As an entrepreneur, it’s important to reward yourself a little each day. There are so many ways to do this: some are free, others require some dough.
A small way that I treat myself is with coffee. I love coffee with leche! I’ve been increasingly loyal to cappuccino – it’s liquid dessert. I can’t say that coffee does anything for me as far as keeping me alert but, for some reason, I gravitate to one of my fave cafes almost every morning to get my day started.
My current top 5 NY spots for cappuccino are:
5. Starbucks
4. Joe The Art of Coffee
3. Crumbs
2. Cafe Galet – a small french café in midtown east. It’s small and cute. Cappuccinos are delicious. I recommend having a macaron. They’re 2.50 each and worth every bite.
1. Pret A Manger – Once you go Pret, you’ll measure all other cappuccinos against theirs. That will be the standard you use. It’s that good.
I HEART CAPPUCCINO
I, also, recommend Teeccino herbal coffee. It’s Naturally caffeine-free and non-acidic and tastes great. They have a variety of flavors. And the added benefit is you can save money by making your own special coffee.
“New evidence suggests that female freedom and not anti-Muslim sentiment may be at the heart of the crime, but bigotry is still bigotry no matter the source.”- Nina Burleigh, The New York Times
With her daughter sleeping nearby, a California woman was brutally clubbed inside the family home. She subsequently died. At first police thought it was a hate crime. The latest speculation seems to indicate otherwise.
In search of something better
Like other Iraqis, Shaima Alawadi and her family grew weary after the first Gulf War. With a country in retreat and racked by violent political turmoil, the married mother of five, along with her husband, Kassim, left their native soil seeking a better life in America. They arrived in El Cajon, California in 1995, where other Iraqi refugees also landed. Not until recently did the family seem to have any major problems.
A tragic find
On the morning of March 21, 2012, after an unremarkable night, Shaima Alawadi’s daughter, Fatima, 17, made her way downstairs to the kitchen, only to find her mother lying in a pool of blood near the door. Still breathing, she had been struck in the head several times with something resembling a tire iron. Alawadi later died at the hospital.
According to CBS News, “Police found a handwritten note at the scene reading ‘Go back to your country, you terrorist.’” A similar note was left the week before but it was ignored.
At the time Alawadi was discovered, her husband Kassim was at school, dropping off one of their children. Fatima told investigators that she didn’t hear anything and there was no one else home at the time.
A strange turn
Though Shaima Alawadi’s death appeared to be a potential hate crime, authorities soon started seeing things differently.
In an article published April 5, 2012, “Family of Iraqi Woman Killed in California Was in Crisis, Records Show,” The New York Times reports, “But court documents made public this week instead reveal details of a family in crisis, with talk of divorce and a daughter resisting an arranged marriage, and of Ms. Alawadi’s survivors themselves coming under scrutiny from investigators.” Adding to the mystery, Fatima received a text following the mother’s homicide from an as-yet unidentified person stating, “The detective will find out tell them cnt talk.”
One more point of view
News reports say Fatima was recently treated at a local emergency room for minor injuries sustained when she jumped out of a car driven by her mother. Rumor has it the teenager was being forced into an unwanted marriage, just one gender related question when it comes to Shaima Alawadi’s relatives. They say she was in the process of moving forward with a divorce from her husband Kassim when foul play happened. In a patriarchal culture such as Alawadi’s, this kind of break-up is often seen as being dishonorable.
There are two theories currently at work regarding the killing of Shaima Alawadi. She was either done in by rabid anti-Muslim hate mongers or the victim of domestic violence. Though many acknowledge there are those in the El Cajon community who dislike Muslims, the circumstances surrounding the note left by Alawadi’s body are said to be problematic. Quite simply, why leave a message?
Alawadi’s daughter and husband travelled to Najaf, Iraq for her burial. Meanwhile, the victim’s sister, Esmah, has denied allegations of her sister’s divorce as well as Fatima’s forced marriage. Call it what you will, Shaima Alawadi didn’t deserve to die.
“Just the women are dead, and the men who killed them are alive. We should raise our voices so everyone knows about it.” – Student demonstrator Kamila Ataee speaking about gender bias in Afghanistan
As the world watches, women in Afghanistan continue to be killed at an alarming rate. While some of the ill-treated have fallen prey to domestic violence and pious extremists, others have suffered from the actions of American forces. For women, there is no safe haven in Afghanistan.
Killed by their own families
In 2012, reports have surfaced about victims like child bride, Sahar Gul, who was confined and severely tortured by relatives for refusing to become a prostitute. Then there is the case in Northern Afghanistan where a mother-in-law, Wali Hazrata, conspired with her son and murdered the wife, Stori, for giving birth to a girl. They only wanted male offspring.
Regrettably, these horrible stories are not anomalies. Elsewhere in the country, in Baghlan Province for example, a 28 year old woman named Fatima was strangled upon returning home from a trip. The victim’s husband and family allegedly didn’t like the idea of her working outside the home; consequently they attempted to cover up their crime.
Domestic violence is only one threat women have to reckon with in an already war torn country. Consider the Taliban.
Cultural menaces to female populace
Though most military officials indicate the Taliban has been beaten, the United States is currently engaged in settlement negotiations with these same hard-liners. It seems they are still a force. For the women of Afghanistan that means there is more to fear than mere political rhetoric and patriarchal hyperbole.
According to an April 17, 2012 article published in the Washington Times, “Taliban talks terrify Afghan women,” writer Ashish Kumar Sen describes what many fear will happen after the United States pulls its forces out of the region:
“Taliban fighters perpetrated egregious acts of violence against women, including rape, abduction and forced marriage, according to a 2001 report by the State Department.”
Under Taliban rule, women cannot attend school or go to work and more than a few have been stoned to death or met a similar fate because they violated some type of moral code. Worries are very well founded and it hasn’t been too much better with the Americans.
In the middle of a war zone
On April 23, 2012, three more victims died in Afghanistan who weren’t even fighting in the war. The female trio was caught between Taliban revolutionaries and U.S. military forces when they were slain. About the tragic event, Press TV, an international news agency, states, “Officials in Wardak Province say the women were killed when a rocket was fired into a house in Adam Khel district on Monday. It is not yet clear which side fired the rocket.”
Regarding the killed, were they someone’s daughter, sister, mother, aunt or perhaps wife? Does it really matter which side fired the shell?
It’s not only U.S. artillery. On March 11, 2012, while stationed in Southern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales opened fire with his rifle on unarmed civilians, cutting down 17 people. Of the adults, a majority were women.
Raising awareness
Enduring Freedom
A courageous few seeking justice and safety for all women recently demonstrated outside government offices in Kabul as a way of calling attention to their plight. Emma Graham-Harrison, a correspondent covering the event for The Guardian UK newspaper, wrote, “Young Afghans braved fears of violence to join a rare march on parliament to demand justice for the women who have been killed, beaten and abused this year – including one they said was beheaded by her own husband.”
Realistically, if 130, 000 American troops could not make Afghanistan safe for women, what hope does a march have against the Taliban?
