When is Enough Going to be Enough in the Middle East?

(TCU) - Clarissa Ward has won several awards for her astounding journalism throughout her career as an international correspondent. She is breaking barriers for women which should be respectable from anyone's point of view. Equality is something we all need to strive for, and it is interesting to see Clarissa Ward push for it through a perspective only she can deliver through her memoir “On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist”. Seeing her enthusiasm and passion as she travelling around the world putting others first is where I can reflect on my own life experiences through my nonprofit, Stryde. Stryde is a non-profit political organization focused on uniting all immigrants and providing solutions to any injustice pertaining to race, ethnicity, culture, heritage, sex, religion, or social group. We seek to advance the lives of all immigrants and bring aspiration to the American Dream. There are many issues pertaining to immigration, and we need more immigration policies set in place to make the process of becoming an American more efficient. That’s easier said than done as we can see with the border crisis and having thousands of people from the Middle East displaced, coming to America in hopes of survival. The last thing we need is to create practical immigration policies that make it easier for criminals from around the world to gain citizenship, causing crime rates to increase and potentially create "terrorist" groups. "It was September 2014. I was sitting on the floor of small room behind a shop in northern Syria. Opposite me was Israfil, one of thousands of young men who had left the comfort of their homes in the West to come to Syria and fight jihad against the Assad regime. His passport was Dutch but nationality held no meaning for him any longer. He was defending the ummah, his fellow Muslims, and following in the footsteps of the sahaba, the companions of the Prophet. Everything he did he believed to be imbued with deep, religious significance (213)." There was a story Clarissa told of her and a man sneaking undetected into country where she was not welcome. That is very dangerous and could have cost her life. She was so resiliently determined to build a common ground between their county, the surrounding counties, and the US that she put her fear of death aside. If we could find more people like Clarissa in the world, we could build a level of unity though God’s love and forgiveness for our sins understanding that we are all here to make the next generation better.

 Everyone must be grateful and learn how to make the most of what God has given them. Though I am to dedicate my life to Stryde becoming a world endeavor, I also share common interest with Clarissa in learning new languages and travelling the world. In this way, we can share the good and bad within our cultures and communities. It is of great importance to understand these issues from a local standpoint before we can really open our eyes to these problems globally. Clarissa mentioned in an interview with Michael Barbero that her career was all about “the stories behind the stories that we never get to hear about” unless people like Clarissa, and me search to find out what is really going on within our communities. Like Clarissa, Stryde seeks to illuminate the problems of the world. We want to nurture a world powered by solutions rather than misunderstandings. Stryde is to represent God’s love for humanity, a constant reminder that we are all brothers and sisters in His eyes.

I found a connection with Clarissa’s memoir because I have a natural love of politics growing up in a family who would love to share their opinions on what is happening in the White House up the street.  The Middle East just so happens to play a big part in politics with WWIII and a nuclear war always being the headlines in the news or the hot topic of choice in presidential debates. Clarissa Ward does a great job of taking note of all these instances she has experienced in the most dangerous parts of the world being a first responder. The way she vividly described these moments in her memoir and in interviews with TV broadcasters proves that she can truly stands on what she went through and what she believes needs to be done to bring equality not only between countries but between men and women. She hopes to bring forward equality and peace through the best way she knows how to, journaling. The only way in which I feel disconnected from her memoir being someone who wants to bring forth peace and equality, is not having enough Middle Eastern friends. What they are going through in that region of the world are the most violent war crimes and catastrophes. "It was November 2011, and Syria was galvanized by a popular uprising that was growing by the day. The Arab Spring had set the entire region on fire, knocking over decades-old dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt and Libya (144)." If we are to bring peace to the Middle East and the rest of the world, we must voice their thoughts and opinions first before all else. We must communicate ideas for a common ground on peace with them. Clarissa Ward is being shot at with guns, bombed by missiles, and sexually harassed by men throughout her journey around the world. Nobody wants to have those situations happen to them, but that is the downside of going to the most dangerous parts of the world. This seems to be the only way we can get insights into what is happening in the world and start to address solutions for a better future for all.