October 2015 by The Washington Diplomat

■ INSIDE: EDUCATION

A World of News and Perspective

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EDUCATION ■ A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

■ October 2015

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■ VOLUME 22, NUMBER 10

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) campus is based in Adelphi, Md.

MIDDLE EAST

World Turns Blind Eye As Yemen Descends Into Tailspin of Need With Yemen mired in civil war, aid agencies warn that an entire generation of children in the Arab world’s poorest nation is at risk of irreversible harm. But their pleas have been met with a resounding thud of nothing. PAGE 6

VIRT UAL INFLUENCE PEOPLE OF WORLD

SOMALIA’S

FRESH START

MIDDLE EAST

U.S. Program to Train Syrian Rebels Runs Into Major Roadblocks Since President Obama appeared on television a year ago to declare his intention to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State — and over four years since Syria’s civil war broke out — the U.S. effort to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight the extremist group is a long way from fulfilling its ambitious mission. PAGE 10

Septime Webre continues to expand and innovate the Washington Ballet’s repertoire with “Latin Heat.” PAGE 28

Ex-Senator Chips Away at Nuclear Arsenal Maryland’s UMUC Leads the Way In International Online Education

by Larry Luxner

Continued on next page

October 2015

EDUCATION

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Page17

During 24 years in the Senate, Sam Nunn earned a reputation as a pragmatic lawmaker who helped secure thousands of nuclear weapons in former Soviet states. The conservative Georgia Democrat retired in 1997, saying he no longer had “zest and enthusiasm” for the job. But fortunately Nunn never lost his enthusiasm for eradicating nuclear weapons from the globe. PAGE 4

DIPLOMATIC SPOUSES

Children’s Rights At Work, Raising Teens at Home

culture

‘Latin Heat’ Spices Up Ballet Repertoire

PIONEER

easured by enrollment, the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) ranks as one of America’s largest institutions of higher learning. Yet unlike their more famous University of Maryland neighbors over in College Park, UMUC students don’t live in dorms, nor do they have their own football team to root for. Over the next 12 months, Adelphi-based UMUC plans to abolish another staple of college life — textbooks — saving its 85,000 students millions of dollars in the process. “Traditionally, if you were to take a course, you had to buy a textbook. But that’s a very old way of doing things,” said UMUC President Javier Miyares. “Let’s get rid of textbooks and instead ask what are the best open, freely available resources out there.”

As Ahmed Isse Awad becomes Somalia’s top envoy to the U.S., a post that has largely remained vacant since 1991, he is essentially starting from scratch — much like his war-ravaged East African nation. In fact, Somalia’s modest little mission in D.C. was still awaiting furniture when we interviewed the ambassador sitting on packing crates. PAGE 11

After working in the Swedish Foreign Affairs Ministry on issues ranging from security and defense to gender equality and children’s rights, Madeleine Lyrvall is tackling her biggest challenge: raising three teenagers PAGE 29

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October 2015

CONTENTS thE WashINgtON DIPLOmat

[ news ] 4

COVER PROFILE: SOMALIA Somalia doesn’t have much of an embassy here. But after 24 years in the dark, it does have an ambassador at last: Ahmed isse Awad.

COVER: Cover photo taken at the Somali Embassy by Lawrence Ruggeri of ruggeriphoto.com.

MEDICAL obesity plagues millions of Americans, but the epidemic is spread disproportionately throughout the country, with the South and Midwest reporting some of the highest rates.

[ education ] 17

TRUMP AND WATERGATE When it comes to the luxury hotel market in Washington, money trumps politics, as seen in two new properties that capitalize on their political pedigrees to cater to the city’s deep-pocketed visitors.

[ culture ] 28

TRANSFORMATIVE MOVES “latin heat” is the latest innovative idea Septime Webre has introduced to transform the Washington Ballet into one of the hottest tickets in town.

SHARED HISTORY the Spanish embassy’s upcoming fall/winter cultural programming celebrates the variety, range and scope of Spanish culture in the Americas, both past and present.

FERTILE ANNIVERSARY A gutsy remake of “Yerma,” Federico García lorca’s tragic lament to unrealized motherhood, ushers in GAlA hispanic theatre’s 40th anniversary season.

DINING restaurants within the relatively small confines of d.c. span the globe. But if you want truly authentic, even exotic food at a fraction of the price, you need to head to the sprawling suburbs of Maryland and virginia.

[ hotels & travel ] 23

BEYOND ‘CASABLANCA’ the Swedish embassy examines the life of hollywood legend ingrid Bergman beyond “casablanca” — a life filled with over 50 films, three oscars and a scandalous affair that almost derailed a storied career.

CHARTING THE WAY carlos rosario international Public charter School, the nation’s first adult charter school, has helped tens of thousands of foreign-born immigrants start new lives.

DIPLOMATIC SPOUSES Sweden’s Madeleine lyrvall has traded in her Foreign Service hat for a different set of duties: busy mom to three teens.

UNASSUMING PIONEER the university of Maryland university college ranks as one of America’s largest institutions of higher learning and among the first to recognize the potential of the internet to make education more accessible.

TRAFFICKING FRACAS A bureaucratic rite of passage sparked an unusually fierce backlash this year when the State department’s 2015 trafficking report came under fire for putting politics ahead of principle.

BOOK REVIEW ian Bremmer dissects u.S. foreign policy and the failures of past presidents in “Superpower: three choices for America’s role in the World.”

TRAINING TUG OF WAR critics say obama’s plan to train Syrian rebels is too little, too late to make a dent in Syria’s civil war. Supporters counter that it’s too soon to write off an audacious undertaking that has yet to get off the ground.

POLITICAL CIRCUS The costly, drawn-out american electoral process is a spectacle that inspires admiration and disgust around the world.

Spanish culture

YEMEN COLD SHOULDER in Yemen, an entire generation is on the verge of being lost to hunger and violence. Yet Yemen remains one of the most underfunded humanitarian crises in the world.

Watergate Hotel

PEOPLE OF WORLD INFLUENCE Sam Nunn left the Senate after four terms, saying he no longer had “zest and enthusiasm” for the job. Fortunately, the pragmatic lawmaker never lost his enthusiasm for ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

10 Syria training

october 2015

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P.o. box 1345 • Silver Spring, MD 20915-1345 • Phone: (301) 933-3552 • Fax: (301) 949-0065 • e-mail: news@washdiplomat.com • web: www.washdiplomat.com Publisher/Editor-in-Chief victor Shiblie Director of Operations Fuad Shiblie Managing Editor Anna Gawel News Editor larry luxner Contributing Writers Michael coleman, Sean lyngaas, Molly Mccluskey, Ky N. Nguyen, Kate oczypok, Steven reinberg, Gail Scott, dave Seminara, john Shaw, Karin Sun, Gary tischler, lisa troshinsky, Karin Zeitvogel Photographer lawrence ruggeri Account Manager rod carrasco Graphic Designer cari henderson The Washington Diplomat is published monthly by the Washington diplomat, inc. the newspaper is distributed free of charge at several locations throughout the Washington, d.c. area. We do offer subscriptions for home delivery. Subscription rates are $29 for 12 issues and $49 for 24 issues. call Fuad Shiblie for past issues. If your organization employs many people from the international community you may qualify for free bulk delivery. To see if you qualify you must contact Fuad Shiblie. The Washington Diplomat assumes no responsibility for the safe keeping or return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other material. the information contained in this publication is in no way to be construed as a recommendation by the Publisher of any kind or nature whatsoever, nor as a recommendation of any industry standard, nor as an endorsement of any product or service, nor as an opinion or certification regarding the accuracy of any such information.

October 2015

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PEOPLE OF WORLD INFLUENCE

Sam Nunn

Ex- Senator Continues Dogged Pursuit To Rid World of Nuclear Weapons by Michael Coleman

uring 24 years in the Senate, Sam Nunn earned a reputation as a pragmatic chairman of the Armed Services Committee and co-author of the landmark Nunn-Lugar nonproliferation legislation that helped secure thousands of nuclear weapons in former Soviet states.

The conservative Georgia Democrat retired in 1997 after four terms, explaining that he no longer had “zest and enthusiasm” for the job. But Nunn never lost his enthusiasm for eradicating nuclear weapons from the globe. Since his Senate retirement, he has thrown himself into nuclear policy full time. In 2001, Nunn and Ted Turner, a fellow Georgian and billionaire businessman, co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a Washington public interest group that works with governments around the world to eradicate nuclear weapons. In recent Diplomat interviews in Astana, Kazakhstan, and later back in Washington, Nunn described why he believes NTI’s unique approach to public policy makes it one of the most important organizations in the world. We also discussed the August launch of a new nuclear fuel bank in Kazakhstan that will be managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the controversial nuclear deal with Iran that narrowly averted defeat in a skeptical Republican Congress.

agreement, guided by the belief that providing a safe, secure stockpile of nuclear fuel would help deter nations who want to tap into nuclear power from developing the more highly enriched weaponsgrade variety of uranium. Nunn even convinced his friend Warren Buffett, a billionaire American investor and NTI board member, to kick in $50 million to make it happen. The fuel bank is a physical reserve of up to 90 metric tons of low-enriched uranium fuel — enough for a typical light-water reactor, the most common type of nuclear reactor worldwide. These types of reactors can power a large city for three years. “The fuel bank doesn’t preclude IAEA member states from developing their own nuclear fuel facilities,” Nunn explained. “It enables and encourages countries that want civil, peaceful nuclear power to go forward with their plans without putting in their own indigenous enrichment and not fearing a collapse of the marketplace or a political cutoff. “It’s a supply of last resort,” he added. The IAEA, a multinational global nucle-

“

Photo: Bill Adler / Nuclear Threat Initiative

Twenty years ago there were 50 countries that had weapons-grade nuclear material and now there are 25, so you can say we’ve made progress, but you can also say we have a long, long way to go. — Sam Nunn

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co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative

Not surprisingly to those who follow nuclear weapons policy, Nunn has spent a good bit of time in Kazakhstan since launching NTI. The former Soviet state voluntarily relinquished its arsenal of some 1,400 nuclear warheads when the Soviet Union broke apart in the early 1990s. In August, Nunn traveled to the Kazakh capital of Astana for a signing ceremony that made official the IAEA’s management of a new low-enriched uranium fuel bank at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant. Kazakhstan — eager to boost its international credibility and experience in the nuclear realm, having handled and stored nuclear material safely and securely for more than 60 years — made good sense as the fuel bank’s location. Under Nunn’s leadership, NTI spent a decade helping to broker the fuel bank

ar watchdog of sorts that works in tandem with the United Nations, will manage the fuel bank. “The fact that it is under the IAEA auspices is the closest thing to neutrality that we can get in today’s world,” Nunn said. “It’s like earthquake insurance — even if it’s never used, it’s still very valuable. It has a huge psychological value.” Creating international protocols and mechanisms to safeguard nuclear materials is what NTI is all about. “Some 30-odd countries are in the process of deciding now whether [to develop] nuclear power and if so, how so — and what is their confidence in being able to assure they’ll be able to have an adequate supply,” Nunn said, explaining that’s where the fuel bank in Astana comes in.

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“Let’s put it this way: If everybody that wants nuclear power in the future decides to put in their own enrichment, this world is going to be a hard place to live.” So when will this fuel bank — the second in the world (the first is owned and operated by Russia) — come online? “That’s what Warren Buffett keeps asking,” Nunn said with a laugh. In seriousness, the long-planned and awaited facility will be operational in 2017. “This is the first time anything like this has ever been done,” Nunn said, referring to a fuel bank under international management. “IAEA has not had this kind of operational function and you’re dealing with nuclear [material], which has both dangers and perceptions of danger. All of those things make it tedious, but this gives me confidence this is going to be completed.” Moving beyond the recent news of the fuel bank launch in Kazakhstan, we asked Nunn what makes NTI different than so many other narrowly focused special interest groups or think tanks in Washington. “We’re actually creating pilot projects — and sometimes more — to show the way, and we’re doing it with transparency

with governments, but not as part of governments,” he replied. “We try to keep governments informed around the world, and not just our own.” Nunn is also quick to point out that NTI gets none of its money from governments, including that of the United States. “Governments don’t support us in terms of our budget,” he said. “NTI is also unique because we have an international board and influential people on our board who can carry our message or proposal globally, including to Russia and China and the Middle East,” Nunn continued. “There are few other organizations that have Democrats and Republicans, and our board has always had from the very beginning people from both parties and people who have a tremendous amount of experience even in the Departments of Defense and Energy. We think the IAEA is one of the most important organizations in the world.” And what about the IAEA, which will play such a critical role in the enforcement of the Iran nuclear deal in the years ahead? What makes them so special? “They have the responsibility of promoting safe nuclear power and energy and they have a unique mission in terms October 2015

of making sure that countries do not cross the line and go into building nuclear weapons when they are purporting to be trying to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Nunn said. On that note, the former senator has long lamented what he calls a loophole in the 45-year-old Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that encourages even peaceful nations to get into the nuclear power game. Unfortunately, once you learn how to enrich uranium to the low levels required for nuclear power, it isn’t a giant leap to manufacture the more highly enriched uranium needed for a bomb. Nunn says amending the treaty, however, is likely a non-starter. “You would have to amend the whole treaty in order to get it closed,” he said. “Talk about a hard task; it would take decades in my view.The one big loophole is that you have an interpreted right — some people quarrel with us — but most countries say effort they have the to right to your ad is free of mistakes in spelling and NOTE: Although every is made assure nuclear content technology including theirup own, and customer if it is ultimately to the to make the final proof. you have that right, then the same technology Photo: Kaveh Sardari / Nuclear Threat Initiative usedtwo for faxed peaceful purposeswill canbe also be used to cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes The first changes made at no make a bomb. From left, Nuclear Threat Initiative co-founders Ted Turner and Sam Nunn, along with actor Michael Douglas, will be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. Signed ads are considered approved. “Therefore, what is legal can also be very attend a 2014 NTI board members’ meeting. dangerous, that’s a loophole I don’t think Mark any changes to your ad. Pleasesocheck this adandcarefully. it was anticipated when the policy was put into administration and five other nations struck the world. What are the consequences if we with Iran over the summer, Tehran has agreed turn this agreement down having led the effect.” If the ad isThe correct signofand to: (301) 949-0065 changes constraints on its nuclear program in charge? dangers thatfaxloophole have been to severe needs “Other countries are not going to salute and brought into sharp relief by the longstanding return for sanctions relief and maintaining The Washington Diplomat (301) 933-3552 say,‘Well, Uncle Sam doesn’t like the agreement dispute with Iran over the dimensions of its some enrichment capacity. Nunn is supportive of the controversial pact they negotiated in red and now Uncle Sam nuclear program. For years, Tehran insisted that wants us to continue the embargo.’ They just as an NPT signatory, it had the right to enrich — not Congress’s effort to derail it. Approved __________________________________________________________ “This president has negotiated it and if aren’t going to do it anymore,” Nunn said. “I for peaceful purposes (while the U.S. Changesuranium ___________________________________________________________ has countered that it surrendered that right America, having led that effort, turns against it don’t think even our friends in Europe were ___________________________________________________________________ and rejects it, I think it goes far beyond Iran,” going to continue economic sanctions if this once it violated terms of the agreement). Under the nuclear deal that the Obama Nunn said.“I think it weakens our leadership in was rejected. Iran was going to end up having

increased its strength via the economic sanctions and they will not have the restrictions of the agreement and so forth. “This agreement has a pretty good chance of preventing Iran from getting a weapon over the next 15 years, and we have much stronger verification with the agreement than without it,” Nunn continued.“So, I look at what the alternative is and to me it’s clear. You’re buying time and you’re reducing the risk dramatically that they could get a weapon in the next 10 or 15 years and you’re also preserving America’s leadership in the world.” Nunn conceded that money will begin flowing to Iran that had previously been choked off by international sanctions — which could allow its government to foment more terrorism in the region. “I think it’s a risk that Iran may use it to promote things in the Middle East that we are very much opposed to, and we’ll have to oppose, but we have all the options we have now to take action — economic or other action, even militarily, to stop that,” Nunn said. “But if you block this agreement, are you really going to be able to deny Iran the resources to create mischief or play games in the Middle East? [The answer] to that pretty clearly is no.” Nunn, like many other experts in the field, has concluded that the agreement is the world’s best hope for preventing a nuclear-armed Iran — at least in the short term. Anything longer than that will be up to the international community and committed groups like NTI to stop down the road. “When you get right down to it, what we’re

See nunn, page 42

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International Affairs

Middle East

Compassion Fatigue Sets In As Yemen Spirals Out of Control by Karin Zeitvogel

n Aug. 19 in Cairo, the head of the U.N. World Food Program warned that “all the signs” of famine are present in Yemen and an entire generation of children in the Arab world’s poorest nation is at risk of irreversible harm unless aid agencies reach them. On the same day at the United Nations in New York, U.N. Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Stephen O’Brien called the scale of human suffering in Yemen “nearly incomprehensible.” “The civilian population is bearing the brunt of the conflict — a shocking four out of five Yemenis require humanitarian assistance and nearly 1.5 million people are internally displaced. More than 1,000 children have been killed or injured and the number of young people recruited or used as fighters is increasing,” O’Brien told the U.N. Security Council. The British diplomat condemned the “disregard for human life by all parties.” He said residential areas and civilian infrastructure have been targeted in attacks. The port of Hodeidah — the main terminus in the north of the country for imports of essential food, medicine and fuel — was put out of service by a Saudi airstrike. The United Nations has classified Yemen as a “level 3” emergency, the highest possible classification. International Medical Corps says 80 percent of the population of 26 million is in need of humanitarian assistance and 850,000 children are malnourished. Aid agencies have called for unhindered access for humanitarian workers to reach millions of Yemenis and said more funds are urgently needed to help stave off an even greater disaster in the country. But their pleas have been met with a resounding thud of nothing. Because sadly, it seems that Yemen makes only a tiny blip on the humanitarian radar screen of the international donor community. Last year, the U.N.’s Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan was 58 percent funded, which is hugely better than this year, when the needs of Yemenis have soared but just 22 percent of the $1.6 billion the U.N. says it needs in Yemen has been received. Yemen is one of the most underfunded humanitarian crises in the world. Faring worse than Yemen are: Senegal (16 percent funded); the Sahel region (15 percent); Djibouti (10 percent) and Gambia (5 percent). But none of those countries is grabbing headlines and picture captions every day like Yemen is. The story in Yemen is complicated. In September of last year, Houthi rebels allied with former longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, began advancing on the capital, Sanaa. In January of this year, the Houthis rejected a draft constitution put forward by President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who came to power in early 2012 as part of a deal brokered by the Gulf

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Photo: Mohammed Mahmoud / UNICEF

On April 28, a guard walks past what remains of Ibn Sina School in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. The school was heavily damaged during an airstrike that hit the building next to the school. The impact of the blast crumbled the outer wall of the schoolyard and left classrooms covered in rubble and broken glass.

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We have spent the last five months praying we don’t die. It’s been five months of hell. — Nisma Alozebi engineering student in Yemen

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Cooperation Council after Saleh left office. Hadi, who was placed under house arrest, eventually fled to Saudi Arabia, which launched an aerial bombing campaign in March to root out the Iranian-aligned Houthis and reinstall Hadi’s internationally recognized government. The Saudis also imposed a naval blockade on Yemen’s seaports — a lifeline for the country, which depends on imports of food to survive.Although the Saudi-led military intervention has been criticized for indiscriminately targeting civilians, Riyadh has received intelligence and logistical support from Washington.The Sunni powerhouse contends that it is trying to prevent Iran, its Shiite rival, from exerting dominance over Yemen. Yet Saudi Arabia has a long history of meddling in its southern neighbor, which controls the Bab elMandeb Strait, a key chokepoint for the global transit of oil. And while Iran has provided tacit backing to the Houthis, many experts doubt that the Houthis are taking direct orders from the mullahs in Tehran. The northern-based Houthis, who follow the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam and make up about a third of the Sunni-majority nation, have long complained of marginalization by Yemen’s central government. Saleh himself waged several wars to tamp

down a Houthi insurgency during his 33-year rule. The Houthis’ current marriage of convenience with the former strongman illustrates the fickle nature of allegiances in Yemen, a destitute country whose northern and southern factions remained divided until 1990. In fact, although it has become a proxy war for the Saudi-Iranian regional power struggle, Yemen is also home to a tangled patchwork of local tribes, militia movements, secessionists and Islamists whose shifting loyalties have fueled the fighting. The Houthi takeover and subsequent Saudi intervention, however, have exacerbated underlying sectarian tensions and pushed the country into all-out civil war. After wresting the southern port city of Aden from Houthi control, Saudi Arabia, joined by troops from the United Arab Emirates and possibly Qatar, is reportedly planning a major ground offensive to take back Sanaa, which threatens to escalate the bloodshed. In the meantime, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State militants have taken advantage of the chaos to stage deadly attacks. Casualties continue to mount as the world essentially turns a blind eye to Yemen’s dissolution. The World Health Organization has warned that public health services are on the brink of collapse, while the United Nations says more than 4,500 Yemenis have been killed since the latest fighting began in March. An entire generation appears to be on the verge of being lost to hunger and violence as factions jockey for influence and territory. In Houthi-controlled Sanaa, political analyst Hisham Al-Omeisy said that even if all of the world’s donor nations were to suddenly step up and write checks for the relief efforts in Yemen, it wouldn’t help at this point. October 2015

“You have to look at the roots of the problem — what’s the main problem causing the humanitarian crisis? One of the main things is the commercial blockade because Yemen imports 90 percent of its food,” he told The Washington Diplomat. “Lift the commercial blockade imposed by the Saudis and it will ease the squeeze on a lot of people.” Omeisy accused the Saudi-led coalition not only of blockading seaports but also of targeting Yemenis’ more immediate sources of food by bombing markets and food trucks. Canadian-educated Omeisy said he spends his days “scavenging for food, fuel, the basics.” “We have no electricity now. It’s been awhile.We get one hour of electricity every four or five days. You rely on your personal generators, but because of the Saudi blockade, there’s a severe shortage of fuel which further complicates our problems,” he said. “Even though the United States and the U.K. are pushing for a humanitarian pause, for some sort of a political solution, the Saudis are still pushing for a military win,” he said, claiming that such a strategy would require “killing thousands upon thousands of people.” Meanwhile, Yemeni engineering student Nisma Alozebi said she and her family have been displaced four times by the fighting in Aden. She said most families in the southern port city have lost at least one family member to the fighting. “We have spent the last five months praying we don’t die. It’s been five months of hell,” Alozebi told The Diplomat by phone from Aden. “We’ve lived in fear of dying, every day,” the 20-yearold, whose studies have been interrupted by the fighting, said. Unlike Omeisy, however, Alozebi lays much of the blame for the current misery at the hands of the Houthis. “The Houthi militia have done every bad thing — they’ve killed civilians and destroyed everything in their wake. For five months we’ve not been able to get food. Electricity was cut off for days because they cut the power lines. We had no internet. We were like an island where no one knows what’s going on,” she said. Neither Alozebi nor Omeisy could explain why the international community has allowed Yemen to become “an island” of

Photo: Mohammed Mahmoud / UNICEF

A classroom at the Ibn Sina School is Sanaa is covered in glass and other debris following an airstrike. The school, where 1,500 girls studied in primary and secondary classes, is closed indefinitely.

indifference. But Susan Moeller, a University of Maryland professor of media and international affairs, said part of the fault lies with media outlets in the United States and Europe. “They have never covered Yemen as they have other countries in the region. Yemen has only rarely been on the international news radar, and even on those occasions for a brief period of time and typically lumped in with an evaluation of other crises in the Middle East,” Moeller told us by email from France, where she is on sabbatical. She also pointed to Washington’s relations with Saudi Arabia as having a blinker effect on American understanding of Riyadh’s role in perpetuating and worsening the crisis in Yemen. “Many in the U.S. tend to view the Saudis as steady allies of our country, so that Americans’ understanding of culpability is very

murky,” Moeller argued. She also noted that Yemenis “have been less vociferous on social media than they have from other Middle East crisis locations, so there are relatively fewer vetted images and eyewitness reports from the region than from other hotspots.”That could be due to the fact that there’s no internet access much of the time in Yemen. And it’s hard to remember to post on Facebook when you’re being bombed or dealing with severe hunger. Moeller, who authored the 1999 book “Compassion Fatigue: How the Media Sell Disease, Famine,War and Death,” also pointed out that Yemen is competing with other crises for attention in newsrooms. But that fierce competition for attention is nothing new. In chapter one of “Compassion Fatigue,” Moeller writes about the annus horribilis for humanitarian crises that was 1991. “Disasters occurred all over the globe: Earthquakes in Soviet Georgia, Iran and Costa Rica killed hundreds and left tens of thousands homeless; a cholera epidemic in Peru killed more than a thousand and infected another 145,000; a cyclone in Bangladesh killed 138,000 and destroyed a million and a half homes; war in Iraq turned two million Kurds into refugees from Saddam Hussein and killed tens of thousands as they fled over the mountains; and famine and civil war in Africa killed hundreds of thousands and left 27 million at risk.” International organizations and relief agencies spoke at the time of “an unprecedented spate of disasters.” The now defunct Newsweek magazine said there was not “enough money, manpower or sympathy to go around.”And New York Times reporter Elaine Sciolino lamented that,“Traditional donors, battered by so many appeals, are weary of pouring money into crises that never seem to go away.” “The result is a discouragingly contagious compassion fatigue,” Sciolino concluded. A generation later, there seems to be a new onset of the same fatigue, as crises that echo those that rocked the world in 1991 crop up in new places, but with the same old consequences.

Karin Zeitvogel (@Zeitvogel) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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October 2015

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Politics

United States

The City Built Upon A Steep, Expensive Hill by Sean Lyngaas

ettlers in 17th-century America fancied their new home a “city upon a hill,” and U.S. politicians still invoke that idealistic metaphor today when trying to inspire fledgling democracies. American elections in the 21st century certainly command attention across the globe. Whether that attention is out of admiration or gawking curiosity is an open question. The two-year interval between mid-term and general elections means that career politicians have another job while in office: raising money. Meanwhile, the 2010 decision by the Supreme Court to do away with limits on outside spending on campaigns has opened the floodgates to funding that is arguably less accountable. But while foreign observers may scratch their heads at these two peculiar traits of American democracy, veterans of U.S. campaigns still find themselves in demand overseas. The contradictory spectacle of 21st-century American democracy, which inspires both respect and bewilderment, is one that Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous French observer of 19th-century U.S. politics, might recognize.

Candidate to End Other Candidates Larry Lessig’s presidential candidacy is perhaps a sign of the times. The Harvard law professor is running on the promise to make American democracy more accessible to the commoner and less beholden to the rich. His platform includes redrawing political districts for equal citizen representation and giving voters vouchers to fund presidential and congressional campaigns. “One of the problems is that the United States is sui generis,” Lessig, who’s running for the Democratic nomination, said in an interview.“It’s got its own constitutional tradition … which limits the opportunity of Congress to deal with this issue in ways that other countries deal with this issue.” Lessig, who says he will resign the presidency after ushering through his political reform package, offered parliamentary democracies as an example of the correlation between the length of election cycles and the amount of money fueling them.The ability to call snap elections restricts the need for fundraising, leading to a campaign that is measured in weeks rather than years, he said. Many Western nations, such as Canada and Britain, employ parliamentary democracies, whereby the party (or coalition of parties) with the greatest representation in parliament appoints its leader to head the government. In parliamentary democracies, legislation tends to be easier to pass — because the ruling party controls both the legislative and executive branches — and elections can be called at any time if the majority party loses a vote of no confidence. Nonetheless, while Lessig said it “might make sense” to consider shortening the U.S. campaign period, he warned that doing so might have the dangerous con-

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Photo: “Donald Trump Signs The Pledge 06” by Michael Vadon / Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons

After meeting with the Republican National Committee, GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump greets supporters at Trump Tower last month to declare that he has signed a “loyalty pledge” promising to support the party’s eventual nominee and not run as a third-party candidate. Below, supporters of President Barack Obama celebrate his Election Day victory on Nov. 6, 2012.

“

Money is a big reason why the campaign is so long and there’s nothing I [can] see on the horizon that would reduce the amount of money in politics, so I think you’re stuck with the longer campaign. — Kyle Kondik

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director of communications at the University of Virginia Center for Politics

sequence of empowering incumbents. Donald Trump, the blustery billionaire who has led polling for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, has brought needed attention to the influence of money in politics, Lessig said. Trump has “been very helpful in opening this issue up beyond the narrow scope of what the Democrats have been talking about,” the Harvard law professor said.Attention, after all, is what Trump commands: In the first Republican presidential debate, the real estate magnate bragged about his past donations to his rivals onstage, openly admitting that he was buying their influence. There is, of course, a difference between the recognition of a problem and the belief that it can be addressed. Lessig likes to cite a 2013 poll showing 96 percent of Americans surveyed thought it important to lessen money’s influence on politics, but 91 percent believed that wasn’t possible. Putting a dent in that apparent cynicism is a possible yardstick for Lessig’s long-shot campaign, and the candidate, naturally, thinks he’s up to the task. Once people understand the scope of the challenge of lessoning the hold

Photo: Scout Tufankjian / Obama for America

of the purse on politics, “they can understand the thinking behind this more … that we have to create some kind of super-mandate to make this kind of reform possible,” Lessig said. Kyle Kondik, a political analyst who manages an influential daily newsletter published by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said the connection between money and lengthy election campaign cycles looks here to stay.“Money is a big reason why the campaign is so long and there’s nothing I [can] see on the horizon that would reduce the amount of money in politics, so I think you’re stuck with the longer campaign,” he told The Diplomat. That inertia might be due to the fact that, Lessig notwithstanding, candidates seem to have little incentive to reform campaign financing because, as Kondik put it,“you can’t unilaterally disarm.” Conventional wisdom that U.S. political campaigns grow longer with each cycle, however, is belied by the fact that the Democratic and Republican parties have succeeded in pushing states’ primary contests back on the calendar.The Iowa primary will be held Feb. 1, 2016, as opposed to Jan. 2 in 2012. “Both parties have reduced the number of debates this time, which, I think, is also a way for them to sort of exert a little bit more control over the process,” October 2015

Kondik said. grams, she said. Part of that European perplexThere is also an element of pageantry rather ity might be “the images that the media distills than substance to the early proceedings, here are very one-sided and also like to harp on according to Kondik, who has briefed foreign the exception rather than what, really, America embassies in Washington on the potential poliis like across the board and day by day,” she cy implications of U.S. elections. “You can added. almost look at the early primary process as The American spectacle is on full display in being a stage play for rich donors because European media during U.S. election season, that’s who the audience is,” he said.“While the perhaps more so this cycle with the emerpolitical process is always churning, that gence of Trump, who arguably embodies an doesn’t necessarily mean that the public is American stereotype of profligacy and brashandin European eyes. But while Europeans actively engaged in the campaign in America.” NOTE: Although every effort is made to assure your ad is free of mistakes in spellingness content it is ultimately up to the customer to make the final proof. seem to be watching the early stages of the American presidential election now, they, like DIsgUst aND aDmIRatION The first two faxed changes will be made at no cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes American voters, may have also learned to distinguish between the carnival of the campaign Sudha David-Wilp, a Berlin-based political will be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. Signed ads are considered approved. and the presidential policy that succeeds it. analyst, has seen the different emotions that Moreover, despite months of incessant media American politics elicit from Europeans firstPlease check this ad carefully. Mark any changes to your ad. coverage and speculation on both sides of the hand. Atlantic, the actual U.S. presidential election is “There’s a disgust here in Europe that there’s If the ad is correct sign and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs changes still over a year away — a lifetime on the so much money involved in American politics, political calendar. A lot can and will happen which differs markedly from a parliamentary (301) 933-3552 before voters go to the polls next November. system here in Germany,” said David-Wilp,The a Washington Diplomat A recent observation from Nathan Gonzales, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of Photo: Scout tuFANKjiAN / oBAMA For AMericA a political analyst, put things in perspective. the United States.Yet there is also admirationApproved in __________________________________________________________ “Things that will happen before any [U.S.] Europe for “how professional [U.S.] campaigns President Obama is blanketed by confetti after winning re-election in 2012. Changes ___________________________________________________________ presidential primaries take place: 1) Star Wars [are], how they’re run and how much scripting ___________________________________________________________________ and planning goes into the campaign process, ” Messina’s former White House colleague, David ment also leads Europeans to assume “that Episode VII released, 2) new college FB nationAxelrod, advised the opposing Labour Party in there’s no time for [U.S.] policymakers to think al champion,” he tweeted, referring to the colshe added. … about long-term issues,” she added. lege football contest for supremacy that ends That admiration has led to job opportunities that race. But the American political machine also The paradoxes of American society get shortly after the new year. To translate that for for veterans of U.S. political campaigns. Germany’s Social Democratic Party, for exam- presents practical challenges for European plenty of European airtime during the election a European audience: A king of European socseason, David-Wilp said.“The U.S. is full of con- cer will be crowned in the 2016 Champions ple, has enlisted Jim Messina, the architect of politicians. “German policymakers can’t fathom having tradictions and that’s something [Americans] League several months before the next leader Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, to defeat German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s to campaign in two-year cycles when it comes celebrate, whereas sometimes here it’s hard for of the United States is anointed. Christian Democratic Union Party. Messina also to the House of Representatives, and to spend people to get their head around” debates over advised David Cameron ahead of the British over 50 percent of your time fundraising,” issues like guns, capital punishment and how Sean Lyngaas (@snlyngaas) is a contributing prime minister’s electoral win in May, while David-Wilp told The Diplomat. That bewilder- civil liberties are viewed vis-à-vis security pro- writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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International Affairs

Middle East

U.S. Efforts to Train Syrian Rebels in Disarray by Sean Lyngaas

ince President Barack Obama appeared on television a year ago to declare his intention to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the so-called Islamic State, the U.S. effort to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight the extremist group is a long way from fulfilling its ambitious mission. It was a daunting task, numerically and logistically, from the outset.

At the time of Obama’s announcement, the Islamic State had reportedly amassed as many as 31,500 troops in Iraq and Syria. The amount of Syrian rebels the Pentagon has trained, as of July, was an incomparably modest 60.Tracking the myriad armed groups in Syria, many of them sizable terrorist organizations with conflicting agendas, is difficult even for America’s vaunted intelligence apparatus. While discerning coherence out of the vacuum of violence in Syria has been a tall order, “what is very clearly not happening is there has not been any meaningful military action or success on the part of any of the rebels that we have trained,” Anthony Cordesman, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said in an interview. Critics say U.S. training efforts thus far have been a failure, the result of a muddied strategy that’s too little, too late to make a dent in Syria’s civil war. Supporters counter that it’s too soon to write off a difficult undertaking that is still getting off the ground.

Inauspicious Start Alarmed at the spread of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, across swathes of Iraq and Syria, the Obama administration in July 2014 requested $500 million from Congress to train moderate Syrian rebels in a Pentagon program that would be separate from a clandestine CIA training mission already underway. The initiative received congressional authorization in September 2014, and with it clear criteria for vetting the trainees. “The term ‘appropriately vetted’ means … at a minimum, assessments of such elements, groups, and individuals for associations with terrorist groups, Shia militias aligned with or supporting the government of Syria, and groups associated with the government of Iran,” the law states. That definition excludes most of the better-organized, better-funded rebel groups that have had tactical successes against both the Islamic State and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, such as the al-Qaedaaffiliated Nusra Front. Critics say the plan’s narrow scope is its Achilles’ heel, as evidenced by the paltry number of rebels who have been vetted. Although the painstaking screening process is meant to weed out extremists, it has also shut out fighters with front-line experience, leaving the training program with slim pickings. The program’s fundamental aim is perhaps an even bigger source of contention. The initial announcement of a U.S.-trained Syrian fighting force was hailed by some as a long-overdue step to intervene in a war

The Washington Diplomat

Photo: Kumar Tiku / UNICEF

On Jan. 24, 2015, U.N. vehicles travel a dusty road lined with the rubble remnants of destroyed buildings in the Old City of Homs, Syria.

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It would be nice if every civil war had a large contingent of good guys who happen to be virtually American in terms of their value and background…. The history since 1945 has indicated that you have to be able to deal with the people who are there, and not the people you’d like to have there. — Anthony Cordesman scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

”

that has claimed the lives of at least a quarter of a million people. But Obama made it clear that the focus was limited to targeting the Islamic State and not removing Assad from power. That, in turn, has complicated the mission on the ground. Finding trustworthy rebels who meet the Pentagon’s stringent vetting requirements and who only want to take on the Islamic State — not Assad, their original adversary — has been an enormous challenge. The program has also struggled to attract and keep recruits, who face retaliation from more powerful Islamist groups for teaming with the United States. As a result, the Pentagon’s initial target to train 3,000 to 5,000 fighters a year, with the eventual goal of building a force of 15,000, looks like an elusive — and expensive — prospect. At the current rate, the U.S. military is estimated to be spending about $1 mil-

lion per fighter. Supporters of the program say those numbers don’t reflect start-up costs and that only about $41 million has been spent so far. They also note that 7,000 applicants are still in the vetting pipeline. While the costs could go down as more fighters come on board, they illustrate the complexities of training forces in a fractured foreign land — and the potential for the venture to become a Defense Department boondoggle. In addition to the program’s glacial pace and dubious price tag, officials have been vague about the details. One key question left unanswered: How far will American troops go to defend the trained fighters? U.S. forces have provided air cover for the rebels, but Obama has ruled out putting boots on the ground in Syria, leading some to ask why Syrians would risk their lives if the U.S. hasn’t articulated how it would save them. Critics warn that an ill-defined, half-hearted strategy could limit the campaign’s effectiveness. “[T]he story of the Pentagon’s amazing shrunken training program — an idea that almost looked bold when Obama first proposed it — could serve as a metaphor for the whole of U.S. strategy in Syria: ambitious in its goals, but so risk-averse in design and so hamstrung in execution that it remains painfully ineffective,” wrote Los Angeles Times columnist Doyle McManus in July. That month, the Pentagon’s training program suffered a major setback when its first batch of graduates was ambushed by the Nusra Front in Syria.The attack on the group known as Division 30 reportedly killed five U.S.-trained fighters, wounded 18 and kidnapped seven. While there have been conflicting reports about the number of fighters captured by the Nusra Front,

See Rebels, page 43 October 2015

COVER PROFILE

Ambassador Ahmed Isse Awad

Long-Neglected Somalia Comes in From the Cold by Larry Luxner

omalia doesn’t have much of an embassy here. But after 24 years in the dark, it does have an ambassador at last: Ahmed Isse Awad. A soft-spoken yet passionate man, Awad nearly became prime minister of his war-ravaged East African nation.

But as fate would have it, he instead ended up as Somalia’s envoy to the United States, a post that had largely remained vacant since 1991 — the year its fragile government collapsed amid tribal chaos and the very word Somalia became a watchword for “failed state.” The Washington Diplomat caught up with Awad on Sept. 10, one week before he presented his credentials in a White House ceremony that made his presence here official. (The country’s current prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, briefly served as ambassador to the U.S. this past summer before returning to Somalia.) Somalia’s modest little mission — a third-floor suite in an office building along DeSales Street, NW, around the corner from the Mayflower Hotel — was still awaiting furniture, so we interviewed Awad sitting on packing crates. Awad’s priorities as ambassador, he said, are “to cement our relationship with the United States, to raise the profile of Somalia and to improve the image of our country.” That’s a tall order, especially when all most Americans know about Somalia is the unflattering way it was depicted in two highly popular movies based on true events.

“Somalia is seen as a place of piracy and al-Shabaab terrorism, but we want to give Americans a complete picture,” said Awad. “While it’s true these issues have bedeviled Somalia for some time, there’s been a lot of improvement, and Americans are witnesses to that. With the support of the African Union, Somalia has been able to rejoin the international community and to defeat al-Shabaab.” Both piracy and attacks by al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda offshoot that took over most of southern Somalia in late 2006, have gone down dramatically. A 22,000-strong African Union (AU) peacekeeping force has helped the fledging Somali government steadily claw back territory from the clan-based Islamist insurgency, including key alShabaab strongholds in south and central Somalia. Along with the peacekeeping push, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in 2012,ushering in Somalia’s first functioning government since 1991. His Western-backed administration restored some semblance of order to a country wracked by two decades of anarchy, famine, warlords and Islamist extremists. “[I]n August 2012, the current gov-

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Our country has been out in the wilderness for 24 years, but survived due to the resilience of the Somali people and the generosity of the rest of the world…. After 24 years, we’re starting everything from scratch. — Ahmed Isse Awad ambassador of Somalia to the United States

The first was Ridley Scott’s 2001 film “Black Hawk Down” chronicling the 1993 humanitarian mission by U.S. forces to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and restore U.N. relief to the country.That raid killed 18Americans and more than 1,000 Somalis, leading President Clinton to withdraw U.S. troops from Somalia in a debacle largely viewed by history as an embarrassing failure. The second was “Captain Phillips,” a 2013 thriller starring Tom Hanks as the captain of a containership taken hostage by bloodthirsty pirates off the Somali coast. October 2015

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ernment of Somalia came into being, and the international community, led by the United States, saw it as the most representative, legitimate government that Somalia has had since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991,” Awad said. “The Somali desk at the State Department has been absolutely supportive, and I have already received commitments from the U.S. administration.” In 2013, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially recognized Mohamud’s government. More recently, the State Department upgraded its Somali mission to embassy status, although it continues to operate out of nearby Kenya and does

Photo: Lawrence Ruggeri of Ruggeriphoto.com

not yet have a full-fledged ambassador. While Mohamud’s presidency was greeted with widespread optimism in 2012, those hopes have since been tempered as Somalia struggles to achieve key political and security goals. A former academic, Mohamud has ruled out holding popular elections next year, citing the tenuous security situation. His government has also been riven by political infighting and its reach remains limited in this Texas-size desert nation dominated by a patchwork of clans, militias and an unwieldy “elders-based” parliamentary system. And without the AU peacekeeping mission maintaining a fragile calm in cities like Mogadishu, the weak central government likely wouldn’t survive. Though cornered, al-Shabaab is far from defeated. Its fighters retain control over significant tracts of land and are still capable of launching spectacular attacks. Militants have killed dozens of AU peacekeepers, overrun its bases and maintained a steady diet of suicide bombings and other attacks inside Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab is also responsible for a string of murderous attacks throughout East Africa, including neighboring Kenya, a primary backer of the AU force.

A 2013 Westgate shopping mall massacre in Nairobi left scores dead, while a university assault in Garissa this past spring gunned down nearly 150 students. Al-Shabaab has pledged more attacks, while Kenya has bombed its camps in retaliation and vowed to continue its military offensive. Nevertheless, Awad says the vicious al-Qaeda affiliate is on its last legs. “In 2012, when my current government came to power, al-Shabaab controlled all the major cities in southern Somalia. Today, they don’t control a single major city in Somalia.They lost all of them. Al-Shabaab’s perverted ideology has lost currency with the Somali people.They can no longer hide.” He proudly added that despite the still-fragile gains back home, “Somalia stands a chance of establishing better governance than many countries in the region. After 24 years, we’re starting everything from scratch.” That low yardstick may be why Somalia still has a long way to go. Despite its vast size and potential wealth — and despite visible signs of progress in cities like Mogadishu and Kismayo — the Federal Republic of

Continued on next page The Washington Diplomat Page 11

Credit: UN Photo / Tobin Jones

A young girl sits on a jerry can as her mother fills up another with water, near the town of Jowhar, Somalia, in December 2013.

Continued from previous page

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Somalia (FRS) remains one of the poorest nations on Earth. At 638,000 square kilometers, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one and a half times the size of California, yet its nearly 11 million inhabitants scrape by on an average $284 per year (compared to the sub-Saharan average of $1,300), with over 70 percent of them living on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank. Nearly a third of its people need food aid and life expectancy hovers at a dismal 51 years. Somalia is so poor that since 2012, the U.N. Development Program hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even included the country in its annual Human Development Index. However, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always like that, said Awad. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What people remember is the bad stuff, but what you may not know is that when Somalia got its independence in 1960, it started out as a democracy. We were the only country in Africa where two presidents changed power in democratic elections,â&#x20AC;? he said.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything went downhill in 1969, when the military came to power. Then came the Cold War, which didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it easy. Somalia was part of the Soviet orbit, but after the war with Ethiopia in 1977, Ethiopia became more Marxist and Somalia came under Western influence. By that time, the country was already immersed in civil war, and in 1991 the government under President Siad Barre collapsed.â&#x20AC;? That was the year Awad fled Somalia â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as did many others â&#x20AC;&#x201D; eventually settling in Montreal and gaining Canadian citizenship. From 2001 to 2004, after studies at Addis Ababa Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute for Peace and Security Studies, he was chief of staff to Somaliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prime minister. He then spent nearly 10 years with the United Nations in Sudan as part of two separate peacekeeping missions. Awad served in the disputed regions of Abyei, Kaduqli and Darfur, â&#x20AC;&#x153;bringing communities together and using my experience in peacebuilding and post-conflict societies, which is very applicable to Somalia.â&#x20AC;? Awad said that technically speaking, he isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the first Somali envoy in D.C. since the State Department upgraded bilateral relations in 2013. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was frontrunner for the prime minister position, a position now occupied by my predecessor, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who was appointed ambassador to the U.S. in July 2014 and actually served here for a few months,â&#x20AC;?Awad told us.â&#x20AC;&#x153;But a few months later, he became prime minister, and both he and the president asked me to be the ambassador.â&#x20AC;? Rumors circulated in the Somalia press, however, that Sharmarke opposed Awadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

nomination because he viewed the ambassador, an ally of President Mohamud, as a political rival. Whether the speculation is true, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear that squabbling and clan divisions plague the fractious government, as evidenced by the string of prime ministers Mohamud has cycled through in the last two years. Regardless,Awad is making himself at home and is determined to revamp and rejuvenate his countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations in the U.S. The old Somali Embassy was located along Massachusetts Avenue, but after its staff left in 1991, the State Department eventually sold it, putting the proceeds in escrow. The Somali government is now using that money to rent the embassyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new digs for $5,000 a month. Awad hopes to expand his skeleton staff to six people; for now, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only himself and his driver. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our country has been out in the wilderness for 24 years, but survived due to the resilience of the Somali people and the generosity of the rest of the world,â&#x20AC;? he declared. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Somali people have kept the country moving all these years without a strong center holding it together. Now the Somali diaspora is coming back.â&#x20AC;? Today, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest Somali expatriate community can be found in nearby Yemen â&#x20AC;&#x201D; home to some 200,000 Somalis â&#x20AC;&#x201D; followed by Canada, Great Britain, the United States and Sweden. The heaviest U.S. concentrations of Somalis are in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio, with smaller communities in D.C., New York, Seattle and Kansas City. Somalis have also flocked to small towns, remaking the rural character of places as diverse as Shelbyville, Tenn., and Lewiston, Maine. Somaliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy, in fact, survives on $1.3 billion in annual remittances from abroad, as well as the export of livestock and meat, from which 60 percent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly rural population derives a livelihood, according to the World Bank. At the same time, Awad says Somalia needs to jumpstart its economy, which cannot rely on remittances and international donor grants forever (there is no formal tax collection). Excluding the island of Madagascar, Somalia has the longest coastline of any African nation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; over 3,000 kilometers of beachfront jutting out into the Red Sea. That opens up possibilities for port development and transshipping. The country also boasts deposits of oil, gas and minerals, though very little of it has been exploited due to years of fighting. Despite the challenges, the International Monetary Fund estimated that Somaliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP grew by 3.7 percent in 2014 and is likely to see 2.7 percent growth this year as investment begins trickling back into the country. October 2015

“Somalia owes a lot to the rest of the world, including the Americans, the British, the Italians and the African Union,” Awad said. “We’re just getting on our feet. We need support in institution-building, investment and development programs.” But first, Somalia’s government needs to get its act together, say some Africa watchers. J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, said the opening of Somalia’s embassy here “represents yet another instance where form wins out over substance, wishful thinking trumps reality, and time and resources are squandered on frivolous displays of so-called progress while lives are lost and threats to security grow” because of the lack of a clear strategy and meaningful commitment. One of the biggest problems, according to Pham, is that the Federal Republic of Somalia’s claim to territory is disputed both by al-Shabaab and by regional entities like the breakaway Republic of Somaliland, which have declared their independence and over which the Mogadishu government has no control. “Even in the territory that nominally recognizes the FRS’s sovereignty, that submission is largely the result of and must be constantly protected by the presence of African Union peacekeepers,” Pham told us. “ Left to its own devices, the FRS would quickly disappear without a trace — like the nearly dozen and a half other similar entities that came before … since the last real Somali government collapsed.” Pham said Awad should not have been sent here as ambassador until the government he represents can prove it has effective sovereignty over its claimed territory. “Let me put it more bluntly,” he said. “Learn to walk at home before trying to enter a race with the big boys.” Awad conceded that AMISOM (the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia) has

October 2015

Somalia at a Glance National day: July 1, 1960 Capital: Mogadishu location: eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the indian ocean, east of ethiopia Population: 10.6 million life expectancy: 51.9 years ethnic groups: Somali 85 percent, bantu and other non-Somali 15 percent (including 30,000 Arabs) Religions: Sunni Muslim - Islam (official, according to the Transitional Federal charter) gdP (purchasing power parity): $5.8 billion (2010 estimate) gdP per-capita: $600 (2010 estimate) gdP growth: 2.6 percent (2010 estimate) unemployment: Not available Population below poverty line: Not available exports: livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal imports: Manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat Source: CIA World Factbook

been crucial to ending the bloodshed in his country, as has assistance from the governments of Great Britain, Qatar, Turkey and the United States. But he argues that continued help from the international community is essential to tackling the deep-seated security and economic problems that have piled up over two decades of lawlessness. “America is key in supporting the fight against al-Shabaab and also supporting Somali national forces, though it would have been more effective had the Americans had bases in Mogadishu and along the coastline [rather than

from its sprawling air base in Djibouti],” Awad said. “That would make it easier to control piracy and defeat the terrorists.” The U.S. military has steadily ratcheted up its support of the Somali government, recently dispatching drones to take out some of al-Shabaab’s top commanders. On the diplomatic front, John Kerry became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Somalia in May, telling its people in a video message that,“I look forward, as does the president, to the day when both the United States and Somalia have full-fledged missions in each other’s capital city.”

Yet only a week after Kerry’s stopover in Mogadishu, Katherine Simonds Dhanani — President Obama’s pick to be the first U.S. ambassador to Somalia since 1991 — withdrew her nomination for personal reasons. Dhanani, a seasoned diplomat who previously served in Congo, Mexico, Zimbabwe and India, was director of the Office of Regional and Security Affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs at the time of her nomination. Abukar Arman, a former Somalia special envoy to Washington and a foreign policy analyst, told the Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera that he suspected the decision to eliminate Dhanani from consideration was more political than personal. “It would be too reckless from the Obama administration’s point of view to open a fullfledged embassy and assign an American ambassador to operate out of Mogadishu knowing that the frontrunner of the Democratic Party [Hillary Clinton] has the Benghazi tragedy hovering over her head,” Arman told Al Jazeera. “Democrats would consider such an adventure as a risky business.” That said, even though Somalia finally has an embassy here, no U.S. counterpart will be going up to Mogadishu any time soon. American diplomats will be operating from the embassy in Nairobi, where they will remain for the time being. But Somalia’s new ambassador in Washington remains hopeful that Americans will one day put the ghosts of Mogadishu behind them and return to his embattled capital city. “There will be formal, official representation and frequent visits to Somalia,”Awad predicted, “and if the security situation allows, the U.S. Embassy will eventually move to Somalia.”

Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

The Washington Diplomat Page 13

Diplomacy

Washington, D.C.

State Department Faces Backlash Over ‘Politicized’ Trafficking Report by Karin Sun

n July 27, the State Department released its 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, an annual publication that rates 188 countries on their efforts to combat forms of human trafficking such as prostitution and forced labor. While the report is an important tool in the fight against what has been described as modern-day slavery, it generates little excitement outside policy circles and the foreign governments who are named and shamed in the report’s dry language. But this year, the bureaucratic rite of passage sparked an unusually fierce backlash.Although TIP has been a respected, if imperfect, resource for politicians and human rights advocates, this year’s rankings provoked a wave of outrage that is unprecedented in the report’s 13-year history. Most of the uproar was in response to the State Department’s promotion of two countries from Tier 3, the lowest possible category, to the Tier 2 Watch List in spite of scant evidence of improvement. One is Malaysia, a habitual trafficking offender whose efforts to curb smuggling and labor violations over the past year have been described as half-hearted at best. The July report also gave Cuba a boost in the rankings despite its continuing status as a hotbed for labor trafficking. Overall, the 2015 TIP report upgraded a total of 18 countries — among them Saudi Arabia and Kenya — and downgraded 18 others, including Egypt and South Sudan. A Reuters investigation alleged that the seemingly unwarranted upgrades for Malaysia and Cuba were the byproduct of political pressure at the top echelons of the State Department. Malaysia is one of 12 nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, and its former Tier 3 status could have been a major roadblock to the sweeping trade pact. That’s because legislation passed earlier this year granting President Obama so-called fast-track authority included a clause specifically barring Tier 3 trafficking countries from participating in TPP talks. Meanwhile, Cuba’s jump was widely seen as a reward for the communist island’s recent diplomatic rapprochement with Washington after over 50 years of Cold War estrangement. The Reuters article, based on interviews with more than a dozen sources, says that politics trumped autonomy as “the government office set up to independently grade global efforts to fight human trafficking was repeatedly overruled by senior American diplomats and pressured into inflating assessments of 14 strategically important countries.” The State Department has denied that its senior political staff interfered with the report’s conclusions, but it’s clear the accusations ruffled some feathers. Foreign Policy’s John Hudson reported that Secretary of State John Kerry scolded staff for a series of highprofile leaks, including the Reuters report. Despite State’s insistence that the report’s findings weren’t politically motivated, trafficking experts remain unconvinced.

The Washington Diplomat

Photo: U.S. State Department

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chairs the annual meeting of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the White House on April 8, 2014.

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The elevation of Cuba and particularly Malaysia on their own merits is far-fetched. — Mark Lagon

”

former U.S. ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat trafficking in persons

“The elevation of Cuba and particularly Malaysia on their own merits is far-fetched,” Freedom House President Mark Lagon, a former U.S. ambassador-atlarge to combat trafficking in persons, told The Diplomat. “In Cuba, forced labor is still ignored, and the assessment that there has been an improvement in government efforts to combat sex trafficking obscures the reality of a rollicking commercial sex industry, promoted for sex tourists.” Lagon also outlined a host of unfulfilled initiatives in Malaysia’s anti-trafficking agenda, particularly the need to amend domestic laws, drastically increase convictions, end the detention of victims and outlaw passport confiscation. “Elevation from Tier 3 doesn’t fit this sobering list of problems,” Lagon told us. At a minimum, the controversy has shed light on a seldom-noticed but critical tool in Washington’s arsenal to combat the global scourge of human trafficking, an industry that’s estimated to rake in $150 billion a year and ensnares tens of millions of people — from fishermen in Southeast Asia to young girls in Central Europe to child soldiers in Africa. It also raises important questions about the effectiveness and integrity of TIP as a public shaming device, as well as the consequences of mixing politics with diplomacy.

Inside the Trafficking Report The TIP report is an evaluation published once a year by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, a State Department agency created in 2001 under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), a landmark piece of legislation that recognized the far-reaching global phenomenon of human exploitation. The most comprehensive resource of its kind, the report assesses the compliance of individual countries under three main categories. Prosecution standards require governments to criminalize human trafficking in their domestic laws, prosecute traffickers frequently and harshly, and cooperate with other nations in their investigations of suspected traffickers. In addition, the TVPA legislation outlines a set of prevention standards to outlaw employment and recruiting practices that may lead to forced labor, such as confiscating migrant workers’ passports or charging excessive transportation fees. Finally, TVPA protection standards require governments to aid trafficking victims by funding shelters, offering witness protection services and repatriating rescued victims. Countries are then sorted into four tiers. Those in Tier 1 are deemed to have fully complied with the standards, while countries in Tier 2 have not yet complied but have made significant strides over the past year. Countries in Tier 3 are home to the worst offenders. Then there’s the Tier 2 “Watch List,” a fourth category between Tiers 2 and 3 reserved for countries that still have a large or increasing number of trafficking victims despite efforts to combat the problem, and that either fail to provide evidence of improvements

See Trafficking, page 44 October 2015

Book Review

Ian Bremmer

Super-Pundit Boils America’s Role Down to Three Choices in ‘Superpower’ by John Shaw

ith striking and sometimes amusing frequency, Ian Bremmer is invited by news organizations to explain the most recent developments in global politics and economics.

Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a consulting and political risk research firm, and a foreign affairs columnist for Time magazine, is able to confidently hold forth on a wide range of topics. Perhaps it’s just me, but I sometimes find his certainty off putting.The perspectives of practitioners in the trenches always seem more intriguing than pundits or consultants who seem to know it all and rarely confess to being wrong or confused or surprised. Pundits embrace the role of Mondaymorning quarterbacks, watching from the sidelines but never actually playing in the game. Even with this bias, Bremmer’s new book, “Superpower: Three Choices for America’s Role in the World” offers a solid framework to think about American foreign policy and consider how the next president might manage it. In the book, Bremmer argues that the world is in profound flux as China, Japan, Russia, India, Brazil, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other nations evolve in complex ways. Meanwhile, the United States, though still a powerful nation, is struggling and searching for a new role. “The U.S.-dominated postCold War order has come to an end.We now live in a world where no single power or alliance of powers can offer consistent global leadership. No one knows what comes next,” he writes. The United States, according to Bremmer, has been weakened by a quarter-century of hesitant leadership and self-inflicted wounds. Consequently,America is “now less able to convene a coalition, forge trade agreements, build support for sanctions, broker compromise on an important multinational dispute, or persuade others to follow it into conflict than at any time in the past seven decades.” Bremmer believes that a succession of U.S. presidents — George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — have faltered in the aftermath of the Cold War.The first Bush dreamed of a new world order, but was undermined by a weak domestic economy that led to his electoral defeat. Clinton had a shrewd sense of domestic politics and presided over robust American job growth, but was less adroit on the international stage. He blundered by backing NATO expansion in 1999 and failing October 2015

Credits: Book: Penguin Random House; Author: Jonathan D. Woods / Penguin Random House

“

[I]f the next president bounces from one challenge to the next without a larger vision of America’s role in the world, and if our words continue to run far ahead of our actions, we will soon face more foreign policy problems and crises than any president could hope to manage. — Ian Bremmer author of ‘Superpower: Three Choices for America’s Role in the World’

to respond forcefully to terrorist attacks beginning in the late 1990s. The second Bush propelled America into ill-advised and ruinously expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while also championing expensive tax cuts and Medicare expansion that fueled large budget deficits.

”

Bremmer is no easier on the current occupant of the White House. He claims America’s influence has declined significantly during Obama’s presidency and his erratic leadership has left the world “thoroughly confused.” He says Obama has failed to chart a clear foreign policy and has been

far more definitive about what the United States won’t do than what it will do.“In reality, America no longer has a foreign policy strategy,” he writes, charging that Obama has vacillated between assertiveness and passivity. He also argues the president has delivered speeches that span the rhetorical map but offer no clear guidance about American intentions or convictions. “President Obama has consistently refused to try to build public support for an ambitious superpower foreign policy,” he writes. “But he has also refused to admit we must do more with less by setting a few priorities and sticking to them.And he has refused to redefine America’s responsibilities by making clear that Washington will no longer play the role that others expect and that other governments will have to step forward and do more. In short, Obama has refused to choose.” Bremmer declares that “if the next president bounces from one challenge to the next without a larger vision of America’s role in the world, and if our words continue to run far ahead of our actions, we will soon face more foreign policy problems and crises than any president could hope to manage.” He adds that while American foreign policy is in disarray, the nation has considerable underlying strengths. It remains wealthy, has deep and efficient capital markets, a culture of innovation, robust investment, massive energy resources and favorable demographics. America must offer the world a coherent foreign policy, Bremmer contends, outlining the three alternatives that form the basis of his book. He devotes a chapter to each and urges readers to select the approach they find most compelling. The first option, which he labels “Independent America,” calls on the United States to turn inward and focus almost exclusively on domestic challenges. “It is time for Americans to declare their independence from a foreign policy that bankrupts our treasury, depletes our energy, undermines our credibility and our self-confidence and cannot be sustained,” he writes in articulating this perspective. The focus here is to rebuild America and resist trying to solve the world’s problems, leading instead by example. The second option is called “Moneyball America” and is based on the premise that the United States should have a less expansive and expensive foreign policy, but one that still defends U.S. interests whenever they are threatened. It should focus on leading coalitions to block the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and deny strategic opportunities for terrorists. America should also promote global growth, trade and investment. Under this foreign policy rubric, U.S. decisions to intervene should be guided by the

See book review, page 42 The Washington Diplomat Page 15

mEDICaL

obesity

Adult Obesity Rate Tops 30 Percent in Half of U.S. States by Steven Reinberg HealthDay News

Highest Rates Found in the South and Midwest: Report

besity still plagues millions of Americans, as rates remain high in most states, a new report finds. The South and Midwest have the highest adult obesity rates, making up 23 of the 25 states with rates now topping 30 percent. In 42 states, blacks have obesity rates of 30 percent or more, as do Hispanics in 30 states. Obesity rates of 30 percent or more among whites are found in 13 states, the findings showed. “The obesity epidemic is one of the nation’s most serious health crises,” Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, said during a Monday morning media briefing. Levi said that stemming the obesity problem is a complex challenge. On the one hand, obesity involves personal responsibility, he said. On the other hand, the scope of the problem makes it clear that it can’t be treated as a problem of personal failing, he added. “Success requires finding ways to make healthy choices easier in our daily lives,” Levi said. “Children need the chance to grow up at a healthy weight, and all adults need the opportunity to be as healthy as they can be, no matter what their weight.” On the plus side, obesity rates have remained the same in all but five states, Levi said. Although the obesity rate has not dropped in any state, he sees the leveling off as a hopeful sign. “We view this as a sign of progress, and the efforts made to help curb the epidemic over the past few years are having an impact and are evidence that if we invest in effective programs, we can make a difference,” Levi said. “But to date, the investments made have been limited and haven’t been sufficient to turn the tide,” he added. In 2014, obesity rates increased in Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Utah, according to the report released Monday from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The highest obesity rate was posted in Arkansas, at 35.9 percent. Colorado had the lowest rate, at 21.3 percent. In three states — Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia — the obesity rate was greater than 35 percent. The obesity rate was at or above 30 percent in 22 states and was not below 21 percent in any state, the researchers found. In contrast, no state’s obesity rate was above 15 percent in 1980 and no state had a rate above 20 percent in 1991, the researchers added. Now, more than 30 percent of adults, nearly 17 percent of 2- to 19-year-olds and more than 8 percent of children aged 2 to 5 are obese, the report found.

The Washington Diplomat

Photo: SuNA / FotoliA

a recent report found that the South and Midwest have the highest adult obesity rates, making up 23 of the 25 u.S. states with rates now topping 30 percent.

“

children need the chance to grow up at a healthy weight, and all adults need the opportunity to be as healthy as they can be, no matter what their weight. — JeFF levi

”

executive director of trust for America’s health

As a consequence, nearly 78 million Americans are at increased risk for a variety of obesity-related health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, the researchers warned. Levi said that prevention is crucial to ending the obesity epidemic. “It is easier and more effective to prevent obesity than it is to reverse trends later,” he said. This means promoting good nutrition and physical activity at an early age, so that kids start school at a healthy weight and stay that way as they age, Levi said. “Small changes that make it easier to afford to buy healthy foods and beverages and be physically active can lead to big differences,” Levi said. Programs that can be effective include improving school meals, making streets safe for walking and increasing preventive health services, he suggested.

“We do know a lot about what works, now we just have to invest in these approaches,” Levi said. Other findings from the report include: • Among states with the highest rates of type 2 diabetes, nine of the 10 are in the South. • Rates of diabetes have increased in eight states: Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. • Racial groups with the highest obesity rates include American Indians and Alaska Natives, at 54 percent. Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, called the new report a “reminder that obesity is among the great urgencies of modern public health.” But, he added, “Nowhere will that effort be easy. This report indicates it will be harder in some places than others, and those are the places where the need for change is most acute.”

to learn

For more information, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/obesity/.

October 2015

EDUCATION ■ A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

■ October 2015

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) campus is based in Adelphi, Md.

VIRTUAL PIONEER Photo: Larry Luxner

Maryland’s UMUC Leads the Way In International Online Education

October 2015

by Larry Luxner

EDUCATION

easured by enrollment, the university of Maryland university College (uMuC) ranks as one of america’s largest institutions of higher learning. yet unlike their more famous university of Maryland neighbors over in College Park, uMuC students don’t live in dorms, nor do they have their own football team to root for. over the next 12 months, adelphi-based uMuC plans to abolish another staple of college life — textbooks — saving its 85,000 students millions of dollars in the process. “traditionally, if you were to take a course, you had to buy a textbook. But that’s a very old way of doing things,” said uMuC President Javier Miyares. “Let’s get rid of textbooks and instead ask what are the best open, freely available resources out there.” Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page

www.rma.edu

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540-636-5484

Miyares, in a recent interview with The Washington Diplomat, said “publishers today know that textbooks are a dying breed,” which is why they’re instead “modularizing” textbooks so that instructors can choose what they want. “And if we cannot find what we’re looking for,” he told us, “we’ll buy the required module.” UMUC is clearly not a typical college, nor is Miyares a typical college president. Founded in 1947 as part of the University of Maryland, its purpose was to extend higher education to married World War II veterans who couldn’t be accommodated on campus. Two years later, the Pentagon contracted UMUC to offer classes to U.S. troops in Europe. Later, the college expanded its overseas operations to Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever American soldiers are stationed — including Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Great Britain. What began as a resource for World War II vets has evolved into a global education leader. Last year, the university’s overseas divisions offered on-site classes in more than 25 countries and territories throughout the world, enrolling over 27,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs in Asia and Europe. In 1991, UMUC also began the first joint programs with a Soviet university, one in Irkutsk and the other in Vladivostok. That program still exists, as does another in South Africa, where UMUC shows faculty how to teach online. In addition, UMUC offers a master’s of distance education degree in partnership with Germany’s University of Oldenburg. One place UMUC doesn’t have operations is Cuba, home to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay. Cuba is also the birthplace of Miyares, who fled the island July 4, 1961,

EDUCATION

Photo: Larry Luxner

Javier Miyares, president of the University of Maryland University College since 2012, says that the “traditional college experience is not traditional anymore.”

at the age of 15, shortly after the triumph of Fidel Castro’s communist revolution. “My father was a political prisoner, so the Jesuits sent me to Venezuela,” recalled Miyares, a native of Havana’s La Vibora neighborhood who had attended the same Jesuit high school as Castro.After fleeing the island and spending half a dozen years bouncing between Miami, the Dominican Republic, back to Venezuela and finally to Puerto Rico, he joined his brother in Baltimore in 1968. “I then enrolled in College Park and ended up in the same business as my father and mother: education. I also had four or five uncles who were teachers,” he said. Miyares, whose 35 years of higher education experience includes employment with the Maryland Higher Education Commission and the University of Maryland, joined UMUC in 2001 and became its president in October 2012. In June, Miyares proudly accepted the Educator of the Year Award from the World Affairs Council at the group’s 35th annual fundraising gala. In his acceptance speech on behalf of UMUC, the college president noted that

The Washington Diplomat

October 2015

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, the classroom is untethered by time and space. In the mid-1990s, UMUC was among the first institutions in the world to see the potential of the internet to make education more accessible.â&#x20AC;?

"11"/ +$)&0%Ç˝ Better Future.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Javier Miyares, president of University of Maryland University College overall, the cost of higher education is up, funding is down and demographics are shifting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reality is that the traditional model of higher education is not scalable to meet the demand at an acceptable cost.Thus, it is no surprise that the so-called traditional college experience is not traditional anymore,â&#x20AC;? he told attendees at D.C.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ritz-Carlton hotel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Students just out of high school who attend college full time and live on campus are now the minority.â&#x20AC;? Three recent developments, he said, have converged to create the potential for learning experiences that are far superior to traditional models: online technologies, big data and learning science. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, the classroom is untethered by time and space. In the mid-1990s, UMUC was among the first institutions in the world to see the potential of the internet to make education more accessible,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, we have some 250,000 online course enrollments each year â&#x20AC;&#x201D; more than any public university.â&#x20AC;? Meanwhile, Miyares â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a former associate vice chancellor for finance and administration with the University System of Maryland â&#x20AC;&#x201D; said the power of big data is being applied to higher education. For example,

on the first day of an online class at UMUC, data analytics can predict, with better than 85 percent accuracy, whether a given student will pass or fail. Finally, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;adaptive learning, which utilizes intelligent software that interacts with the student and facilitates learning, carries the promise of individualized yet scalable education. We have also adopted opensource, online educational resources in place of traditional textbooks, resulting in significant cost savings for our students.â&#x20AC;? But UMUC students also have fun too. Earlier this year, the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cyber Padawans captured first place in the Cyber DiploHack, an event co-sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. UMUC defeated five other teams from Georgetown University, George Washington University, Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oxford University, Franceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chaire Castex and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. UMUC also has a relationship with the Japanese Embassy, due to its heavy presence on Okinawa, home to 26,000 U.S. troops. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beyond that, the online classroom provides a unique opportunity to bring people

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EDUCATION

October 2015

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[ charter schools ]

Charting New Path Carlos Rosario School: Local Pioneer In Teaching Foreign-Born Immigrants

by Larry Luxner

n one corner of Dinora Padrino’s level two English class, French-speaking Agnes Manga, recent Eritrean arrival Awet Berhane and Chinese immigrant Wang Wei sit at a table taking notes while two other students, Henry Sánchez of El Salvador and Laura Bernal of Bolivia, proudly display their team project on a big white banner. Regardless of what they speak at home, everyone’s here to learn English — and they’re doing it with pride and determination. This mini-United Nations scene repeats itself every day in dozens of classrooms at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, the nation’s first adult charter school and the only one in the District of Columbia devoted to foreignborn immigrants. “We’re publicly funded, just like any other charter school. The only fee is a $20 ID card and textbooks,” said HollyAnn Freso-Moore, principal of the school’s main Harvard Street campus in Washington’s Columbia Heights neighborhood (the newer 50,000-square-foot Sonia Gutierrez campus in Northeast D.C. was inaugurated in October 2013). On the last day of August — which also hapPhotos: Larry Luxner pened to be the first day of classes in the District — Freso-Moore led The Washington Diplomat on Patrick Benedict, a teacher at the a tour of her school, which currently has 2,300 students, up from 1,200 in past Carlos Rosario International Public years. But over time, the waiting list has dropped from more than 1,000 to around Charter School in D.C., passes out 500. assignments to his adult education Carlos Rosario’s students hail from 84 countries, with the most coming from El class. At right, books in English and Salvador, followed by Ethiopia and then Mexico.Their ages range from 17 to 85. “I once had a 72-year-old and a 17-year-old in the same classroom,” said FresoSpanish help students prepare for Moore, herself an immigrant from English-speaking Guyana. “You can easily have the General Educational three generations in one class.” Development (GED) test and other The now-famous school — named after a Puerto Rican activist and educator life skills. — began life in 1970 as a small, community-based organization. It eventually came tery,” Freso-Moore told us. “[It’s] under the umbrella of D.C. Public Schools and served as many as 3,500 students, but closed in 1996 following budget cuts. With leadership from fellow Puerto Rican based on the number of stueducator Sonia Gutierrez, the facility was re-established in 1998 as the first taxpayer- dents and the session they want funded charter school in the United States exclusively for adults. Over the last to study. For example, if there are 50 students for level one and only 32 spots, our 40-plus years, Carlos Rosario has graduated over 70,000 students. software pulls winning names out randomly. The remaining students just continue Some 58 percent of those attending Carlos Rosario School are women, and 84 with their lives until there’s a space available.” The only legal requirement is that students must reside in D.C. and must provide percent of students are below the poverty line. Yet its achievements have made headlines. Over the years, the institution has received a number of distinguished documentation; the list of acceptable documents includes an official embassy letter. The school’s $20 million annual budget is funded mostly by taxpayers, though it’s visitors, including celebrity chef Frederic Sonnenschmidt, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Great Britain’s Prince Charles and Vice President Joe Biden. also received private donations from a variety of sources including AT&T, Bank of “I started teaching here in 2001 and just never left,” said Freso-Moore, a specialist America, Toyota, Verizon and the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. In addition, in ESL (English as a Second Language) education. Roughly 70 percent of the student the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has helped the school with body is from Latin America, so it’s no surprise that ESL is a priority here, with cours- small-business expertise, and it’s also worked with the embassies of El Salvador and es at all levels. The school also offers a GED, or high school equivalency test, in Ethiopia. “This semester, we’re excited about our digital literacy curriculum,” said FresoSpanish, in partnership with the Mexican Consulate. “This program, called Plazas Comunitarias, allows students who did not earn their Moore, citing a 2013 study showing that improved technology skills lead to higher elementary or middle school diplomas to study in Spanish,” she explained.“Over 500 wages. “We’ve always had computer-assisted language labs at the school. We thought we students have earned their diplomas through this program, which is open to any could improve on that, so we’ve spent the last year and a half completely revising Spanish-speaking student.” In addition, Carlos Rosario School trains immigrants to take the U.S. citizenship the labs. Now, instead of just studying ESL in the lab, they study digital literacy as well. test and provides other supportive services (in English, Spanish, Amharic and We give them the vocabulary they need to talk about these skills, like learning how Vietnamese) such as helping students find daycare for their children and offering to Google, and learning about passwords and keeping them secure.” While the average age of students at the school is 35 to 40 years old, Freso-Moore health screenings and HIV testing. It has also taken in political refugees from counsays there’s a huge gulf between those with smart phones who know how to log tries as diverse as Azerbaijan, Myanmar and Sudan. onto Facebook and older students who know nothing about computers or the digiEnrolling at Carlos Rosario School is based on a lottery system. “We test students, we decide what level they’re in, and at the end we have a lot- tal age.

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EDUCATION

The Washington Diplomat

October 2015

Georgetown University

“I once had a 72-year-old and a 17-year-old in the same classroom…. You can easily have three generations in one class.”

Center for Language Education and Development

— HollyAnn Freso-Moore principal of the Carlos Rosario School Harvard Street campus

“Even using a mouse is a challenge for them,” she said, noting that UNESCO has chosen the school’s program as a model for others to follow. Throughout Carlos Rosario School, there are laptop carts that anyone can use, not to mention mobile technology labs and computers in every classroom. But not everything has to do with technology. So-called “soft skills” like offering prospective employers a firm handshake, showing up on time, dressing appropriately and making eye contact are often just as important as knowing how to look up websites. “Employers tell us it’s great if workers have certification, but they have to integrate seamlessly into the work environment,”Freso-Moore explained.“This means never being late for an interview and looking people in the eye.That’s very hard for our Ethiopian students, for example, because in their culture that’s a sign of disrespect.” It’s also important to speak loudly enough to be heard, she added. “In some African cultures, having a very soft and quiet voice is seen as being respectful; loud is looked down upon.” Knowing how to properly address your boss is also crucial. “It’s not just learning

Photo: Larry Luxner

Wang Wei, an immigrant from China, writes out an English level two assignment in class.

the words, but the culture too,” she said. “That’s why culture shock can impact your ability to work.” Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

• Intensive English Program • Business and Professional English Program • Evening and Weekend English courses • Teaching EFL Certificate Course • Customized Teacher Training and Professional Development programs for Ministries Georgetown University-CLED Meeting the needs of students and teachers of English as a Foreign Language

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UMUC

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Peer pressure. Young men today face some tough choices.

These are some of the decisions these young men made: Arizona State University, North Carolina State University, James Madison University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Illinois, Indiana State University, The Citadel, Washington and Lee University, University of Tampa, University of Virginia, Penn State University, University of Notre Dame, HampdenSydney College, Texas A & M, University of Colorado, Boston University

from different countries together in a very cost-effective way,” Miyares explained.“Our Russian students take business classes with American students. If we do that with more countries, I think we’re providing a hell of an education by bringing a true international perspective to the online classroom experience.” The most common majors at UMUC — there are over 90 degrees, specializations and certificates — are business management and technology. UMUC also has the nation’s largest history program, with twice as many students enrolled in its undergraduate history program than does the University of Maryland. At present, the University of Maryland charges $767 per credit hour for in-state residents, and $1,648 per credit hour for out-of-state residents. That’s roughly three times as much as UMUC’s charge of $279 per credit hour for in-state residents and $499 for out-of-state residents. “For quite awhile there’s been a narrative out there that college has become very expensive. That has discouraged new immigrants and minorities to think college is not for them,” said Miyares.“We want to push back with another narrative: If you choose the right path, college can become not only affordable, but you can do it without debt. Go to a Maryland community college and then come to us.” Very few students, in fact, start out at UMUC as freshmen. Those who go to an in-state community college and then transfer to UMUC can qualify for a scholarship program that allows them to earn a fouryear degree for only $20,000, Miyares said, adding that “we have the second-lowest tuition of any four-year public or private institution in Maryland. After budget cuts, we may be the lowest.” About three-fourths of UMUC students are undergraduates, Miyares noted. Their average age is 27, and more than half are active-duty military, their family members, veterans or reservists. UMUC is also ethnically diverse, with 43 percent of its students belonging to a minority; it’s home to more Hispanics than any university in Maryland. “When online education came about, it really was the beginning of an evolution in how we teach. At first, the same lecture you heard on site was posted, and then you had discussion groups. Now we’ve introduced things like adaptive learning and intelligent software that interacts with students and knows where they’re weak,” he explained. “It is literally impossible to graduate from UMUC without taking online courses,” Miyares told The Diplomat.“We used to

have face-to-face operations, particularly stateside. But students said they’d rather study online because they didn’t want to fight Beltway traffic. In the mid-1990s, we saw this huge migration from on site to online.” By fiscal 2012, UMUC reached its highest enrollment ever — 97,000 students — thanks to military tuition assistance and help from employers as well. But with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, enrollment began shrinking.

Photo: University of Maryland University College

The University of Maryland University College recently enrolled 85,000 students from around the world.

“In two years, we had to cut our budget by $60 million, and we had to terminate 300 people, mainly overseas” out of a total 4,000 full-time and part-time employees, said Miyares. “We went through a rough patch. In this area, you either work for the government or for a federal contractor.The government shutdown affected military tuition assistance, and the sequestration cut the defense budget tremendously.” Eventually, however, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) intervened, helping sponsor legislation that required the Pentagon to make some adjustments to protect military tuition assistance.At present, Maryland taxpayers fund less than 10 percent of UMUC’s $380 million annual budget. But Miyares concedes that the budget drama may repeat itself this fall when Congress scrambles to pass the annual appropriations bills funding the government. Partisan bickering over issues ranging from abortion to Iran means that another shutdown looms large — a scenario that keeps Miyares up at night. “I hope they solve their problems, because once you have a shutdown, it has an impact on us,” he warned. “You have to plan for the worst.” Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

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October 2015 2015 October

T R A V E L &

HOTELS

Luxury ■ A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

■ October 2015

ROOM FOR

The Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue will be home to the new Trump International Hotel that opens later next year.

Trump Hotel and Watergate Add to City’s Upscale Line-Up by Dave seminara

ore than 50 years ago, John f. Kennedy described Washington as a “city of Southern efficiency and northern charm.” Some argue that this dynamic hasn’t changed much over the decades, but the notable exception to this old axiom is the city’s growing collection of luxury hotels, where staff demonstrate northern efficiency and Southern charm, coddling and pampering well-heeled visitors. Decadent hotels like the four Seasons, the St. regis, two ritzCarltons, Mandarin oriental, the Jefferson, the hay adams, Capella and Park hyatt have made D.C. an increasingly appealing destination for visitors and businesspersons who aren’t pinching pennies. next year, travelers in search of highend accommodation will have two more sumptuous options to choose from: trump International’s brandnew hotel in the historic old Post office Pavilion on Pennsylvania avenue and the newly refurbished Watergate hotel, fresh off a $125 million renovation. Continued on next page

Photo: CaroL M. hIGhSMIth

October 2015

TRAVEL & HOTELS

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health club. According to the Trump International website, the heart of the The two projects not only reflect hotel will be its Cortile, “a soaring ninethe city’s growing financial clout, they story atrium that will function as the also symbolize the original source of hotel’s gathering place, comprising the power on which the nation’s capital grand lobby and lounge.” was built: politics. But what remains to be seen is whether The Watergate complex is synonythe fiery billionaire’s controversial commous with the 1972 break-in that ultiments about Mexican immigrants — mately derailed Richard Nixon’s presiTrump said that Mexico was sending the dency. The Trump brand, meanwhile, United States its “worst people,” among has now come to be associated with other colorful remarks — will have any the surprising presidential bid of Don impact on its hotel chain, which now has ald Trump, the celebrity real estate 13 locations, including six in America. A tycoon who’s leading the Republican number of D.C.-area lawmakers and othpack. ers have called for boycotts, but whether These political back-stories are such efforts gain traction also depends on largely irrelevant to the two hotels’ the trajectory of Trump’s presidential camdaily operations, but they imbue them paign. History also suggests that boycott with a certain Washingtonian cachet. efforts tend to lose steam after the inciPhoto: Watergate Hotel Of course, money and politics have dent that sparked the fury is forgotten. always been inextricably linked, but For example, Hollywood moguls boywhen it comes to D.C. luxury, money A rendering shows the rooftop of the newly revamped Watergate Hotel, which is undergoing an extensive cotted the Beverly Hills Hotel after its may trump politics:You don’t need to $125 million renovation after shutting its doors in 2007. owner, the sultan of Brunei, implemented be one of nearly two dozen presidena strict interpretation of Sharia law that tial contenders to book a room in either property, but you will need deep pockets. called for stoning gays and adulterers last year. But the Hollywood Reporter recently report“Washington has just one true five-star hotel, and that is the Four Seasons,” said Mickael ed that many celebrities, including some with close ties to the LGBT community, were Damelincourt, a Parisian hotel industry veteran who will be the Trump Hotel’s managing returning to the hotel and even posting photos of themselves there on social media. And director. “We intend to be the second one — a world-class, five-star hotel in a truly iconic sometimes any publicity, even bad publicity, can be good for sales, a phenomenon Trump building in the heart of Washington.” himself has exploited. In 2012, there were calls to boycott Chick-fil-A, a fast-food restaurant The Old Post Office Pavilion is indeed one of the city’s iconic landmarks. Built in 1899 in chain, after Dan Cathy, the company’s president, made controversial remarks opposing gay the Romanesque Revival style, it features a 315-foot clock tower, which houses the official marriage. But the company ended the year with sales up 14 percent and also opened 96 U.S. Bells of Congress, a bicentennial gift from England celebrating the end of the new franchises. Revolutionary War. (When the hotel opens next September 2016, there will be a separate José Andrés, the renowned Spanish-American chef and local brainchild behind Jaleo, was elevator for tourists who want to climb the tower to enjoy panoramic views of the National to open a flagship restaurant in the Trump Hotel but pulled out in July after Trump’s comMall.) Despite the building’s grandeur, critics panned it when it opened, and the pavilion ments on Mexican immigrants. was almost demolished on multiple occasions, most recently in the 1970s, when the Nixon “Donald Trump’s recent statements disparaging immigrants make it impossible for my administration wanted to bulldoze it to expand the Federal Triangle complex. company and I to move forward with opening a successful Spanish restaurant in Trump It served as a post office until 1914 and was an office building for decades. In 2013, the International’s upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.,”Andrés said in a statement.“More than U.S. General Services Administration leased the property for 60 years to the Trump half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests. And, as a proud Spanish immigrant Organization, which is knee-deep in a $200 million redevelopment of the building. When and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves complete, the hotel will feature 39,000 square feet of meeting and event space, 262 guest- respect, regardless of immigration status.” rooms, 31 suites, restaurants, a 13,000-square-foot ballroom and a 10,000-square-foot spa and Trump responded with a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit that is still pending.

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“Luxury has been performing very well around the country since the Great Recession, probably because there were so few new luxury properties being built.” — Jan D. Freitag, analyst with STR Global The challenge of making the new Trump Hotel in Washington a success will fall on the shoulders of Damelincourt, a French immigrant who says that he’s proud to be part of the Trump International brand, which, he says, employs people from at least 35 countries around the world. “We have people working with us from every part of the world, people of every race and sexual orientation,” he said. “Mr. Trump has been extremely good to us.” Damelincourt couldn’t comment on the breach-of-contract lawsuit but said they are now exploring different options with other chefs and insisted that the hotel will have a gourmet restaurant befitting a five-star hotel. Damelincourt’s own immigrant story began more than 15 years ago, when he fell in love with an American woman who was studying abroad in Paris. “She was a student at Tulane, and I came to visit her on a two-week trip in 2000,” he recalled.“But I never went back to France.” He found a job at Le Méridien hotel in New Orleans, married his American girlfriend, Carolyn, and launched a career in the hotel industry that has taken him all over North America. In his last two jobs with the Trump brand, he’s elevated their properties in Chicago and Toronto to five-star, five-diamond ratings, along with other awards and accolades. Damelincourt says that anything less than the same result in Washington will be a disappointment. He believes the hotel will be a huge hit with diplomats because it will have an entrance on 11th Street, just off Pennsylvania Avenue, that is closed off to traffic and ideal for arriving delegations. And for those countries who can splash out for visiting VIPs, the hotel’s suites will be a show in and of themselves.The hotel’s largest suite, still unnamed at the moment, will be a twolevel, two-bedroom, three-bath, 6,000-squarefoot palace with stunning views of the city. Damelincourt says that the cost of this suite will likely start at about $20,000 per night, rising to perhaps as much as $100,000 per night for the 2017 inauguration — especially if a certain mogul captures the White House next year. Meanwhile, renovation work on the storied Watergate — expected to reopen in late 2016 after closing its doors in 2007 — has faced its own challenges. In May, a large section of the garage collapsed at the complex, causing minor injuries to two construction workers and some damage. But construction work resumed quickly and the incident is unlikely to set back the $125 million renovation, which includes a complete remodel of the hotel’s interior, a new 7,000-square-foot ballroom, a rooftop lounge with panoramic views, a whiskey bar and a cigar lounge. The new and improved Watergate will have 337 guestrooms — half with balconies and 95 percent of them with views of the Potomac River. Euro Capital Properties, the hotel’s parent company, says that guestrooms will feature plush bedding, floor-to-ceiling marble bathrooms and instructions for an innovative smart-phone application that allows guests to “control virtually every aspect of their stay.” A world-class spa will feature eight treatment rooms, sauna and steam baths, an indoor swimming pool, a whirlpool and yoga and fitness classes.

October 2015

Photo: Watergate Hotel

A pool will be among the features of the new Watergate Hotel, set to open next year.

The Watergate’s three-bedroom presidential suites measure 2,700 square feet and include two private balconies with views of the Potomac. At $12,000 per night, they will also have two separate living rooms, a full kitchen with marble countertops, gas fireplace, a walk-in shower with body sprayers and double vanities with in-mirror-televisions. (Standard guestrooms will start at $400 per night. U.S. government per diem is available based upon availability at both the Watergate and Trump International.) Can Washington support two more super luxury hotels? According to data provided to The Diplomat by STR Global, which tracks data on the hotel industry, it looks like there’s plenty of room for more competition in the local luxury hotel market. Through July 2015, occupancy this year at luxury hotels in D.C. was 76 percent, with an average room rate of $296, compared to $286 in 2013, $273 in 2011 and just $260 in 2009. Since 2009, the number of luxury hotels has climbed from 20 to 25, according to STR’s analysis. “These are very, very healthy numbers that bode well for how these hotels are likely to fare in this market,” said Jan D. Freitag, a hotel industry analyst at STR. “Luxury has been performing very well around the country since the Great Recession, probably because there were so few new luxury properties being built.” Freitag said that while the super high-end suites at luxury hotels may attract some affluent customers, particularly from oil-rich nations, they also function as great PR, because who isn’t interested in $100,000 hotel suites and other examples of extravagantly conspicuous consumption? Freitag believes that what sets luxury hotels apart these days is not just the guestrooms, but rather the experience they provide to their guests. He cited two examples: the Belmond Copacabana Palace, which offers a sunrise picnic breakfast at the famed Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro before it opens to the public, and the “redcarpet-ready” treatment at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, where stylists “bring out guests’ inner star” by doing their hair and makeup, providing fancy loaner jewels and then sending an award-winning photographer to snap shots of them on a red carpet in front of the hotel’s Rolls Royce. “High-end travelers want these kinds of special experiences,” Freitag said. “They’re supposed to be the kind of experiences money can’t buy, but of course the truth is, it can.”

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Dave Seminara (@DaveSem) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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DIPLOMATIC SPOUSES

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■ OCTOBER 2015

BALLET

Driven Swede She has three teenagers in three schools who have three different afterschool activities in three different parts of town. And she’s the driver. But after a career in the Foreign Service, Madeleine Lyrvall, wife of the Swedish ambassador, is enjoying the “privilege” of motherhood. PAGE 29

CINEMA

Ageless Classic Award-winning, pioneering actress Ingrid Bergman remains ageless in a Swedish Embassy retrospective that celebrates the 100th anniversary of her birth. PAGE 30

HISTORY

Dance

arts

INTRICATE

Spanish Footprint Many people associate America’s early history with the British, but it was the Spanish who first colonized the country, and left an indelible imprint that stands to this day. PAGE 31

He’s spent years 16 years trying to elevate the perception of ballet in the nation’s capital. Now, Septime Webre, the artistic tour-de-force behind the Washington Ballet, is hoping to broaden the Maki Onuki performs in the Washington Ballet’s “Latin Heat.” PHOTO: DEAN ALEXANDER

city’s appreciation of Latin culture with the launch of “Latin Heat,” part of an inaugural festival that aims to highlight and celebrate different cultures around the world. PAGE 28

DINING Decent ethnic food abounds in D.C., but for the real deal, you’ll need to venture to the sprawling suburbs of Maryland and Virginia, where some of the area’s top ethnic treasures are buried. PAGE 34

[ ballet ]

Hot Ticket ‘Latin Heat’ Expands Washington Ballet’s Diverse Repertoire by Karin Sun

ith the exception of Spanish soap operas, tango classes and At left, Aurora Dicki and Gian musicians ranging from rapper Carlo Perez dance in “Latin Heat,” Pitbull to 1950s Cuban-American the latest innovative offering by television icon Ricky Ricardo, Washington Ballet impresario most average Americans’ exposure Septime Webre, above. to Latin culture is spotty, at best. Just as he’s spent years trying to change work that features salsa performances set to the perception of ballet in Washington, the music of celebrated Cuban singer La Septime Webre, artistic director of the Lupe. Other performances include Annabelle Washington Ballet, is hoping to broaden the Lopez Ochoa’s “Sombrerísimo!,” a combined city’s appreciation of Latin culture with the flamenco and Spanish rap number that referlaunch of “PROJECT GLOBAL,” the dance ences the work of Belgian painter René troupe’s multiyear initiative that aims to Magritte; Edwaard Liang’s “La Ofrenda (The highlight and celebrate different cultures Offering),” a somber and spiritual piece that around the world.This year’s inaugural festipays tribute to Mexico’s Day of the Dead celval focuses on Latin dance and music, runebrations; and Marius Petipa’s “Don Quixote,” ning from late September to the middle of a Spanish-themed ballet adaptation of Miguel November. A centerpiece of the event will de Cervantes’s world-famous novel. be “Latin Heat,” a five-act extravaganza that The logic behind “Latin Heat” can be succombines classical ballet with a variety of cinctly summed up in one word: fusion. Not Latin dance styles including salsa, flamenco PHOTOS: DEAN ALEXANDER only do the performances combine ballet — and tango. an age-old European dance tradition with The novel festival is the latest in a series aristocratic undertones — with the more of innovative ideas Webre has brought to contemporary and warm sensuality of Latin the Washington Ballet since taking the helm dance, but they also represent the deeper 16 years ago, transforming it from a sleepy synthesis of the human cultural experience. dance company into one of the hottest tick“‘Latin Heat’ is not about Latin dance in its ets in town. traditional forms so much as the fusion that Born in New Orleans to a large family, happens in today’s global reality, when dancWebre’s mother fled Cuba when Fidel ers and artists move between cultures and Castro took power. Growing up, Webre influence each other’s work,”Webre explained. spent time in the Bahamas, Sudan and Texas, “At its heart, it’s really about the Latin identity; where he earned his bachelor’s degree. when Latino-Americans come to the United His international passion and Cuban States, they remain Latino, but their cultural roots have shaped the Washington Ballet, expression is fused with that of the American founded in 1944. Under his leadership, the mainstream. ‘Latin Heat’ reflects the way in company has toured the world, including which traditional Latin culture has changed Webre’s native Cuba, and brought on a and morphed over time with the addition of diverse cast of international stars to support new influences, but still manages to remain Webre’s expansive vision. Two African contemporary.” American dancers were recently cast as the This sense of cultural fusion is weaved leads in “Swan Lake,” and the company’s throughout many of the individual works. For dancers hail from over a dozen countries, instance, “5 Tangos” combines contemporary including Albania, Japan and, of course, ballet with the energy, sensuality and seamCuba. less flow of tango. “One of tango’s most Webre’s repertory includes world preimportant qualities is its ability to make a mieres and dazzlingly elaborate productions direct connection between individuals,” of “The Great Gatsby,” “Sleepy Hollow” and Webre said, referring to the way in which “ALICE (in wonderland).” A perpetual bestpairs of tango dancers synchronize their movements.The seller is Webre’s groundbreaking rendition of “The performance also features international dancers from Nutcracker,” set in historic Washington, D.C. Latin Heat diverse locations around the globe, including Venezuela, When asked how his latest culturally diverse Oct. 14 to 18 South Africa, Japan, Hungary and Tucson, Ariz. ensemble of work was selected, Webre emphasized “Don Quixote,” a Spanish-themed duet, is another Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater the need for both balance and cohesion. “Putting work that melds ballet with stylistic references to Latin together a good ballet repertoire is like planning a 2700 F St., NW dance, and that also reinvents one of the most famous gourmet meal,” the larger-than-life artistic director Tickets are $30.50 to $102. romantic tales of European literature using Latin charactold The Washington Diplomat.“There needs to be a For more information, please call (202) 362-3606 ters and settings. Webre pointed out that mixing ballet variety of different textures and flavors throughout or visit www.washingtonballet.org. with other cultural styles is hardly a new practice.“Ballet the evening, but the overall experience should be a performances in 19th-century Russia frequently refercohesive one. The audience should leave at the end of the night feeling as if they’ve been on a marvelous journey with many unexpected enced other cultures such as Spain, India, Scotland and Italy,” he said. “Our performance of ‘Don Quixote’ will follow this tradition of creating a cultural pastiche of twists and turns, but that there was also a unifying logic under it all.” “Latin Heat” opens with “5 Tangos,” a sensuous piece by Dutch choreographer Hans many different centuries and places through ballet.” van Manen that combines traditional tango with ballet, and ends with the world premiere of Italian choreographer Mauro de Candia’s “Bitter Sugar,” a bold and energetic See LATIN HEAT, page 33

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The Washington Diplomat

]

October 2015

[ diplomatic spouses ]

Driven Swede Mother of Three Reflects on Personal, Professional Joys of Foreign Service by Gail Scott

he has three teenagers in three different schools who have three different afterschool activities — soccer, dance and horseback riding — in three different parts of town. And she’s the driver. “At home I wouldn’t do this,” said Madeleine Lyrvall, the jovial wife of Swedish Ambassador Björn Lyrvall. “They would all ride the bus or bike … and so would we.We bike to work at the Ministry [of Foreign Affairs]. And everyone wears a helmet,” said the safety-conscious Swede. Like her husband, who served as director general for political affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm before coming to Washington, Madeleine also spent many years working in the ministry as a diplomat. Among other areas, she worked on security and defense issues and, more recently, human rights, including gender equality and children’s rights. Now in the U.S. since 2013, she’s traded in her Foreign Service hat for a different set of duties. Anna, their oldest child, is 16, attends Edmund Burke School and loves travel soccer and riding at Meadowbrook Stables. Mimmi, who turns 15 in November, is a student at Washington International School and dances at Joy of Motion studios. Fredrik, 12, goes to Washington Episcopal School and is an avid soccer player.“It’s like having three teenagers because Fredrik is very mature,” the proud mother notes. “It is a treasure to be a mother,” Madeleine told us. PHOTO: EMBASSY OF SWEDEN “It is a privilege to have them.” But she admits that while they are having an “intense and wonderful time, Madeleine Lyrvall and her husband, Swedish Ambassador Björn Lyrvall, are pictured with their three children, Fredrik, Mimmi and Anna. teenagers are challenging.” Madeleine herself has previous experience living in the United States as a teenager. In high school, she was an exchange student in San Jose, Calif. Then, 18 months of maternity and paternity leave, with 80 percent of their pay after earning a master’s degree at Lund University in Sweden, she returned and included. “We have come a long way regarding equality between men and received another master’s from the University of California in Berkeley before women. Women are economically independent with legal rights,” Madeleine earning a third master’s from the London School of Economics.That’s when she explained. went home to Sweden and started her own diplomatic training, which led to a She also takes particular pride in Sweden’s Nobel Laureate tradition in literalong career in the Foreign Service. ture, medicine and science, whose awards are also celebrated here in D.C. each Her husband’s postings include Leningrad, Moscow, London and Brussels, year. In the commercial realm, Sweden’s own numerous advances in science where he served in Sweden’s Permanent and technology include Volvo, the automotive group that’s worldRepresentation to the European Union. renowned for its safe, innovative cars.“Volvo has always been close Having observed both cultures, to my heart since they are made in Gothenburg, my hometown,” It is a treasure to be Madeleine said that one difference Madeleine said. between young Swedes and their More recently, Sweden has become renowned for being one of a mother…. It is a privilege American counterparts is that Swedes the few European countries — alongside Germany — to take in tend to have more responsibility yet large numbers of asylum seekers from war-torn nations such as to have them. more freedom. “Boyfriends are not as Syria, absorbing the largest number of refugees in relation to its big a deal at home and relationships are population of all the European Union member nations. — MADELEINE LYRVALL not as important as they are here. The Scandinavian nation prides itself on being the world’s conwife of Swedish Ambassador Björn Lyrvall Otherwise, there are more similarities science and serves as a counterweight to the populist, anti-immithan differences,” she told us in the sungrant sentiment sweeping EU countries such as Hungary and even room of the Swedish Residence on Nebraska Avenue, next to Japan’s residence fellow Nordic neighbors such as Denmark. While the liberal open-door policy and just down the street from American University. has inevitably provoked some political backlash in Sweden, it has also infused “We don’t have separate boys’ and girls’ schools. They have physical educa- the predominantly white, Christian nation of nearly 10 million with religious tion together and dance together, learning to respect each other,” she continued, and ethnic diversity. reflecting on growing up in Sweden, which enjoys a generous Nordic social “Sweden has been considered one of the ‘blondest’ of all countries,” welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education to its Madeleine observed. “Sweden was a very homogeneous country. Yet thanks to people. Sweden being an open and welcoming society, we are a multicultural society “Children are treasured in Sweden,” Madeleine said. “From nursery through today.” university, school is free. We have lots of wonderful playgrounds and access for That multiculturalism is one of the many similarities that Sweden shares with the children to culture. the United States. “We are not socialist. We are a welfare state,” she added. “Everyone has the “More similarities between our two countries are that we are both creative same health care.Adults pay, at most, $150 for the year and after that, everything nations. We are the third-biggest exporter of popular music in the world,” is free. Children are free up to age 18.” See SPOUSES, page 33 Madeleine also noted that Swedish mothers and fathers each have the same

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October 2015

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The Washington Diplomat Page 29

[ cinema ]

Ageless Pioneer Swedish Embassy Celebrates 100 Years of Ingrid Bergman by Kate Oczypok

he saying has gotten a bit worn, but the song and film behind “As Time Goes By” haven’t. Time has certainly gone by, though, as the Swedish Embassy recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Hollywood legend Ingrid Bergman.The award-winning actress, who died in 1982, remains ageless. Bergman is best known for her iconic role as Ilsa Lund in the 1942 classic “Casablanca.” But what happened beyond “Casablanca?” More than 50 films, three Oscars and an extramarital affair that caused a scandal and almost derailed her storied career. The exhibit “Ingrid Bergman in Sweden!” covers the first years in the life of what many call Sweden’s national treasure and one of the world’s greatest actresses. The show runs until Dec. 6 at the House of Sweden.A second exhibit featuring 30 photographs, “The Saga of Ingrid Bergman,” ended in late September and presented Bergman as both beloved and controversial — a “role model and danger to her own time,” as the exhibit put it. That’s because Bergman openly challenged her innocent on-screen persona — and the mores of the day. Bergman, who was raised by relatives after both of her Swedish actress Ingrid parents died, attended the Royal Dramatic Theater School in Stockholm for a year, Bergman, pictured in the during which time she made her professional stage debut. Her 1936 Swedish film film “Gaslight,” top, and with “Intermezzo” caught the eye of American producer David O’Selznick, who helped Cary Grant in “Notorious,” her make the transition to Hollywood. above, starred in more than Bergman’s natural charm and reportedly conscientious work ethic led to a 50 films throughout her long string of hits, including “Casablanca,” “Gaslight” and several Alfred Hitchcock career. At left, Swedish films. Ambassador Björn Lyrvall The angelic beauty married Swedish neurosurgeon Petter Lindstrom in 1937 unveils a commemorative and gave birth to a daughter, solidifying her good girl image. stamp in her honor as part But her affair with Italian director and screenwriter Roberto Rossellini and of a Swedish Embassy subsequent pregnancy with his son turned that wholesome paradigm on its head. retrospective marking the The scandal tarnished her reputation in the U.S. and Bergman went into self-im100th anniversary of her birth. posed exile to Europe with Rossellini, who became her husband after they both divorced their respective spouses. equality was virtually nonexShe continued her film career overseas, eventually making a triumphant return PHOTO: EMBASSY OF SWEDEN istent. to Hollywood in 1956 to star in “Anastasia” “Have you ever seen a female gangster boss in one of Martin as the long-lost Russian princess. Ingrid Bergman in Sweden! Scorsese’s movies?” Göransson pointed out. Bergman won back her American Göransson described Bergman as a natural beauty who was the acclaim and popularity with films such as through Dec. 6 opposite of the stereotypical Hollywood diva.“She always walked “Murder on the Orient Express,” though House of Sweden her own way,” he said. “I think people today would think she has she remained based in Europe for the rest a lot of courage.” of her life. She continued acting until she 2900 K St., NW In September, the Embassy of Sweden hosted a ceremony succumbed to cancer on her 67th birthday For more information, please call (202) 467-2600 unveiling a commemorative Ingrid Bergman stamp and a after a seven-year battle. or visit www.swedenabroad.com. “Hollywood Dance Party” celebrating her life. Swedish Ambassador The exhibits at the House of Sweden Björn Lyrvall said Bergman forged the way for many women to — along with a related retrospective of her work at AFI Silver Theatre — ask what Bergman represents today.They also shine demand respect in a male-dominated industry. “She is celebrated all around the world, because she was such a strong and independent person,” he said. Bergman’s a spotlight on some of the lesser-known films from her homeland. Jan Göransson of the Swedish Film Institute described how the idea for the daughter, Pia Lindström, was on hand for the stamp unveiling and to help tell the embassy shows came about.“We thought that many of her Swedish films were for- story of her mother’s life. Annmari Kastrup, producer of the “Saga of Ingrid Bergman” exhibit, noted that the gotten by many,” he said. When Göransson read Bergman’s biography last summer, he was also struck by actress refused to change her name early in her career, keeping her Swedishsounding moniker as a tribute to her homeland. the fiery spirit that defined her career. The Bergman exhibit has been shown in Sweden and Shanghai. “There were a “She loved to question all the directors she worked with,” Göransson said. “She had fights with some of them, including Ingmar Bergman [no relation]. We found great amount of people that saw the exhibition in Shanghai and remarkably many that she from a very early age was very stubborn and had many innovative ideas young persons, probably thanks to the great use of social media,” Kastrup said.“It has been a reawakening and a lot of young people know more about her now, thanks to about acting.” Bergman was perhaps ahead of her time, which made her a force to be reckoned all the articles and the new film ‘I Am Ingrid’ by Stig Björkman.” For those interested in learning more about Bergman’s life, Kastrup recommendwith. In 1946, when she was going to play Joan of Arc on Broadway, Bergman got angry when she heard that the theater was segregated, Göransson explained. She ed seeing her movies and reading her biography, “My Story.” It could be the begincouldn’t break her contract but let her views be known in local newspapers. He also ning of a beautiful friendship. cited the example of the Swedish film “A Woman’s Face,” in which Bergman played a female gangster. The movie was released 77 years ago — in an era when gender Kate Oczypok (@OczyKate) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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The Washington Diplomat

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October 2015

[ history ]

Indelible Mark

Thomas Stackhouse’s 1783 map of North America

Fall Programs Celebrate Spain’s Vast Influence on Americas by Gary Tischler

hen many people think of America’s early history, they tend to associate it with the British. But of course it wasn’t the British who first colonized this country. It was the Spanish, starting with Christopher Columbus’s 1492 discovery that ushered in three centuries of Spanish Empire expansion across the Americas. That imprint, for good or ill, is felt strongest in the countries of Latin America. But Spain’s enduring influence has also left an indelible mark on North America. The upcoming 2015 fall/winter season of the Embassy of Spain’s cultural programming series, which was announced by its cultural center (site of the former ambassador residence on 16th Street) last month, celebrates the variety, range and scope of Spanish culture in the Americas, both past and present. Many of the events are scattered throughout the United States and Canada, and it’s hard not to envy the cities hostJoan Miró’s ing them. Still, Washington isn’t exactly “Woman, Bird being left out in the cold — not with a and Star major design exhibition that opens in (Homage to December at Spain’s cultural center, Picasso)” which will also be the hub of this year’s FotoWeekDC, the city’s largest visual arts festival. The December exhibition presents an expansive look at the Spanish presence in the United States, which is more farreaching than many people realize. “Designing America: Spain’s Imprint in the U.S.” traces Spain’s role in putting America on the map — literally — by examining the expeditions that marked up U.S. territory, from the first settlements to the present day. It’s a shared history that stretches back 500 years. The Spanish not only explored the American frontier, they established it, devising a system of points on a map, building up trade routes that connected disparate settlements, building towns, presidios and missions, and imbuing them with character and architecture. The influence of Spanish engineers and designers persists in the design and renovation of cities throughout the country, from the American Southwest to New Orleans and Florida. That’s where the story begins, in fact.“Designing America” celebrates the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, Fla., the oldest, continually inhabited European settlement in the United States. Even today, St. Augustine remains a microcosm of historic fortresses and stellar For more information on the Spanish architecture. 2015 Fall/Winter Program of SPAIN Through a combined dialogue arts & culture, please visit of historic documents, texts, imagwww.spainculture.us. es and audio-visual elements, visitors can experience, measure and view the footprints of this common journey — one that is often neglected during a time when campaigning politicians denounce the subject of immigration, not extol its virtues. Locally, Latin culture has found a special niche in Washington, D.C. So Spain’s cultural lineup is also teaming up with GALA Hispanic Theatre to commemorate its 40th anniversary as a Washington institution, with the world premiere of a new adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s tragic 1934

to learn

October 2015

PHOTO: ©BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL DE ESPAÑA

Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz’s “Variation on Traveler 306 at Night”

PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS AND PPOW, NY

PHOTO: ©SUCCESSIÓ MIRÓ/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NY/ADAGP, PARIS

PHOTO: COLECCIÓN DUQUES DE ALBA

Above, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes’s “The Duchess of Alba in White” Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney in Spain in 1957

PHOTO: WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION

Far left, St. Augustine’s 450th celebration

poem “Yerma” (see review on page 32). The theatrical renditions of the legendary Spaniard’s poems are a kind of contemporary high water mark in Spanish drama, and a perfect match for GALA, a local pioneer of relevant theater. Other highlights spread throughout the country include the remarkable “Treasures from the House of Alba: 500 Years of Art and Collecting,” which celebrates the golden anniversary of the Meadows Museum in Dallas and will showcase 100 treasures from Spain’s most renowned noble family, many of the objects never before seen outside of Spain. Another promising exhibition, also in Texas, is “Miró: The Experience of Seeing,” featuring more than 50 paintings, drawings and sculptures by the

See SPAIN, page 33 The Washington Diplomat Page 31

[ theater ]

Fertile Imagination ‘Yerma’ Marks 40 Years of GALA’s Groundbreaking Theater by Lisa Troshinsky

ALA Hispanic Theatre is looking back on 40 years of introducing Washington audiences to Spanish-language theater with the goal of moving forward to produce more modern plays. “Hispanic American writers coming up now, who are tied to Latin America, are developing new work, and audiences in this country are wanting to see those new voices, many of whom are writing in English,” Executive Director Rebecca Read Medrano told The Washington Diplomat. Medrano and her husband, Argentine-born Hugo Medrano, founded GALA in the 1970s at a time when D.C. wasn’t particularly known for its arts and culture scene — or for showcasing Latin culture specifically. But they chipped away at the void, transforming a struggling theater troupe into an established Washington institution and moving into a permanent home in 2005.Today,Tivoli Theatre has anchored the revitalization of the Columbia Heights neighborhood and GALA has staged over 200 works from Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Peru, Venezuela and beyond. PHOTOS: LONNIE TAGUE / LULO PHOTO In honor of its 40th anniversary season, dubbed Mabel del Pozo, left, watches with envy as Natalia “¡Viva los 40!,” GALA will offer four plays with a Miranda-Guzmán cradles her baby in Spanish writer contemporary lens on classical works, Rebecca Fernando J. López’s adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s Medrano said. tragic poem “Yerma.” At left, Luz Nicolás, Mabel del Pozo First out of the gate,“Yerma” is an innovative and and Iker Lastra inhabit a stark world of loss and longing gutsy remake of an 80-year-old verse. The world in the GALA Hispanic Theatre production. premiere adaptation by Spanish writer Fernando J. López of the 1934 tragic poem by Federico García subtly it more than makes up for in passion and intriguLorca echoes with modern-day relevance. ing symbolism. The production, not for the faint of heart, is the Images of earth (often the symbol for fertility) and water graphic and often violent retelling of a woman (rebirth) appear again and again — in actual physical form named Yerma (which means “barren”) living in on stage and in the language. Yerma is barefoot and so in rural Andalucía who cannot conceive and is bound constant contact with the earth that she recalls going outby a loveless marriage — and constrained by a door just to feel her bare feet on the ground, while Juan repressive society. Her inability to have a child and her forbidden desires for another man contravened the mores of her time, but Lorca’s works the earth in the fields, ironically able to fertilize them and not Yerma.At the same themes find surprising resonance today, examining the ongoing tension between moth- time, red, dusty earth abounds on the stage and throughout the play. Juan kicks it up, throws himself on it in anguish and tussles in it with Yerma. erhood and women’s roles in contemporary society. Yerma also acknowledges the need for water and its absence in her life. She tells Juan Yerma is married off at a young age to a man she doesn’t know and doesn’t love. She lets family honor and duty stand in the way of leaving her husband and feels that with- to go to the river and swim or go to the roof when the rain drenches it. By contrast, Yerma tells Victor, another farmer to whom she is attracted, how when he sings, it is “like out the ability to reproduce, she is useless to society. Mabel del Pozo, from Madrid, throws herself into the title role of Yerma with pure a torrent of water fills his mouth.” Meanwhile, she frequents the bathtub where she swirls her arms in water and, at the play’s end, totally immerses herself abandonment yet emotional restraint, while in an effort to become fertile. Eric Robledo, a Mexican actor from New York, Yerma It is with these poetic gestures that the play stands for more than plays Juan, her peasant husband who is a slave through Oct. 4 just Yerma and her struggles and becomes universal in its references to his limited opportunities and machismo to human longing for the things that give us life. stereotype. GALA Hispanic Theatre As for the rest of the season, GALA is trying something different Yerma’s world is a stark one, poetically mir3333 14th St., NW this year, said Rebecca Medrano. Neither production manager Artemis rored by the stage she inhabits. Silvia de Tickets are $38 to $42. Lopez nor Hugo Medrano will direct. Marta’s set, which represents Yerma’s house For more information, please call (202) 234-7174 “This year all major productions will be directed by outside direcand immediate surroundings, is sparse.A bathtors,” she said.“We want to expand and incorporate new directors and or visit www.galatheatre.org. tub, what looks like a hospital examining table bring back those who have directed for us in the past.” and a few empty crates serve as the home’s Later in the year, Consuelo Trum will direct Venezuelan Gustavo interior. On the perimeter, a wide swath of red mulch represents Juan’s world. Christopher Annas-Lee’s dramatic lighting paints Yerma’s Ott’s “Senorita y Madame: The Secret War of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein;” world in black and white, with enveloping darkness, intermittent blinding lights and followed by a tour-de force adaptation by Jorge Ali Triana of Colombian Gabriel García Márquez’s “Chronicle of a Death Foretold;” while Puerto Rican José Carrasquillo will crisp shadows. Even de Marta’s costuming conveys a world of contrasts, with Yerma in a pastel sum- direct Octavio Solis’s “El Paso Blue.” GALA’s mission, since it was founded in 1976 in a small townhouse in Adams Morgan mer dress and Juan’s controlling sisters in head-to-toe faceless black burqas. The theme and premise of “Yerma” are intrinsically histrionic.“Exploring García Lorca and now lives in the exquisitely refurbished Tivoli Theatre, remains the same, according is like exploring an open wound,” writes director José Luis Arellano Garcia. Nevertheless, to co-founder Hugo Medrano.That is “to preserve and promote Latino arts and cultures the play throbs of hyperbole, while the acting and direction are high pitched with little by producing classical and contemporary Hispanic plays, musicals and children’s therelief.To be fair, this could be an unintended consequence of turning a poem — meant ater, making quality bilingual theater education accessible to Latino youth, and building to relate one, clear message — into a script that often needs more variety to stay bal- awareness of the richness and diversity of Hispanic performing art forms among nonSpanish-speaking public.” anced. Director Garcia describes his intention to empower “each word, each gesture and each glance” with “pain, fear, fragility and power.” And what the play lacks in Lisa Troshinsky is the theater reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.

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The Washington Diplomat

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October 2015

from page 29

from page 34

Spouses

Dining ings. After staring long and hard at the extensive list, we settled on chile rellenos and chicken mole enchiladas. We also tried one each of the carnitas and chicken tacos. The two rellenos, hot from the oven, were massive — so big, in fact, that the accompanying refried beans and rice came on a separate plate. The plump green poblano peppers, dipped in an egg batter and lightly fried, were dressed up with a few small charred onion slices. The poblano peppers were tender to the fork and full of a subtle but flavorful asadero cheese. What set this relleno apart — other than its sheer size — was the light and delicately battered shell, unlike the hard fried casings that mar many relleno dishes. The mole enchiladas were also tasty, with a smoky-sweet flavor that wasn’t overwhelmed by a cloying chocolate taste, as other versions of this dish tend to be. The mole also had a touch of spicy heat. Our only quibble here was the overly generous mound of lettuce and crema fresca that topped the enchiladas. Thankfully, this bit of overkill was easily solved with the swipe of a fork. The tacos, filled generously with grilled meat and served on corn tortillas, were tasty enough but nothing to brag about. However, on another note, the refried beans at El Tapatio are flat-out great.They have perfect consistency — smooth with a few small chunks, served steaming hot and blended with flavorful charred onions. Service at El Tapatio was friendly and efficient. Overall, our experience here was muy bueno.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL COLEMAN

Tucked into a small strip mall south of the Ballston shopping center in Virginia, Fettoosh specializes in Moroccan and Lebanese cuisine.

bastilla comes in three sizes but the small rendition — paired with a couple of other menu offerings — was more than enough. In fact, we brought some home. Our one pick from the Lebanese side of the menu was the namesake fettoosh: pita bread added to fresh parsley, cucumber, tomatoes and onions with lemon juice and olive oil. This wasn’t quite as lively as we’d anticipated. Subpar tomatoes — good ones can be hard to find FETTOOSH — may have been the culprit. Since the fettoosh fell flat, we To round out our first month moved on to the fish tagine, a of suggestions from Cowen’s list Moroccan stew featuring a tender, we tried Fettoosh, a Moroccan light piece of sole simmered in a and Lebanese restaurant in spiced tomato broth with potatoes, Arlington, Va. Unlike the first two roasted tomatoes, bell peppers and places we visited, Fettoosh pres- Crispy green tea salad is a house olives. The complex yet delicate ents itself attractively.Tucked into specialty at Myanmar Restaurant, flavors of this dish were dazzling. yet another small strip mall just and in Burmese cuisine generally, Filling without being overburdensouth of the Ballston shopping for good reason. ing, this alone would make for a center, Fettoosh is bright, clean and uncluttered with modern, if simple, design flour- perfect light dinner. At a fellow diner’s suggestion, we shared a piece of ishes. At Cowen’s suggestion, we mostly stuck to the baklava, billed as “the most famous Middle Eastern desmore interesting Moroccan side of the menu and sert.” We’re glad we did. The baklava — prepared inaccepted a few helpful recommendations from our house and attractively plated with drizzles of honey server, who also happened to be the Moroccan-born and chocolate — was not overly sweet and had a palowner of the establishment.A bowl of harira — a rice ate-pleasing firmness that lent it heft and texture. The baklava was a fitting end to a delicious meal, lentil soup with chickpeas and a tomato base — was and a fine way to end our Tyler Cowen-inspired foray intensely flavorful and warming, and a great start. Chicken bastilla was unlike anything we’d ever into the exotic culinary world of the Washington subtasted and contained a mixture of flavors that were urbs. sweet, savory and delicious. Chicken marinated with almonds, parsley and onions is wrapped in delicate Michael Coleman (@michaelcoleman) is a contributing pastry puff sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. The writer for The Washington Diplomat.

from page 31

Spain

PHOTO: FUNDACIÓ GALA-SALVADORE DALÍ/ARTIST RIGHTS SOCIETY

Salvador Dalí’s “Study for Sentimental Colloquy,” above, is part of the “Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination” exhibition in San Francisco, while Miami is featuring a separate exhibit, “Goya & Dalí: Los Caprichos,” right. PHOTO: CCEMIAMI

October 2015

Barcelona-born artist. Meanwhile, “Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination,” on display in San Francisco and St. Petersburg, finds a connection between the surrealist genius and the genius of popular culture. The renewal of relations between the United States and Cuba makes for a sharp backdrop to “CUBAHORA,Why not?,” a multidisciplinary project in Miami that includes exhibits, dance, theater, literature and music. Likewise, from film festivals in L.A. and Ottawa to book festivals in Puerto Rico, Spain’s eclectic fall schedule spans North America and covers a diverse array of media. It’s only fitting for a country that shaped so much of the continent. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Madeleine told us. “We have a modern, open, innovative culture with ties to the U.S. that are very strong and go back a long time,” she said. “We are also a trading nation, starting with the Vikings. We export more than we import,” she added, noting that over 300,000 Americans have jobs that were created by Swedish companies. “In 2013, President Obama visited Sweden. His visit was a fantastic start for our Washington posting.” While Madeleine has enjoyed the professional and personal benefits of a life in the Foreign Service, it has its drawbacks.“There is the strain of moving and all the logistics, but it’s a fun kind of life.And now that we have the internet and Skype, we can keep in touch so easily with family and friends.” The Lyrvalls moved their entire house over from Sweden to furnish the private quarters here. The residence’s official first floor was already furnished and remains the same. Otherwise,“IKEA has most everything else we might want,” Madeleine noted. In addition to the iconic ready-toassemble furniture designer, Sweden is famous for its coffee blends, although Madeleine admits she has a preference for American teas and takes peppermint bark home with her when she visits for the Christmas holidays. “My husband and I both like to cook — so do our children. Our favorites to make are fish and traditional Swedish meatballs.We have a wonderful embassy chef, Frida Johansson, who works out of the kitchen downstairs while we use the kitchen upstairs in the private quarters,” Madeleine said.

from page 28

Latin Heat Webre also raved about “Bitter Sugar,” the closing salsa performance that will give American audiences a taste of the Latin soul that Cuban singer La Lupe was famous for, and which Webre calls an “explosion of dramatic energy.” “Mauro de Candia is one of ballet’s rising stars,” Webre said, referring to the visionary Italian choreographer behind the piece. Along with other featured choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Edwaard Liang, Candia is an important new voice on the ballet scene, or as Webre put it, “one of the ‘it boys’ of the ballet world.” Unlike Ochoa and Liang, both of whom have collaborated with the Washington Ballet on numerous projects in the past, the Europe-based Candia has rarely been featured in the United States, and his work will be introduced for the first time to Washington audiences in “Latin Heat.” “I’m so excited about that,” Webre said of the choreographer’s D.C. debut. Along with “Latin Heat,” this year’s “Project Global” festival will also feature other Latin-themed performances including “theNEWmovement: iFiesta Latina!,” a work based on the

PHOTO: GAIL SCOTT

Madeleine Lyrvall and Ambassador Björn Lyrvall both worked in the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Six years in Brussels, their most recent foreign posting, and now Washington have been “fascinating” for this family of five that spends their free time in D.C. going to the theater. They see anything from modern plays and opera to works by Shakespeare and famed Swedish writer Liv Strömquist, their personal preference. “Our children love it here. It is a fantastic opportunity for them to experience all that life in Washington has to offer, including the many world class museums, music and art,” Madeleine said. In fact, the country’s sleek embassy in D.C., known as the House of Sweden, has also earned a reputation as a local center of arts and culture — and one of the few embassies to enjoy a scenic location along the Georgetown Waterfront. “If we have a free weekend here, we love to take a long walk with our dog Melvin, a Bichon Havanese, or a trip to the gym with the whole family. Washington is a beautiful city and so green with all its parks. I’d like to be outdoors for breakfast through dinner,” Madeleine laughed. “I love to get in our hammock. We have a tennis court too and all of us play but none of us are very good.” Gail Scott is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

experiences of Webre’s mother and aunt growing up in Cuba, and“inthewings: The Latin Invasion,” a performance that explores the contributions of Latin artists to the American cultural landscape.The festival comes to an official close Nov. 14 with “Noche di Pasions,” a dinner-dance fundraiser hosted by the Panamanian ambassador. The annual event raises money for the Washington Ballet’s Latino Dance Fund, an initiative created five years ago to support Hispanic dancers within the company as well as the continued integration of Latin American works into the Washington Ballet’s repertoire. The festival’s focus on Latin culture is perfectly in line with the larger theme of multiculturalism that has been interwoven throughout the Washington Ballet’s 2015-16 season — and throughout Webre’s tenure. “The Latin story is one that has not yet been fully told before American audiences, and one of the main goals of ‘Latin Heat,’ and of ‘Project Global,’ is to finally tell that story,”Webre said, adding that this narrative is one that many people familiar with the LatinAmerican experience will be able to relate to. “Art is at its most powerful when audience members can see their own stories unfolding on the stage.” Karin Sun is a freelance writer in Maryland.

The Washington Diplomat Page 33

[ dining ]

The Real Deal Out-of-the-Way Ethnic Hotspots Offer Authentic Experiences At Fettoosh, chicken is marinated with almonds, parsley and onions, wrapped in delicate puff pastry and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

by Michael Coleman

f you want decent ethnic food in Washington, D.C., you don’t have to look far. Restaurants within the relatively small borders of the District of Columbia span the globe. But if you want truly authentic, even exotic food at a fraction of the price you’ll pay in the city — and if ambience isn’t a high priority — you must visit the sprawling Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Tyler Cowen, a George Mason University economics professor who maintains an indispensable online ethnic dining guide in his spare time, knows this well. Cowen’s extensive reference tool contains short entries on often-obscure ethnic restaurants ranging in nationality from Belgian to Bolivian, Laotian to Lebanese, Uruguayan to Uzbekistani and beyond. I stumbled across Cowen’s guide last February as I searched for a bright meal to offset the dreary doldrums of an endless Washington winter. I’ve returned to his free online resource many times in the months since, almost always to my satisfaction. So, in tribute to the adventurous foodie/economist, during the months of October and November, The Diplomat will devote its own food pages to exploring a half-dozen of his most intriguing suggestions. Our first three robust dinners each came in at under $50 for two before tip — a figure that’s hard to duplicate in the District.

MYANMAR For our inaugural meal in the series we went to Burma. More specifically, we dined at Myanmar, a downtrodden-looking restaurant in a hard-tofind, dilapidated strip mall near the Beltway in Falls Church, Va. Myanmar definitely won’t win any style points. The front of the place is dim and tacky, with a marquee that doesn’t light up and supplies piled on the tables.A cashier chatted noisily on her phone. The back half of the restaurant was garishly bright and mostly empty, but that’s likely because it was late on a holiday weekend. An online search reveals that the quirky Myanmar’s version of Burmese food has plenty of devotees. Once the food began to arrive we could see why. Burmese cuisine draws on elements of Chinese, Indian and Thai cooking but with fewer fiery flavors and more subtlety. We started with lentil fritters prepared with Myanmar grounded yellow split peas and onions. While Restaurant not piping hot, the fritters had an appealing crunchy texture and a pleasant if slightly mun7810 Lee Highway, dane flavor that was enlivened by the sweet Falls Church, Va. orange dipping sauce. We were off to a fair (703) 289-0013 — but not exactly awe-inspiring — start. When crispy green tea salad hit the table, El Tapatio our taste buds started to take notice. Green tea salad is a house specialty at Myanmar, and 4309 Kenilworth Ave., in Burmese cuisine generally — for good reaBladensburg, Md. son. Marinated tea leaf, cabbage, tomato, toast(301) 403-8882 ed garlic, peanut, broad beans, toasted yellow peas and sesame seeds combine to provide not only a deliciously light and zingy palate Fettoosh pleaser, but an interesting textural adventure. 5100 Wilson Blvd., The crunch of roughly crushed peanuts gives the salad extra heft, while the toasted garlic Arlington, Va. slivers erupt on the taste buds like crispy fla(703) 527-7710 vor bombs. www.fettoosh.com Moving on to another Burmese staple, we tried the mohingar, a fish noodle soup. Thin rice noodles fill a savory fish broth flavored with lemongrass, cilantro, lime and a bit of chili pepper.This is a hearty and bonewarming option that will surely grow in popularity in the colder months ahead. If you’re not too hungry, the mohingar could be a satisfying meal all by itself.

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PHOTOS: MICHAEL COLEMAN

For our final choice, we ordered the shrimp with string beans bathed in a coconut milk broth. Happily, we found that we had saved the best for last. Plump, perfectly cooked jumbo shrimp gives a nice contrast to this dish’s steaming, rich and creamy coconut milk broth, while subtle spices offset the overall sweetness. This deceptively simple and delicious entrée, paired with fluffy white rice, would have alone validated our decision to visit Myanmar. One word about the service: Some online commentators have complained mightily about a slow and indifferent wait staff at Myanmar. While our server seemed a bit distracted, he was on point when it mattered. Other than the drab ambience — and possibly iffy service — Myanmar is a winner for dinner.

EL TAPATIO Next, we traveled south of the border for good Mexican food, something that this writer — who hails El Tapatio in from Texas and New Mexico — has found in seriously Bladensburg, Md., short supply over 15 years in the metropolitan D.C. area. offers up authentic It’s gotten better with the additions of District Taco and Mexican food. a little gem called Tortilla Café near Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, but overall the Mexican food around here is blah at best. Cowen concurs, based on the comments in his guide. But he did offer some props to one place in particular: a Mexican joint just across the D.C. line in Bladensburg, Md., called El Tapatio. Naturally, we had to go. Like Myanmar, this restaurant makes a bad first impression. Lodged in a dirty strip mall, wedged between a nail salon and a tax preparer’s office, El Tapatio is actually a restaurant and sports bar, and it becomes a dance club on weekends. Frankly, the place is grubby. But we aren’t on this suburban adventure for the glamorous décor or spotless floors — it’s all about the food. Chips and salsa are often a harbinger of things to come in Mexican restaurants, and El Tapatio passed the test. Dense, crunchy tortilla chips — fried on site and lightly salted — proved more than adequate for scooping up a pureed mixture of tomatoes, onions, cilantro and spicy fresh jalapenos. I had hoped to try the birria de chivo, a savory goat stew, but sadly the kitchen was out. So we scanned the menu for some other hard-to-get-right Mexican offer-

See DINING, page 33 October 2015

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[ film ]

CINEMA LISTING *Unless specific times are listed, please check the theater for times. Theater locations are subject to change.

Arabic I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced Directed by Khadija Al Salami (France/Yemen/UAE, 2015, 99 min.)

In Yemen, where there is no age restriction for marriage, Nojoom Ali’s father, terrified of shame and desperate for money, arranges for Nojoom to marry a villager who is three times her age in exchange for a trivial dowry. Subjected to physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her husband and grouchy mother-in-law, Nojoom escapes and attains protection from a compassionate judge. AMC Mazza Gallerie Sat., Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m., Sun., Oct. 25, 2 p.m.

Cairo Time Directed by Amir Ramses (Egypt, 2014, 110 min.)

Taking place over a single day, “Cairo Time” is the multigenerational story of six interconnected characters, all at a turning point in their lives.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

Talal has just woken up in a police cell with no memory of the night before and no identification. His predicament gets a lot worse with the arrival of brilliant psychopath Dabaan who seems determined to play vicious and unexpected mind games with him. Talal’s confinement becomes a fight for survival and a race to discover exactly what’s motivating Dabaan. AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 23, 8:50 p.m., Sat., Oct. 24, 9 p.m.

Czech The Way Out (Cesta ven) Directed by Petr Václav (Czech Republic/France, 2014, 105 min.)

The father of a Romani couple trying to live a “normal” life in a community obscured by prejudice considers a life of crime, as the grim backdrop of unemployment, debt and poverty weighs his family down. The Avalon Theatre Wed., Oct. 14, 8 p.m.

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures / Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Ziauddin Yousafzai and Malala Yousafzai walk with Syrian refugee Rimah in a tent camp in Jordan in the documentary “He Named Me Malala.”

that can gain three Michelin stars.

Dutch

Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., Oct. 23

AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., Oct. 25, 4:15 p.m.

The Intruder

He Named Me Malala

Eyes of a Thief

In this captivating and intense thriller, a Dutch cop of Moroccan descent goes deep undercover to infiltrate a drug-trafficking Moroccan family. The deeper he embeds himself in the family’s inner circles, the more he realizes a sense of belonging and a feeling of brotherhood that has until now eluded him (Dutch and Arabic).

Directed by Najwa Najjar (Palestine, 2014, 98 min.)

After 10 years in prison, Tarek is desperate to find his daughter who was an infant when he was imprisoned in this story, inspired by real events, that offers a rare glimpse into Palestinian society from the inside out, operating simultaneously as a thriller, a relationships drama and as a nuanced slice of everyday Palestinian life under the occupation.

Directed by Shariff Korver (The Netherlands, 2014, 87 min.)

AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., Oct. 18, 5 p.m.

AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m.

English

From A to B

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (U.S., 2015, 133 min.)

Directed by Ali F. Mostafa (UAE/Jordan, 2015, 107 min.)

In this comedic road trip film, brimming with heart, three long lost childhood friends — an Egyptian, a Saudi and a Syrian — reluctantly embark on a journey from Abu Dhabi to Beirut to honor their friend who passed away five years earlier. AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m.

Les Petits Chats Directed by Sherif Nakhla (Egypt, 2014, 80 min.)

Get ready to tap your feet to James Brown’s “I Feel Good”, The Beatles “With a Little Help From My Friends” and Ray Charles’ “Unchain My Heart” — as performed by Egypt’s legendary Les Petits Chats. Sherif Nakhla’s highly enjoyable documentary offers us an insight into the lives of the former band-mates during and after their glory days by tracking the life choices they made after their breakup in the ’80s. AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 16, 7 p.m., Sat., Oct. 17, 9 p.m.

Zinzana Directed by Majid Al Ansari (UAE, 2015, 93 min.)

October 2015

Beasts of No Nation This drama is based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country. Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 16

Bridge of Spies Directed by Steven Spielberg (U.S., 2015)

An American lawyer is recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to help rescue a pilot detained in the Soviet Union. Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., Oct. 16

A Brilliant Young Mind Directed by Morgan Matthews (U.K., 2015, 111 min.)

A socially awkward teenage math prodigy finds new confidence and new friendships when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad. Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Burnt Directed by John Wells (U.S., 2015)

A chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant

Directed by Davis Guggenheim (U.S., 2015, 87 min.)

This film examines the events leading up to the Taliban’s attack on the young Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, for speaking out on girls’ education and the aftermath, including her speech to the United Nations. Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 9

Legend Directed by Brian Helgeland (U.K./France, 2015, 131 min.)

Identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, spearhead an organized crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s.

Maria is failing miserably in her attempts to become a nun. So she doesn’t hesitate when Navy Capt. Georg Von Trapp writes to the convent asking for a governess that can handle his seven mischievous children. Embassy of Austria Thu., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m.

A Thousand and One Journeys: The Arab Americans Directed by Abe Kasbo (U.S., 2015, 84 min.)

Abe Kasbo’s timely new film vividly paints a portrait of the Arab-American immigrant experience through the stories of people who came to the United States hoping to find the American Dream, including Sen. George Mitchell, Jamie Farr, Gen. John Abizaid, Anthony Shadid, Andy Shallal, Helen Thomas and others. AMC Mazza Gallerie Sat., Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m., Sun., Oct. 28, 7 p.m.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 9

Truth

Pawn Sacrifice

This newsroom drama details the 2004 CBS 60 Minutes report investigating then-President George W. Bush’s military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.

Directed by Edward Zwick (U.S., 2015, 114 min.)

Set during the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers and his own struggles as he challenges the Soviet Empire.

Directed by James Vanderbilt (Australia/U.S., 2015, 121 min.)

Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., Oct. 23

Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Walk

Room

Directed by Robert Zemeckis (U.S., 2015, 123 min.)

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson

(Ireland/Canada, 2015, 118 min.) Escaping from the captivity in which they have been held for half a decade, a young woman and her 5-year-old son struggle to adjust to the strange, terrifying and wondrous world outside their one-room prison. Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 23

The Sound of Music Directed by Robert Wise (U.S., 1965, 174 min.)

In 1930s Austria, a young woman named

Guided by his mentor and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., Oct. 9

French The Beaches of Agnès Directed by Agnès Varda (France, 2008, 110 min.)

Folding old and new footage into a retrospective look at her life, Agnès Varda ruminates on her extraordinary career with typical wit, composing touchingly Varda-esque landscapes while recalling old friends, lovers, colleagues and early memories (French and English). American University McKinley Building Fri., Oct. 2, 7 p.m.

Cléo from 5 to 7 Directed by by Agnès Varda (France/Italy, 1961, 90 min.)

Agnès Varda’s compelling early narrative paints an oblique portrait of Paris on a certain day — June 21 — when the astrological sign of Gemini shifts to Cancer. American University McKinley Building Fri., Oct. 23, 7 p.m.

Far From Men Directed by David Oelhoffen (France, 2014, 101 min.)

In 1954 Algeria, at the onset of the country’s war of independence, former French Army solider Daru just wants to a lead a peaceful, quiet life as a schoolteacher in a remote mountainous town. But when he is called to duty to escort an Algerian rebel to a nearby city to stand trial for the murder of his cousin, Daru finds his life turned into chaos (French and Arabic). AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 16, 8:45 p.m., Sat., Oct. 17, 4:15 p.m.

The Gleaners and I (Les glaneurs et la glaneuse) Directed by Agnès Varda (France, 2000, 82 min.)

Opportunities for gleaning attract Agnès Varda, and she explores this rich topic in art, literature, and history while traveling from countryside to urban alleyway in search of real gleaners — i.e. those who truly “live off the leftovers of others” (screens with “Ô saisons, Ô châteaux” (1958, 20 min.)). National Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 18, 4 p.m.

The Man from Oran Directed by Lyes Salem (France, 2014, 128 min.)

In this poignant political drama following

The Washington Diplomat

October 2015

the independence of Algeria, two close friends, Djaffer, a modest idealist, and Hamid, a wheeler-dealer, face a promising future. Hamid goes on to a prominent political career and offers Djaffar a role in his office. But eventually Djaffar grows discontented with Hamid’s betrayal of their revolutionary ideals (French and Arabic).

The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?)

AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., Oct. 18, 2:30 p.m.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Directed by Anna Muylaert (Brazil, 2015, 112 min.)

When the estranged daughter of a hardworking live-in housekeeper suddenly appears, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.

Trash

The New Girlfriend Directed by François Ozon (France, 2015, 108 min.)

Rising French star Anaïs Demoustier stars as Claire, who accidentally discovers a secret about the husband of her late best friend: that he enjoys dressing as a woman. Landmark’s E Street Cinema

German Goodnight Mommy (Ich seh, Ich seh) Directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz (Austria, 2015, 99 min.)

Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don’t recognize. Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Labyrinth of Lies (Im Labyrinth des Schweigens) Directed by Giulio Ricciarelli (Germany, 2014, 124 min.)

This story exposes the conspiracy of prominent German institutions and government branches to cover up the crimes of Nazis during World War II. Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 9

Hebrew My Australia Directed by Ami Drozd (Israel/Poland, 2011, 97 min.)

In 1960s Poland, 10-year-old Tadek and his brother are part of an anti-Semitic gang. When they are arrested, their mother, a Holocaust survivor, has no choice but to reveal that though raised as Catholics, they are in fact Jews (Hebrew and Polish). The Avalon Theatre Wed., Oct. 28, 8 p.m.

Japanese Branded to Kill Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1967, 91 min.)

An anarchic send-up of B movie clichés, this fractured film noir stars Jo Shishido as an assassin who gets turned on by the smell of cooking rice, and whose failed attempt to kill a victim (a butterfly lands on his gun) turns him into a target himself.

Photo: Bai XiaoYan / Sony Pictures Classics

Gong Li stars in the film “Coming Home” about a couple forced to separate when the husband is sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner, only to return home to find his wife has amnesia.

Set in the 1930s, this darkly comic film is the story of a high school kid who lusts after the pure, Catholic daughter of the family with whom he boards. The only relief he can find for his immense sexual frustration is through fighting, which at first gets him into trouble, but later makes him perfect cannon fodder for the SinoJapanese War.

singer Tetsuya Watari to croon the title song, Seijun Suzuki concocted this crazy yarn about a reformed yakuza on the run from his former comrades.

Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 12, 3 p.m.

A disgraced ex-cop pits two yakuza gangs against each other to avenge the death of a fellow officer.

Gate of Flesh Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1964, 90 min.)

This dog-eat-dog portrait of postwar Tokyo takes the point of view of a gang of tough prostitutes working out of a bombed-out building. When a lusty ex-soldier lurches into their midst, the group’s most sensitive member is tempted to break one of its most important rules: no falling in love. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Oct. 16, 7 p.m.

Kanto Wanderer Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1963, 92 min.)

A fearsome yakuza bodyguard is torn between defending his boss against a rival gang leader and his obsession with a femme fatale who reappears from his past. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Oct. 23, 7 p.m.

Story of a Prostitute Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1965, 96 min.)

Sent with six other comfort women to service a garrison of some 1,000 men in Manchuria during the Sino-Japanese War, Yumiko Nogawa is brutalized by a vicious lieutenant who wants her as his personal property. Meanwhile, she is falling in love with his gentle young assistant. Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 25, 1 p.m.

Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Oct. 9, 7 p.m.

Tattoeed Life

The Call of Blood

Kenji, an art student, and Tetsu, who is working as a yakuza to help pay for his brother Kenji’s tuition, both flee when a hit job goes horribly wrong. They end up finding work in a mine — and falling in love with the owner’s wife and daughter.

Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1964, 97 min.)

Nikkatsu icons Hideki Takahashi and Akira Kobayashi star as brothers— one a gangster, the other an ad man— who unite to avenge their yakuza father’s death 18 years before. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m.

Fighting Elegy Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1966, 86 min.)

Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1965, 87 min.)

Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 18, 2 p.m.

Tokyo Drifter Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1966, 83 min.)

Tasked with making a vehicle for actor/

Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 11, 1 p.m.

Youth of the Beast Directed by Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1963, 91 min.)

Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 11, 3 p.m.

Mandarin Coming Home (Gui lai) Directed by Zhang Yimou (China, 2014, 109 min.)

Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner, just as his wife is injured in an accident. Released during the last days of the Cultural Revolution, he finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife has amnesia and remembers little of her past. Unable to recognize Lu, she patiently waits for her husband’s return. Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Norwegian 1001 Grams Directed by Bent Hamer (Norway/Germany, 2014, 93 min.)

When Norwegian scientist Marie attends a seminar in Paris on the actual weight of a kilo, it is her own measurement of disappointment, grief and, not least, love, that ends up on the scale (Norwegian, French and English). Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Sun., Oct. 18, 10 a.m.

Portuguese Coffee Stains (Permanência)

Directed by Leonardo Lacca (Brazil, 2014, 90 min.) Traveling to his first solo exhibit in São Paulo, photographer Ivo decides to eschew his hotel room in favor of staying with his old flame Rita and her husband. While there is an initial awkwardness to their interactions as they fumble around memories of the past, the two exes easily slip into old habits and feelings reignite. AFI Silver Theatre Sun., Oct. 4, 3 p.m. Tue., Oct. 6, 9:15 p.m.

for himself as captain of the Division C soccer team, but after receiving a red card and an eight-game ban, he realizes he is reaching the end of his career and limited opportunities beyond the walls of the stadium. AFI Silver Theatre Sun., Oct. 4, 5:30 p.m., Wed., Oct. 7, 5:15 p.m.

Gabo: The Creation of Gabriel García Márquez

Directed by Stephen Daldry (Brazil/U.K., 2015, 114 min.)

Directed by Justin Webster (Spain, 2015, 90 min.)

In a Rio favela, three best friends spend their days sorting through trash at the local landfill. One day, they find a wallet flush with cash, and so begins an extraordinary adventure, as the teens are thrown into a dangerous world of political corruption (Portuguese and English).

AFI Silver Theatre Fri., Oct. 2, 5:15 p.m., Sun., Oct. 4, 1 p.m.

The incredible story of “Gabo,” or, as most of the world knows him, Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez, comes to life in this wonderful documentary.

AFI Silver Theatre Wed., Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m.

Los Hongos

Spanish

Directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia/France/Argentina/Germany, 2014, 103 min.)

The Club (El Club) Directed by Pablo Larraín (Chile, 2015, 98 min.)

On the Chilean coast, four exiled priests live together in a small house, atoning for their past indiscretions. Under the watchful eye of a lone nun, they fill their days with innocuous pastimes and prayer, strictly forbidden from interacting with the outside world. But when a newcomer arrives to join their not-so-happy household, their tranquil existence is upended, with long-buried secrets coming to the fore. AFI Silver Theatre Fri., Oct. 2, 7:15 p.m.

Cooking Up a Tribute Directed by Andrea Gómez and Luis González (Spain, 2015, 87 min.)

El Celler de Can Roca, recently voted the world’s best restaurant, made a surprising decision in the summer of 2014: They would close for five weeks and take their three-star Michelin restaurant on the road. Visiting Mexico, Colombia and Peru, the three Roca brothers absorbed the local gastronomic culture while creating 57 new dishes that would fuse their own unique style with the ingredients and traditions of Latin America. AFI Silver Theatre Sat., Oct. 3, 4:30 p.m., Sun., Oct. 4, 11 a.m., Mon., Oct. 5, 5:15 p.m.

Eisenstein in Guanajuato Directed by Peter Greenaway (Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/ France, 2015, 105 min.)

Having failed to make an impact in Hollywood following his previous successes, director Sergei Eisenstein took an eye-opening journey to Mexico to shoot his new film. Free of the constraints of both Stalin and Hollywood, Eisenstein embraced his wild side, falling for his tour guide and diving deep into Mexican culture (Spanish and English). AFI Silver Theatre Sun., Oct. 4, 9:45 p.m., Wed., Oct. 7, 9:45 p.m.

The Five (El Cinco aka El 5 de Talleres) Directed by Adrián Biniez (Argentina/Uruguay/France/Germany/ Netherlands, 2014, 100 min.)

At 35, Páton has made a decent life

October 2015

Stealing a few cans of paint after being fired from his construction gig, graffiti artist Ras is now free to skateboard the streets of Cali and tag the city walls. Along with his pal Calvin, a fine arts student, the two brainstorm a mural inspired by YouTube videos of the Arab Spring uprising. AFI Silver Theatre Fri., Oct. 2, 10 p.m., Sun., Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.

Horizons Directed by Eileen Hofer (Switzerland/Cuba, 2015, 70 min.)

The Grand Theatre of Havana may be run down, but passion for ballet still runs strong in Swiss filmmaker Eileen Hofer’s poetically observed documentary. AFI Silver Theatre Tue., Oct. 6, 7 p.m.

Live Forever (Qué viva la música) Directed by Carlos Moreno (Colombia/Mexico, 2015, 102 min.)

Disillusioned with society and her well-to-do upbringing, party girl María is intent on giving in to the music and movement of Cali. Exploring everything the night has to offer, she dives headfirst into a wave of self-destruction. AFI Silver Theatre Mon., Oct. 5, 9:15 p.m.

A Moonless Night (Una noche sin luna) Directed by Germán Tejeira (Uruguay/Argentina. 2014, 78 min.)

On New Year’s Eve, three lonely souls in the middle of Uruguay crave connection in this charming debut feature from Germán Tejeira. AFI Silver Theatre Sat., Oct. 3, 12:30 p.m., Tue., Oct. 6, 5:15 p.m.

Ukrainian Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom Directed by Evgeny Afineevsky (Ukraine/U.S./U.K., 2015, 102 min.)

Through interviews with protesters, journalists, medical workers, artists and clergy representing multiple generations, social classes and nationalities, this documentary tells the story of a diverse movement that self-organized towards one common goal: the removal of President Viktor F. Yanukovich. Netflix Opens Fri., Oct. 9

The Washington Diplomat Page 37

[ around town ]

EVENTS LISTING **Admission is free unless otherwise noted. All information on event venues can be found on The Diplomat Web site at www.washdiplomat.com. Times and locations are subject to change. Unless listed, please call venue for specific event times and hours of operation.

ART Through Oct. 4

Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-94) was among the most critically noted impressionist artists during the height of their activity in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Some 45 paintings from the period when Caillebotte was fully engaged with the impressionist movement will provide a focused understanding of the provocative character and complexity of his artistic contributions. National Gallery of Art Through Oct. 4

Pleasure and Piety: The Art of Joachim Wtewael

The first monographic exhibition on Dutch painter Wtewael will showcase his international mannerist style and remarkable technical ability through some 45 complex biblical and mythological narratives, as well as portraits and genre scenes. National Gallery of Art Through Oct. 4

Recent Acquisitions of Italian Renaissance Prints: Ideas Made Flesh

Prints played a pivotal role in the development and transmission of Italian Renaissance style. But because many of these 16th-century prints reproduce the designs of other artists, they have often been undervalued. This exhibition presents some two dozen, reflecting the principal styles and numerous major masters of the period. National Gallery of Art Oct. 7 to Nov. 6

OJJDP’s Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) hosts this exhibition of winning entries from the National Missing Children’s Day Art Contest. With an annual theme of “Bring Our Missing Children Home,” the missing children’s day poster contest provides teachers with tools to educate children and parents about safety and initiate conversations regarding prevention. OAS Art Museum of the Americas Oct. 10 to Jan. 10

Gauguin to Picasso: Masterworks from Switzerland, The Staechelin and Im Obersteg Collections This exhibition pays tribute to two pioneering supporters of the arts, Rudolf Staechelin (1881-1946) and Karl Im Obersteg (1883-1969), both from Basel, who championed the work of impressionist, post-impressionist and School of Paris artists, providing a platform to distinguish collecting philosophies and situate them within the history and reception of modern art. The exhibition features more than 60 celebrated paintings — masterpieces created during the mid-19th and 20th centuries by 22 world-famous artists.

The Phillips Collection Oct. 14 to 30

Traditional Costumes Through the Ages

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic film “The Sound of Music,” the Austrian Cultural Forum explores the colorful, rich masterpieces of Austrian Drindl and Tracht. This exhibit features the handcrafted costumes of the famous Austrian manufacturer Tostmann and the newest creations of Lena Hoschek, a world-famous Austrian designer who is one more reason why Tracht, which was sometimes viewed as old-fashioned, is celebrating a huge comeback, especially among young people and fashionistas. Embassy of Austria Through Oct. 18

Jordan Eagles: Blood Mirror

The central artwork in this exhibition is a seven-foot-tall, interactive, monolithic sculpture, made with blood donated from nine gay, bisexual and trans men in protest of the FDA’s ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. American University Museum Katzen Arts Center Through Oct. 18

Pulse of the Future

Contemporary Chinese art captured the world’s attention in the 1980s. Now the next generation is coming of age and staking a claim for artistic precedence, as seen in this display of painting, photography and prints by six emerging Chinese artists. American University Museum Katzen Arts Center Through Oct. 18

Reflections and Contradictions: Five Decades

Mixed-media sculptor Mary Shaffer utilizes glass to explore her fascination with discarded tools “to preserve and pay tribute to activities and methods of working that have disappeared from our modern lives.” American University Museum Katzen Arts Center Through Oct. 21

Dervishes and Their Belongings

The New East Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Turkish arts and culture abroad, showcases a vast collection of antique objects used by dervish convents. Among the 300 rare historical artifacts are elaborate calligraphic works, talismans, wands, convent genealogies, beggar’s bowls and traditional musical instruments. Turkish American Cultural Center

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT Through Oct. 24

Through Dec. 31

…De Peregrina a Peregrina…

Ingénue to Icon: 70 Years of Fashion

This photography exhibit created by Mónica Guerrero Mouret highlights the annual pilgrimage taken by thousands to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The images tell the story of motivation beyond religious belief; they show a pilgrimage born from tradition that has evolved over hundreds of years and is now an identifying aspect of Mexican culture.

October 2015

The first exhibition at Hillwood to present Marjorie Post’s full range of style, “Ingénue to Icon” will examine how Post’s lifelong passion for objects that were exceptionally beautiful and impeccably constructed extended to her taste for clothing.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

A restless girl finds inspiration from her mom’s old records to move to her own beat in this new dance work from Chicago’s acclaimed Hubbard Street 2 in collaboration with the shadow puppeteers of Manual Cinema. Tickets are $20.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through Jan. 2

Oct. 24 to Jan. 31

Peacock Room Remix: Darren Waterston’s Filthy Lucre

Sōtatsu: Making Waves

Tawaraya Sōtatsu (act. ca. 1600–40), a fountainhead of Japanese painting and design, is one of the most influential yet elusive figures in Japanese culture. Sōtatsu’s work is instantly recognized by its bold, abstracted style, lavish swaths of gold and silver and rich jewel tones. Much of the artist’s life, however, remains a mystery. How a workingclass owner of a Kyoto fan shop transformed into a sophisticated designer with a network of aristocratic collaborators is still an enigma — and the focus of this in-depth examination of masterpieces. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Through Oct. 30

Arkadia, the Untold Tale

Images of the Arkadia region of Greece are seen through the eyes of photographer Nikos Mourkogiannis, who was born in Athens and has been living in Italy since 1997 where he graduated from the prestigious European Institute of Design in Visual Communication. He focuses on the authentic scenery of his homeland, especially the Peloponnese, where his roots belong. Embassy of Greece Through Oct. 31

Celebrating 25 Years of the MCI Silver on Silver: William Spratling, An American in Taxco

Adventurer, writer, collector, illustrator, architect, designer, entrepreneur and businessman are just a few words that have been used to describe William Spratling, a person who undoubtedly had much to do with Taxco’s transformation from Mexican small town to center of design. Granted to the Museo Franz Mayer for a 10-year loan in 2012, this exhibition shows the trajectory of Spratling’s vision for design as tool of not only aesthetics, but also one of social transformation. In four parts covering different themes, silver pieces, including jewelry and documents, seek to show Spratling as a designer committed to his context and his community.

Oct. 22 to Feb. 3

Mexican Cultural Institute

Hidden Identities: Paintings and Drawings by Jorge Tacla

Through Nov. 1

With the earliest works in the series dating to 2005, “Hidden Identities” by Chilean artist Jorge Tacla is composed of a rich series of paintings and drawings that explore central themes of mutability of identity, collective memory, the physical and psychological fallout of trauma, and the omnipresent yet latent potential for change. The inspiration for this body of work comes from the social, political and historical events of the artist’s life during the chaos of the Chilean coup d’état.

The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists

OAS Art Museum of the Americas

National Museum of African Art

This dramatic multimedia exhibition reveals the ongoing global relevance of Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic as part of a shared intellectual heritage and includes original commissions and renowned works of art by approximately 40 of the most dynamic contemporary artists from 19 African nations and the diaspora.

role in shaping perceptions of the Middle East, particularly Egypt, where she is based.

“Peacock Room REMIX” centers on “Filthy Lucre,” an immersive interior by painter Darren Waterston who reinterprets James McNeill Whistler’s famed Peacock Room as a resplendent ruin, an aesthetic space that is literally overburdened by its own excesses — of materials, history, and creativity. Like “Filthy Lucre” and the original Peacock Room, this exhibition invites viewers to consider the complex relationships among art, money and the passage of time. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Through Jan. 3

Age of Lawyers: The Roots of American Law in Shakespeare’s Britain

In the 800th anniversary year of the Magna Carta, “Age of Lawyers” offers a close-up look at the rapid increase of lawyers and legal actions in Shakespeare’s Britain, from the law’s impact on daily life to major political and legal disputes — some invoking the Magna Carta — that still influence American politics and government.

DANCE Oct. 2 to 11

Mariko’s Magical Mix: A Dance Adventure

Kennedy Center Family Theater Tue., Oct. 6, 8 p.m.

Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet Company 70th Anniversary Jubilee Performance Celebration International Concerts presents Sukhishvili Georgian National Dance on the 70th anniversary of its global success performing for 50 million viewers in 100 countries. The company — which astounds audiences with its daring athleticism, unique choreography, elegant grace and superb authority of movement — features 50 beautifully costumed dancers and musicians performing a thrilling program of dance and music that represents the heart, emotion and tradition of Georgian culture. Please call for ticket information. GW Lisner Auditorium Oct. 16 to 17

The National Circus and Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China: Peking Dreams

Freer Gallery of Art

Experience a jaw-dropping spectacle of Chinese circus, acrobatics and Peking Opera performed by China’s most revered circus artists. The whole family will marvel at the unparalleled grace, agility, flexibility, and athleticism displayed by these highly trained artists in their various acts of juggling, contortion and balance — enhanced with traditional Chinese music, brightly colored costumes and elaborate props. Tickets are $30 to $50.

Through Jan. 3

George Mason University Center for the Arts

Folger Shakespeare Library Through Jan. 3

Bold and Beautiful: Rinpa in Japanese Art

The modern term Rinpa (Rimpa) describes a remarkable group of Japanese artists who created striking images for paintings, ceramics, textiles and lacquerware.

Enigmas: The Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705)

Sat., Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m.

Born a prince of the Ming imperial house, Bada Shanren (1626–1705) lived a storied life, remaking himself as a secluded Buddhist monk and, later, as a professional painter and calligrapher. Featured in this exhibition are examples of his most daring and idiosyncratic works, demonstrating his unique visual vocabulary.

Folk Dances of India

Freer Gallery of Art

Wolf Trap

Through Jan. 3

Fri., Oct. 23, 8 p.m.

Le Onde: Waves of Italian Influence (1914-1971)

Compañia Flamenca José Porcel: Flamenco Fire

This exhibition of nearly 20 works from the museum’s collection follows Italian contributions to the transnational evolution of abstraction, through movements and tendencies such as futurism, spatialism, op art and kinetic art. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Through June 5

Perspectives: Lara Baladi

Egyptian-Lebanese artist Lara Baladi experiments with the photographic medium, investigating its history and its

The Indian Dance Educators Association, a nonprofit organization uniting teachers and performers of classical and traditional dances of India, presents this a multihued pageant of folk dances of rural India, from north to south and east to west. Tickets are $25 to $27.

This internationally acclaimed company of dancers and live orchestra ignites the stage, performing with pride and passion “classic flamenco as it was danced and performed by the great masters” (Las Vegas Review-Journal). Tickets are $28 to $68. Music Center at Strathmore Sun., Oct. 25, 4 p.m.

Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia

This astonishing dance company whirls,

The Washington Diplomat

October 2015

twirls, leaps, bounds, claps, taps and storms across the stage in a brilliantly colored, joyful display of the many cultures that make up Siberia. From fierce Cossack bravado to charming peasant traditional dances, this troupe of performers — 50 dancers strong — has thrilled audiences around the world. Tickets are $32 to $72.

‘musical journey that explores the voyage Norwegians have taken to the United States through different times in history. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Music Center at Strathmore

This year’s Vampire’s Ball by Synetic Theater will follow its gothic take on Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice in Wonderland.” After being treated to a performance, guests will dance the night away on stage courtesy of resident composer and Halloween DJ Konstantine Lortkipanidze. The event will also include an open bar, light appetizers and a costume contest with fabulous Synetic prizes. Tickets are $60 to $75.

Oct. 30 to Nov. 1

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet: Balanchine, Béjart, and the Bard

The company adds Balanchine’s “Walpurgisnacht Ballet” and “Emeralds” to its pantheon of classics — plus brings back favorite pas de deux by Balanchine and Béjart marking the 400th anniversary season of Shakespeare’s death. Tickets are $20 to $119. Kennedy Center Opera House

DISCUSSIONS Tue., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m.

Lecture: Dirndl and Tracht

Austrian writer and expert on Austrian traditional costumes, Elsbeth Wallnöfer talks about the evolution of Austrian Dirndl and Tracht over the last several decades. Admission is free; register at acfdc.org. Embassy of Austria Mon., Oct. 26, 7 p.m.

The Holocaust as History and Warning

Today, fears that were familiar in Hitler’s time are being revived, asserts Yale professor Timothy Snyder, who discusses his new book, “Black Earth,” which offers a provocative new perspective on the origins of the Holocaust. Snyder’s analysis urges us to learn the lessons of the past — and better understand our own nature — before it’s too late. Holocaust Memorial Museum Wed., Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.

Meteorites: Cosmic Messengers at the Natural History Museum in Vienna

Their composition is crucial for unraveling the physical and chemical processes of the early solar nebula, and to deduce the origin of the chemical elements. Meteorites also impact the geological and biological evolution of our own planet. Learn more about this cosmic phenomenon through Christian Koeberl, director general of the Natural History Museum in Vienna, home to the oldest meteorite collection in the world, as well as the largest meteorite display.

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater Fri., Oct. 20, 8 p.m.

Vampire’s Ball

Synetic Theater Wed., Oct. 28, 6 p.m.

Power of Film Awards Dinner

America Abroad Media (AAM) hosts its third annual Power of Film Awards Dinner to honor four outstanding leaders whose work exemplifies the power of media to inform, educate and empower citizens about the critical social and public policy issues of our time. This year’s honorees include two highly-praised films: “Argo,” the American drama, directed by Ben Affleck, based on the U.S. hostage crisis in Tehran in 1980, and “Difret,” Ethiopian docu-drama and winner of the 2014 World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Honored “Argo” guests will include several real-life houseguests depicted in the film, as well as Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor and former CIA officer Tony Mendez, both key figures of the rescue mission. General admission tickets are $350; for information, visit http://americaabroadmedia.org/ awardsdinner. Andrew Mellon Auditorium

MUSIC Fri., Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.

Stars of the Russian Chamber Art Society

Washington’s Russian Chamber Art Society celebrates the start of its 10th season with a gala concert at which five outstanding young vocalists will sing Russian art songs accompanied by RCAS founder and artistic director Vera Danchenko-Stern. Tickets are $150, including buffet and wine; for information, visit thercas.com. Embassy of Austria

Embassy of Austria

Oct. 2 to 4

FESTIVALS

Utsav: Celebrating India’s Maestros of Music and Dance

Through Oct. 29

Mutual Inspirations Festival: Karel Čapek

The Mutual Inspirations Festival (MIF) is an annual initiative spearheaded by the Czech Embassy to highlight the mutual inspirations between Czech and American cultures. This year’s festival focuses on Karel Čapek, a playwright, novelist, short story writer, journalist, children’s author and essayist who wrote on such topics as nationalism, totalitarianism and consumerism. For full festival information, visit http://www.mutualinspirations.org/. Various locations

GALAS Thu., Oct. 8, 6 p.m.

Norwegian Gala Performance

Norwegian artists, composers and dancers will take audiences on a

Over three days and five uniquely different performances, India’s top classical artists in music and dance will bring the beauty, depth, and diversity of traditional Indian music and dance to the Terrace Theater stage. Tickets are $40 to $50.

Wed., Oct. 14, 8 p.m.

Benjamin Clementine

One of Rolling Stone’s new artists you need to know, this poetic singer/songwriter went from busking on the streets of Paris to becoming the most shared artist on Spotify. Tickets are $22 to $25.

Thu., Oct. 29, 6:45 p.m.

Thu., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Colombia native Eduardo Rojas, considered by the Dallas Morning News to be a pianist “with considerable skill and force of personality,” has appeared with orchestras of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, Puerto Rico, Canada and United States. Tickets are $150, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Béatrice Berrut, Piano

Described by the international press as “a revelation, an exceptional pianist,” whose “transcendent playing revels in multiple layers of genius and beauty,” Béatrice Berrut is considered one of the most talented artists of her generation. Her Embassy Series performance commemorates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Tickets are $100, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org. Swiss Residence Sat., Oct. 17, 8 p.m.

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Prokofiev’s sumptuous ballet music underscores the struggles of young love amidst violent tragedy like no other representation of Shakespeare’s classic play. Please call for ticket information. Music Center at Strathmore Mon., Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Concert: Raskin and Fleishmann

Johannes Fleischmann and Philippe Raskin met in 2009 during the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades. A year later, they gave their first performance together, collaborating as a duo in Vienna, and since then have performed numerous concerts in Europe, Africa and South America. Admission is free; register at acfdc.org. Embassy of Austria Fri., Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m.

Raphaël Sévère, Clarinet Paul Montag, Piano

“Destined for the most brilliant future, gifted with astonishing technical mastery and astounding musicality” (ResMusica), French clarinetist Raphaël Sévère saw his budding career take off when he won five international competitions at age 12. Tickets are $ 135, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org. Embassy of Luxembourg Sat., Oct. 24, 8 p.m.

Mariza

Mariza is part of a new generation reinvigorating fado, a style of singing that blends the timeless Portuguese folk melodies and poetry with Arabic cadences and African and Brazilian rhythms. Her passionate, charismatic performances have won her legions of fans worldwide. Please call for ticket information. GW Lisner Auditorium Mon., Oct. 26, 8 p.m.

Tue., Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., Wed., Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Like Alfred Brendel and Richard Goode before him, Sir András Schiff has become a master of the AustroGerman musical canon. In the 2015-16 season, Schiff continues his latest project, “The Last Sonatas,” comprising three recitals over two years, including this performance of the penultimate sonatas of Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Beethoven. Please call for ticket information.

Aleksey Semenenko returns to the Embassy Series — triumphant off his second-prize win at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels — with a program of Beethoven, Tartini, Ysaÿe, Tchaikovsky and Bizet. The New York Times has praised the violinist’s “powerful technique, rich tone and passionate approach,” as well as the “fluidity and warmth to his playing. Tickets are $95, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org. Embassy of Ukraine

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Wolf Trap

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Aleksey Semenenko, Violin Inna Firsova, Piano

throttled virtuosity,” (The Guardian) the Grammy-winning virtuoso Evgeny Kissin pairs classic favorites with the gorgeous sensuous music of Albeniz and Larregla. Tickets are $45 to $135.

WPA: András Schiff, Piano

Music Center at Strathmore Wed., Oct. 28, 8 p.m.

WPA: Evgeny Kissin, Piano

Best known for his interpretations of Romantic Era repertoire and his “full-

Eduardo Rojas, Piano

Colombian Residence

THEATER Through Oct. 3

Washington National Opera: Carmen

Smoldering with sensuality and danger, this production of Bizet’s most famous opera pulses with erotic power — from Carmen’s rousing “Habanera” aria to the famous “Toreador Song” — all culminating in a spectacular finale at a bullfight. Tickets are $25 to $315. Kennedy Center Opera House Through Oct. 4

texts&beheadings/ElizabethR

This world premiere play about England’s Queen Elizabeth I examines the life and language of Shakespeare’s queen, drawing in part from the Folger collection to create a devised theater piece that uses Elizabeth’s own words to reveal her wit, courage and extraordinary love of her people (part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival). Tickets are $35. Folger Theatre Through Oct. 4

Yerma

GALA kicks off its 40th anniversary /’with a new adaptation of “Yerma,” the dramatic tragic poem written in 1934 by renowned Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. In this world premiere by the Spanish playwright Fernando J. López, the cast has been reduced to five characters, a concentration that heightens the oppression of a loveless marriage, forbidden desires and repressive society faced by Yerma in her rural environment and underscores how even today women face the tension between motherhood and their role in society. Tickets are $38 to $42. GALA Hispanic Theatre Oct. 6 to Nov. 8

Salomé

In this new work, internationally acclaimed adaptor-director Yaël Farber reworks Oscar Wilde’s play with ancient Arabic and Hebraic texts. The result is an urgently relevant exploration of the woman’s voice in history, oppressed people’s power over their own bodies and the explosive connections between religious and political uprising. Shakespeare Theatre Company

Through Oct. 18

Destiny of Desire

On a stormy night in Bellarica, Mexico, two baby girls are born — one into a life of privilege and one into a life of poverty. When the newborns are swapped by a former beauty queen with an insatiable lust for power, the stage is set for two outrageous misfortunes to grow into one remarkable destiny (part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival). Tickets are $40 to $90. Arena Stage Through Oct. 18

The Guard

This world-premiere comedic drama, part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, opens in a modern-day art museum where three individuals yearn to experience first-hand the wonder and glory of Rembrandt’s work. When a museum guard decides to touch a famous painting, a remarkable journey across the ages ensues. Please call for ticket information. Ford’s Theatre Oct. 13 to Nov. 15

girlstar

Legendary record producer Daniella Espere is searching for her next international sensation. She discovers it in her long-lost niece, Tina, who dreams of being a world-famous pop star. Despite warning signs that all may not be as it seems, the two eagerly forge a mother/ daughter bond and Daniella transforms Tina’s image, voice and talent into star quality — but not by the usual means. Please call for ticket information. Signature Theatre Oct. 22 to 25

Antigone

Academy Award–winning stage-andscreen actress Juliette Binoche portrays Antigone in a contemporary version of Sophokles’s riveting tragedy, translated anew by T.S. Eliot Prize–winning poet Anne Carson. Tickets are $79 to $175. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater Through Oct. 25

Animal

Rachel has it all: marriage, house, career. So why does she suddenly have this creeping feeling? She begins to have apparitions of doubts, past decisions, future mistakes. Her husband thinks she needs time; her psychiatrist suggests positive thinking. Or perhaps she just needs to forget it all follow her instinct and kiss a stranger. Tickets are $45 to $65. Studio Theatre Oct. 30 to Jan. 3

Oliver!

Charles Dickens’s unforgettable characters burst to life in the Tony Award-winning musical that blends the chaotic worlds of Victorian London with 2015 London to infuse a modern edge to the classic story about an innocent orphan living amongst double-dealing thieves and conmen. Please call for ticket information. Arena Stage

Through Oct. 18

Chimerica

Through Nov. 8

In 1989, Joe, a young American journalist, photographs a protester facing down four tanks in Tiananmen Square. In 2012, with election season bringing U.S.-China relations into the spotlight, Joe decides to seek out the subject of his most famous image — just as an old friend from China reaches out with an agenda of his own. Tickets are $44 to $88.

Alice in Wonderland

The Studio Theatre

Synetic The ater

October 2015

Alice’s story takes a sharp turn as she falls down the rabbit hole into the dark and mysterious Wonderland. The Tsikurishvilis combine their signature cinematic style with a script by recent Helen Hayes Award nominee Lloyd Rose that promises to be a fresh take on Lewis Carroll’s fairy tale of the absurd. Tickets are $35 to $65.

The Washington Diplomat Page 39

DIPLOMATIC SPOTLIGHT

The Washington Diplomat

October 2015

Ambassador’s Ball

Photo: Damien Salas

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, left, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) welcome guests to the 37th Ambassadors Ball, an annual fundraiser that has raised more than $20 million for the National MS Society’s movement toward a world free of multiple sclerosis.

From left, Judy Heumann, State Department special advisor for international disability rights, is honored by Russell Parker and State Department chief of staff Jonathan Finer at the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society National Capital Chapter.

From left, Antonia Gove, recently appointed Ambassador of Egypt Yasser Reda and his wife Nahla Reda attend the 37th Ambassadors Ball, which features members of the diplomatic corps, administration and Congress.

From left, Ginny Devine, Ambassador of Canada Gary Doer and James Connelly of Summit Commercial Real Estate attend the VIP reception of the 37th Ambassadors Ball at the Marriott Marquis.

From left, Michael Curry, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Kazakh Embassy Yerkin Akhinzhanov, Assistant Chief of Protocol Gladys Boluda and Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge attend the 37th Ambassadors Ball.

From left, Ambassador of Senegal Babacar Diagne, Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire Daouda Diabate, Alison Bogdonoff of Concentric Energy Advisors, Kevin Varney of Boeing and Michael Bogdonoff attend the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball.

Photo: Damien Salas

From left, Laura Denise Bisogniero, Ambassador of Italy Claudio Bisogniero and Ambassador of Ireland Anne Anderson attend the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball held at the Marriott Marquis.

From left, Ambassador of Russia Sergey Kislyak and Natalia Kislyak talk with former U.S. Protocol Chief Capricia Marshall, the 2015 honorary chair of the 37th Ambassadors Ball.

3Ambassador of the Philippines Jose L. Cuisia Jr. and his wife Maria Victoria Jose Cuisia support the Ambassadors Ball to fight multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information between the brain and body.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) welcomes guests to the 37th Ambassadors Ball, which raises funds to support multiple sclerosis research worldwide, as well as programs and services for many thousands of individuals affected by MS in the D.C. area.

Photo: Damien Salas

From left, Russell Parker, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) are honored at the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball.

Photos: French Embassy in the U.S.

Ambassador of Slovenia Božo Cerar stands by the Slovenian wine he donated to the silent auction of the 37th Ambassadors Ball.

Ambassador of Poland Ryszard Schnepf and his wife Dorothy Wysocka-Schnepf, a broadcast journalist, attend the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball.

From left, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indonesian Embassy Arto Suryodipuro, Jane Stout, Dewi Suryodipuro and Robert Stout of BP attend the 37th Ambassadors Ball.

3Clarissa Harris, left, and Andrew Harris attend the 37th Ambassadors Ball hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which has invested more than $870 million since its founding to support research projects around the world while providing programs and services that assisted more than 1 million people.

Photos: French Embassy in the U.S.

From left, Marjorie Waxman, Michael Waxman and Laura Evans of Fox 5 News attend the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball.

Photo: Damien Salas

Minister of the Sri Lankan Embassy Priyanga Wickramasinghe, right, and Arjuna Wickramasinghe browse dozens of auction items at the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball.

Miro Popkhadze of the Georgian Ministry of Defense, left, and Tamar Tchelidze, first secretary at the Georgian Embassy, attend the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball.

The Ambassadors Ball honors ambassadors and their spouses for their support of many charitable activities and humanitarian endeavors, while raising funds to fight multiple sclerosis, which affects more than 2.1 million people worldwide.

The Washington Diplomat

3Stuart Kenworthy, facilities manager at the Danish Embassy, and Gemma Kenworthy attend the 37th annual Ambassadors Ball at the Marriott Marquis.

October 2015

Saudi Visit

EU at CBS photo: u.s. state department

Sherman Farewell

Polish Envoys

photo: u.s. state department

From left, Secretary of State John Kerry looks on as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper presents Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman with a medal in recognition of her service during a farewell ceremony in her honor at the State Department.

Secretary of State John Kerry, left, sits with King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown during a bilateral meeting preceding the king’s visit with President Barack Obama.

photos: u.s. state department

Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir address reporters before their meeting at the State Department ahead of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s D.C. visit.

Social Secretaries

Sharon Stone

Actress Sharon Stone, left, and psychiatrist and public health advocate Rear Adm. Susan J. Blumenthal attend a fundraiser for the Azar Foundation for Children of the World and screening of “Admissions,” a short film that tells the story of an Israeli couple killed in a Tel Aviv suicide bombing, along with the Palestinian who set off the blast.

From left, Ambassador of Poland Ryszard Schnepf and Secretary of State John Kerry join Paul Jones at the State Department before he is officially sworn in as America’s ambassador to Poland.

Bill McLaughlin, founder of the Irish American Business Chamber and Network (IABCN), left, and European Union Ambassador David O’Sullivan attend a discussion at CBS/KYW Newsradio Broadcast Center in Philadelphia as part of a visit hosted by IABCN and the BritishAmerican Business Council.

Photos: Patricia McDougall

From left, Ambassador of Greece Christos Panagopoulos; CEO of Home Health Connection Inc. Shahin Mafi; Pavlina Gandalovicova; and Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovic attend a benefit for Mafi’s nonprofit, the Azar Foundation for Children of the World, and a film screening at her home.

From left, Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and actress Sharon Stone join Shahin Mafi, founder and trustee of the Azar Foundation for Children of the World, at her Potomac, Md., home for a benefit fundraiser and film screening.

Photos: Patricia McDougall

Tara Compton, left, and Ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago Neil Parsan attend a fundraiser for the nonprofit Azar Foundation for Children of the World and screening of “Admissions.”

From left, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown; his wife Karmen Walker Brown; real estate investor René Simpson; and Warren Edwards, president and CEO of McPherson Square Business Council, attend a fundraiser for the nonprofit Azar Foundation for Children of the World.

Screenwriter John Viscount, left, and embassy liaison Jan Du Plain attend a fundraiser for the Azar Foundation for Children of the World and a screening of Viscount’s short film “Admissions.” Viscount is also planning to make “The Principle,” an upcoming film about online bullying that would star Sharon Stone.

From left, among the social secretaries in attendance for the Meridian International Center’s celebration of social secretaries were, from left, Kiyomi Buker of the Japanese Embassy, former Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock, Donatella Verrone of the Italian Embassy, Amanda Downes of the British Embassy and Francesca Craig of the French Embassy.

Former White House Social Secretary Ann Stock, left, greets current White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer at a Meridian International Center reception celebrating the crucial role that social secretaries play in promoting diplomacy.

Ambassador Stuart Holliday, president and CEO of the Meridian International Center, welcomes guests to the Meridian’s second social secretaries reception.

White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer, left, and Eluh A. Clémentine, social secretary of the Côte d’Ivoire Embassy, attend the Meridian International Center’s social secretaries reception.

Photos: Joyce Boghosian

The International Patient Program at the George Washington University Hospital A boutique concierge program offering care for our diplomats and international community:

• Language interpretation • Appointment scheduling

• Medical cost estimates • Insurance settlements

For more information, call 202-715-5100 or email helen.salazar@gwu-hospital.com

October 2015

www.gwhospital.com/international

Photo: Shiv Vachhani Physicians are not employees or agents of this hospital. 150079

The Washington Diplomat Page 41

from page 5

Nunn said. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, however, Nunn and his Senate colleague, Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), were quick to recogdoing is we’re buying time,” Nunn said of the nize that the threat of nuclear annihilation agreement. “We’re not getting an insurance was far from over. Their landmark piece of legislation in 1991, which ushered in the policy that they’ll never have a weapon.” Meanwhile, plenty of other countries are Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, continues to be a key bulwark quietly angling for more nuclear capability. “You’ve got this psychology around the against nuclear proliferation. CTR is housed globe of [nuclear] haves and have-nots,” within the U.S. Defense Department and Nunn said. “There is deep resentment about continues to safeguard nuclear weapons that because the three-legged part of the technology and infrastructure in the former Non-Proliferation Treaty was that countries Soviet Union. Among other things, the prothat didn’t have nuclear weapons weren’t gram has dismantled hundreds of missiles going to get them. Countries that had nuclear and silos, removed fissile material from weapons would step by step get rid of them, unsafe areas, secured nuclear storage sites and the third was that everybody had the and created jobs for thousands of scientists who used to work on weapons research. right to this technology.” While Nunn laments the nuclear ambiAccording to the Ploughshares Fund, nine countries in the world possess a total tions of countries such as North Korea and of 15,695 nuclear weapons and the United Iran, he is grateful that through the work of States and Russia account for 93 percent of CTR, NTI and international leaders, large NOTE: Although everyAmerican effort is leadership made to assure your ad isoffree of mistakes in have spelling and nuclear materials been them. Nunn said on stockpiles content it is ultimately up to the customer to make the final proof. the nuclear issue is critical. President Obama secured. “We have made progress in reducing the has called for a nuclear-free world but his The first faxed changes willboosts be made at no supply cost to of thenuclear advertiser, subsequent changes weapons-grade material mosttwo recent budget actually nuclear willspending. be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. Signed ads”are considered approved. around the globe, he said “Twenty years ago “Having the United States as a nuclear there were 50 countries that had weaponsgradeany nuclear material power withPlease the long-term ultimate- Mark check vision this adofcarefully. changes to and yournow ad.there are 25, ly getting rid of nuclear weapons is enor- so you can say we’ve made progress, but you can also sayneeds we have a long, long way to go. mously important, ” Nunn said.(301) “Everybody If the ad is correct sign and fax to: 949-0065 changes “During that time, we’ve had India and knows how hard that is going to be. It’s going to take a long time.” (301) 933-3552Pakistan and Iran and North Korea basically The Washington Diplomat The end of the Cold War menace of the develop a nuclear arsenal, or a program in U.S and Russia staring each other down with the case of Iran,” he said. “The dangers in Approved __________________________________________________________ nuclear arsenals has passed, and in a sense so some sense have come down and in other Changes ___________________________________________________________ has the public’s fear of nuclear Armageddon. ways have gone up. It’s a balance.” “I don’t think we are nearly as alert to the ___________________________________________________________________ nuclear threat as we were because people Michael Coleman (@michaelcoleman) don’t see the United States and the former is a contributing writer for The Soviet Union are at each other’s throats,” Washington Diplomat.

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The Washington Diplomat

from page 15

Book Review so-called Powell Doctrine.This refers to Gen. Colin Powell’s proclamation that before any intervention is undertaken, several fundamental questions should be answered affirmatively: Is a vital national security interest threatened; does the United States have clear and attainable objectives; have the costs and risks been clearly analyzed; has all nonviolent policy been fully exhausted; is there a plausible exit strategy; have the consequences of U.S. action been fully considered; is the action supported by the American people; and does the United States have broad international support? The final option, “Indispensable America,” calls for a robust foreign policy in which the nation defends its geopolitical interests and actively seeks to advance its way of life. Under this approach, the United States would vigorously assert itself and intervene aggressively both for strategic reasons and to promote democracy, freedom of speech and other values. This strategy rests on the assumption that turning inward would only threaten America’s own security. Bremmer argues that each option has strengths and weaknesses and a fundamental coherence. It’s essential for the country to pick one and embrace it.“We must choose a strategy and our words must align with it,” he writes, adding that “an ambiguous, improvised foreign policy invites rivals and enemies to test U.S. intentions.Allies don’t know how much responsibility to accept for their own security.” He concludes that “Independent America” is now the best option, largely because the American public no longer supports ambitious and costly overseas entanglements. “The next president must recognize that the American people are exhausted by calls for intervention in foreign conflicts they don’t understand,” he writes, noting that polls show about 80 percent of Americans believe the nation should be less active in global affairs. There is no longer domestic support for a robust foreign policy, Bremmer concludes. “Superpower” is a valuable book. Bremmer’s tour of the world scene is insightful and informative. His comments about China are perceptive and even prescient, warning that turmoil there could “throw the entire global economy into reverse.” He also offers keen insights into the dangerous and intensifying rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran and provides an intriguing perspective about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine policy. But it’s far easier for pundits to preach than to practice their own words of wisdom and simplistic sound bites. And some of Bremmer’s conclusions ring hollow. In particular, his criticisms of Obama are hyperbolic.While Obama’s foreign policy record is uneven, it’s far too early to render a verdict as sweeping and disparaging as the one Bremmer proclaims.The truth is that Obama’s foreign policy legacy will be determined, in large part, by how things turn out in Iraq and Afghanistan, the eventual fate of the Islamic State and the durability of the nuclear agreement with Iran. No one, including Bremmer, knows how these will be viewed several decades from now. Bremmer accuses Obama of having an incoherent foreign policy, but his criticisms of the president struck me as incoherent. For example, he says that Obama entered the White House trying to accomplish several central goals such as stabilizing the global economy, ending the Iraq and Afghan wars

and avoiding other wars. “In that respect, the president has largely delivered,” he writes. But then he adds confusingly: “Yet no chief executive has so evidently lacked a clear foreign policy focus.” Didn’t Bremmer just describe what Obama’s focus was and acknowledge that he largely succeeded in accomplishing his goals? Bremmer argues that Obama began with a coherent foreign policy strategy, but intense domestic battles over health care reform and the federal budget and his lack of intrinsic interest in foreign policy distracted him. Yet he offers no evidence to support the claim that the president was diverted by domestic fights or does not have a deep interest in foreign policy. Bremmer says that Obama’s speeches have included elements of all three of the foreign policy options: Independent, Moneyball and Indispensable America.This is accurate, but I would guess this has also been the case for most post-World War II presidents who have modulated foreign policy speeches, depending on their audience and the occasion. Bremmer also argues that Obama’s foreign policy has been ad hoc and reactive. But this is always the case and his criticism lacks historical grounding. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s foreign policy was notoriously messy and inconsistent. Harry S. Truman is often seen as one of the leading architects of America’s containment policy that endured for half a century. But if you read memoirs about his administration, you learn that much of his foreign policy was made up on the fly and was hardly the paragon of consistency and clear planning. It was only years later that historians began to judge it a success. Similarly, a recent book about Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy by James Graham Wilson, “The Triumph of Improvisation,” argues that Reagan’s foreign policy was based on a few core beliefs and then assembled on the go, responding to events and the actions of other global leaders. Bremmer’s three foreign policy models are helpful to think about, but the differences between them are not abundantly clear, especially between Independent and Moneyball America. Both approaches require more modest foreign policy aspirations. But it’s unclear how much the United States would disengage from the world under an Independent America. Bremmer’s use of the Moneyball designation appears to stack the rhetorical deck against this option.The term was coined by journalist Michael Lewis and refers to the frugal approach to assembling a baseball team championed by the Oakland Athletics, but it has come to connote extreme stinginess. This option could just as easily have been called “Colin Powell’s America” or “Dwight Eisenhower’s America” and it would have had more rhetorical appeal. My most fundamental criticism of this book is that Bremmer does not seem to adequately appreciate that while it’s relatively easy to design a coherent foreign policy in a PowerPoint presentation, or during a briefing for a CEO, or in a campaign speech or even in a book such as “Superpower,” actually implementing one is probably impossible. Global crises do not neatly fit into overarching strategies, no matter how well thought out or consistent they are. For the United States, which has such diverse interests and is endlessly barraged by complex and confusing challenges in real time, setting broad goals and operating flexibly and wisely is probably the best the nation can hope for. John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

October 2015

from page 10

Rebels the al-Qaeda affiliate has made it clear that its objective is to crush the nascent U.S.-led training mission and deter fighters from joining it. In addition to embarrassing the administration, the July attack dealt a sharp blow to its proxy fight against the Islamic State in that 30 U.S.trained fighters were reportedly taken off the battlefield. The episode also forced the Pentagon to acknowledge that it would go back to the drawing board to re-evaluate aspects of the training program. According to a Sept. 6 New York Times article, the proposals under consideration “include enlarging the size of the groups of trained rebels sent back into Syria, shifting the location of the deployments to ensure local support, and improving intelligence provided to the fighters.” Potentially compounding the setbacks for U.S. officials was the revelation that, according to a McClatchy report, Turkish intelligence officials facilitated the Nusra Front kidnappings in a bid to keep U.S.-trained fighters from targeting the Islamist groups that Ankara supports. A Pentagon spokesman told McClatchy there was no indication that Turkey, a reputed U.S. ally, had tipped the Nusra Front to the rebels’ movements. For Cordesman, the debacle illustrated just how convoluted the state of play is in Syria.The area of northwest Syria where the alleged abductions took place features a “very unstable mix of rebel factions,” he said. In addition to Iran’s involvement in the conflict, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have all sponsored armed groups in Syria, making it a surreal proxy playground, even by Middle East standards.

Photo: DoD / Sgt. James A. Hall / U.S. Marine Corps

Photo: DoD / Tech. Sgt. Caycee Cook / U.S. Air Force

Above, an F-16 Fighting Flacon piloted by the U.S. Air Force prepares to take off from Mwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan in 2009 during a multinational F-16 competition. At right, U.S. Marines assault targets during a combined armed live-fire exercise demonstration in Jebel Petra, Jordan, in 2014. Jordan, a close U.S. ally, is reportedly hosting a Pentagon program to train moderate Syrian rebels to take on the Islamic State in Syria.

Photo: DoD / Senior Airman Matthew Bruch / U.S. Air Force

Falling Short Of Ambitions In interactions with lawmakers and journalists, defense officials have tried to put a positive sheen on the Syrian training mission and articulate a premise behind it. “The strategy … for defeating ISIL on the ground in Syria and Iraq is to train and then enable local forces,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said at a July hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “That takes some time. I know it’s difficult, it’s complicated,” the Pentagon chief went on, before being interrupted by an indignant senator. Earlier in the hearing, committee chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said of the 60-person training program, “I got to tell you, after four years, Mr. Secretary, that’s not a very impressive number.”Carter acknowledged in the hearing that the figure is well short of his ambitions and intentions. Likewise, in an Aug. 20 press briefing at the Pentagon, Carter described the Syrian train-and-equip mission as a work in progress. “I’ve been candid that it is difficult and has been difficult with respect to” the program, he said, adding that the

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft flies over northern Iraq on Sept. 23, 2014, after conducting airstrikes in Syria. The aircraft was among the first to strike Islamic State targets in Syria.

Defense Department is “working on adjusting that program constantly, based upon the lessons we’ve learned so far, the experience we’ve had, to try to expand the numbers and the scope of that program.” In fact, Pentagon officials have reportedly floated the idea of loosening vetting requirements, possibly only screening unit leaders, and sending weapons to groups such as the Syrian Arab Coalition. No public announcements have been made,however,and Cordesman and other critics say the Obama administration has been less than forthcoming with the details of its broader fight against the Islamic State — which has included a steady diet of airstrikes over the last year that has reportedly killed thousands of its fighters but failed to dislodge the group from its centers of power in Syria and Iraq. “I’m actually dismayed because I cannot piece together in my own mind what the strategic aim is other than the defeat of ISIL, which is a military objective, not a political objective and, I think, unachievable,”

said retired Lt. Gen. Jim Dubik, the former commander of the NATO training mission in Iraq during the 2007-08 “surge” in that country. The U.S. train-and-equip mission for Syrian rebels is greatly complicated by the political void in Syria, added Dubik, who is now a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War.“An army is a political instrument that serves the interests of a political community; no such political community exists in Syria,” he told The Diplomat. Westernsupported attempts to form a solid political opposition to Syrian President Assad have been undercut by the disconnect between political groups in exile and the motley crew of forces fighting in Syria.

Specter of Past Mistakes Haunts Current Campaign The specter of past U.S. operations to arm rebel factions in foreign wars may hang over the current effort, most notably the U.S. assistance to the Afghan mujahideen

during their fight against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Fighting alongside and helping bankroll the mujahideen was al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden. That experience may explain why the U.S. remains wary of engaging Islamist fighters, even those fighting the Islamic State. For example, the Obama administration refuses to partner with Ahrar al-Sham, a Syrian rebel group opposed to the Islamic State and Assad’s regime but whose militant Islamist creed has precluded Washington from working with it. Another factor in the slow pace with which Syrian rebels are being trained is the so-called Leahy amendment, which restricts U.S. assistance to human rights violators. Cordesman, the CSIS scholar, believes that law to be a significant barrier to U.S. efforts in Syria. Under the amendment, he said, “you are bound by law to use criteria which in a violent civil conflict almost preclude creating forces that are relevant.” “It would be nice if every civil war had a large contingent of good guys who happen to be virtually American in terms of their value and background,” Cordesman said. “The history since 1945 has indicated that you have to be able to deal with the people who are there, and not the people you’d like to have there.” The Pentagon is supporting one group that has enjoyed impressive gains on the battlefield: the Syrian Kurdish faction known as the People’s Protection Units, or by their Kurdish acronym of YPG. The Pentagon’s collaboration with the YPG has even led to speculation that it is giving up on its own troubled training program.According to the Daily Beast’s Nancy A.Youssef, “Pentagon brass long ago moved past its own proxy force” in favor of the far more competent Syrian Kurdish militia, which has as many

October 2015

as 50,000 fighters in its ranks. Publicly, however, defense officials insist they remain committed to the training program. Critics of Obama’s Syria strategy say the president must rethink its underlying premise for it to have any chance of success. In a July 7 statement, Sen. McCain blasted the White House for its refusal to target Assad. “Today, the administration is telling Syrians to forego fighting their greatest enemy, the Assad regime, which is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and meanwhile refusing to protect these fighters from the terror of Assad’s barrel bombs. That is why it is no small wonder that our train-and-equip program in Syria is so anemic,” he argued. But Pentagon officials warn that toppling Assad could bring unintended consequences, empowering radicals and sparking even greater chaos — which is why the focus remains on “finding moderate Syrian opposition men to train to be a stabilizing influence over time,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a May press briefing. And so the campaign grinds on, as does the war with the Islamic State, which administration officials have said could take years. The Pentagon is now training its fourth class of rebel fighters, U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder told reporters Sept. 11. The following week, Gen. Lloyd Austin, the head of the command, told senators that only “four or five” of the U.S.-trained Syrian fighters remain on the battlefield (the Pentagon later revised that number to nine). Regardless of what happens in the administration’s remaining time in office, Obama’s successor looks set to inherit a messy fight. Sean Lyngaas (@snlyngaas) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Your Source for Diplomatic News. www.washdiplomat.com

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office to discuss possible compromises, and may also nitpick at the language used in the accompanying narrative. Each year, a handful of disputed cases go as high as the secretary of state, before receiving a final grade. In many cases, when a regional bureau successfully challenges a proposed ranking, the trafficking office is compelled to promote the country but in return may be given greater leeway in writing the country’s narrative.This often results in a “gap between the ranking and the text,” Lagon explained.

from page 14

Trafficking over the past year or have pledged to take additional steps in the coming year. The criteria can be technical and opaque, but the overarching goal is to prioritize and put a face on an issue that just a decade ago largely flew under the radar. [W]e want to bring to the public’s attention the full nature and scope of a $150 billion illicit trafficking industry,” Secretary of State Kerry said at the report’s July launch.“And it is an industry. Pick up today’s New York Times front-page story about a young Cambodian boy promised a construction job in Thailand, goes across the border, finds himself held by armed men and ultimately is pressed into service on the seas — three years at sea, shackled by his neck to the boat so that he can’t escape and take off when they’re around other boats. If that isn’t slavery and imprisonment, I don’t know what is.”

Naming and Shaming Although the State Department does mandate some U.S. financial sanctions against Tier 3 countries — including restrictions on nontrade or humanitarian aid — the report’s main source of influence is publicly calling out other countries on their trafficking track records. Naming and shaming has become an increasingly popular form of what Joseph Nye famously termed the soft power approach to diplomacy, which emphasizes persuasion and pressure over coercion and force. Even when the rankings don’t entail tangible penalties, foreign governments often take umbrage at being scolded by Washington, lodging diplomatic protests in some cases or retaliating by lashing out at their U.S. counterparts. “Countries dislike being known for failing to fight appalling violations of human rights and loathe being grouped with other low performers,” said Judith Kelley of Duke University in a recent op-ed with Freedom House’s Lagon. “The reporting and tier placement help TIP and embassies around the world engage local officials in dialogues about how to improve. It creates leverage.” In a study that she co-authored with Harvard University professor Beth Simmons in January, Kelley found that countries included in the TIP report are significantly more likely than other countries to criminalize trafficking in their domestic laws after being placed in a low tier or being downgraded. A plethora of anti-trafficking success stories over the past 13 years since TIP’s creation lend credence to these findings. Armenia’s Tier 3 placement in 2002, the first year in which the TIP report was published, motivated Armenian officials to tighten anti-trafficking laws and boost funding for NGO-run trafficking shelters. These efforts helped Armenia crack into the Tier 1 category for the first time in 2013, where it remains today. Similarly, the Philippines bounced back to its current Tier 2 placement after being put on the Watch List a few years ago by passing more stringent anti-trafficking laws and implementing a new trial system to clear the country’s large backlog of untried trafficking cases. Thailand, which was demoted to Tier 3 in 2014 due to the country’s notorious fishing industry, has lobbied U.S. officials against its ranking but also taken action to improve it. Just days before the release of the 2015 TIP report, Thai officials arrested and charged over 100 individuals suspected of involvement in the smuggling of Rohingya Muslim refugees from neighboring Myanmar, includ-

Long-Term Repercussions

Photo: “Displaced Rohingya people in Rakhine State (8280610831)” by Foreign and Commonwealth Office / OGL via Commons

Displaced Rohingya people sit under a tree in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar are frequently trafficked through nations such as Thailand and Malaysia.

ing a top-ranking Thai military officer, in one of the biggest government crackdowns in recent history. Authorities also removed 50 police officers from their posts for neglecting their duties. In spite of these victories, there are limits to the report’s effectiveness. Kelley and Simmons’s research shows that countries with repressive regimes are more resistant to embarrassment, presumably because they don’t have great reputations to begin with or they lack democratic channels through which civil society groups can lobby for change. Public shaming is also less effective in countries that have a high degree of corruption and weak rule of law. Efforts to prosecute traffickers in the United Arab Emirates, for instance, allegedly led to worse conditions for sex workers, who can be victimized twice at the hands of corrupt, untrained police officers. “Addressing human trafficking according to U.S. anti-trafficking standards requires an increase in the numbers of arrests and raids of women in the sex industry,” Pardis Mahdavi, an associate professor at Pomona College and vocal critic of the TIP rankings, wrote in a Huffington Post piece. “Far from helping these women, raids and arrests feel more abusive to many sex workers in Dubai, who noted that the bulk of their abuse comes from untrained law enforcement officials during raid and rescue efforts.”

Politics vs. Human Rights Another major shortcoming of the TIP report — and perhaps the most damaging — is its perceived political whitewashing. The subjective nature of TIP assessments and lack of transparency surrounding the internal ranking process have led many critics to question the impartiality of the report’s findings. “Country rankings align more closely with who the U.S. ranks as friend or foe than actual trafficking problems,” said Mahdavi, arguing that the report tends to have a bias against Islamic countries. Following the release of the 2015 TIP report, many U.S. lawmakers have echoed some of Mahdavi’s concerns. “Upgrades for Malaysia and Cuba are a clear politicization of the report, and a stamp of approval for countries who have failed to take the basic actions to merit this upgrade,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in a July press release, noting that State Department officials have “elevated politics over the most basic principles of human rights.” “Giving countries with clear evidence of

human rights violations, like Malaysia, a frontrow seat to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership is unconscionable,” added Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Menendez and Sherrod were among 178 members of Congress who unsuccessfully petitioned Kerry earlier this summer to keep Malaysia on the Tier 3 list. Undersecretary of State Sarah Sewall, a main overseer of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, categorically denied allegations of special treatment in a press briefing the day of the report’s release. When asked about specific anti-trafficking efforts undertaken by Cuba in the past year, Sewall pointed to Havana’s increased sex trafficking prosecutions and future commitments as justification for its upgrade, although she conceded that labor trafficking remains a serious problem. Similarly, the 2015 TIP report cited increased prosecution and improvements to witness protection programs as reasons for Malaysia’s promotion. Sewall also reminded reporters that the purpose of TIP is to evaluate government efforts to combat trafficking, not necessarily rate actual conditions on the ground.“A Tier 2 Watch List ranking does not mean that a country is free from human trafficking,” she said. Critics remain skeptical that the report hasn’t been watered down so as not to offend key U.S. allies. For some, the backpedaling on Malaysia and Cuba despite expert recommendations to the contrary was nothing new. Experts have noted that other politically or economically relevant countries like China, India, and Mexico have been receiving inflated placements for years. Part of the problem is the often-political nature of the State Department’s internal decision-making meat-grinder. Although initial TIP assessments are made by independent human rights analysts, senior diplomats and politicians within the department have the power to challenge the experts’ conclusions, successfully overriding them in almost half of all disputed cases.This year, however, the independent analysts’ won only three disputes. The complete step-by-step process, as Freedom House’s Lagon described it, clearly shows the influence wielded by political interests. Analysts within State’s trafficking office begin the process by proposing tentative rankings and country narratives based on government and NGO data gathered from embassies around the world. Next, regional bureaus that disagree with a particular ranking may request meetings with the trafficking

While it may be politically convenient to soften rankings for strategically important countries, human rights expert warn that such appeasement may harm American interests in the long run. Indeed, former State Department officials have said that the preferential treatment given to Malaysia and Cuba this year could reverse all of the progress in global anti-trafficking efforts that the TIP report has brought about since its inception. “It only takes one year of this kind of really deleterious political effect to kill [the report’s] credibility,” Mark Taylor, former senior coordinator for reports and political affairs, told Jason Szep and Matt Spetalnick of Reuters. Other diplomats, though, disagree with the fundamental premise that calling countries out will alter their calculus. Rather, they argue that dialogue and engaging repressive regimes, rather than offending them, offer the best hope for eventually opening them up to change. But Republicans have seized on the allegations of political bias in this year’s TIP, turning the controversy into a convenient political cudgel with which to bash President Obama’s foreign policy agenda. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a 2016 White House contender and outspoken critic of Obama’s Cuba policy, accused the president of sacrificing principles for political expediency — and tarnishing TIP’s reputation in the process. “President Obama and his administration have set a dangerous precedent with this trafficking report that could lead countries to believe they can negotiate their way out of having their human trafficking abuses highlighted,” Rubio wrote in an August letter urging Kerry to reconsider Cuba’s upgrade.“This is a great disservice to the millions of people who have been victimized or are vulnerable to human traffickers.” But given that this year’s rankings are hardly the first to elicit controversy, Lagon expressed optimism that the 2015 report may not be as damaging to TIP’s long-term integrity as some have suggested. “The report has always represented a balance between the views of trafficking specialists from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking on the one hand, and embassy and regional bureau diplomats accounting for broader factors on the other,” said Lagon, who formerly headed the anti-trafficking nonprofit Polaris. “It remains very credible, reflecting a well-founded assessment in the vast majority of cases.” According to Lagon, however, finding strong leadership to head the trafficking office in the wake of former Ambassador-atLarge Luis CdeBaca’s departure last November may be crucial to maintaining TIP’s credibility. “It appears that the absence of a confirmed ambassador heading the office may have contributed to politically motivated placements for Malaysia and Cuba,” Lagon said. “The lack of leadership in sustaining internal debates to the highest levels of the department may lead to more rankings that are not based on considerations of trafficking alone.” Karin Sun is a freelance writer in Maryland.

The Washington Diplomat

October 2015

AROUNDTHEWORLD

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

October 2015

HOLIDAYS AFGHANISTAN Oct. 14: Islamic New Year

BRAZIL Oct. 12: St. Aparecida’s Day

ALGERIA Oct. 14: Awal Moharem

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ARGENTINA Oct. 12: Columbus Day

BURUNDI Oct. 13: Rwagasore Day Oct. 21: Ndadaye Day

AUSTRALIA Oct. 5: Labor Day AUSTRIA Oct. 26: National Day

CAMBODIA Oct. 23: Paris Peace Agreement Day Oct. 30-Nov. 1: Birthday of the King

AZERBAIJAN Oct. 18: Independence Day

CANADA Oct. 12: Thanksgiving Day

BAHAMAS Oct. 13: Discovery Day

CHILE Oct. 13: Dia de la Raza

BAHRAIN Oct. 14: Al-Hijrah

CHINA Oct. 1: National Day

BELIZE Oct. 12: Columbus Day

COLOMBIA Oct. 13: Dia de la Raza

BENIN Oct. 26: Armed Forces Day

COSTA RICA Oct. 13: Dia de la Raza

BOTSWANA Oct. 1: Public Holiday

CROATIA Oct. 8: Independence Day

CUBA Oct. 10: Beginning of the Independence War CYPRUS Oct. 1: Independence Day Oct. 28: Greek National Day (Ochi Day) CZECH REPUBLIC Oct. 28: Founding Day DJIBOUTI Oct. 14: Islamic New Year ECUADOR Oct. 9: Independence of Guayaquil EQUATORIAL GUINEA Oct. 12: Independence Day FIJI Oct. 10: Fiji Day GEORGIA Oct. 14: Svetitskhovloba GERMANY Oct. 3: Day of German Unification GREECE Oct. 28: Ochi Day

GRENADA Oct. 25: Thanksgiving Day

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JAMAICA Oct. 18: National Heroes Day

LIBYA Oct. 14: Islamic New Year

MOZAMBIQUE Oct. 4: Peace and Reconciliation Day

JAPAN Oct. 10: Health and Sports Day (Taiku no hi)

MACEDONIA Oct. 11: Anti-Fascist Uprising Day

NEW ZEALAND Oct. 26: Labor Day

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ZAMBIA Oct. 24: Independence Day

APPOINTMENTS Denmark Lars Gert Lose became ambassador of Denmark to the United States on Sept. 17, 2015, having most recently served as ambassaAmbassador dor, permanent Lars Gert Lose undersecretary of state and chief advisor of foreign affairs to the prime minister since 2013. In addition, he served as ambassador, political director and undersecretary for global politics and security (2012-13); ambassador and undersecretary for global security (2011-12); ambassador and head of the Foreign Minister’s Office, including chief of public relations (2010-11); as well as head of department and head of the Foreign Minister’s Office, including chief of public relations (2008-10). Ambassador Lose was also private secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Per Stig Møller (2004-08) and first secretary of economic and political affairs at the Danish Embassy in Paris (2001-04). Other postings include head of section for the European Policy Office (2000-01); head of section for the Southern Africa Office (1998-2000); and head of section for the EU Coordination Office (1997-98). Ambassador Lose holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Warwick in England and a candidate’s degree in political science from Aarhus University

October 2015

in Denmark. He is married to Ulla Kølvraa Rønberg and they have three children.

Finland Kirsti Helena Kauppi became ambassador of Finland to the United States on Sept. 17, 2015, having previously Ambassador served as director Kirsti Helena general of the Kauppi Political Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 2012. Ambassador Kauppi, who has over 30 years of experience in foreign policy, also served as director general for Africa and the Middle East in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (2009-12). In 2005, she was appointed Finnish ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the U.N.-related international organizations in Vienna, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). During her term in Vienna (2005-09), Ambassador Kauppi also served for three years as the Finnish governor in the IAEA Board of Governors, including vice chair of the board. In addition to Vienna, Ambassador Kauppi has served as deputy chief of mission (minister) in the Finnish Embassy in Berlin (2003-05); in Washington, D.C. (1997-2000); and in Bangkok (1989-92). Ambassador Kauppi’s solid knowledge on European

Union affairs builds on her four-year service in Brussels at the Finnish Permanent Mission to the EU (1993-97), as well as her time as head of the unit responsible for the EU’s common foreign and security policy coordination in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki (2001-03) and as advisor to the state secretary (2000-01). In the beginning of her career, Ambassador Kauppi worked primarily on development cooperation issues, including in the Finnish Embassy in Bangkok (1989-92) and the International Labour Organization in Geneva (1985-86). Ambassador Kauppi was born in 1957 in northern Finland in the town of Oulu, and she received her master’s degree in economics from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration. She speaks Finnish, English, Swedish, German and French. Ambassador Kauppi is also an avid reader of history and enjoys walking and bicycle riding in her free time.

Jamaica Ralph Thomas became ambassador of Jamaica to the United States on Sept. 17, 2015, with concurrent accreditation as Jamaica’s permanent representative to the Organization of American States. He most recently served as Jamaica’s ambassador to China from 2013 to 2015. Prior to his diplomatic duties, Ambassador Thomas was a senior teaching fellow at the University of the West Indies – Mona School of Business

and Management, and he served as director of several state agencies in Jamaica and in New York, including: the Urban Development Corp.; the National Insurance Fund Board; Jamaica Financial Services Authority; and the Mental Health Association of Westchester. He was also board chairman of the Micro Investment Development Agency. Ambassador Thomas has vast experience in international banking and trade finance, serving as vice president and regional manager at the Bank of Ambassador New York during his Ralph Thomas 22 years with that financial institution. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of the West Indies and a master’s in business administration from Columbia University. Ambassador Thomas is married to Sandra Dixon Thomas and is the father of four children.

Lithuania Rolandas Kriščiūnas became ambassador of Lithuania to the United States on Sept. 17, 2015, having previously served as Lithuania’s vice minister of foreign affairs since 2012. In addition, Ambassador Kriščiūnas was Lithuania’s vice minister of finance (2009-12) and undersecretary at the Ministry of

Finance (2004-09), where he was also director of the EU Programme Management Department (2001-04). He served in Washington, D.C., on a prior occasion as first secretary at the Lithuanian Embassy (1998-2001). Other postings include first secretary (199698) and third secretary (1993-94) at the Economic Analysis Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Kriš�i�nas holds a bachelor’s degree in business informatics from Vytautas Didysis University in Lithuania and a master’s degree in economic sciences from Ohio University in the United States. He also completed the European Union Studies program at Ambassador the Clingendael Rolandas Institute of Kriščiūnas International Relations in The Hague and the Management Studies Programme at the Swedish Institute in Stockholm. Born Oct. 16, 1970, Ambassador Kriščiūnas speaks Lithuanian, English, Russian and French, and is married.

Mexico Miguel Basáñez Ebergenyi became ambassador of Mexico to the United States on Sept. 17, 2015. He previously

See APPOINTMENTS, page 47

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Secretary-General of European Integration Department (1991Mexico; attorney gen1980”; “The Pulse of the Presidential NATO in Brussels 95); and consul at the Dutch Consulate eral of the State of Terms: 20 Years of Crisis in Mexico”; and ADVER (2007-09); and deputy General in Los Angeles (1988-91). He also Mexico; and chief of “North American Trajectory: Trade, Politics permanent represenat the Royal Netherlands Embassy staff for the secretary Values” (with R. Inglehart). PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 05.08.15and SALES REPRESENTATIVE: JERYL PARADEserved (jparade@washblade.com) tative of the Dutch in New Delhi, India, and Hanoi, Vietnam. of energy. He was Ambassador Basáñez holds a Ph.D. in Permanent Ambassador Schuwer attended secondary president of the World political sociology from the London School served as professor of values, culture and Representation to the school in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and Association for Public of Economics. development at the Fletcher School of REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. European Unionis not submitted within 24 hours holds a master’s Opinion Research Tufts University and director of special Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision of the date of law degree from the Ambassador Netherlands Ambassador naff pitts (2002-06). A 36-year University of Leiden. Born May 3, 1953, in (WAPOR); CEO of researchREVISIONS and educational projects. In of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown omnimedia Miguel Hendrik llc (dbaBasáñez the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design ad.Jan Advertiser is responsible Hendrik Jan Jurriaan Schuwer became Foreign Service veter-of your The Hague into a family of five, Market and Opinion Mexico, he worked to expand democracy Ebergenyi Jurriaan Schuwer for any legal liabilityambassador arising outofofthe or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users canAmbassador link through REDESIGN Netherlands to the an, Ambassador Schuwer is married to Lena Research (MORI) by introducing public opinion polls in the Advertiser its having advertisement will not violate rgihts of Statesrepresents on Sept. 17,that 2015, Schuwer served in any criminal laws or any Boman of third Sweden and they have four Mexico; vice president the advertisement. United 1988 elections. Ambassador Basáñez’s TEXT REVISIONS parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent, most recently Dutchproprietary Washington, a prior occasion asunfair adult children. His two daughters are psyof MORI International; andtrademark, president of trade the secret, career has been a combination of public music, served image,asortheother or propety D.C., right,onfalse advertising, competition, IMAGE/LOGO REVISIONS ambassador 2010.violation In deputy chief of missionlaw of the Royal chologists and his two sons are engiGlobal Quality Research Corp. In the acaservice (1968-88), opinion polling (1988defamation, invasion of privacy to orBelgium rights ofsince celebrity, of anti-discrimination or regulation, or any other right addition, Ambassador Schuwer served brown as Netherlands Embassy from 1997the to 2002. neers. In his free time, Ambassador demic arena, AmbassadorofBasáñez was aor entity. 2008) and academia (1970-2015). In the any person Advertiser agrees to idemnify naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba washington blade) and ADVERTISER SIG NO REVISIONS pitts omnimedia (dbaand the Middle washington blade) harmless from deputy any and all liability, loss, damages, signing this proof you a of the NorthllcAfrica Other postings include director of Schuwer plays tennis and By golf, and reads Fulbright visiting professortoathold the brown naff director public sector, Ambassador Basáñez claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts washington blade newspap East Department at the Ministry of the Political Department/European about the history of the 20th century. But University of Michigan. He is the author or worked as director general of opinion pollomnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties. payment and Foreign Affairs in The Hague (2009-10); Correspondent at the Ministry of Foreign most of all, he enjoys spending time withinsertion sche editor of 14 books, including: “The ing for the Office of the President; chief of director of the Private Office of the Affairs (1995-97); deputy director of the his family. Struggle for Hegemony in Mexico, 1968staff for the governor of the State of

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