USA Elections

Ever since we started traveling we have been seeing people in the countries we are visiting give us a "thumbs up" for Obama and a "thumbs down" for McCain. We listen to them although we learned a long time ago that Politics and Religion are not subjects you can discuss openly with anyone in passing conversation. We don't intend to make political statements here but we want to communicate what has happened to us for the last 80+ days.

We had anxiety and concerns about the Presidential elections and although voting is optional in the US, we decided to exercise our civic duty and voted at the US Embassy in Damascus while we were there.

Yesterday morning we were woken up by our German friends banging on our door, who congratulated us emphatically on Obama's victory. They thought we had slept through the whole thing but Gaby had been constantly checking on the results on BBC throughout the night.

In our hotel all of the staff (Jordanians and Egyptians) congratulated us on Obama's victory with huge smiles. People we had met over the last couple of days in the Jordanian town we are visiting congratulated us on Obama's victory. They were all truly thrilled about what had happened. The guy at the ticket counter that sold us tickets for a ferry ride told us that over 70% of Arabs that live in Jordan were thrilled with the news as well.

Twice during the last week I heard Americans say that the Arab world hates the USA. I heard it on TV from a lady from Indiana being interviewed on CNN and Gaby heard it from a group of retired ladies from the Midwest who were traveling in a packaged tour through the Holy Land and were doing a cooking course with her in Jordan. We had also heard it often before we left for our trip.

We have been traveling since August and have been in the Middle East most of that time, enjoying every minute of it and I can personally tell you that the Muslim world does not hate the USA.

Most people that we have told that I am from the USA have been extremely friendly and welcoming to me, inviting us for tea and telling us to come back and visit again. Most are quite knowledgeable about regional politics and many have worked in or visited the US.

We have dinned with Kurds that have families in Iraq, Bedouins, with Syrians that live in Syria, with Syrians that live in Lebanon, with Palestinians, Jordanians, with people of different generations, people that have their country full of refugees due to the Iraq war and the Palestinian conflict. Most of them are like you and I, they watch Dr. Phil like many Americans, and Oprah, and our movies and listen to our music.

What the Muslim world does not like is our countries cowboy foreign policy and political leadership. They are thrilled about the opportunity to start anew with a new administration.

So next time you decide against visiting the Middle East because the people there "don't like Americans" think again, you will be missing out on so much, from truly ancient ruins or UNESCO World Heritage sites to the warmth of the Arabs and their hospitality.

Because the people here like you very much. They just don't like George W Bush and his administration.

Steve