if I will pertain this). Anyhow, I am managing what used to be “the” major project in the bank. We bought a very powerful product and the vendor has spent the past couple of months tailoring the product to the Bank’s needs.

While the vendor has been very professional, something very interesting happened between the vendor and I last Tuesday and Wednesday. There seemed to be a very simple problem with all documents in the system; the format of the date was incorrect. On Tuesday, this was communicated to the vendor and late Tuesday night their response was that they needed a total of 5 working days to fix this MINOR problem. To be frank, I snapped. I couldn’t believe that such a simple problem required a 5 day solution. Anyhow, I decided to “make noise” and challenge the vendor with the time period specified. On Tuesday, I responded to the vendor and requested a justification for the time period specified.

On Wednesday, at around 1:00 PM, I called up the vendor and after a short discussion they said they will reconsider whether there is a faster workaround for the problem. At 9:00 PM, I received an email saying that the problem, along with other reported problems, has been fixed.

The moral of this discussion is “Challenge”. Don’t accept anything from anyone on the spot. By a small and simple question or comment to challenge whoever, you could get what you want when you want (maybe where you want).

So, it’s been a while since I blogged; really don’t know why actually. Anyhow, throughout the year I have traveled to a number of places and interesting things seem to happen to me on the airplane. Two of the most interesting things happened on a Kingfisher flight from Mumbai to Delhi where the inflight theme song was Candle in the wind; the song Elton John sang for the late Princess Diana.

Most recently, on one of my trips back from Syria, the airlines I flew on decided to put the lucky number 666 as the flight number. Out of all the flight numbers, why would anyone chose that number? That is just a cursed number.

I am pretty sure future flights will hold more interesting things!!!

I can’t believe it, the wait was long but it was completely worth it. My Masters Programme Manager contact me today to inform me that I have been awarded a Masters Degree in Information Systems Management and that I was awarded an ‘A’ for my Dissertation Paper.

I am very happy to have made this major achievement at such an early stage in my life. Next thing is to sit and plan what my next achievements are.