The Washington Diplomat - October 2018 by The Washington Diplomat

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A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

VOLUME 25, NUMBER 10 Middle East

Who Will Put Syria Back Together? After seven years of bombing, gunfire and killing, Syria is a ruined shell of its former self. Which is why reconstruction has become the latest battleground as the war’s power players jostle for position in what may be the final act of this long-running tragedy. / PAGE 6

WWW.WASHDIPLOMAT.COM JAMAICA

CONFRONTING

CLIMATE

CHANGE

•

October 2018

OCTOBER 2018 People of World Influence Smithsonian’s Secrets

World’s Largest Museum,

Education and Research

Complex Holds Hidden

Gems •

PHOTO: DANE PENLAND

/ SMITHSONIAN NASM-UHC

U.S. Envoy Reflects on ‘Betrayal and Resilience’ ay the word Smithsonian and lifelong Washingtonians and newcomers alike think of the museums that line the National Mall. But there is more to the 170-plus-yearold insti-

BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL

tution than those 11 musenational collaboration. ums. There’s the National Zoo, In fact, the Smithsonian eight additional museums, Institution is largest mostly in Washington, museum, D.C., education and research research centers, cultural comcen- plex in the world. ters, gardens and programs to promote education and interSEE SMITHSONIAN

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is home to thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall.

• PAGE 22

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

| OCTOBER 2018 | 21

Prudence Bushnell understands the curse of Cassandra. The former U.S. ambassador reflects on how her dire warnings about the Rwandan genocide and American vulnerability in Kenya went unheeded in her new book, “Terrorism, Betrayal and Resilience: My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings.” / PAGE 4

South Asia

Army Casts Shadow Over Pakistan’s New Leader Pakistan’s new prime minister, Imran Khan, gave an inaugural speech in which he had plenty to say about corruption but almost nothing about foreign policy. Why? The army controls that. / PAGE 8

Culture

NGA Reveals Corot’s Women The National Gallery of Art looks at a lesser-known side of the iconic French landscape painter in “Corot: Women.” / PAGE 32

As Republicans debate whether climate change is real despite record-shattering heatwaves and hurricanes, for the Caribbean, the debate is a moot point, as extreme weather patterns threaten its very survival. So island leaders, joined by partners such as Virgin’s Richard Branson, launched a major initiative to make the Caribbean the world’s first “climate-smart” zone, a sign that the region has entered “fighting-back mode,” says Jamaican Ambassador Audrey Marks. / PAGE 13

Washington, D.C.

Meridian Chief Talks Leadership As the Meridian International Center prepares for its 50th anniversary ball, Ambassador Stuart Holliday reflects on leadership in the 21st century — and in an era of bitter partisan divisions. / PAGE 17

Greater DC-Maryland Chapter

Volume 25

Greater DC-Maryland Chapter

Issue 10

October 2018

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News Editor

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Contributing Writers Presented by

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Contents

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

27 17 35

21 NEWS 4

PEOPLE OF WORLD INFLUENCE

Twenty years after the embassy bombings in Kenya, a U.S. ambassador expresses rage, regret.

NORDIC VANTAGE POINT Op-Ed: The world must strengthen, not abandon, the global trading system.

FIRE IN THE KITCHEN “Like Water for Chocolate” reaches a boiling point of emotions.

LIFE-SAVING CARBS

CAREER TRANSITIONS

6 THE WRECKAGE OF SYRIA

Cutting out too many carbs may boost your chances of an early death.

Hotelier Hector Torres transitions to his first love: art.

After seven years of destruction, what will it take to put Syria back together?

EDUCATION

8 PAKISTAN’S NEW PUPPET?

Will Imran Khan steer Pakistan’s foreign policy, or follow the army’s marching orders?

The world’s largest museum, education and research complex is home to hidden gems.

LUXURY LIVING

SECURING THE VOTE

U.S. states race to protect voting machines ahead of the midterm elections.

COVER PROFILE: CARIBBEAN

Jamaica helps launch ambitious endeavor to make the Caribbean the world’s first climate-smart zone.

MERIDIAN’S NEW MISSION

Stuart Holliday reflects on leadership in the 21st century.

SMITHSONIAN’S SECRETS

D.C.’S MERIDIAN LINE

The Meridian is the invisible line that runs through the nation’s capital.

CREATING HISTORY

“Without Provenance” shows the beauty of forgery to preserve real antiquities.

REGULARS 36

CINEMA LISTING

38 EVENTS LISTING 40 DIPLOMATIC SPOTLIGHT

CULTURE

45 APPOINTMENTS

46 CLASSIFIEDS

COROT’S WOMEN

A landscape painter’s ladies take center stage at the National Gallery of Art.

47 REAL ESTATE CLASSIFIEDS THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 3

WD | People of World Influence

Unheeded Warnings Ex-U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Laments Failure to Prevent 1998 Embassy Bombings BY PAIGE AARHUS

rudence Bushnell understands the curse of Cassandra. Serving as deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1993 to 1996, she issued an urgent memorandum on April 6, 1994, warning of imminent civil conflict in Rwanda. The U.S. government maintained its position — it would not send help — and the next day, the Rwandan genocide began. More than 800,000 were killed. Appointed ambassador to Kenya in 1996, Bushnell found herself in a similar situation less than three years later. More urgent warnings followed — this time regarding sub-standard safety conditions at the American Embassy in Nairobi. These too were ignored. On Aug. 7, 1998, she was one of thousands of victims of a coordinated al-Qaeda attack against American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Twenty years later, Bushnell, a maverick former diplomat who has often struggled to adhere to State Department protocol, is publishing an account of her experiences. “Terrorism, Betrayal and Resilience: My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings” details the lead-up to the attacks, in which 224 people were killed and 5,000 injured in simultaneous bombings at embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The book offers a scathing critique of U.S government shortcomings both before and after the bombs went off, including during a January 2001 trial for four of 21 al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the attacks. It questions why thousands of injured Kenyans did not receive medical compensation from the American government, and why the CIA and FBI refused to share critical intelligence that might have prevented the tragedy. In an era of crippling budget cuts to the American Foreign Service — President Trump has repeatedly tried to slash the State Department’s budget, although Congress has largely kept it intact — the book also serves as a cautionary tale about what can go wrong when Washington ignores warnings from the field in the name of cutting costs. “This is a problem that I suspect exists in every foreign service in the world: that what we see in Washington is not what people are seeing in the field. I’m not the first ambassador to have been ignored. I’m sure there is that tension going on at this very moment in capitals and embassies around the world,” said Bushnell in an interview. After joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1981 and working her way up the ranks in India and Senegal, Bushnell was nearly appointed ambassador to Rwanda in 1992.

4 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

not to leave things unspoken, because I was still asking myself, ‘Could I have done more with Rwanda?’ That was my lesson — be a squeaky wheel, get them to pay attention.” Her warnings came at a bad time. The American public had turned cold on foreign operations in Africa following the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, in which 18 U.S. servicemen were killed and 73 wounded in Somalia. Domestically, the country was distracted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The end of the Cold War had also led the American government to significantly reduce diplomatic expenditure: State Department outlays fell from close to 0.5 percent of the total federal budget in 1994, to just over 0.3 percent by 1998, and the cuts had an effect. “People in the Department of State in Washington are rewarded for ‘doing things right,’ for getting press releases out on time, getting tasks done on time and managing political appointees in a way that favors them. Doing things right in Washington meant waiving our own security requirements within the department, in order to stay within bud get,” said Bushnell.

“

Had the FBI shared information with the CIA or the U.S. ambassador and Kenyan intelligence, I don’t think we would have been blown up. And after we were blown up, nothing changed. PRUDENCE BUSHNELL former U.S. ambassador to Kenya

She refused to go only because her husband was unable to obtain the necessary medical clearance, and was later posted to Nairobi, where she immediately noticed the embassy’s alarming security situation. The chancery was located at the crossroads of two of Nairobi’s busiest streets, and its front-facing security offset was practically nonexistent. The building’s rear offset was 20 feet at most, and it shared a parking lot with the 21-story Cooperative Bank building. The Inman Report, which was published following a 1983 truck bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, recommends a minimum 100-foot offset. Furthermore, the embassy had just one radio line — meaning guards could not communicate via radio if someone

”

else was using the frequency — while the building’s exposed underground parking lot and delivery dock were described by the State Department as “a constant worry to all, as it was a huge vulnerability.” Although the building was surrounded by an 8.5-foot steel-picket vertical bar fence, a line of steel bollards located between 16 and 59 feet away from the outer walls served as its sole outer perimeter. Window frames were not anchored to the building’s core structure, and the embassy’s emergency action plan did not include training or protocols for car bomb attacks. Bushnell sent a barrage of cables raising urgent security concerns. “I went to Nairobi with the intention of raising morale in the community, and

PHOTO : UNIV

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EBRASK

A PRES

Although the State Department had planned to undertake a $4.7 million renovation of the existing embassy building, Bushnell saw this as inadequate. The building was too small, too exposed, too old. In December 1997, the State Bureau of African Affairs told her to stop sending cables. People were getting irritated. On the morning of the attacks, Bushnell was attending a meeting at the Kenyan Ministry of Commerce’s high-rise building, located across from the embassy’s shared parking lot.

Between 10:30 and 10:40 a.m., a truck carrying two suicide bombers and 1,100 pounds of TNT attempted to enter the underground parking lot. Security guards refused to open the gates, at which point one of the terrorists began shooting at the chancery. The other threw a flash grenade at the unarmed guards, who attempted to contact a group of marines located at a nearby command post. They didn’t get through; the embassy’s single radio frequency was busy. Seconds later, the truck’s payload detonated. Embassy employees had not been trained to lie on the floor and seek cover — like others in nearby buildings, many were looking out the window. Bushnell recalls the violence and confusion in her book, writing: “An explosion from the street below drew us to the window. I was the last to get up, and I had moved only a few feet from the couch I was sharing with Commerce Minister Joseph Kamotho when a loud wave of freight-train force hurled me back across the room. Everything dimmed. Shadowy figures silently moved past me. Then nothing. I woke to find myself alone.” Bushnell and other survivors made an agonizing journey through the rubble, down endless flights of stairs and out to the street below, where carnage and mayhem waited. The Accountability Review Boards later reported that while the embassy remained structurally intact, it was massively damaged, with much of its interior reduced to rubble. Secondary fragmentation from flying glass, internal concrete block walls, furniture and fixtures blinded and disfigured hundreds of people. The Ufundi Building, located adjacent to the embassy, collapsed, killing scores, while two nearby buses filled with passengers were incinerated. Fearing hospitals would be overwhelmed, Bushnell and some other survivors were transported to the Serena Hotel to seek medical care. Though her physical injuries were not serious, she’d lost 44 colleagues. In total, 213 people were killed in the Nairobi attack. The U.S. government response was disorganized and chaotic, exacerbated by insufficient numbers of press officers and increasingly hostile local media coverage. Nearly all the victims were Kenyan, and while the American government later announced a $42 million aid and reconstruction package for Kenyan victims, most did not receive any form of medical compensation. “To deny medical benefits just because they were born in the wrong country? This is a wonderful example of people doing things right versus doing the right thing. You know that compensating them is the right thing to do, but you want to do things right because, ‘We can’t afford it, it’s not our fault, we were

PHOTO: STATE DEPARTMENT

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pays his respects to the victims of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya during a wreath-laying ceremony on March 11, 2018, in Nairobi.

victims too,’” she said. The Accountability Review Boards ultimately determined that despite the chronic, glaring security problems, no single person was at fault for what happened. Although she was vindicated, Bushnell found herself facing crippling grief at the loss of her colleagues, “commander’s guilt” for failing to protect her staff and post-traumatic stress disorder — all taboo subjects for Foreign Service members. “To be a victim of terrorism is different than being a victim of natural disaster. One of the reasons people terrorize civilians is that it leaves them feeling isolated. Who else has experienced this? In an organization like the Department of State, which gives minimal attention to mental health issues, the imperative to act normal, or to have the tear at the side of your eye that never comes down, is very real. What was not tolerated was frustration and anger. And I stepped over the line on that and continue to,” she said. The government’s response only made things worse. The American public was transfixed by the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Washington pushed for a return to “business as usual,” leaving survivors feeling forgotten and ignored. No American government official debriefed Bushnell after the attacks. Congress held no hearings about the bombings, and the mandatory Accountability Review Board focused only on narrow security issues. During the trial that followed in 2001,

Bushnell also learned about “the wall” between American intelligence agencies — a bureaucratic power play that kept the CIA and FBI from sharing critical information with each other and other stakeholders. “Had the FBI shared information with the CIA or the U.S. ambassador and Kenyan intelligence, I don’t think we would have been blown up. And after we were blown up, nothing changed. The CIA still refused to share information with the FBI and so on, and it

continued to be a losing strategy,’” she said. The failure to connect the dots among different agencies was glaring: Osama bin Laden and his Nairobi cell had been on the radars of the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency since about 1996. He had already been secretly indicted for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center that was widely seen as a test run for 9/11. The date of the Kenya bombing, Aug. 7, also took place exactly eight years after U.S. troops entered Saudi Arabia during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait — a move that infuriated bin Laden because of the presence of Western troops close to the Islamic holy sites of Medina and Mecca. Two days before the bombs ripped through the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, bin Laden gave a media interview in which he said the “terrorism we practice is of the commendable kind.” A map of Africa was behind him. And according to news reports, roughly six months after the Nairobi and Dar es Salaam bombings, bin Laden ordered his top operative to begin planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Let down by the American government and still seeking answers, Bushnell hopes that publishing her account of events will help set the record straight. “I refuse to allow this to be a meaningless event, and I want our narrative to be out there. It’s important for the public record and for the people in Nairobi, who took the brunt of the attack and got nothing, just nothing. It’s easy to forget that only 12 Americans died in the attacks.” WD Paige Aarhus (@paigeaarhus) is a freelance writer working in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

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WD | Middle East

Putting Syria Back Together After Seven Years of Fighting, Reconstruction Faces Rocky Road in War-Torn Nation BY JONATHAN GORVETT

fter seven years of bombing, shelling, gunfire and killing, there is little of Syria today that remains untouched by this terrible conflict, which has killed roughly half a million people and displaced half of the country’s prewar population. In some areas, street after street lies in ruins, while whole communities have disappeared. In many areas, too, there is no electricity or running water, few functioning phone lines — or even functioning roads, schools or hospitals. “Half of Aleppo has been razed to the ground, the same with Homs and Deraa,” Riad Kahwaji, founder and CEO of the Dubai- and Beirut-based INEGMA consultancy, told The Washington Diplomat. “Ghouta, east of Damascus, is mostly destroyed. Major cities and towns are in ruins, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people and millions of refugees. The war in Syria has been totally devastating.” This crater-strewn landscape is now the subject of another fierce international debate, too, as the U.S., Russia, Iran, the European Union and the Gulf states – as well as the Assad regime and the remaining opposition – argue over the thorny question of potential reconstruction. In this debate, it is not just the daunting size of the task that is the major stumbling block, either. There is also the complex international and national political landscape. Backed by Russian airpower and Iranian manpower, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has largely beat back the uprising that erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring. After years of supporting a constellation of rebel groups, the U.S., Gulf monarchies and Turkey have all but given up on the demand that Assad step down ahead of any political transition (also see “Proxies Maneuver to Resolve Syria’s War, But Assad Isn’t Going Anywhere for Now” in the February 2018 issue). As of press time, the Syrian government had tentatively begun an offensive to recapture the last rebel stronghold in Idlib province, home to nearly 3 million people, at least half of whom have been displaced from other parts of the country. The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe for civilians if the government launches a full-on assault on the thousands of opposition fighters hunkered down in Idlib, many of them hard-core jihadists. Even if a bloodbath is averted in Idlib, any eventual peace talks will be marked by fierce battles at the bargaining table among the different players in Syria’s civil war who now want a say in how that war winds down. Although greatly diminished, U.S.-backed rebels will want to retain some sort of influence in negotiations. Washington, however, is more preoccupied with preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State and containing Iran — objectives shared by Israel and Jordan. Turkey is primarily focused on preventing American-backed Syrian Kurdish forces from amassing territory along its border. Meanwhile, extremists such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have lost significant ground but still pose a threat. And although Russia and Iran are ostensibly aligned in protecting Assad, their interests diverge. Iran, which has expended significant blood and treasure to keep Assad in power, will fight to maintain a long-term presence in Syria, regardless of any Russian attempts to constrain its ambitions. Russia, having secured its naval base in Syria, its sole foothold in

6 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO: UNICEF / OMAR SANADIKI

On March 20, 2018, in Eastern Ghouta, one-month-old Judy arrived with her mother Samira and grandfather at one of the schools sheltering families fleeing the former rebel stronghold; the baby received medical care at a UNICEF-supported mobile health clinic. In April, Eastern Ghouta, which sits close to Damascus, was overtaken by Syrian government forces in an assault that left the area in ruins.

“

The U.S. position is to say to the Russians, ‘You broke it, you own it.’ Moscow has to deal with it — and is now realizing how hard that is.

”

RIAD KAHWAJI, founder and CEO of INEGMA (Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis)

the Mediterranean, will want to play a key role in the peace process and exert its influence in the region but avoid becoming entangled in a massive nationbuilding effort. On Aug. 3, Arshad Mohammed and Phil Stewart of Reuters reported that Russia had reached out to America’s top general and proposed that the two countries cooperate to rebuild Syria. According to the article, the plan “received an icy reception in Washington” — not surprising given President Trump’s repeated vows to extricate the U.S. from foreign conflicts. Russia’s idea to repatriate millions of refugees back to the war-torn country — many of them Sunnis who opposed Assad’s rule —was also met with widespread skepticism. But the fact that these debates are even taking place is a sign of how the devastating conflict has fundamentally shifted to a new diplomatic endgame. And experts say reconstruction may be the only leverage the international community has left to help broker a resolution to the war. Indeed, reconstruction is now very much a card in play, as national and international powers jostle for position in what may be the final act of this longrunning tragedy.

MAJOR COSTS Estimates of the cost of rebuilding Syria vary

wildly — partly because the war is still far from over. In terms of the cost of the conflict so far, however, a U.N. estimate of $388 billion has wide currency, while in July 2017, the World Bank put the cost of the war to the Syrian economy at $226 billion. These numbers are different from the likely cost of reconstruction, however, which the Assad regime estimates at $195 billion. That figure is likely on the low end, with other estimates pegging reconstruction costs at anywhere from $350 billion up to $1 trillion — staggering sums considering that Syria’s entire GDP just before the war was $60 billion. In any case, the final figure is likely to be far in excess of anything the regime itself — or its Russian and Iranian allies — can afford. “National revenues in Syria are quasi-nonexistent,” Joseph Daher, a Syrian-Swiss economist at the University of Lausanne, told The Washington Diplomat. “The Syrian government’s entire budget was a bit more than $5 billion last year, so it would take the regime a very long time to reconstruct. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran don’t have the financial capacity to do this, as both have deep-seated economic problems of their own.” As an example of the regime’s financial straits, homeowners in the largely pro-regime Damascus suburb of Adra Al-Omalia were recently asked to pay up to 40 percent of the reconstruction costs of their properties themselves, according to local media.

Few are likely to be able to afford this, given high inflation, unpaid salaries and shortages of everything from materials to labor. In all likelihood, then, what funds the regime and its allies can provide will go toward restoring key strategic infrastructure, rather than to major urban reconstruction — particularly in areas that were once rebel-held. “There are main arteries that I think the government will likely give attention to,” Nader Kabbani, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center, told The Washington Diplomat. “The corridor from Damascus to Aleppo and the roads to the coast, principally. The parts to worry about, though, are the minor arteries, the areas of resistance and those where the population has fled.” In those areas still outside the regime’s control, some reconstruction funds have been raised already by the U.S. and its coalition allies, although so far on a relatively small scale. In August, the U.S. pulled back from committing some $230 million it had earlier allocated for projects such as fixing water systems and digging up unexploded ordnance, saying it had, however, raised $300 million for the same purpose from its partners. This money is for reconstruction work in the area of Syria currently held by the largely Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – roughly a third of Syria’s territory, mostly in the northeast. In August, Saudi Arabia made a $100 million contribution to the “stabilization efforts” in this region, earmarking areas that had previously been occupied by the Islamic State. Turkey has also funded some infrastructure work in the areas of northwestern Syria that it controls, as well as in Idlib, where Ankara fears the pending government assault on the last rebel enclave will spark a refugee crisis on its southern border. All this is clearly a drop in the ocean, however, with a large-scale mobilization of international funds necessary if Syria is to ever fully rebuild.

PHOTO: UNICEF / OMAR SANADIKI

On March 15, 2018, a man carries a child in a suitcase as he walks toward Hamourieh, where an evacuation exit from the besieged Syrian city of Eastern Ghouta had been opened.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT Russia has been pushing for such a mobilization for some time, targeting several potential sources. Firstly, there is the United States. Washington has, however, imposed sanctions against Syria since before the Arab Spring and has since strengthened them. This a major block to any investment in the country’s reconstruction from businesses worldwide, anxious to stay out of court and in business with the U.S. Another deterrent is that Syria lacks the energy resources that helped oil-rich Iraq attract investment to help with its post-war reconstruction. Even with that oil wealth, Iraq is still struggling to rebuild. International donors have consistently been unwilling to offer the country significant funding. Meanwhile, the U.S., which did pump tens of billions of dollars into Iraq’s

reconstruction — only to see much of it go to waste — won’t be doing the same thing in Syria for a war it did not start. At the same time, Washington has maintained a clear position that reconstruction in Syria cannot begin until a satisfactory, internationally sanctioned political deal has been struck on the country’s future. “There is not going to be, by international agreement, reconstruction assistance to Syria unless the U.N. — not Moscow, not Washington, not any other capital — the U.N. certifies, validates that a credible and irreversible political process is underway,” David M. Satterfield, acting assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said in an Aug. 17 briefing. “That’s the door to getting what we believe the regime [and] Russians very much want, which is international money flowing into the wreckage that is presently Syria.”

More recently, the Trump administration’s representative for Syrian engagement, James Jeffrey, told reporters that the U.S. was staying in Syria beyond year’s end and “not in a hurry” to achieve Washington’s objectives of defeating the Islamic State and ensuring an Iranian departure. To do that, the U.S. will embark on a major diplomatic push at the U.N. and use economic tools such as possible sanctions and withholding reconstruction aid to prod Russia to rein in Iran’s proxy forces in Syria. “The U.S. position is to say to the Russians, ‘You broke it, you own it’,” said Kahwaji. “Moscow has to deal with it — and is now realizing how hard that is.” Then there is the European Union, which also has had a regime of sanctions in place against Syria for some time, albeit less robust than Washington’s. EU leaders are, however, under domestic pressure over the numbers of Syrian refugees in their countries. A settlement in Syria would certainly quell public worries about more refugees streaming into Europe. Yet, “while the EU has a lot to gain from a settlement,” said Daher, “they are also clear that they shouldn’t participate if the current regime remains.” Then there is China. Assad has played off the good relations that Damascus has enjoyed with Beijing throughout the conflict, with $2 billion in Chinese investment in Syrian industry pledged back in 2017. It remains unclear, however, how much of this has actually been delivered. Indeed, “the Chinese are pretty hardheaded,” said Khawaji, “and they do not enter areas of political dispute. If there was a U.N.sponsored resolution for Syria, yes, they would come in, but without this and with continuing conflict, I very much doubt they’d make any major moves.” Finally – and perhaps more promisingly – SEE S YR IA • PAGE 46

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THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 7

WD | South Asia

Pakistani Puppet? Experts Wonder If Imran Khan Will Steer Islamabad’s Foreign Policy, or Follow Army’s Orders BY JOHN BRINKLEY

akistan’s new prime minister, Imran Khan, gave a 70-minute inaugural speech on Aug. 18 that included almost nothing about foreign policy — this at a time when Pakistan’s relations with its neighbors and the United States are in serious disrepair. The reason for this is that the prime minister has very little to say about Pakistan’s foreign policy. The army controls that. “This is politically rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Georgetown University associate professor C. Christine Fair about Khan’s election. “In Pakistan, the army tells the prime minister what to do.” That doesn’t bode well for improved relations with Afghanistan, India or the United States. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif “tried to improve relations with the Taliban and India, but the military blocked him,” said Aparna Pande, a South Asia expert at the Hudson Institute. “The army has never been asked to significantly justify its budget,” Fair said. “It gets what it wants. It doesn’t even have to submit a budget.” It also seems to have gotten what it wanted with Khan’s election. In fact, the army is suspected of interfering with the July 25 election to help Khan win. It stationed about 370,000 troops at polling places and the government gave the army authority to transport ballots to and from polling stations. It also allegedly threatened candidates, particularly those affiliated with Sharif ’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. Many experts say the former prime minister stepped on the military’s toes not only by reaching out to Pakistan’s archrival India, but also by taking on terrorist groups that the army and intelligence services tacitly condoned. In July, Sharif was convicted on corruption charges related to his family’s ownership of several expensive properties in London. While allegations of corruption are nothing new for the Sharif family dynasty, many suspect that his imprisonment was part of a military-led strategy to keep the threetime prime minister out of power. Consequently, “the majority of [Khan’s] countrymen don’t see his election as legitimate,” Pande argued. For years, Khan, a wealthy former cricket star and notorious playboy, seemed like an unlikely political leader. But over the last two decades, he has transformed himself into a populist advocate for the poor who has embraced conservative Islam and relentlessly campaigned against bad governance and endemic corruption.

8 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

Khan’s anti-corruption platform resonated in a country where 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. And although his electoral chances were boosted by the army, the charismatic politician does enjoy broad support among Pakistanis disillusioned with the status quo. At the same time, while there is little doubt Pakistan is rife with graft, it remains to be seen if Khan will tackle corruption at the highest levels. “Corruption in the army is just rapacious,” but Khan is not likely to try to do anything about it, Fair said. Sharif tried to take on the generals and lost. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison (although a court suspended the sentence shortly after the election). “No one, other than Sharif loyalists, doubts that [he] was corrupt,” Madiha Afzal, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in a July 6 Los Angeles Times article. “The question is whether he would be facing this had he appeased the military rather than taken it on, and the answer is probably not.” Khan is not likely to make the same mistake. Since Pakistan’s partition from India in 1947, the army has staged three coups and has controlled the country’s foreign policy. Powerful army leaders backed Khan’s election, which suggests that they see eye to eye on foreign policy. Khan said he supports closer ties with China and a more “mutually beneficial” relationship with the U.S., criticizing American drone strokes against suspected jihadists on Pakistani soil. Khan is also known to share the army’s affinity for the Afghan Taliban, although the Pakistani government “insists it has no relationship with the Afghan Taliban,” Pande said. The United States has been at war against the Afghan Taliban for 17 years. The administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump have been frustrated by Pakistan’s seeming indifference to the outcome and refusal to help in any meaningful way. Experts say that’s because Pakistan is more concerned with India gaining a foothold in neighboring Afghanistan than it is with terrorist groups that cause trouble for Kabul or Washington. U.S. officials have long accused Pakistan, particularly its spy services, of playing a double game, helping the U.S. root out certain extremist groups while turning a blind eye to others that serve Pakistan’s geostrategic interests. Islamabad counters that it has suf-

PHOTO: BY AL JAZEERA ENGLISH - RAISING THE FLAG IN SWAT / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS CC BY-SA 2.0

Pakistani forces captured Baine Baba Ziarat, the highest point in Swat Valley, on May 12, 2009, as part of an offensive to clear the area of Taliban militants. The U.S. has long complained that Pakistan’s army turns a blind eye to certain terrorist groups that further its foreign policy agenda in Afghanistan and India; Islamabad counters that it has lost far more lives fighting jihadists since 9/11 than the U.S. has.

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This is politically rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic…. In Pakistan, the army tells the prime minister what to do. C. CHRISTINE FAIR

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associate professor with Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program

fered far more casualties in the post9/11 fight against extremism than has any other Western nation. Khan said Pakistan has borne “the brunt of the war on terror” since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. The mutual recriminations have led to deep mistrust on both sides. When Obama ordered the May 2011 raid in Pakistan in which U.S. Navy Seals killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the U.S. government didn’t tell Pakistani leaders about it, for fear that they would tip off bin Laden. More recently, Trump suspended $300 million in military reimbursements to Pakistan for allegedly not do-

ing enough to rein in terrorist groups. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also warned that the U.S. would veto any potential bailout from the International Monetary Fund to Pakistan because he said the government would use it to pay off its ballooning debt to China. Pakistan continues to accept billion-dollar loans from China, which has been building the infrastructure for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Pakistan’s total foreign debt is reported to be about $95 billion. That is more than 30 percent of the country’s GDP. The government is considering

asking for a bailout of between $10 billion to $15 billion from the IMF. “There’s no rationale for IMF tax dollars — and associated with that, American dollars that are part of the IMF funding — for those to go to bail out Chinese bondholders or China itself,” Pompeo said on July 30. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has said it wouldn’t use any IMF money to pay off China or any other foreign creditor. Rather, it would use the funds to facilitate exports. Money has always been a point of contention between Islamabad and Washington. Pakistan says it has spent billions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of its officers to clear out the lawless tribal regions along the Afghan-Pakistani border — at Washington’s behest. U.S. officials point out that they have given Pakistan billions of dollars in economic and military assistance — with little to show in return. Fair even accuses Pakistan of giving some of the U.S. military aid money to the Taliban. “I’ve been a proponent of cutting off Pakistan since 2004,” she said. “The army was taking money from the U.S. with one hand and giving it to the Taliban with the other…. What have we gotten for all this money?” That sentiment was echoed by Trump in a January tweet: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” While past U.S. presidents have not been as blunt, they, too, have temporarily cut assistance when tensions flared. But at the end of the day, most U.S. policymakers realize they have little choice but to co-

PHOTO: STATE DEPARTMENT

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Pakistan’s newly elected prime minister, Imran Khan, in Islamabad on Sept. 5.

operate with Pakistan, a nuclear-armed, Muslim-majority tinderbox of 200 million people that suffers from deep-rooted sectarian strife and sits at the heart of one of the most unstable regions in the world. Michael Morell, former acting CIA director, told Mike Allen of Axios that “Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world,” in an Aug. 4 report on global threats “The main reason the military has a grip on decision-making is because of a long-held and now mistaken belief in Pakistan that India is an existential threat to Pakistan and that Islamabad must do everything it can to protect itself from that threat,” Morell told Allen. “One of the areas in which this plays out is in Pakistan’s support to jihadists — in short, its support to terrorists fighting India. That support bleeds

over to extremists who want to overthrow the Pakistani state itself, including al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban.” In fact, Islamic militants have killed thousands of Pakistanis in recent years, many of them Shiites, in spectacular attacks that highlight the growing schism between secularism and religious extremism in the volatile nation. On that note, just as America can’t fully turn its back on Pakistan, Islamabad needs Washington, not only to help fight extremism at home but also to tackle bread-and-butter issues such as widespread unemployment, a failing electricity grid and an increasingly unsustainable debt load. “No Pakistani leader is going to ask for a rupture of the relationship with the United States. Both sides realize that they need each

other,” said Moeed Yusuf of the U.S. Institute of Peace. “I don’t think there are any good feelings” for Pakistan in Washington. “They will have to work together. So for now, it seems, both sides will continue going through the motions. Pompeo met briefly with Khan and other Pakistani leaders on Sept. 5 in Islamabad. Little if any progress was made in improving relations between the two countries or in getting Pakistan to help the United States in Afghanistan. One bright spot, however, might be that Khan — an ethnic Pashtun like many Taliban — may help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, a strategy the Trump administration has embraced to wind down the war in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry released a statement after the meetings saying, “The two sides agreed that present conditions in Afghanistan were conducive to intensifying efforts for a political settlement.” The State Department said that Pompeo had “emphasized the important role Pakistan could play in bringing about a negotiated peace in Afghanistan and conveyed the need for Pakistan to take sustained and decisive measures against terrorists and militants threatening regional peace and stability.” But Fair said Pakistan’s relations with the United States were not likely to change with Khan in power. “It looks at first blush like something new,” she said. However, “he’s not a modernizer.” In essence, “the prime minister is the mayor of Islamabad.” WD John Brinkley is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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WD | United States

Securing the Vote U.S. States Race to Protect Voting Machines from Hacking Ahead of Midterm Elections BY RYAN R. MIGEED

he 2018 midterm elections are only weeks away but experts remain split — or at least cautiously optimistic — over the question of whether states are fully prepared to keep their election systems secure. Voters in all 50 states will go to the polls on Nov. 6 to choose their representatives in the U.S. House and a number of state and local elections. Thirty-three states hold elections to decide one of their U.S. senators, and 36 will choose their governors. The 2016 presidential election was marred by accusations that Russia hacked Democratic Party emails and engineered a disinformation campaign that used inflammatory social media posts to sow discord among voters. While America’s intelligence community has unanimously concluded that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 election, President Trump has been loathe to admit that Russia may have meddled in the race to tilt the outcome in his favor. Nevertheless, the intelligence community has stood by its findings and sounded the alarm that American democracy remains susceptible to outside influences. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has said the country’s digital infrastructure is “literally under attack” and that Russia is “the worst offender.” “These actions are persistent, they’re pervasive and they are meant to undermine America’s democracy on a daily basis, regardless of whether it is election time or not,” Coats said at an event in mid-July at the Hudson Institute. He added that nearly two decades after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “the warning lights are blinking red again.” Coats said that Russia is potentially targeting the 2018 elections, although the effort is “not as robust” as the one in 2016. Nevertheless, he vowed that securing the election process is a top priority of the administration, despite the president’s public ambivalence on the issue. Trump recently issued an executive order to impose sanctions on countries or individuals that interfere in the upcoming elections, but lawmakers say the order is not enough because it relies on the discretion of the president. Rather, many support bipartisan legislation that would mandate penalties on those found to have meddled in the elections. Meanwhile, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have pledged to crack down on fake accounts and protect their networks from foreign manipulation ahead of the midterms. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s recent indictment of 13 Russian nationals and 12 Russian spies has provided experts with a detailed blueprint of how Kremlin-linked operatives hacked Demo-

10 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO: ROB CRANDALL / SHUTTERSTOCK

U.S. states are racing to secure their voting machines ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 6, when voters in all 50 states go to the polls to choose their representatives for the U.S. House; 33 states hold elections for the U.S. Senate; and 36 choose their governors.

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The most important recommendation to secure elections at the state level seems counterintuitive in an increasingly digital world: using voting machines that leave a paper trail, instead of relying exclusively on internet-based machines that can be hacked.

cratic computer systems and used social media to wage “information warfare” on Americans in 2016. In particular, a Russian troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency used thousands of fake “bot” accounts and deceptive advertising to attack Hillary Clinton and “spread distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” according to the indictment. Perhaps less well publicized, however, is the revelation in Mueller’s investigation that Russian-linked hackers also “stole information related to approximately 500,000 voters” and probed election websites in Georgia, Florida and Iowa for vulnerabilities. Over the summer, President Obama’s former cybersecurity czar, Michael Daniel, testified before Congress that Russian hackers likely scanned the election systems of all 50 states. While there hasn’t been any evidence to show that Russia infiltrated these election systems or altered the vote count, recent discoveries demonstrate that it wasn’t for lack of trying.

VULNERABLE BALLOTS Indeed, beyond online propaganda campaigns and cyber attacks on candi-

dates, there’s another weakness in the U.S. electoral process that has received considerably less attention: the vulnerabilities among state voting machines, which are often connected to the internet and operated by staff who aren’t trained in information technology. A Politico survey of election upgrades in all 50 states released in mid-July found that most states’ election offices have failed to fix their most glaring security gaps and few states are planning steps that would improve safeguards before November. The biggest fix seems counterintuitive in an increasingly digital world: Most experts recommend using voting machines that leave a paper trail, instead of relying exclusively on internet services that can be hacked. Another recommendation is simply better informationsharing with federal officials. But even as experts raise the alarm about potential security lapses at the state level, the White House allegedly pressured one Senate committee to hold a bipartisan bill aimed at improving the security of those election systems, according to original reporting by Yahoo News. On Aug. 22, the Senate Rules Commit-

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tee, chaired by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), abruptly postponed its markup (a final review of a bill) of the Secure Elections Act, introduced by Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma. The bill would grant every state’s top election official security clearance to receive threat information, formalize information-sharing between the federal government and states regarding threats to electoral infrastructure, and incentivize the purchase of voting machines that leave a paper trial, according to the Yahoo report by Alexander Nazaryan. It was expected to come to a full Senate vote in October. As of this writing, the bill’s fate is uncertain, although Lankford disputed the account that the White House was behind the delay in an Aug. 28 statement to The Diplomat. “After multiple conversations with the White House over the weekend, it is clear they did not request to postpone last week’s markup. I’m grateful to Chairman Blunt for his leadership to markup this bill in the Senate Rules Committee, and I look forward to it being rescheduled in the days ahead. This is an important bill that I will not let fail. SEE ELEC T ION S • PAGE 12

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Elections CONTINUED • PAGE 10

I look forward to working with members and groups that have technical concerns with the text of the Secure Elections Act as we continue to walk through its passage,” Lankford said in the statement. Some state officials oppose certain measures in the Secure Elections Act, specifically a requirement that each state conduct a post-election audit to verify the election result. Secretaries of state, the officials responsible for state and local elections, have argued that the requirement is an unfunded mandate, according to reporting by Tim Starks for Politico. Audits require manpower, which means more time on the clock for state workers and the vendors responsible for ensuring that voting machines operate properly. There was also some dispute over what a successful audit would entail. The original language of the Secure Elections Act “effectively mandated paper-based audits,” but that language was stripped at the behest of state officials and voting machine vendors, according to Starks. The removal was decried by election integrity advocates who say electronic audits will be worthless during a cyber attack. Costs to maintain and upgrade the security of voting machines can also be prohibitive for state budgets. In Indiana, which received a failing grade this year in an election security assessment by the Center for American Progress, it’s estimated to cost between $22.7 million to $35.6 million to replace the state’s voting machines, according to a report by the Associated Press. (The cost estimate comes from the Brennan Center for Justice, a law and policy institute that has become a leading resource on American elections.)

FUNDING BOOST Fortunately for state governments, last year’s federal budget appropriated $380 million in funds to assist states in securing their voting systems. The funds will be used by 41 states to improve election cybersecurity, with 34 states using the grants to purchase new voting machines, 29 states improving voter registration systems and 24 states using the funds for post-election audit activities, according to a press release from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. “There are certainly steps that we can take today to make the 2018 elections more secure,” Liz Howard, counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program and a former deputy commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections, told The Diplomat. Election officials can do “commonsense things” like make sure they have enough backup paper ballots for every registered voter in the event of a voting machine failure, Howard said. “If you are in a jurisdiction that uses e-pollbooks, administrators can make sure there are paper pollbooks,”

PHOTO: PIXABAY

Congress appropriated $380 million in funds to help states protect their voting systems against cyber hacks, although many state governments say more money is needed.

she added, referring to the lists poll workers use to look up voters. The need to have paper backups has become a common theme in the discussion around election security. “Georgia is among 14 states heading into Election Day using touchscreen, computerized machines that don’t meet federal security guidelines because they produce no paper record — so voters can’t verify their choices and officials can’t audit the results,” Margaret Newkirk reported for Bloomberg on Aug. 10. These machines are used statewide in Georgia, Delaware, Louisiana, New Jersey, South Carolina and in at least some polling stations in nine other states, according to Newkirk’s report. Virginia is the only state to have decertified and replaced all of its paperless voting systems after the 2016 election, which Howard coordinated as deputy commissioner, according to the Brennan Center. Virginia officials acted quickly to have new voting machines up and running in time for the state’s 2017 elections. But not all states are acting with the same urgency. Some state officials have said that the $380 boost in federal funding is a good start, but that more money is needed to make sweeping changes. On the flip side, Eric Geller of Politico reported that some states are not taking advantage of the money already offered to them. “Only 13 states said they intend to use the federal dollars to buy new voting machines. At least 22 said they have no plans to replace their machines before the election — including all five states that rely solely on paperless electronic voting devices, which cybersecurity experts consider a top vulnerability,” Geller wrote in a July 18 article. “And fewer than one-third of states and territories have requested a key type of security review from the Department of Homeland Security.”

DHS’S ROLE The Department of Homeland Security has taken center stage as the agency responsible for defending state election systems from hacks —

12 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO: BARBARA KALBFLEISCH / SHUTTERSTOCK

or at least preparing states to do so themselves. While the FBI has investigated hacks after they happen, and the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command evaluate possible cyber threats, DHS is filling the gap of responsibility for the security of core U.S. infrastructure, including election systems. “DHS is working with election officials in all states to enhance the security of their elections by offering support and by establishing essential lines of communications at all levels — public and private — for reporting both suspicious cyber activity and incidents,” a DHS official told The Diplomat. The department “has been committed to working collaboratively with those on the front lines of administering our elections — state and local election officials and the vendor community — to secure election infrastructure from risks,” the official added. On Aug. 22, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told reporters that the Trump administration is “working with election officials in all 50 states” to identify and help manage risks. Nielsen also called on election officials in all 50 states to ensure that every ballot used in the 2020 presidential election is “verifiable and auditable.” “Secretary Nielsen has said over and over and over again that election security is national security,” Howard told The Diplomat.

STILL NOT PREPARED Despite the increased attention that high-tech election tampering has received, the U.S. has “failed to protect the 2018 election,” according to Alex Stamos, who was until recently chief security officer of Facebook and is now an adjunct professor at Stanford University and a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution. In an Aug. 22 article for Lawfare, Stamos pointed to recent news that Microsoft unveiled a phishing scheme by a hacking group tied to Russian intelligence as an indicator that hostile actors have not been deterred from committing cyber attacks. Meanwhile, Russia’s 2016 “playbook” is now in the public record, enabling others to commit copycat attacks — not only against Democrats, but also Republicans, Stamos warned. North Korea, China and Iran all have sophisticated cyber capabilities and at least one of them has followed Russia’s lead. On the same day that Microsoft exposed the Russian phishing scheme, Facebook revealed “more than 600 accounts that were being used by Russian and Iranian groups to distort the information environment worldwide,” Stamos wrote. Just this past summer, Sen. Claire McCaskill, a vulnerable Democrat running for re-election in Missouri, was targeted by the Russian intelligence hacking group known as

“Fancy Bear,” according to a report in the Daily Beast. McCaskill is one of three congressional candidates who have been targeted by Russia, according to Microsoft executive Tom Burt, who first revealed the hacking attempts at the Aspen Security Forum in July. To protect U.S. elections from the kind of interference conducted by Russia during the 2016 presidential election, Congress has taken up the Honest Ads Act introduced by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and the late John McCain (R-Ariz.). Because Russian interference involved paid digital advertising and the creation of internet personas and advocacy groups meant to look like real Americans, the Honest Ads Act would establish new disclosure requirements and hold social media companies accountable for maintaining databases of entities purchasing ads on their platforms. “The bill creates a framework for updating campaign finance law for the 21st century, making a broader swath of online activity subject to transparency requirements and the ban on spending by foreign nationals,” Lawrence Norden and Ian Vandewalker wrote in an op-ed last year for the Brennan Center. While Facebook and Twitter executives have endorsed the act, and appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a Sept. 5 hearing to discuss potential new regulations, the bill has yet to come up for a vote in Congress. At least one state has taken the lead in protecting its elections from fake online ads. California passed its own legislation to strengthen disclosure requirements for paid digital ads in political campaigns. But as the example of California shows, the response to election interference has been disjointed and ad hoc. Just as the federal government is deadlocked on how to protect American democracy from foreign meddling, individual U.S. states also struggle to find a unified, comprehensive solution to the problem. Some are taking the initiative by working with federal agencies and the private sector to safeguard their voting machines, thwart cyber attacks and limit the spread of foreignfunded fake news. Others are constrained by finances and others by sheer complacency — even when the help is right in front of them. For example, on Aug. 30, Valimail, an email security firm, announced that it would offer its email protections for free to state and local election officials and political campaigns through the 2018 midterm elections. It follows Cloudflare and Synack, which have also offered their services at no cost to help secure election systems, according to a report by Taylor Hatmaker for TechCrunch. Valimail also offered the same email fraud prevention service to the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee at no cost through the 2020 U.S. presidential election. So far, no candidate, election official or party organization has taken Valimail up on its offer. WD Ryan R. Migeed (@RyanMigeed) is a freelance writer based in Boston.

Cover Profile | WD

Accelerating Change Jamaica Hosts Launch of Initiative to Make Caribbean World’s First Climate-Smart Zone BY ANNA GAWEL

igns of climate change are becoming harder to ignore, in our own backyard and around the world. Hurricane Florence inundated the Carolinas with deadly flooding and storm surges. Massive wildfires estimated to be 10 times the size of San Francisco consumed California this summer. Heat waves shattered records on every continent north of the equator, from Sodankylä, Finland, near the Arctic Circle (which reached 90°F); to Quriyat, Oman, (which reached a low of 109°F — the hottest low temperature ever recorded on earth). This summer of punishing heat also knocked out entire electrical grids, threatened food supplies and killed hundreds people from Canada to Greece to Japan. In fact, heat is now estimated to kill more Americans than floods, hurricanes or other national disasters. Since modern record-keeping began, 17 of the 18 hottest years have taken place since 2001. Scientists warn that this is not only the new norm, but that the worst may be yet to come as we continue on a potential trajectory to warm the planet by 4 degrees Celsius by 2100. That’s far beyond the 2 degree Celsius rise in temperatures that is considered the tipping point at which scientists fear life on parts of the planet will become unsustainable for humans. The scorching temperatures choking millions of people from Idaho to India have made a mockery of Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe’s infamous display three years ago on the Senate floor where he held up a snowball to prove that climate change is a hoax. Yet deniers like Inhofe still abound. Most prominent among these skeptics is President Trump, who withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, leaving the U.S. as the only country in the world to abandon the landmark accord. His administration has embraced fossil fuels as a cornerstone of its energy agenda while steadily rolling back President Obama’s signature climate initiatives to cut fuel efficiency standards for cars and phase out coalfired power plants. Meanwhile, the debate over whether humans contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists overwhelmingly say are warming the planet still rages in many GOP circles. In the Caribbean, though, which often finds itself on the frontlines of Mother Nature’s fury, the debate over climate change is a moot point. For these islanders, the issue is not an academic one — it is an existential one, as rising seas, ferocious hurri-

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PHOTO: LAWRENCE RUGGERI

I think for a long time, we had accepted hurricanes and other disasters as kind of a given. We are now in a fighting-back mode. AUDREY MARKS ambassador of Jamaica to the United States

canes, floods, droughts and other extreme weather patterns threaten their very survival. The 2017 hurricane season only served to highlight how vulnerable these nations are. Two monster, backto-back category-five storms, Irma and Maria, barreled through the Caribbean last fall, pummeling islands such as Dominica and Barbuda. They were part of a string of hurricanes that upended millions of lives, decimated infrastructure and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, setting the development of certain islands back decades. In Dominica alone, not a single tree was left standing after Maria plowed through the once-verdant landscape. On their own, tiny islands like Dominica don’t stand a chance against the magnitude of storms like Maria and Irma. Together, however, they’re discovering the power of collective action. Audrey Marks, Jamaica’s ambassa-

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dor to the U.S., said the small nations of the Caribbean are becoming less complacent and increasingly joining forces to tackle climate change head on. “I think for a long time, we had accepted hurricanes and other disasters as kind of a given. We are now in a fighting-back mode and that’s when more engagement is happening and that’s when we’re going to start seeing results,” Marks said during a lengthy interview at the Jamaican Embassy in August.

FULL SPEED AHEAD Marks spoke to us shortly after her country hosted the launch of the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator in the capital of Kingston, which The Diplomat attended. The Accelerator is an unprecedented venture whose goal is to turn the Caribbean into the world’s first climate-smart zone. It began as a commitment made at

French President Emmanuel Macron’s One Planet Summit in Paris last December and has since expanded to include 26 Caribbean nations along with over 40 private and public sector partners. Among them is the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which has pledged $1 billion in funds toward the Accelerator, and big names such as eight-time Gold Medal Olympian Usain Bolt and Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of the Virgin Group and one of the key drivers behind the initiative. Branson was on hand for the Aug. 9 launch of the Caribbean ClimateSmart Accelerator at the University of the West Indies, where he said that the initiative will not only strengthen the region’s resiliency against climate change, but also spur much-needed job growth. “Our goal is ambitious. Our goal is bold. We want to create the world’s first climate-smart zone showing that climate action, economic growth and sustainable development go hand in hand,” said Branson, wearing a light blue T-shirt, flip-flops and his signature shock of white hair that stood in stark contrast to the buttoned-up diplomats, entrepreneurs and experts in the audience. “Less than a year ago, several Caribbean islands were hit by Hurricanes SEE C AR IBBEAN • PAGE 14 THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 13

PHOTO: PIXABAY / LISA LARSEN

Grenada is working to protect its low-lying capital against a rise in sea levels, which could destroy its beaches and tourism industry.

Caribbean CONTINUED • PAGE 13

Irma and Maria in the space of a couple of weeks. The winds unleashed by these storms were more ferocious than anything any of us had ever witnessed. None of us were prepared. I certainly wasn’t,” said the British magnate and philanthropist, whose own private island in the Caribbean was ravaged by Irma. “While many Caribbean islanders very tragically lost everything they own to Irma and Maria, I’ve been in these parts long enough to know that very few would lose their spirit. I never had any doubt that people from all across the Caribbean would bounce back, not by simply replacing what’s been lost and returning to business as usual, but by forcibly rejecting the idea that destruction and suffering will become the new normal,” Branson said. “So the Accelerator was born to break down barriers, to aim high and to show the world what a climate-smart zone can and should look like — not just as a defense against hurricanes and disasters, but to help make the Caribbean an even better place to live and visit, while tackling poverty, creating great jobs and delivering robust economic growth,” he added. Angus Friday, Grenada’s former ambassador in Washington, was also instrumental in establishing the Accelerator. Like Branson, he stressed that time is of the essence. “Giving birth, as we know, takes time. But if you want to accelerate anything in the Caribbean, what better place to start than Jamaica. Jamaica’s prime minister was one of the first to sign onto this ambitious initiative,” Friday said at the Kingston conference, noting that record-smashing Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt will also serve as an ambassador for the Accelerator. “Speed is so necessary because quite frankly we are out of time,” Friday warned. “One of the most salient remind-

ers was last hurricane season that devastated nine of our territories. No crisis must go to waste, and we have a oncein-a-generation opportunity to turn tragedy into opportunity. Our small but nimble Caribbean nations can be petri dishes for innovative solutions, policies and robust technologies that will contribute to a sustainable planet.” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness echoed the frustrations shared by many smaller developing states that are bearing the brunt of a phenomenon caused by their wealthier counterparts. “We didn’t start climate change,” he said. “But we have to pay the cost, and the cost to us is real.” Back in Washington, Marks told us that the Accelerator will deliver real results because it’s based on action, not rhetoric. “Part of what we used to suffer from in the Caribbean is that we make announcements and then after the announcement comes a celebration. But what we see now, which is very encouraging, is you have the announcement come a year after the hard work has been done to put all the pieces together,” she said. “This is how we operate in business.” Marks, a prominent businesswoman herself, praised the Accelerator for embracing concrete, pragmatic goals. “They are measurable, they are realistic and achievable and, most important, they are time-bound, so it gives us a lot of confidence that this is not a talk shop. This is something that will make a difference.”

PHOTO: ADRIAN CREARY / CARIBBEAN CLIMATE SMART ACCELERATOR

At the launch of the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator in Kingston, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness joked that the only “climate-smart” person in the muggy auditorium was Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, who wore a T-shirt and flip-flops. So the billionaire mogul went up on stage and loosened Holness’s tie and jacket for him, eliciting laughter from the audience.

CREDIT: U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS MICHAEL MOLINA

A picture of Dominica before and after Hurricane Maria illustrates the storm’s devastation: The island was once renowned for its lush landscape, seen below. Above, a U.S. Navy helicopter flies over the now-barren hills of Dominica as part of a humanitarian mission following Maria, which knocked down every single tree on the island.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS Marks said she is also optimistic about the ambitious undertaking because of the sheer number of supporters behind it. She cited organizations such as the IDB, World Bank, Organization of American States, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the grouping of 15 Caribbean nations known as Caricom (whose chairmanship is held by Jamaica this year). Just as important are the

14 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO: BY DIRK.HELDMAIER - OWN WORK / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS CC BY-SA 3.0

wide range of private sector partners, both large and small. Among them are Airbnb, which has started a program for hosts to open their homes to disaster survivors and relief workers free of charge, and Zero Mass Water, which makes clean drinking water essentially out of air by using thermodynamics and other technologies (which are currently providing drinking wa-

ter to two major hospitals in Jamaica for the next 15 years). Other business partners include heavyweights such as Microsoft, Tesla and, of course, the Virgin Group, whose founder said that by banding together, the small islands of the Caribbean can play an outsize role on the world stage. “It’s truly remarkable that 26 Caribbean nations have

supported the work of the Accelerator — countries with a combined population of 40 million people inhabiting 1 million square miles,” Branson said, noting that when you add in the private sector and multilateral institutions backing the program, “that’s a powerful coalition.” “There’s an old African adage that says if you want to go fast, you go alone. But if you

want to go far, you go together. This is the spirit of the Accelerator,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, who announced that his organization would provide $3 million in start-up funds to get the Accelerator off the ground, with the first tranche of $1.5 million available this year. “Rather than being a collection of small nations struggling against international threats, the Caribbean will become an alliance capable of leading the world in overcoming the challenges related to weather and environmental extremes,” he said. Moreno, a former Colombian ambassador to the U.S., conceded that “the sheer scale and complexity of climate change can overwhelm decision-makers, leading to paralysis.” But that’s exactly why the Accelerator is unique, because it’s geared toward practical, tangible solutions, Moreno said, citing projects such as electric vehicle fleets, energyand water-efficient buildings, storm-resilient infrastructure, stronger disaster management systems that use technologies like artificial intelligence, and sustainable agricultural and tourism practices.

REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS All of those projects get to the core of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator’s mission, which is to improve resiliency and disaster preparedness; invest in renewable energies; and develop sustainable cities, oceans and transportation. On its face, the Accelerator can sometimes sound like many other development schemes that throw out lofty

rhetoric and mind-numbing jargon like “promoting socio-economic growth” and “catalyzing innovative, dynamic partnerships.” But behind the buzzwords lie specific projects with real-world implications for millions of people. For example, former Ambassador Friday said that Grenada, with help from the Green Climate Fund, is investing $300 million to build the world’s first “climate-smart city” on the island, which in 2004 was torn apart by Hurricane Ivan. To do that, the country has enlisted urban planners to implement common-sense, grassroots solutions, such as fortifying the low-lying capital against a rise in sea levels. (An increase of just half a meter would destroy up to 83 percent of Grenada’s beaches, threatening its economic lifeline, tourism.) But that doesn’t mean erecting concrete fortresses around beaches that would deter tourists. Rather, one idea is to build natural barriers or pedestrian-friendly esplanades that act as de facto seawalls. The island is exploring other ways to adapt to climate change — for instance, planting mangroves, which store carbon and blunt shoreline erosion; diversifying its agriculture away from staples like nutmeg to more resilient crops like cocoa; and improving urban planning to prepare cities for the inevitable influx of people who flee rural areas when disasters hit. Many climate mitigation strategies don’t necessarily require high-tech innovations. They can be as simple as working with the environment, not against it. For instance, buildings can be designed to be more open and take advantage of tropical breezes, as opposed to glass-enclosed structures that require more air conditioning and are prone to damaging winds. Another obvious solution: strengthening and enforcing building codes. But as Friday pointed out, this takes money, which is why economic development is the best defense

PHOTO: NOAA

The 2017 hurricane season was one of the most active on record. Above, three simultaneously active hurricanes — Katia, Irma and Jose — are seen churning through the Caribbean on Sept. 7 last year.

against climate change. Economic vulnerability “is where you see countries really fall down,” Friday said. “In Bermuda, the country functions the next day after a hurricane. Why is that? Everybody has a concrete roof. Why is that? In Bermuda, the per-capita income is $75,000. In Grenada, it’s $7,500.” Marks saw this dynamic play out firsthand during a visit to Peru last year. “They had an earthquake and I didn’t even know because they had taken the initiative some years ago to [construct] their buildings and their hotels to be able to withstand a certain level of earthquake. And so I think the focus on being climate smart is going to shift how we do development.”

REBUILDING THE RIGHT WAY Marks admitted that this paradigm shift will take time, commitment and a concerted effort to convince developed countries to help smaller nations regularly battered by natural disasters, especially once the headlines fade and the next tragedy strikes. Donor fatigue coupled with the international community’s short attention span are universal dilemmas confronting small states like Dominica and Barbuda, which are still reeling from last year’s hurricanes. Didacus Jules, director general of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, who spoke at the Accelerator launch, said that Hurricane Maria killed 65 people in Dominica and

resulted in over $930 million in damages and $330 million in economic losses. That represents a staggering 225 percent of the country’s GDP in 2016. Recovery will take decades, if not longer. Dominica, a lush island that had been a regional breadbasket, instantly saw its agricultural and tourism sectors wiped out by Maria. “That’s a complete blast back to the past,” Jules said, noting that tens of thousands of Dominicans have fled the island — a brain drain that will further stymie recovery efforts. Jules said the country will have to fundamentally rethink how it should rebuild to brace for a turbulent future. He pointed out that the Caribbean experienced 1,325 storms from 1851 to 2004. “So the question of hurricanes as major disasters is not new to us. What is different is the fact that this is coming with unprecedented ferocity and frequency,” he said during a panel on smart cities at the Kingston conference. That conference, in fact, took place the same day news broke that Hurricane Maria killed over 1,400 people in Puerto Rico, a far higher estimate than the initial death toll of 64. Since then, that figure has skyrocketed to nearly 3,000 dead, a sobering reminder that even the richest nation on earth struggles to cope with the aftermath of catastrophic storms. Marks said she was satisfied with the initial response to last year’s rash of hurricanes but that global attention has since waned, a common problem for countries trying to rebuild after disaster. “What we do know from our Caricom partners is that the recovery process is very slow for the countries that were most affected” by last year’s hurricanes, she said. “They are open for business, but in terms of the population and

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general infrastructure being back to where they wanted to be, it’s still a slow process. But at the same time they are taking the lesson of this experience to look at their rebuilding in a smarter way.” For its part, Jamaica has built a global resiliency center to bring together research and best practices not only on climate change, but “any form of disaster, including epidemics.” The government also established a ministerial-level position dedicated solely to the environment and climate change. Marks’s boss, Prime Minister Holness, said that while people continue to debate what exactly it means to be “climate smart,” for him the definition is simple: It means fighting climate change while fostering economic growth. And the two objectives, he stressed, are “compatible, not competing.”

ALL ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE But for many businesses and governments, promoting the economy while protecting the environment is not always compatible. Adapting to climate change is not cheap. It entails significant investments in upgrading homes, businesses and infrastructure — largely in countries that already struggle to meet the basic needs of their citizens. But Marks says the investment is worth it. “For me as a business person first and a diplomat second, there’s a difference between expense and investment. So when you spend a large amount of money, it’s written off as an expense because it’s a short-term return.” In contrast, investing in climate resiliency yields long-term dividends. Marks cited the example of burying electrical cables underground, a costly endeavor. “But the government doesn’t have to take that on by itself. The private sector entities are pushing that because building the resilience of the electricity service makes sense … because when you have a hurricane and you lose power for a week or two, that impacts your bottom line.” Likewise, businesses have to financially prepare for climate-related disruptions. “When you plan a budget, even though you put in contingency, you hardly ever put in to be out of operations for a week, which is the minimum that will probably happen when a hurricane hits if it affects the fundamentals such as electricity and roads,” she pointed out. Marks herself has an extensive business background. Among her ventures were a 100-acre banana exporting farm, a transportation company and a real estate company. She is perhaps best known for having founded Paymaster (Jamaica) Limited, an online payment system she began in 1997.

PHOTOS: PIXABAY / PEGGY UND MARCO LACHMANN-ANKE

Although Jamaica has struggled with crime such as drug trafficking and a new “lottery scam” targeting American pensioners, its tourism industry is booming, with a record 4.3 million tourists visiting the island last year.

As an entrepreneur, she understands the importance of factoring climate change into any business plan. In fact, that’s why she moved away from banana exports, which are vulnerable to droughts and floods, to cash crops that can be turned around more quickly. The ambassador said the Caribbean is powerless when it comes to curbing global greenhouse emissions (Caricom members produce less than 0.25 percent of the world’s total). However, as an influential coalition of 26 small states, the region can flex its economic muscle to prod larger nations to rein in their emissions. “Emissions are mainly out of our hands but we have a role to play … by increasing our lobby power at the U.N., at the World Bank, etc. For a long time, we became complacent. Now, if we become a thorn in the side of the countries that are causing … the most greenhouse gas emissions, we can have some impact because we have enough numbers. And most of the countries that are responsible [for climate change] do business in our countries and want to continue to do business in our countries.”

BUSINESS APPROACH TO DIPLOMACY Marks’s emphasis on the bottom line in many ways mirrors President Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy. Marks says she doesn’t have a problem with Trump’s “America First” agenda and argues that other governments should adapt to the former real estate tycoon’s unorthodox governing style. “It’s very clear that President Trump and this administration are very focused on what they believe will work best for America. And so I think there is a bigger onus now on the wider global community to continue the dialogue and to really

16 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

prove why it’s essential for U.S. interests to remain involved” in issues such as climate change, free trade and immigration. But Trump has railed against international agreements that he says rip off American taxpayers. Marks concedes that “it’s not the usual diplomatic approach, but it makes sense for the mandate that the administration came in on. So the rest of the world has to recognize and respect that mandate … and show why the investment is worth it to the American people.” That’s precisely what Jamaica and its partners at Caricom are trying to do — leverage their collective economic might to stay on the administration’s radar. “The Caribbean Basin countries represent over $50 billion of non-oil imports from the U.S., so the region that I’m representing is the seventhlargest importer of goods and services from the U.S. For this administration, that’s a big plus because they have a trade surplus with us and we are a consistent consumer, which leads back to [American] jobs.” She said Jamaica has “excellent” relations with the administration, as

well as Congress and agencies such as the Departments of Labor, Defense and Homeland Security. The country is currently working with the Commerce Department on an upcoming road show that will tour various U.S. cities to drum up investment in Jamaica, which last year welcomed a record 4.3 million tourists, a dramatic jump from the 2 million who visited the island just seven years earlier. In addition to trade and tourism, security is a cornerstone of the bilateral relationship. “We share a common border — we call it the third border of the U.S.Caribbean, so this is very critical for the U.S. in these times of uncertainty to ensure they have a continued interest in what happens along that third border,” Marks said. “We have stressed to the U.S. that you cannot withdraw from the Caribbean because you create a vacuum for others to come in, and in the bigger game of geopolitics, you do not want to create empty spaces or vacuums on your doorstep or in your backyard.” In 2010, Kingston was rocked by open shootouts between a power-

ful drug cartel and law enforcement. Since then, Marks says that narcotrafficking is down dramatically. But that doesn’t mean crime isn’t a problem. More recently, a new criminal enterprise has emerged called the lottery scam. “It is where persons will call mostly American pensioners and advise them that they have won the lottery and to send money to collect their goods,” Marks explained. “At this point it’s said to be more profitable than the cocaine trade because so much money is sent back by elderly pensioners.” Marks said her government has made targeting these lottery gangs a priority and is collaborating closely with the FBI, which has established an office in Montego Bay to deal with the issue. Despite significant strides that the government has made in improving safety and the economy, many Jamaicans have migrated to the U.S. in search of a better life. In fact, Marks says the U.S. is now home to over 1 million citizens of Jamaican descent. Marks said President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, both legal and illegal, is the diaspora’s number-one concern, which is why Jamaica is encouraging longtime green-card holders to apply for U.S. citizenship and vote in upcoming elections. But perhaps the biggest area of disagreement between the administration and Jamaica — along with its Caribbean neighbors — is climate change, a non-issue as far as Trump is concerned. Marks puts a positive spin on the president’s climate agenda, or lack thereof, saying his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord has provided the world an opportunity to make its case to climate skeptics in the U.S. “We have a responsibility to educate and build awareness of the reasons for our beliefs,” she said. “Sometimes you can be right, but if you’re arrogant about being right and the knowledge that you have, it doesn’t help to get a broad-scale consensus.” Marks added that “it’s easy for us to get complacent about our beliefs, but it’s important to recognize the world is dynamic and there are different opinions.” This is Marks’ second posting in Washington. She served here as ambassador from 2010 to 2012 during a very different political era under Barack Obama. But Marks plays down these differences. “I notice there’s a lot of angst. It is a big change in policy and direction, but I find that the institutions of the U.S. remain the same,” she said, admitting that “in some ways you can’t rely on the same old diplomatic playbook. You have to make sure you focus on aligned interests.” “So you might have different experiences, different leaders, but overall the way the U.S. operates is built by the institutions of the country, and those have not really changed much and in fact that’s part of what leads to the stability and strength of the United States.” WD Anna Gawel (@diplomatnews) is the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat.

Washington, D.C. | WD

Meridian’s New Mission Stuart Holliday Talks About Meridian Center’s Focus on Global Leadership BY AILEEN TORRES-BENNETT

he Meridian Ball is a big deal in a town of big events. This annual soiree for D.C. insiders started 50 years ago and will take place on Oct. 12 this year, with Meridian’s Global Leadership Summit occurring earlier that day. The evening will begin with ambassador-hosted dinners, followed by dessert and dancing at Meridian House, a historic architectural gem designed by the architect of the Jefferson Memorial (see story on page 27). The social importance of the ball reflects how the Meridian International Center has become a key connector in the nation’s capital. This nonprofit focuses on developing global leadership by creating opportunities for emerging and established leaders, from both the public and private sectors, to collaborate, learn from each other and exchange ideas. Founded in 1960, Meridian today has a $35 million budget, over 100 employees and a three-acre campus that helps it promote its diverse leadership and education programs. No matter who sits in the White House, Meridian continues to work with the government, particularly the State Department, and business leaders to foster public-private partnerships that promote innovation, economic growth and inclusion in an interconnected world. It advances this mission through a growing variety of exchanges, trainings, forums and cultural diplomacy. A look at recent Meridian-hosted events illustrates the center’s wide reach. In July, over 20 African women entrepreneurs came to Meridian to showcase products ranging from medicinal ointments to leather bags. In August, Meridian welcomed five hip hop artists from Uzbekistan as part of its Next Level musical exchange program. That month, the center also hosted its annual reception to celebrate embassy social secretaries, and in September, it fêted new ambassadors who recently presented their credentials. Meridian also organizes an array of discussions that touch on hot-button issues. Recent talks have tackled the state of the World Trade Organization; U.S.-Canada relations under President Trump; and economic prospects in Argentina and Colombia, featuring each nation’s ambassador. This October, Meridian officially launches its Center for Diplomatic Engagement, part of a series of programs to help D.C.-based diplomats glean insights into Congress, the administration and media. Speakers frequently include top representatives from both Democratic and Republican parties. As polarization increasingly divides Washington — and America — Meridian strives to provide a neutral forum for collaboration around the world and across sectors. The venerated lions of politics such as former Vice President Joe Biden and the late Republican Sen. John McCain often lamented what seems to be the passing of the old guard, namely politicians who respect their counterparts across the aisle, despite disagreements. Civility may appear to be a thing of the past in today’s rancorous, hostile political climate, but it still exists. The president and CEO of Meridian, Ambassador Stuart Holliday, is among the old-school type. He worked under President George W. Bush, assisting him with personnel appointments to the State

PHOTO: KRISTOFFER TRIPPLAAR

Stuart Holliday welcomes guests to the 2017 Meridian Global Leadership Summit.

“

Too often people see a binary choice between national interests and global affairs. It is important to educate people about how interconnected the global economy is, as well as how our security depends on alliances and international cooperation.

”

STUART HOLLIDAY

CEO and president of the Meridian International Center

Department and Defense Department, among other government agencies. Holliday also worked for the State Department, and from 2003 to 2005, he served as U.S. ambassador for special political affairs at the United Nations. Prior to that, he served in the Navy, including Operation Desert Storm. Holliday took over as head of Meridian from former U.S. Ambassador Walter Cutler in 2006. From his resume, you can tell Holliday is a Republican, but it’s doubtful he wants to be labeled at all. He even co-hosted “No Labels Radio” on SiriusXM back when Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah and now U.S. ambassador to Russia, worked on the show. Holliday brings his bipartisan philosophy to bear in his work for Meridian. He took a moment to share his insights on leadership, Meridian’s global

programs and this year’s big 50th anniversary ball with The Diplomat, along with a short trip down memory lane. THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT: Tell us a bit about the history of Meridian, its origins and how it became a force in the nation’s capital. STUART HOLLIDAY: Meridian was created in 1960, a time when the United States sought to engage leaders around the world to help strengthen connections and build relationships with them. Meridian House was originally purchased for its current use by the Ford Foundation. Over 55 years, Meridian has developed into a SEE MER IDIAN • PAGE 20 THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 17

WD | Nordic Vantage Point

Time to Trade Up Op-Ed: World Must Strengthen, Not Abandon, Multilateral Trading System

PHOTO: WTO/ CUIKA FOTO

The World Trade Organization hosts a business forum in Argentina on Dec. 12, 2017.

BY NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR KÅRE R. AAS

his month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is hosting its annual Public Forum, a three-day marathon of open discussion on the latest developments in global trade. As many as 1,500 participants from governments, civil society, business and academia will explore ways to strengthen the rules-based system that has guided international trade for more than 70 years. The topic this year, Trade 2030, could hardly be more timely. Issues such as sustainability, technology and inclusive growth will be key elements in shaping the global trading system for the 21st century. But the discussions in Geneva take place against a backdrop of rising trade tensions. The multilateral trading system is under pressure, and the challenges we face cannot be taken lightly. Underlying issues such as the rights and obligations of emerging economies need to be addressed, as do more specific issues such as transparency, subsidies, state-owned enterprises and technology transfer. In the pre-World War II years, protectionism and economic depression

18 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

“

Tensions in the multilateral trading system are bad news for billions of people throughout the world.

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KÅRE R. AAS, ambassador of Norway to the United States

shaped the world economy. In the years since, a liberal, rules-based multilateral trading system has fostered growth around the globe. Tensions in the multilateral trading system are bad news for billions of people throughout the world. It’s also bad for business, especially for small- and medium-size companies that cannot risk trading or investing in an unpredictable business climate. And it’s particularly damaging to the poorest countries. The multilateral trading system is a remarkable triumph for international cooperation. It is a result of countless small steps and careful compromise. What seems unlikely today may be tomorrow’s triumph. Safeguarding and strengthening that system, which has ushered in economic growth and other benefits throughout the world, should therefore be our top priority.

The Norwegian government is among those that have recently voiced concern over the state of world trade. We see a danger of increased instability in the world economy that could slow global growth. However, it is my personal experience that in trade policy — negotiations in particular — patience and trust are decisive factors for success. Early in my career, I was for some time part of the Norwegian negotiating team in the Uruguay Round. Long meetings, often running into the early hours, yielded results in the end. As a trading nation, Norway prefers agreed-upon rules and predictability. That is why we put so much effort into finding solutions. We are fully aware of the need to address underlying concerns. However, we don’t believe that protectionism is a good answer. And we don’t want to gamble with what works in order to fix what doesn’t. The challenges

are global; solutions should be multilateral. In my opinion, it’s about time for the entire WTO membership to reflect on the root causes of the tensions in the trading system. How each of us responds will have an impact on our common good. The principles of nondiscrimination, bound commitments and a rules-based system of dispute resolution are timeless. But trade in 2030 must be more sustainable and more inclusive. Let’s build on 70 years of dialogue between governments on the interface between individual countries’ political choices and the global common interest. Through shared norms, rules, regulations and dispute settlement procedures, member states seek to ensure that the global economy is based on international cooperation and an open, rules-based trade policy. Norway will continue to work toward this goal, pushing for reforms and multilateral solutions, so that the multilateral trading system can continue to benefit us all. WD Nordic Vantage Point is a series of columns written by Kåre R. Aas, who has served as Norway’s ambassador to the U.S. since September 2013, prior to which he was political director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo.

Medical | WD

Keep the Carbs Cutting Out Too Many Carbohydrates May Increase Your Odds of Early Death BY AMY NORTON

eople who slash carbohydrates from their diets may shorten their lifespan, a new study suggests. Using data on nearly 25,000 Americans, researchers found that the one-quarter who ate the fewest carbs each day also had a higher risk of dying over the next six years. Specifically, they had higher death rates from heart disease, stroke and cancer. The research was presented in late August at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Munich, Germany. While the study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect, experts said the findings spotlight the potential impact of such diets — or any “extreme” way of eating — on longterm health. Low-carb diets typically involve eating a lot of protein, mostly meat and dairy products, and consuming less vegetables, fruit and grains. The Atkins and Keto diets are two examples of this kind of eating regimen. In fact, a study published earlier this month linked both high-carb and low-carb diets to an earlier cancer.” death, said Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian The findings are based on data from a U.S. govwho was not involved in the new research. ernment study that surveyed 24,825 adults who In that study, researchers found that Americans were about 48 years old, on average. The particiwho typically ate a moderate pants were asked about their amount of carbs — 50 to 55 usual eating habits, including percent of their daily calories the amount of carbohydrates — lived the longest, on averthey consumed. Banach’s age. team divided them into four None of those studies groups based on the percentprove that the carb content age of carbs in their diets. of people’s diets was the key Overall, the one-quarter factor in longevity, Diekman with the lowest carb intake stressed. had a 32 percent higher risk But she said it all suggests of dying over the next six that, once again, moderation years, versus those who ate is the wisest course. the most. Their odds of dying “If you want to protect your from heart disease or stroke health — and work to help were about 50 percent higher, prevent disease — the best while their risk of death from advice is to avoid extreme cancer was 35 percent greater, eating patterns and focus on a the researchers reported. good balance of plant and anOf course, there may be imal food sources,” said Diekmany differences between man, who directs university people who opt for low-carb CONNIE DIEKMAN nutrition at Washington Uniover higher-carb diets: They university nutrition director versity in St. Louis. may be trying to lose weight, The study’s lead researcher for example. at Washington University cautioned on low-carb diThe researchers did acets, specifically. “Low-carbohydrate diets might count for people’s body weight, along with other be useful in the short term to lose weight, lower factors, such as smoking, exercise habits and inblood pressure and improve blood [sugar] con- come. And low-carb diets were still linked to a trol,” Dr. Maciej Banach of the Medical University higher early death risk. of Lodz in Poland said in a statement. The investigators then tried to confirm the “But,” he added, “our study suggests that in the findings by looking at data from seven long-term long term they are linked with an increased risk studies that followed more than 447,000 people of death from any cause, and deaths due to car- over roughly 16 years. Overall, people who ate the diovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease and fewest carbs had a 15 percent higher risk of dying

“

If you want to protect your health — and work to help prevent disease — the best advice is to avoid extreme eating patterns and focus on a good balance of plant and animal food sources.

”

PHOTO: PIXABAY / ENGIN AKYURT

during the study period, versus those who ate the most carbs. Dr. Todd Hurst is a cardiologist at Banner University Medicine Heart Institute in Phoenix. Like Diekman, he said the findings do not prove cause and effect. On a broader level, Hurst said, “I think the focus on macronutrients in the diet is misguided.” Macronutrients include carbs, protein and fat. And that information alone, Hurst said, says little about the quality of the diet.

LEARN MORE: The American Heart Association has advice on diet and lifestyle at www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/ healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/ aha-diet-and-lifestyle-recommendations. A carb-rich diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds is much different from a high-carb diet loaded with processed foods, he pointed out. Similarly, a low-carb diet that has a variety of whole foods differs from one based on meat and butter. “I tell my patients there is no single ‘healthy’ diet,” Hurst said. Instead, he suggests they avoid processed foods and get plenty of nutrient-rich whole foods. When it comes to losing weight and being healthy, Hurst said, it’s vital to make diet changes that you can keep up for the long haul. WD Amy Norton is a HealthDay reporter. Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 19

to collaborate across cultures, the ability to understand how to engage their stakeholders internationally and the ability to understand geopolitical risks and opportunities. There are many leadership organizations, but ours is unique in seeking to jointly serve U.S. and international leadership needs, as well as bringing different sectors together such as the diplomatic corps, the government, business and those who influence policy. The other major challenge is to point out that for the United States to be an effective leader in the world, we must be globally engaged. Too often people see a binary choice between national interests and global affairs. It is important to educate people about how interconnected the global economy is, as well as how our security depends on alliances and international cooperation.

Meridian CONTINUED • PAGE 17

major diplomacy and leadership institution in the nation’s capital working to educate and connect decision-makers and international leadership program participants, so they can collaborate on effective solutions to global challenges. From its early days, Meridian has gathered Washington’s diplomatic, government and business communities, as well as local civic leaders through programs, cultural exhibitions and, of course, the legendary Meridian Ball. THE DIPLOMAT: How has your approach and/or perspective evolved as a leader since taking over at Meridian? HOLLIDAY: I’ve learned quite a few things during my tenure at Meridian. First, you can’t do anything by yourself. It really takes a talented board and staff to achieve organizational goals. People are the most important resource we have, and I’m fortunate to have a great team. I’ve also learned to take a longer view of issues relating to U.S. foreign policy and global engagement. While policies change and new leaders are elected, there are some fundamental aspects to American international engagement that remain. Person-to-person interaction and bringing people together from different countries and cultures is an enduring and effective mechanism to promote shared security and prosperity. THE DIPLOMAT: What accomplishments are you proudest of so far in your tenure? HOLLIDAY: I’m proud that we have modernized and strengthened the institution while preserving the traditions that make it so special and unique in Washington. We have kept the same mission while including new partners and expanding our networks. The development of Meridian’s philanthropic councils is an example of that. We have terrific Corporate Council members as well as individual members of our Global Leadership Council and Rising Leaders Council, all of whom support our work through their financial contributions and engagement in events and programming that help advance diplomacy, global leadership and cross-sector engagement. Bringing in fresh approaches and new technology has also helped Meridian continue to progress. I’m equally proud of our work with the city of Washington and adding value to the local community. The State Department continues to be a vital partner of the organization, with which we have consistently worked across changing administrations. I’m pleased that we’ve been able to work through some very difficult times that have challenged budgets for international diplomatic programs and remain the nation’s

PHOTO: JOYCE BOGHOSIAN

Above, revelers gather at the Meridian International Center for its popular annual ball in 2016. Below, Meridian President and CEO Stuart Holliday talks to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a congressional co-chair of the 2017 ball.

leading implementing center for the International Visitor Leadership Program. THE DIPLOMAT: How does Meridian decide which projects to work on? HOLLIDAY: Meridian evaluates what issues and regions may be most relevant today and tomorrow to strengthen international cooperation. Our issue areas range from national security, energy and the environment to economic development and entrepreneurship, among many others. We also work on many projects with the State Department where our priorities reflect the direction of our foreign policy. While we do not advocate for any particular policy, we look for areas where there may be gaps in perception between the United States and another country and use our leadership, convening and cultural programs to help bridge those gaps and drive understanding. THE DIPLOMAT: Meridian’s top five project topics last year were media and journalism; security and defense; civic engagement; energy and the environment; and entrepreneurship. Can you talk about project highlights around the world for each topic? HOLLIDAY: Cybersecurity cooperation has become a major issue where we need to work with our partners to defend U.S. interests. We did a major joint effort with Mexico on water and the environment, which resulted in stronger cooperation between leaders in these fields on both sides of the border. Entrepreneurship is a major focus through our work with the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative — a former White House initiative now housed within the State Department — where we bring 250 entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States for experiential learning and

20 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO: STEPHEN BOBB

THE DIPLOMAT: The Meridian Ball will celebrate its 50th anniversary this October. Can you take us back to the beginnings of the ball and give us your perspective on why it has become a coveted invitation in Washington? HOLLIDAY: The Meridian Ball was created to engage the international diplomatic community with government, business and civic leaders across Washington, for the benefit of advancing Meridian’s mission. In the 1960s, embassy entertaining was limited to Hill contacts or business associations not on a social level with the rest of the city. Washington has changed significantly in those 50 years, including the development of a vibrant corporate community, but Meridian’s ball has maintained the same model of embassy-hosted dinners followed by the ball. I have noticed others seeking to replicate this format, but there is no substitute for the original. THE DIPLOMAT: The Meridian Global Leadership Summit occurs earlier in the day of the ball. Can you share some of this year’s highlights?

PHOTO: KRISTOFFER TRIPPLAAR

Ambassador of Mexico Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Ambassador of Finland Kirsti Kauppi and CNN’s Michelle Kosinski discuss the issue of border security at the sixth annual Meridian Global Leadership Summit last year.

capacity-building workshops, training and mentorships. The African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program is another example of how our work connects entrepreneurs across the continent by bringing them to the U.S. to experience American culture and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are increasingly central to promoting economic growth. Supporting a strong, independent media has been a longstanding program area here at Meridian, and we do this through our leadership programs, as well as through media and television cooperatives working with the Foreign Press Center. Energy is essential to economic

development and is important to both our public and private sector partners, and it’s a key issue area for programming driven by the Meridian Corporate Council. THE DIPLOMAT: Meridian’s objective is “advancing effective global leadership.” What do you find are the major challenges associated with trying to achieve this? HOLLIDAY: The first challenge is defining what we mean by global leadership. We have a very specific theory of change: Leaders are more effective when they have a global view, share ideas and understand culture and context — the ability

HOLLIDAY: The Meridian Global Leadership Summit is our flagship thought leadership event and our leading annual convening of diplomatic, business and government leaders in a neutral, nonpartisan forum to exchange ideas and collaborate on solutions to global challenges and opportunities. This year will focus on the increasing influence of digital technology and innovation and how it affects foreign policy and international business across related issues such as cybersecurity and the regulatory environment. Technology today underpins every aspect of our lives. This year some of our key presenters will be United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz; Tim Hwang, CEO of FiscalNote; and Molly Kinder, senior advisor on Work, Workers and Technology at New America. THE DIPLOMAT: Let’s get a little personal for the last question. You’re a child of diplomats, and you’ve worked in the upper echelons of government, including diplomacy. SEE MER IDIAN • PAGE 47

Education A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

•

October 2018

Smithsonian’s Secrets World’s Largest Museum, Education and Research Complex Holds Hidden Gems •

ay the word Smithsonian and lifelong Washingtonians and newcomers alike think of the museums that line the National Mall. But there is more to the 170-plus-year-old insti-

tution than those 11 museums. There’s the National Zoo, eight additional museums, mostly in Washington, D.C., research centers, cultural centers, gardens and programs to promote education and inter-

PHOTO: DANE PENLAND / SMITHSONIAN NASM-UHC

BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL

national collaboration. In fact, the Smithsonian Institution is largest museum, education and research complex in the world.

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is home to thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall.

SEE S MI T H S O NI A N • PAGE 22 THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 21

Smithsonian CONTINUED • PAGE 21

Many of its programs welcome visitors, but without knowing what’s on offer and where, you’d probably miss out on the best that the Smithsonian Institution, as the museums and programs are collectively known, has to offer. Here are half a dozen ways to get more out of the Smithsonian’s treasures.

PHOTO: NORWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY / SMITHSONIAN ASSOCIATES

There are, of course, the popular cooking lessons with big names like Italian personality Lidia Bastianich and French icon Jacques Pepin, as well as the history lessons on ancient Rome and World War II. But the focus of the events also LIVING HISTORY AND ranges from the incredibly specifically to the EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT oddly esoteric. Among them: programs on the Possibly one of the best-kept Smithsonian physical realities of the human brain as a responsecrets is Smithsonian Associates, which has sive organ; bridal traditions and wedding feasts in grown since its founding in 1965 to become India; intriguing professions like scientists who PHOTO: KARIN ZEITVOGEL the largest museum-based education program analyze the earwax of whales and the fecal matter in the world. The original idea behind Smith- Above, a few intrepid souls wade into the Potomac River during the Smithsonian of cheetahs; passports and how they’ve changed Associates’s tour of Civil War sites on Aug. 25, 2018. The Smithsonian Associates sonian Associates was to build an “especially hosts hundreds of events a year, including talks with prominent names such as J.D. our notions of identity; and a series on how emoclose relationship” between the institution and Vance, author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” top right. tions such as happiness, shame, anger and fear members of Smithsonian Associates, who, in have shaped 250 years of American history. exchange for an annual membership fee, get privileged access to special educational And this being Washington, politics is never far away, although here, too, the Smithand cultural benefits. sonian Associates puts a unique spin on our understanding of U.S. politics and foreign Today, members can take part in 750 programs covering everything from history to policy. For example, one recent program studied the long history of secret backchannel science to art, all inspired by the Smithsonian’s research, collections and exhibitions. diplomacy between the U.S. and Cuba. Another profiled the “Ghosts of Langley” and Non-members also have access to many of the programs but pay up to 50 percent more how CIA leaders past and present have shaped the spy agency. Another offered a peek to attend. (Memberships to Smithsonian Associates start at $50 a year.) inside the presidential retreat at Camp David. The costs are worth it, given the breadth of topics covered and the unique formats In fact, Smithsonian Associates offers Washingtonians and foreigners alike a firstoffered. There are concerts, tastings, lectures, tours and immersive all-day seminars. hand look inside the nation’s capital, from its up-and-coming restaurants to its storied The events themselves span the gamut — and the world. past. In August alone, for example, Smithsonian Associates hosted discussions and tastOne of the star events offered by the Smithsonian Associates is a daylong visit to ings on trends in South American and Australian wines; a practical guide on navigat- sites on the Potomac River that played key roles in the Civil War. On the last Saturday ing the bumps of air travel; a behind-the-scenes look at Smithsonian gems like the in August, a busload of Smithsonian Associates members and several non-members Ruby Slippers worn in “The Wizard of Oz”; an all-day science program on how hu- visited spots along the Potomac where Confederate forces crossed the river during mans and bees are inextricably linked; hidden hikes around the Beltway; a look at how America’s bloodiest conflict. On the itinerary was Rowser’s Ford, which today links garden herbs enhance the flavor of beer; a preview of the upcoming D.C. theater sea- Great Falls Park in Virginia with Seneca Creek in Maryland. Confederate Gen. J.E.B. son; and an exploration of how Catholic traditions are inspiring modern-day fashion. Stuart crossed from Virginia into Maryland with 5,000 cavalry troops in late June 1863,

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on the way to what was to be the decisive battle of Gettysburg. Swollen by heavy rain, the crossing was difficult and perilous. Other stops in the 21st-century Smithsonian Associates tour were Edwards Ferry, crossed by Gen. Joe Hooker’s Army of the Potomac on the way to Gettysburg; Young’s Island Ford, where Gen. Julius Stahel’s Union cavalry entered Maryland; and Conrad’s Ferry (known today as White’s Ferry), used often during the Civil War to cross the river. But the highlight of the day trip was White’s Ford near Dickerson, Md., a key river crossing during the Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate forces crossed the river here in September 1862, on their way to the Battle of Antietam, the singledeadliest day in the Civil War. Around 23,000 men died, were wounded or went missing during the battle. While the battle took an enormous toll on both sides, the retreat of Confederate forces from Maryland via White’s Ford allowed the Unionists to declare victory, which paved the way for President Abraham Lincoln to announce his Emancipation Proclamation freeing millions of African American slaves if they escaped the South. The 21st-century visitors to White’s Ford, including self-declared Civil War nerd and Smithsonian geek Mary Ellen King, were greeted by a band of musicians dressed in the period wool clothing of a Confederate band, along with descendants of Confederate officers and foot soldiers. After the band had sweltered through a series of songs from the epoch, the tour group headed down to the river to re-enact the many historic crossings made at White’s Ford during the Civil War. But just as Gen. Stuart found in 1863 at Rowser’s Ford, the river had been swollen by heavy rain, and, unlike the Confederate Army in the mid-1800s, Smithso-

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French chef Jacque Pépin speaks at an event hosted by the Smithsonian Associates.

nian Associates didn’t want to lose anyone. So although a few hardy souls did wade out about 30 feet, with the water up to their chests, the river crossing was canceled. Smithsonian Associates members and non-members will have to wait until the last Saturday in August 2019 for a chance to wade across the Potomac in the footsteps of Confederate officers and soldiers. “It’s worth it,” said King, who was not on her first visit to White’s Ford and has waded across the river in years when Maryland and Virginia had normal levels of precipitation. “It gives you a vivid picture of what they went through back then,” King said, adding that the water came up to her waist the year she crossed. “If you like learning by doing, Smithsonian Associates is the way to go.” In the meantime, Smithsonian Associates offers numerous other activities, including a four-part series on spies and insurgents who got caught, a tour of Arlington National Cemetery that focuses on Latino service members and a two-hour SEE S MI T H S O NI A N • PAGE 24

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At left, “Destination Moon” is among the many galleries at the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian’s most popular museum. Bottom left, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has attracted 3.5 million visitors since it opened in September 2016. And bottom right, the National Museum of African Art explores Senegalese fashion and jewelry in the new exhibit “Good as Gold,” featuring works such as Fabrice Monteiro’s “Signare #1.”

Smithsonian CONTINUED • PAGE 23

walk in the Enid A. Haupt Garden behind the Smithsonian Castle to soak up the Japanese tradition of “urban forest bathing,” all of which take place in October. There’s also a nature walk in November on Theodore Roosevelt Island near Reagan National Airport, an eight-session weekend on-location photography course or a visit in early December to New York’s Radio City Music Hall to take in a Christmas show.

PHOTO: NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

THE MUSEUMS Seventeen of the Smithsonian museums are in Washington, D.C. — 11 of them on the National Mall — and are free of charge to visitors. The newest of the D.C. museums, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, has, until recently, always required timed entry passes, which have to be obtained well in advance. But after welcoming 3.5 million visitors since it opened in September 2016 — 2.4 million of them in 2017, making it the fourth-most visited museum in the Smithsonian family — the museum launched a pilot program in April and May 2018 called walk-up Wednesdays where visitors could enter the popular museum on a first-come, firstserved basis in the middle of the work week. That program was rolled out again in September and extended to include all weekdays. The results of the pilot programs will be analyzed after September. Advance passes for October, November and December have already been distributed. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, located on the National Mall, is the most popular museum of the Smithsonian family, welcoming 7 million visitors in 2017. Its sibling, the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport in Virginia, was the sixth-most visited Smithsonian museum, with 1.6 million people. Both offer IMAX movies and flight simulators (for a fee), where aspiring pilots can see if they have the stomach for loop-de-loops.

Udvar-Hazy has the added attraction of housing the space shuttle Discovery, which moved into its new home after flying into Dulles on the back of a modified Boeing 747 in 2012. Hundreds of people packed into the grounds of the Udvar-Hazy center, and Washingtonians, Virginians and Marylanders — and doubtless many foreign visitors who were lucky enough to PHOTO: MARIANE IBRAHIM GALLERY be in D.C. that day — stopped on highways and in parking lots to watch as the shuttle flew over D.C. before landing at Dulles on April 12, 2012. From Dulles, the shuttle was wheeled oh-so-slowly to its new home in PHOTO: ALAN KARCHMER a hangar at Udvar-Hazy. The massive center is also home to the Concorde and the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The downtown Air and Space Museum is much easier to get to than UdvarHazy, which is a bus ride away from Dulles or the Wiehle-Reston station on the silver line of the Metro. Udvar-Hazy also has ample parking, but it costs $15 before 4 p.m. After that, it’s free — and the museum is open until 5:30 p.m., leaving plenty of time to see the shuttle and get in a simulator ride. For those who prefer the old-fashioned experience of looking at artwork instead of simulating flight, the Smithsonian museums are offering an eclectic mix

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of exhibitions this fall. The recently renovated Freer and Arthur M. Sackler Galleries are featuring two complementary exhibitions on Japanese photography and prints, examining how groundbreaking Japanese artists sought to document their rapidly changing nation. Meanwhile, the National Gallery of Art is hosting the first comprehensive survey of British sculptor Rachel Whiteread with 100 objects that chart the seismic changes in how we live, from the late 20th century and into the 21st. And the National Museum of African Art is exploring the beauty and complexity of Senegalese fashion and jewelry in “Good as Gold” (also see our monthly Events Calendar for a complete listing of international happenings around town).

CULTURE VULTURES The Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is best known for its annual Folklife Festival, which runs for two weeks in June and July on the National Mall. An “exercise in cultural democracy, equity, and diplomacy,” the 2018 festival shone a spotlight on artisans, performers, winemakers and more from Armenia and Catalonia (also see “From Bread to Fire, 2018 Folklife Festival Offers Taste of Armenia and Catalonia” in the July 2018 issue). In 2019, the theme of the festival will be the social power of music. Although we haven’t been able to confirm the line-up for next year, we at The Washington Diplomat are hoping it includes Estonia, where song was central to the peaceful protests that ended the long Soviet occupation in 1991, and South Africa, where music played a major role in the anti-apartheid movement. While the festival may be the visible face of the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the center has many hidden jewels, including exhibitions, recordings, documentary films and an archive collection of ethnographic and cultural heritage research. It also produces an online magazine that takes readers deep into the hidden workings of Washington and other destinations. The Folklife magazine featured an article in August on Stewart Stevens

PHOTO: GREGORY GOTTLIEB, RALPH RINZLER FOLKLIFE ARCHIVES AND COLLECTIONS, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Primarily a painter, Gayane Manucharyan represents a relatively small population of women stone carvers in Armenia, one of the countries featured in this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Sr., the man who cleaned the White House chandeliers for every president from Richard Nixon through George W. Bush.

THE FOOD You don’t have to gaze at museum exhibits to make the most of the Smithsonian Institution. Federal and other workers in D.C. have long trekked to the Mitsitam Native Foods Café in the National Museum of the American Indian for lunch. But Mitsitam took a hit last year when Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema gave it a paltry half-star rating in his spring 2017 dining guide. When Sietsema visited, Mitsitam ran out of salmon and what they had was akin to the tinned variety, only drier. There were also too many steak knives and not enough forks, and the Peruvian chicken lacked seasoning. Many visitors still rave about Mitsitam, though. In a five-star review on TripAdvisor, Noelle C. called the café “an awesome place to stop in and eat” and counseled even those who weren’t planning to go to the museum itself to “defiSEE S MIT HS ON IAN • PAGE 26

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Smithsonian CONTINUED • PAGE 25 Tortilla soup and salmon are among the offerings at Mitsitam Native Foods Café inside the National Museum of the American Indian.

nitely try the amazing cuisine to be had here.” Another reviewer who gave the restaurant top marks said eating at Mitsitam is “part of the visitor experience” and gave a few pointers and background information on the museum cafeteria. “The food offered comes from the Americas with recipes using only ingredients found in the Americas before … 1492,” wrote edisonw639. “The food stations are segmented by region like fairly quickly. The menu items are divided into cultural Pacific Northwest, Plains, MesoAmerica, Woodsections, ‘Creole Coast,’ ‘Northern States.’ ‘Agricultural lands which offer delicious dishes from those speSouth’ and ‘Western Range.’ I opted for the Creole cific areas. My favorite side dish is turkey with wild Coast offering of Duck, Andouille & Crawfish Gumbo rice, watercress & cranberries and the elk steak and it did not disappoint! I splurged on bread pudding cooked to order. The service is cafeteria style with for dessert. Worth the price and the line, to me!” a tray. I highly suggest visiting early in the week Another TripAdvisor reviewer urged people in PHOTOS: RENÉE COMET, RESTAURANT ASSOCIATES AND SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION and before 12 noon to avoid crowds.” search of a meal on the Mall to not be put off by the The most common complaint about Mitsilong lines to get into the museum and café. “Anyone who has gone to musetam is the price. One reviewer said a meal at ums will know that most of the food in museums are not the best fare and the cafeteria set them back as much as a sitgenerally have slim pickings for variety. Not so with Sweet Home Café. They down dinner in a restaurant. Main courses can have a huge selection, several buffet lines with good — what appears to be — run around $20. Mitsitam (it means “let’s eat”) home cooking. I have no fantasy that it is … but it is very good in comparison ranks 361st out of 3,545 restaurants in Washto other museums. We went for lunch here and were somewhat dismayed by ington on TripAdvisor. the long, long lines to just get in. However, the line moved fast and we waited Usurping Mitsitam as the go-to Smithsonat most 20 minutes.” Sweet Home Café is ranked 319th out of 3,545 restauian dining spot on the Mall is Sweet Home Café rants in Washington, D.C., on TripAdvisor. at the National Museum of African American If you’d rather learn about food than taste it (although you can still do that, History and Culture. Home’s too), then out the annual up “Smithsonian Food History Weekend: NOTE: Although every effortSweet is made to executive assure your ad is free of mistakes in spelling and check content it isfourth ultimately to the customer to make the final proof. chef Jerome Grant used to be at Mitsitam, in Regions Reimagined” from Nov. 1 to 3 hosted by the National Museum of The first two faxed changes madethe at Native no cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes will be billed at aOver ratethe of course $75 per faxed alteration. ads the are considered approved. fact, and will somebeblame American American History. of three days, the festivalSigned will explore Museum café’s downslide on his departure to history and changing dynamics of regional food cultures in the United States PHOTO: JUDY DAVIS / HOACHLANDER DAVIS Please check this ad carefully. PHOTOGRAPHY FOR SMITHSONIAN Mark any changes to your ad. the African American Museum’s café. with a bevy of celebrity chefs, cooking demonstrations, dance performances TripAdvisor reviewer ElkayEZ gave Sweet Home Café three stars for value and a black-tie gala. WD If the ad is correct sign and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs changes and five for its food offerings. “I was initially told to visit this museum purely for the food,” she wrote on 933-3552 TripAdvisor in AugustApproved 2018. “I thoroughly enjoyed the Karin Zeitvogel (@Zeitvogel) is a contributing writer The Washington Diplomat (301) __________________________________________________ entire museum but definitely loved the food. There was a long line but it moves for The Washington Diplomat. Changes ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Luxury Living A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

•

October 2018

PHOTO: MOLLY MCCLUSKEY

Putting D.C. on the Map The Meridian Is the Invisible Line That Runs Through Washington •

f you stand at Jefferson’s feet in the memorial built to honor him and turn your gaze north across the Tidal Basin toward the White House, you might not know it, but your gaze is following the

path of one of Washington’s four prime meridians — a circle of constant longitude passing through a given place between the earth’s surface and its terrestrial poles. The well-known prime

Two homes originally built for two diplomatic friends now comprise the Meridian International Center.

BY MOLLY MCCLUSKEY

meridian, for example, is an imaginary line that runs between the North and South Poles and divides the earth into two hemispheres. SEE D I P L O MAT I C A • PAGE 28

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE This article originally appeared in Diplomatica, a new multimedia exploration of the hidden histories of diplomatic properties in Washington, D.C., and around the world, from Molly McCluskey.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 27

Right next door. Pope had begun his career designing private homes, and in between designing some of the most CONTINUED • PAGE 27 prominent icons in the Washington landscape, Pope returned again and again to his early practice. Several of those homes now house embasIn D.C., this particular meridian was sies, and these two particular homes used by Americans as a starting point along 16th Street, across the street for mapping the continent. from Meridian Hill Park are now It’s invisible and unknown to anyone aptly the site of the Meridian Internot looking for it, but for those who seek national Center. it out, the signs are there. Between the It’s hard to imagine a Washington Jefferson Memorial and the glimpse of where two friends could decide they the White House visible through the want to be neighbors, buy sweeptrees surrounding the Tidal Basin, for ing tracts of land and have arguexample, three spots — the Jefferson ably the most prominent architect Pier, the Meridian Stone and the Zero in the country build them an estate, Milestone marker — all mark the way. but life in D.C. was different in the It’s easy to overlook this invisible line 1900s and such things were posin an area so enshrouded in history that sible. At this time, Meridian Hill was even the sidewalks have been stamped already taking shape as a neighborwith it. Further up 16th Street, however, hood, willed into being by Mary the line makes it presence known, in Henderson, the wife of a former landmarks named after it: Meridian Hill senator who wanted to make the Park, a number of apartment buildings enclave at the intersection of 16th and co-ops and, of course, the Meridian Street and Florida Avenue a haven House, headquarters of the Meridian PHOTOS: MOLLY MCCLUSKEY for senators, ambassadors and other International Center. The Meridian International Center has preserved many of its buildings’ original features, including a massive 17th-century socially “upstanding” people. Hentapestry depicting Alexander the Great meeting the Greek philosopher Diogenes. derson owned much of the land in GLOBAL AMBITIONS the neighborhood and would often hire her favorite architect to design a house on her property, It was Thomas Jefferson who erected many of those then sell it to a buyer who met her social criteria. (For a profit, points along the meridian, beginning in 1793 when he of course.) placed a post on the grounds of what now houses the Pope designed the first of the two houses, now known as the Washington Monument. In 1804, the post was replaced White-Meyer House, for Henry White, who served as the amby a small granite marker known as the Jefferson Pier. bassador to France and Italy, in 1912 for just shy of $150,000, That same year, Jefferson placed another marker on which wouldn’t buy much in the District these days, let alone what is now 16th Street. That marker is long gone, but a mansion on a hill. After White’s death, the house was sold to a plaque at Meridian Hill Park commemorates its exisWashington Post owner Eugene Meyer, who raised his children, tence. including daughter Katharine Graham, there. The idea of a meridian that would not only be for White’s friend, Ambassador Irwin Boyle Laughlin, who Washington, but for the world, took hold during Chesserved stints in Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan, Russia and ter A. Arthur’s administration. The 47th Congress held other countries, bought the neighboring land in 1912 and bean international conference focused on establishing gan building the Meridian House in 1920. Laughlin purchased Washington’s meridian as a global standard. a massive 17th-century tapestry depicting Alexander the Great Congress authorized the president to bring governmeeting the Greek philosopher Diogenes, with the intention of ment delegations to Washington “for the purpose of fixhanging it in the not-yet-built dining room. Pope used the diing upon a meridian proper to be employed as a commensions of the tapestry, still hanging today, to determine not only the scale of the dining room, mon zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the globe.” The effort wouldn’t be successful, and the grand Washington meridian was officially recog- but of the entire house, “in the interest of balance and symmetry.”

Diplomatica

nized neither internationally, nor at home.

A MEMORIAL ON THE WATER The site that is now the Jefferson Memorial was initially set aside in 1901 by the McMillan Commission, which called for a “round, domed, Pantheon-like structure around which were to be grouped the statues of illustrious men of the nation,” according to the National Park Service. This building was then to be surrounded by buildings containing baths, a theater, a gym and other structures. When those plans didn’t come to fruition, an artist named Alice Pike Barney successfully led the charge to put a theater on the National Mall, anyway. Reading the original plans, one wonders what the Mall would look like today if that vision had come to pass, and if instead of massive memorials spread out along a large stretch, we instead had memorials in one large Pantheon on the Potomac. And one only has to see park police chasing sunburnt tourists out of the World War II Memorial fountain in mid-summer to know that bath houses might have remained a major draw, even in modernity. In 1925, a design competition was launched for a memorial for Theodore Roosevelt to be housed on the Tidal Basin. The winning entry, crafted by an architect named John Russell Pope, failed to be funded by Congress and, again, the plans faltered. Luckily, Pope found other ways to keep himself busy.

CIRCLING A LINE By the time he won a competition that was a victory in name only, Pope was already well known in Washington. A prominent architect schooled in the Beaux Arts tradition, which still defines much of the historical architecture in D.C., Pope had served for five years on the Commission of Fine Arts, created to oversee the architecture and planning of Washington. In 1915, his newly finished temple to the Scottish Rite on Meridian Hill was called the “finest building of the year” by the Architectural League, and in 1932, the American Institute of Architects named it the fifth-most beautiful building in the world. Pope also designed the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Hall, the National Archives, the West Building of the National Gallery of Art and would later design, you guessed it, the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin.

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS A few years after completing the Scottish Rite Temple, Pope built a home just a few blocks away for a diplomat returning to the U.S. from a stint abroad. It was so well received that the diplomat’s friend, also a returning diplomat, requested that Pope build him a home, as well. 28 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PURER HERE THE AIR WHENCE WE OVERLOOK THE CITY The home stayed in the Laughlin family until 1958. It 1960, it was purchased by the newly formed Meridian International Center, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting international understanding. The center bought the adjoining property, the White-Meyer House (named after owners Henry White and Eugene Meyer), in 1987. Today, both properties retain many of their original features. The classical symmetry of the Louis XVI style can be found throughout the Meridian House, which is punctuated by some of the original furnishings, including wrought-iron and marble-topped side tables, four Waterford crystal torcheres in the corners, blue Chinese temple jars and an antique clock and barometer on the mirrored walls. Likewise, when the White-Meyer House underwent a major renovation in 1988 shortly after Meridian purchased it, the center worked to preserve much of the architectural detail, period hardware and the original garden filled with magnolias, witch hazels and weeping hemlocks planted by the Meyer family. And because the properties sit on a hill, they offer stunning sunset views of Washington. In fact, on the Meridian House’s rear courtyard door is a sign that reads, “Purior hic aer: late hinc conspectus in urbem,” which translates to, “Purer here the air whence we overlook the city.” The same quotation is inscribed on a house atop Rome’s Spanish Steps. In addition to preserving the original style of both homes, the Meridian International Center has also continued the tradition of hosting high-profile guests there. When the Whites presided over their estate, for instance, they frequently hosted social events with well-known guests such as French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, Senate Majority Leader Henry Cabot Lodge and President Warren G. Harding. During Meyer’s time, he welcomed John F. Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt, among other famous figures. Today, high-powered guests from Congress, the administration and around the world continue to grace the halls of the Meridian for its various functions, including discussions, exhibitions and its popular annual ball (see story on page 17). Among its other roles, Meridian serves as a welcoming and orientation center for new ambassadors arriving in Washington. It also offers a variety of public events such as weddings, including tours upon request. “We are Washington’s home for diplomats,” said Natalie Jones, the senior vice president for external affairs at Meridian. “We are an embassy to all embassies.” And many of those embassies can still be spotted along an invisible line that runs through Washington, through history and through the legacy of the architect who designed them. WD To subscribe to Diplomatica, nominate an embassy to be profiled or sponsor an issue, contact Molly McCluskey at diplomaticadc@gmail.com.

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Culture arts & entertainment art

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October 2018

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THEATER

Fire in the Kitchen “Like Water for Chocolate” uses food as metaphor to tell the fantastical tale of a family at its best and worst, dished up with emotion and imagination. / PAGE 33

ART

Career Transitions In “Transitions: Coloring My World,” Hector Torres embraces the next chapter of his life after retiring from the hotel industry and returning to his first calling: art. PAGE 34

COROT’S

PHOTO: MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, PARIS, ON DEPOSIT AT THE MUSÉE D’ORSAY, PARIS / © RMN-GRAND PALAIS / ART RESOURCE, NY / PHOTO BY HERVE LEWANDOWSKI

“Corot’s Studio: Pensive Woman Seated before an Easel, a Mandolin in Her Hand”

SCULPTURE

The Real Deal Artist Jim Sanborn shows us the skill behind forged antiquities and how high-end reproductions can help protect the real thing. PAGE 35

WOMEN

“Corot: Women” reveals a lesser-known side of the French artist known primarily for his landscapes but who also had a career-long love of women — an admiration that grew and evolved over his lifetime. / PAGE 32 THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 31

WD | Culture | Art

Corot’s Women National Gallery Looks at Lesser-Known Side of French Landscape Icon •

BY MIKE CROWLEY

Corot: Women THROUGH DEC. 31 NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART ON THE NATIONAL MALL BETWEEN 3RD AND 9TH STREETS AT CONSTITUTION AVENUE, NW

(202) 737-4215 | WWW.NGA.GOV

“C

orot: Women” at the National Gallery of Art reveals a lesser-known side of JeanBaptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875), an artist known primarily for his landscape work and for connecting neoclassical French painting to the impressionist movement. Some key components of Corot’s background can be PHOTO: THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, POTTER PALMER seen in his work before they are read in his biography. COLLECTION / ART RESOURCE NY He was educated; his family had money; he was both Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot painted a familiar with and passionately interested in the classics. range of women in an ever-evolving He was also ambitious. Corot was driven to attain adstyle over his long career, as seen in mission to the Paris Salon, the establishment authority works like, from top clockwise left: that fueled impressionism by spurning early works by “Jewish Woman of Algeria,” “Interrupted members of the movement. Reading,”“Woman of the Swiss It would take years, though, for Corot to earn the reHighlands” and “Italian Woman spect of Salon critics. The eventual recognition he gar(Woman with Yellow Sleeve).” nered in the mid-1840s was largely for his landscapes. He traveled extensively throughout France and Italy, some indifference. The painting capturing the natural light of his surroundings in presents a combination of pleasPHOTO: PRIVATE COLLECTION works that foreshadowed impressionism’s focus ant elements (a beautiful woman, a on plein-air painting. pleasing landscape, a nice melody), Corot loved his landscapes so much that he but the woman seems to be a pasreportedly said the only goal he could faithfully sive factor in her own scene. commit to in life was painting them. Or perhaps in Corot’s eyes she But Corot also clearly loved his women. He ofis the inspiration for it, as nearby ten idealized them and depicted them with a soft, paintings suggest. Corot painted deft touch that added to their allure. In fact, the the muses of “History” and “Poartist painted women throughout his prolific caetry” as sources of his era’s prereer, but these works were rarely exhibited during dominantly male work in both his lifetime. fields. But as inspirational figures, At the National Gallery of Art, we see Corot’s they are somewhat uninspiring. figural oeuvre with 44 paintings consisting of Both are languid, clutching scrolls nudes, single figures in costume and a late series in which they cannot even pretend of allegories focused on the artist’s studio. to be interested. They seem to sugIn the course of the show we meet “Woman gest poetry and history as pursuits with a Large Toque and a Mandolin,” “Woman of if someone can’t think of anything the Swiss Highlands,” “Jewish Woman of Algeria” better to do. and the feminine muses of poetry and history. By “Interrupted Reading” PHOTO: PRIVATE COLLECTION His subjects are individualized and described (1870), Corot has shifted his apgenerously, but they remain anonymous. They proach. He starts to give us enough information to sketch a backPHOTO: THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON often balance their heads on their hand or gaze story for his subject. The title alone says the woman is put-upon; distractedly in the distance. Only very occasionally, and later in his career, does Corot she’d rather be reading. Her direct gaze backs this up. Not particularly looking to talk, have them meet our gaze, and his titles give them stories that start to explain their she’s waiting for the intrusion on her solitude to pass. This woman doesn’t exist solely circumstances. for the male gaze. She’s the opposite of the muse figures Corot produced just a few The painting to the left of the exhibit entrance, “Italian Woman” (1872), starts us years earlier. “Inspire yourself,” we can almost hear her say. “I’m busy.” near the end of the artist’s life. The woman is posed classically, but casually; there is an Corot also places women in the artistic driver’s seat. The exhibit features a series of informality and openness to her that invites conversation. Perhaps most important, as portraits of a woman in the studio at an easel, her back to the viewer. Corot’s studio, the exhibit’s wall description points out, Corot paints her apron like an impressionist we are told, was a social hub where young artists sought him out as a mentor and would. where he stored paintings that weren’t viewed publicly. Impressionism saw female The Salon des Refusés, an exhibition of artists denied entry to the official Paris painters like Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot achieve prominence. Corot’s interest Salon, which traditionally conveyed the mark of excellence in French painting, had in depicting women as artists may reflect this trend and his belief in it. Regardless, taken place nearly a decade earlier in 1863 and had served as a catalyst for the impres- by the end of his career, Corot seems to have experienced a shift in attitudes about sionist movement. Corot had his first painting accepted by the Paris Salon in 1827 women, away from remote models of inspiration and toward actors with real agency and throughout his early career, he worked to master techniques that would help him in their own stories. achieve continued mainstream acceptance. Here, effectively starting near the end of This evolution is the real subject of the exhibition. By the end of his career, Corot Corot’s career, the exhibit shows the influence impressionists had on him, as well as has taken women off their pedestals and met their gaze directly. The exhibit demonCorot’s own willingness to stay open to new approaches after achieving critical suc- strates that while Corot may have adopted the impressionists’ approach to color only cess. slightly, he internalized the movement’s shift from classicism to a more modern apCorot seems to have kept a respectful distance from his earlier female subjects. His proach that fully embraced his subjects. WD “Woman with a Large Toque and a Mandolin” is elegant but remote. The well-dressed woman might be responding to a lesson. In any case, she holds the instrument with Mike Crowley is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.

32 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

Theater | Culture | WD

Flavor of Family ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ at GALA Reaches Boiling Point of Emotions •

BY LISA TROSHINSKY

Like Water for Chocolate THROUGH OCT. 7 GALA HISPANIC THEATRE 3333 14TH ST., NW TICKETS ARE $48.

(202) 234-7174 | WWW.GALATHEATRE.ORG

n Mexico, hot chocolate is made not with milk, but with near-boiling water. The play’s title “Like Water for Chocolate,” or “Como Agua Para Chocolate” in its original Spanish, refers to water hot enough to receive the chocolate, a fiery state often associated with heat, anger and/or passion. The U.S. premiere of “Like Water for Chocolate” at GALA Hispanic Theatre (in Spanish with English subtitles) is filled with such emotions. Originally a popular novel published in 1989 by Mexican author and screenwriter Laura Esquivel, it makes a powerful statement about the positive and negative roles passion can play in people’s lives, even under the most difficult and gleeful of circumstances. The fervor is so strong that at times events even become mystical, in the vein of Gabriel García Márquez’s notorious magical realism, and the play’s symbols become quite poetic. The play follows the decades-long, hard-luck story of Tita de la Garza, who is 15 years old at the play’s start, living on a ranch near the Mexico-Texas border at the turn of the 20th century. She is the youngest daughter of the tyrannical Mamá Elena, who insists on upholding a caustic family tradition of forbidding her youngest to marry and to, instead, take care of her until her death. The play’s symbolism starts at its beginning, when Tita’s tragic fate is sealed when she is born in the kitchen (the play’s central focus), while her mother cries profusely from peeling onions, transferring her tears to her newborn. This is the first of many metaphors where food represents emotions that seep into real life, a theme that continues throughout the play. As Tita turns into a young woman, she must learn to give up the love of her life, Pedro Muzquiz, who loves her as well but is denied her hand in marriage by the mother. Tita must also learn to endure the torture of living side-by-side with Pedro, who decides to marry Tita’s oldest sister, Rosaura, only so he can remain close to Tita. Tita turns out to be an excellent cook and the passion she pours into her recipes heavily influence the plot’s many twists and turns. For example, when Pedro gives Tita a bouquet of roses, she uses the petals and her own tears to cook a special dish, which whips Tita’s other sister, Gertrudis, into a lustful state and causes her to flee the ranch and into the arms of a revolutionary soldier. When Tita is forced by her mother to prepare Tito and Rosaura’s wedding meal, a distraught Tita summons the spiritual guidance of the deceased Nacha, the beloved family cook and her positive maternal role model. When saturated with Tita’s tears, the culinary creation makes the wedding guests sick. Later on, Tita’s cooking represents life’s sustenance, which her mother refuses as she is dying, and instead dies from an overdose of a strong emetic she consumed for fear of poisoning. Even the withholding of Tita’s breast milk, which she amazingly produces for Rosaura’s son Roberto when Rosaura’s breasts are dry, is the unspoken rea-

PHOTOS: DANIEL MARTÍNEZ

Inés Domínguez del Corral (above right and at left in the center), stars as Tita, a young woman who is forced to watch her sister Rosaura (Guadalupe Campos, above left), marry the man she loves because of a cruel family tradition perpetuated by her mother, played by Luz Nocolás (bottom right) in “Like Water for Chocolate.”

son for Roberto’s death. For alas, Mamá Elena has sent Pedro and Rosaura to live in the U.S., for fear of Tita and Pedro becoming too close. Often the characters’ passions even evoke the spiritual world. This is the case when Tita and Pedro’s surreptitious and illicit love affair results in Tita losing her virginity. When Tita thinks she is pregnant, Mamá Elena’s ghost curses and violently threatens her, at which point Tita finally confronts her mother, declaring her autonomy. The play, while strong in most parts, thanks to the direction of Olga Sánchez, does suffer occasionally when emotions are overplayed or underplayed and, thus, become less believable. This is the case with the family’s servant Chencha, played by Karen Morales, whose shrill, constant crying become monotonous. Also, the level of brutality of physical abuse that Mamá Elena, played by Luz Nocolás, lays on Tita seems out of character from the rest of the play, which is often comical and lighthearted. Inés Domínguez del Corral, as Tita, at times has the opposite problem of not reacting enough to her severe surroundings. These inconsistencies and exaggerations turn the production into a soap opera of sorts. But in the end, the play accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to tell the somewhat fantastical tale of a family at its best and worst, aided with a little magic, imagination and flavor. WD Lisa Troshinsky is the theater reviewer for The Washington Diplomat. THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 33

WD | Culture | Art

Road Not Taken After 40 Years in Hospitality Industry, Hector Torres Pursues His Other Passion: Art •

BY MACKENZIE WEINGER

Transitions: Coloring My World THROUGH OCT. 26 THE GALLERIES AT CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM 111 MICHIGAN AVE., NW CHILDRENSNATIONAL.ORG/CHOOSE-CHILDRENS/DECIDING-ONCARE/SUPPORT-FOR-FAMILIES/CREATIVE-AND-THERAPEUTICARTS/ART-AND-THE-GALLERIES

ector Torres spent 40 years in the D.C. hospitality industry making people happy. Now that he’s retired, that hasn’t changed. He just goes about it differently. After about 20 years with Capital & and Suites, five of them as general manager of the Beacon Hotel, Torres retired as of June 1, three months after Boston-based Rockpoint Group bought the hotel. Now, he’s focusing on his first love: art. “I happen to love the hotel industry and I happen to love what I ended up doing, but it wasn’t my very first choice,” Torres said. “You live in two worlds. One is a business world that you have to perform and another that is a very private world where you want so badly to be an artist.” The New York native never gave up on his artwork — mostly painting and a few sculptures – but now he’s devoted to it full time. And he’s got his first exhibit titled “Transitions: Coloring My World” on display at the The Galleries at Children’s National Health System through Oct. 26. It features 69 of his works. “While some of the pieces may be signed 2018, the fact is some of these pieces I had been working on since 2015. I had never resolved them” until the retirement, Torres said. He became interested in art as a child living in New York’s West Village. After watching a woman put cans on the road that she would then collect after cars had crushed them, he asked her why. She took him to her studio and showed him the art she was making out of them. Then she gave him watercolors and paper and told him to make something, too. Torres went on to make and sell kites at school. His classmates also paid him to do their drawings in science class and teachers hired him to create friezes over their chalkboards. He earned a degree in secondary art education at St. John’s University in New York, but the city froze licensing for such teachers and funding for art programs overall soon after he graduated. He had been working part time at a hotel, so he stuck with that. “Because of my being bicultural and bilingual, I was offered to teach English as a second language, and I said, ‘That’s not what I prepared for,’ so I really didn’t want to do that,” said Torres, who had also lived in Puerto Rico. “I continued working in the hotel business, and I guess the rest is history.” He’s worked for several hotel companies since then and can draw parallels between his accidental and first-choice careers. “There’s also an art form to hospitality and you try to make your mark anywhere you can,” Torres said. “And sometimes that’s making people feel good and working with your team. The teacher in me still prevailed in working with my staff.” What’s more, he got to travel, especially during his eight years with the Grand Heritage Hotel Group, and study art on his own time at museums and galleries in places like London, Milan and Paris. “I would do my work and then run to a museum,” he said. He also brought art materials to make linocuts and watercolors with him on the road, always keeping one foot in the art world. In fact, he found creative freedom in having a separate career because he wasn’t worried about whether a piece was going to sell. “You can jump from one style to another to another

34 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTOS: HECTOR TORRES

Hector Torres, who worked in the hotel industry for 40 years, recently retired and is pursuing his original passion: art.

just in the same night if you wish,” Torres said. “You’re not interested in anything than the actual process of creating art.” Although much of his work is colorful abstracts, he has done some figurations, most recently with the theme of migration. He largely keeps politics out of his art, but recent world events have found their way onto his canvas, Torres said. “In recent months, I have taken a darker perspective of what’s happening so I’m currently working on a piece that is all based on gray tones,” he said. It will lack the quirky, funny-looking expressions of most of his work, and “I may not even show it ever,” he added. Sometimes, art is his version of a therapist. The art at the Children’s National exhibit — part of the medical system’s creative and therapeutic arts services — will be on sale, and part of the proceeds will go toward education programs for children at the hospital. Torres’s pieces sell for about $195 to $1,400, but he says he’s more interested in sending his art to places where it will make people happy than in turning a profit. It’s a lesson he learned years ago at an art show, where he fell in love with a $3,000 piece he couldn’t afford. The artist saw what it meant to him and sold it for what he could spend: $700. That piece still hangs in his home in Southwest D.C. today. For 10 years, he and his partner, Jay Haddock, hosted annual fundraisers at which they’d sell Torres’s art and donate the proceeds – totaling $1 million – to Whitman-Walker Health’s Latino programs. What’s more, when friends admire his work, he often wraps it up and gives it to them at the holidays. Now, Torres is working to set up a website at hectorjtorres.com and looking to show his work locally at the Torpedo Factory and at the Art League in Delaware, where he has a 1,400-square-foot studio for churning out his work. “I have sketchbook after sketchbook after sketchbook of ideas,” he said. WD Mackenzie Weinger (@mweinger) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Sculpture | Culture | WD

Not Faking It ‘Without Provenance’ Shows the Benefits and Mastery of High-End Reproductions •

BY KATE OCZYPOK AND ANNA GAWEL

Without Provenance: The Making of Contemporary Antiquity THROUGH DEC. 16 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 4400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE., NW

(202) 885-1300 | WWW.AMERICAN.EDU/CAS/MUSEUM/

hen we think of forged antiquities or artwork, they’re not exactly viewed in a positive light. At a minimum, forgeries are seen as an affront to “real” artists and the rarified world of art collecting. At their worst, forgeries can become entangled in a black market that trafficks genuine cultural artifacts looted from war-torn, poverty-stricken nations that rob people of their heritage and often fund criminal and terrorist networks. But what if copying art is seen as a form of art in and of itself? After all, it takes masterful skill to forge a masterwork. In ancient Rome, for example, gifted copiers were seen as just that — gifted — whereas today they would be considered con artists. Artist Jim Sanborn tests this theory and examines the power of forgeries for good in the latest exhibition at the American University Museum. “Without Provenance: The Making of Contemporary Antiquity” features a sculptural installation that offers a unique take on today’s art market, which often sells stolen or forged antiquities. That market is being infiltrated by pieces of “murky provenance, repatriations, and questions of authenticity have increased dramatically,” according to Sanborn’s website, which explains the reasoning behind his exhibition. “The works in this installation are not museum shop ‘replicas’ because they are not cheaply mass produced. They are not ‘forgeries’ either because this implies that the pieces are offered for sale as genuine antiquities, which they are not. These pieces can however be called ‘high-end reproductions’ or ‘contemporary antiquities.’” Sanborn — a D.C.-born sculptor best known for creating the encrypted “Kryptos” sculpture at the CIA headquarters in Langley — sought to uncover the complex and underappreciated technique behind forging antiquities. He worked with U.S. conservation experts and master forgers in Cambodia to learn about the process for aging newly carved sandstone works that makes the pieces scientifically and aesthetically indistinguishable from authentic antiquities. The purpose was twofold: First, Sanborn wanted to show the talent shaping these reproductions. Second, he proposes using these reproductions to combat the highly profitable trade of looted antiquities. How? By slipping these high-quality reproductions into the market, it injects a level of uncertainty among buyers, who don’t know if they’re buying a fake or the real thing. “In order to dilute the criminal trade in looted objects, French antiquities conservation groups have already begun the process by bringing out many of these forgeries from Cambodia so they can be sold legally as expensive high-end reproductions, and buyers are there, buyers willing to purchase Khmer artworks for their beauty, not their age,” Sanborn’s website explains. “Without Provenance” was originally going to focus on antiquities stolen or looted from archaeological sites in places like Egypt and Peru. Sanborn ultimately ended up choosing Cambodia because it was more accessible. The antiquities Sanborn worked with were made of stone — antiquities impossible to date and impossible to determine when the stone was carved into sculpture. He had the stone sent over from Cambodia, with some slabs weighing as much as 10,000 pounds. He did everything he could to make them virtually unrecognizable from historic antiquities. He even learned tricks from the stone forgers. For example, he included an accompanying photograph on the wall that mimics the catalogue page found in an auction house. “The auction page describes the artwork made and offers provenance for the work,” Sanborn said. “The exhibit is historically based.” Sanborn creates an imagined world where skilled artists and craftsmen of modern-

day Cambodia are understood for what they are — skilled artists and craftsmen in their own right. He envisions their work being bought for what it is (copies) and valued for what it represents (the beauty of past Khmer art). Sanborn also recognizes the added advantages of high-end reproductions: They can be legally purchased, are affordable and can easily be collected, even by the novice. Sanborn said he would most like those who visit his exhibit to understand that the artists in Cambodia who carved pieces for him did not make “forgeries,” because that implies they’d be sold as genuine. Rather, he said these artists are “performing a great service.” What was once decades ago a secret project, it is now known that the Cambodian government openly backs this reproductions industry, in large part because it supports the many Cambodians PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST who were orphaned during the genocidal Artist Jim Sanborn rule of the Khmer Rouge, which killed worked with master anywhere from 1.5 million to 3 million forgers in Cambodia to people. “Those children were trained to learn about the process make high-end reproductions,” Sanborn for aging newly carved noted. sandstone works that Prior to this exhibit, Sanborn worked makes the pieces virtualfor a decade exploring his fascination ly indistinguishable from with nuclear history, something he calls authentic antiquities. “very, very different” from his latest exhibit. In 1998, he visited the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was detonated, later taking multiple trips to Los Alamos, N.M., where he acquired the original parts, prototypes and lab equipment used to make the first atomic bomb. His resulting installation recreated the experience of splitting an atom. While “Without Provenance” takes a different direction than his science-based works, Sanborn’s interest in archaeology and paleontology is not new. His father served as director of exhibitions at the Library of Congress. There, Sanborn got a firsthand experience that was unprecedented for a child (or any adult for that matter): In the 1960s, some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were sitting on his father’s desk. Sanborn had the opportunity to turn them over and examine them. Yet “Without Provenance” doesn’t mark that dramatic of a departure from Sanborn’s previous physics-related work because it examines the connections between archeology and the art trade, just as his other work reflects on the relationship between science and technology. Moreover “Without Provenance” continues Sanborn’s longstanding interest in exploring the deeper meaning of art, as opposed to its aesthetic qualities. While in graduate school in New York, Sanborn said he became interested in Arte Povera, an Italian movement that emphasized commonplace, pre-industrial materials over modernism and technology. The movement embraces minimal context and maximal content. “It’s become the focus in everything I’ve done,” Sanborn told us. “The message of what I’m doing is more important than the objects themselves.” The artist said it takes about two years to come up with the idea for his next project. From there, each arc takes about 10 years. Sanborn has been at his Cambodian creation for seven years and is now taking the time to research what comes next. WD Kate Oczypok (@OczyKate) is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat. Anna Gawel (@diplomatnews) is managing editor of The Washington Diplomat. THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 35

WD | Culture | Film

Cinema Listings ARABIC

lives (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 26, 6 p.m., Sat., Oct. 27, 8:30 p.m.

3,000 People

In the Last Days of the City

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

Directed by Mai Masri (Palestine/France/Jordan/Lebanon, 2015, 103 min.) This first narrative by Mai Masri, a veteran documentarian, focuses on the plight of a newly married Palestinian woman who lands in an Israeli prison after being wrongly accused of aiding a terrorist. After finding that she is pregnant, she fights to keep the child rather than put him up for adoption, ultimately forming a family with her fellow inmates. Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 14, 1 p.m.

On Borrowed Time Directed by Yasir Al Yasiri (UAE, 2018, 93 min.) Even with Dubai’s towering Burj Khalifa dominating the skyline outside their windows, life in a retirement home isn’t very exciting for the “Four Musketeers”: ex-soldier Fares, upbeat astrologer Hasan, retired pharmacist Abdullah and wheelchair-bound Hamad. This quartet of variously afflicted grumpy old men waste away their days, until Fares receives a nearly $14 million windfall (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Thu., Oct. 18, 7 p.m.

A Civilized People Directed by Randa Chahal Sabbagh (Lebanon, 1999, 97 min.) During Lebanon’s civil war, some wealthy citizens fled to Europe, leaving behind large apartments, luxurious mansions, and Sri Lankan, Filipino and Egyptian servants — the stars of this black comedy. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

El Gusto Directed by Safinez Bousbia (Algeria/France, 2011, 88 min.) It all started during director Safinez Bousbia’s 2003 visit to Algiers, when she came across photographs of a music class from the 1940s. Eager to learn more, she set out to track down the classmates: Muslim and Jewish, between the ages of 70 and 100, and residing in Algeria and abroad. Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 21, 2 p.m.

Heaven Without People Directed by Lucien Bourjeily (Lebanon, 2017, 91 min.) Josephine, the matriarch of a sprawling family, is delighted to gather everyone together for Easter lunch for the first time in years. However, bit-by-bit the facade of the happy family gathering begins to fall away after an unexpected event changes their joyful mood and

Directed by Tamer El Said (Egypt/Germany/U.K./UAE, 2016, 118 min.) Set in the bustling and chaotic city of Cairo days before the 2011 revolution, this film expresses the faded beauty of a once-great city that lingers even after decades of steep economic decline. A quasi-documentary mixed with improvised acting, the film follows a filmmaker grappling with writer’s block, a departing lover and an ailing mother. Freer Gallery of Art Sun., Oct. 7, 2 p.m.

Induced Labor Directed by Khaled Diab (Egypt, 2017, 90 min.) Many go to great lengths to obtain an American visa. Some enter lotteries, others get married, but in this bold and entertaining satire, an Egyptian couple expecting twins come up with what they believe to be the perfect plan: hijack the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to give birth on U.S. territory, granting their children American citizenship in the process (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., Oct. 28, 7 p.m.

The Man Who Stole Banksy Directed by Marco Proserpio (Italy, 2018, 91 min.) In 2007, world-renowned street artist Banksy traveled to Palestine and painted a number of politically charged works on walls and buildings. One specific piece depicting an Israeli soldier checking a donkey’s ID created substantial controversy. So a bodybuilder and local taxi driver came up with an entrepreneurial plan: cut out the entire cement wall containing the art and sell it off to the highest bidder (Arabic, English and Italian; part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Sun., Oct. 21, 5 p.m., Sat., Oct. 27, 4 p.m.

The Mummy Directed by Shadi Abdel Salam (Egypt, 1969, 103 min.) This highly regarded classic of Egyptian cinema focuses on Wanis, who seeks an archaeologist’s help after learning that his tribe has participated for centuries in the common practice of grave-robbing. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Oct. 5, 7 p.m.

Volubilis Directed by Faouzi Bensaïdi (Morocco/France/Qatar, 2017, 106 min.)

36 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

In the Moroccan city of Meknes, recently married Abdelkader, a security guard in a shopping center, and Malika, a housekeeper, struggle to make ends meet. They dream of moving in together and starting a life of their own, but one day at work, Abdelkader experiences a violent and humiliating incident that will turn their lives upside down (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Sat., Oct. 20, 4:15 p.m., Sun., Oct. 21, 2:45 p.m.

Wajd: Songs of Separation Directed by Amar Chebib (Canada, 2018, 89 min.) In 2010, Syrian-Canadian filmmaker Amar Chebib headed to Syria, just months before chaos broke out, to film a short documentary about traditional Sufi music. Five years later, the friends he encountered on his trip are dispersed around Europe and have become refugees like so many others who were forced to flee Aleppo (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Sat., Oct. 27, 6 p.m., Sun., Oct. 28, 4:30 p.m.

CROATIAN The Ghost in the Swamp Directed by Branko Ištvančić (Croatia, 2006, 90 min.) Brother and sister Miron and Melita go to visit a friend in a northeastern Croatian town for the winter holidays. One night, they are awoken by the shouting of villagers who have rescued a half-frozen boy found near the village swamp, delirious after being attacked by a ghost. The doctors cannot help him, so the children decide to take matters into their own hands and the adventure begins (Croatian and Hungarian; part of the 11th annual Kids Euro Festival). AFI Silver Theatre Sun., Oct. 28, 11 a.m.

CZECH Family Friend (Rodinný přítel) Directed by Jan Hřebejk (Czech Republic, 2017, 130 min.) Set in the early 40s during German occupation, three brothers covertly working for the Czech resistance are discovered and sent to Nazi concentration camps. Their wives and children await their return, residing together in one house. A family friend watches over them and falls in love with one of the women. The Avalon Theatre Wed., Oct. 10, 8 p.m.

DANISH The Guilty (Den skyldige) Directed by Gustav Möller

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | October 2018 (Denmark, 2018, 85 min.) Disgraced former street cop Asger is manning the emergency call center, where he expects a sleepy beat. That all changes when he answers a panicked phone call from a woman kidnapped by her troubled ex-husband. The woman disconnects abruptly, but Asger springs into action. Confined to the call center, forced to use others as his eyes and ears as the severity of the crime slowly becomes more clear, he uses every bit of his intuition and skill to try to find and save her. Landmark’s Theatres Opens Fri., Oct. 19

The Shamer’s Daughter Directed by Kenneth Kainz (Denmark/Norway/Czech Republic/ Iceland/Sweden, 2015, color, 96 min.) The Shamer’s daughter, Dina, has unwillingly inherited her mother’s supernatural ability. She can look straight into a person’s soul and make them feel ashamed of their wrongdoings. When the sole heir to the throne of Dunark is wrongfully accused of the horrible murders of his family, Dina seeks uncover the truth behind the murders, but soon she finds herself whirled into a dangerous power struggle with her own life at risk (part of the 11th annual Kids Euro Festival). AFI Silver Theatre Sat., Oct. 27, 11 a.m.

DUTCH Cloudboy Directed by Meikeminne Clinckspoor (Belgium/Sweden/Norway/ Netherlands, 2017, 77 min.) Twelve-year-old city boy Niilas has been living with his father for as long as he can remember and barely knows his mother. This summer, Niilas has to travel to Swedish Lapland — much against his will — where his mother and her new family live amongst the Sami, an indigenous reindeer-herding people (Dutch, Swedish and Sami; part of the 11th annual Kids Euro Festival). AFI Silver Theatre Sun., Oct. 21, 11 a.m.

ENGLISH The Bookshop Directed by Isabel Coixet (U.K./Spain/Germany, 2018, 113 min.) In 1959 England, free-spirited widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) risks everything to open a bookshop in a conservative East Anglian coastal town. While bringing about a surprising cultural awakening, she earns the polite but ruthless opposition of a local grand dame (Patricia Clarkson) and the support and affection of a reclusive book loving widower (Bill Nighy). Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Colette Directed by Wash Westmoreland

(U.K./Hungary/U.S., 2019, 111 min.) After marrying a successful Parisian writer Willy, Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. Colette’s fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression. Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.

Crazy Rich Asians

Directed by Ana Asensio (Spain/U.S., 2017, 80 min.) In this psychological thriller set in the world of undocumented female immigrants hoping to make a life in New York City, Luciana inadvertently finds herself a central participant in a cruel game where lives are placed at risk, and psyches are twisted and broken for the perverse entertainment of a privileged few. National Museum of Women in the Arts Tue., Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m.

Directed by Jon M. Chu (U.S., 2018, 120 min.) New Yorker Rachel accompanies her longtime boyfriend Nick to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors (English, Mandarin and Cantonese). Angelika Mosaic Angelika Pop-Up Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

Fahrenheit 11/9 Directed by Michael Moore (U.S., 2018, 128 min.) Filmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the Donald J. Trump presidency and gun violence, while highlighting the power of grassroots democratic movements. AFI Silver Theatre Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Directed by Steve Loveridge (U.K./U.S., 2018, 96 min.) She began as Matangi — daughter of the founder of Sri Lanka’s armed Tamil resistance, hiding from the government in the face of a vicious and bloody civil war. When her family fled to the U.K., she became Maya, a precocious and creative immigrant teenager in London. Finally, the world met her as M.I.A., a star who blended Tamil politics, art school punk, hip-hop beats and the unwavering voice of a burgeoning multicultural youth. AFI Silver Theatre Oct. 5 to 11

Most Beautiful Island

Operation Finale Directed by Chris Weitz (U.S., 2018, 123 min.) The thrilling true story “Operation Finale” follows the 1960 covert mission of legendary Mossad agent Peter Malkin as he infiltrates Argentina and captures Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi officer who masterminded the transportation logistics that brought millions of innocent Jews to their deaths in concentration camps (English and Spanish). Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Paddington 2

Directed by Rupert Everett (U.K./Belgium/Italy/Germany, 2018, 105 min.) On his death bed in a cheap Parisian hotel, Oscar Wilde observes his own failures with ironic distance and regards the difficulties that beset his life with detachment and humor. Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., Oct. 19

Directed by Paul King (U.K., 2017, 103 min.) The sequel to the 2014 film finds the beloved bear now very much a part of the Brown family in Windsor Gardens, and a popular member of the local community. But when he’s framed for the theft of a beautiful old pop-up book from Mr. Gruber’s antique shop, Paddington and the Browns must work extra hard to clear the bear’s good name (part of the 11th annual Kids Euro Festival). AFI Silver Theatre Sat., Oct. 20, 11 a.m.

Juliet, Naked

Private Life

The Happy Prince

Directed by Jesse Peretz (U.S., 2018, 105 min.) “Juliet, Naked” is the story of Annie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) and her unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singersongwriter Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan’s musical obsession. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Directed by Tamara Jenkins (U.S., 2018, 127 min.) Richard and Rachel, a couple in the throes of infertility, try to maintain their marriage as they descend deeper and deeper into the weird world of assisted reproduction and domestic adoption. When their doctor suggests third party reproduction, they bristle. But when Sadie, a recent college drop out,

Film | Culture | WD

re-enters their life, they reconsider. West End Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 5

Science Fair Directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster (U.S., 2018, 90 min.) Nine high school students from disparate corners of the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks and hormones on their quest to win the international science fair. West End Cinema

Studio 54 Directed by Matt Tyrnauer (U.S., 2018, 98 min.) Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism — a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club’s hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time. Landmark’s Theatres Opens Fri., Oct. 26

Tea with the Dames Directed by Roger Michell (U.K., 2018, 84 min.) Dames Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith have let the cameras in on a friendship that goes back more than half a century. The four acting greats discuss their careers and reminisce about their humble beginnings in the theater. Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., Oct. 5

The Wife Directed by Björn Runge (Sweden/U.S./U.K., 2018, 100 min.) After nearly 40 years of marriage, Joan and Joe Castleman (Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce) are complements. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as Great American Novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm and diplomacy into the private role of Great Man’s Wife. As Joe is about to be awarded the Nobel Prize, this film interweaves the story of the couple’s youthful passion and ambition with a portrait of a marriage, 30-plus years later, filled with shared compromises, secrets, betrayals and mutual love. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema

FRENCH Lola Pater Directed by Nadir Mokneche (France, 2017, 95 min.) In this tenderhearted dramedy of a very unconventional family reunion, Zino (Tewfik Jallab) leaves Paris and embarks on a search for his missing father, Farid, after the unexpected death of his mother. Unbeknownst to Zino, Farid transitioned into Lola 25 years ago, which not surprisingly complicates his search (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Sat., Oct. 20, 8:15 p.m., Sun., Oct. 21, 7 p.m.

Orchestra Class Directed by Rachid Hami (France, 2016, 102 min.) Distinguished but disillusioned violinist Simon ekes out a living teaching a rowdy orchestra class at a Parisian middle school. One young student, Arnold, is painfully shy, but finds that he has a natural talent for the violin. Inspired by Arnold’s raw talent and warm enthusiasm of the class, Simon regains his joie de vivre (part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 19, 8:30 p.m., Fri., Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.

School of Life (L’école buissonniere) Directed by Nicolas Vanier (France, 2018, 116 min.) In 1930 Paris, Paul has only ever had one and the same horizon: the high walls of the orphanage, an austere building in the Parisian working class suburbs. When he is entrusted to Célestine and Borel, a joyful country woman and her husband, the stubborn child from the city arrives in a mysterious and wild region. The Avalon Theatre Wed., Oct. 17, 8 p.m.

Sofia Directed by Meryem Benm’Barek (France/Qatar, 2018, 80 min.) A pregnant 20-year-old single Moroccan girl faces the tough local laws on sex outside of marriage when she suddenly gives birth. She is forced to move quickly and make contact with the child’s father or else risk arrest (French and Arabic; part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival). AMC Mazza Gallerie Fri., Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m., Sat., Oct. 20, 6:30 p.m.

HEBREW The Testament Directed by Amichai Greenberg (Austria/Israel, 2018, 88 min.) Yoel, a senior Holocaust researcher, is in the midst of a widely covered legal battle with powerful forces in Austria, concerning a brutal massacre of Jews that took place toward the end of World War II. He suspects that an influential family of industrialists on whose land the murder took place is trying to conceal the past. While investigating, Yoel examines classified testimonies of Holocaust survivors, and to his surprise, he finds testimony given by his mother that reveals a substantial secret (Hebrew, German, English and Yiddish). The Avalon Theatre Wed., Oct. 24, 8 p.m.

JAPANESE Woman in the Dunes Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara (Japan, 1964, 147 min.) An amateur entomologist has left Tokyo to study an unclassified species of beetle that resides in a remote, vast desert. When he misses his bus back to civilization, he is persuaded to

spend the night with a young widow in her hut next to a sand dune. What results is one of cinema’s most bristling, unnerving and palpably erotic battles of the sexes. Freer Gallery of Art Wed., Oct. 3, 2 p.m.

MANDARIN Guangzhou Dream Factory Directed by Christiane Badgley (U.S., 2018, 65 min.) Guangzhou is southern China’s centuriesold trading port. Today, the booming metropolis of 14 million is a mecca of mass consumption, its vast international trading centers crammed with every “Made in China” good imaginable. Every year, more than half a million Africans travel to Guangzhou, where they buy goods to resell in Africa. Some have chosen to stay, and for these Africans, China looks like the new land of opportunity, a place where anything is possible. But is it? The Freer|Sackler teams up with the National Museum of African Art to present this new documentary exploring the evolving relationship between China and Africa. Following the film, director Christiane Badgley holds a discussion with members of the local African and Asian diasporas. Freer Gallery of Art Wed. Oct. 3, 7 p.m.

POLISH Lullaby Killer (Ach spij kochanie) Directed by Krzysztof Lang (Poland, 2017, 97 min.)

This crime drama is based on the true story of the notorious Polish serial killer Wladyslaw Mazurkiewicz. The handsome, elegant murderer terrorized Kracow in the 1950s. Mazurkiewicz went free for a very long time until he met his match in the young police detective Karski. The Avalon Theatre Tue., Oct. 30, 8 p.m.

PORTUGUESE Gabriel and the Mountain

Cocote Directed by Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias (Dominican Republic/Argentina/ Germany/Qatar, 2018, 106 min.) This rapturous crime fable set in the Dominican Republic follows Alberto, a kind-hearted gardener returning home to attend his father’s funeral. When he discovers that a powerful local figure is responsible for his father’s death, Alberto realizes that he’s been summoned by his family to avenge the murder (part of the AFI Latin American Film Festival). AFI Silver Theatre Tue., Oct. 2, 7:05 p.m.

Latin American icon Rubén Blades was at the center of the New York Salsa revolution in the 1970s. His socially charged lyrics and explosive rhythms brought Salsa music to an international audience. This revealing portrait details Ruben’s incredible 50year career and his struggle to come to terms with his legacy (Spanish and English; part of the AFI Latin American Film Festival). AFI Silver Theatre Wed., Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m.

Silence of the Wind

Directed by Felipe Barbosa Directed by Álvaro Aponte Centeno (Brazil/France, 2017, 127 min.) (Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic/ This richly textured road movie France, 2018, 85 min.) retraces the final days of Gabriel, an Retablo Rafael has no time to mourn the death idealistic, open-hearted young man of his sister. He is part of a human trafdetermined to discover the world with Directed by Alvaro Delgado Aparicio ficking network that brings an endless nothing more than his backpack and (Peru/Germany/Norway, 2017, color, stream of migrants from the Dominican $2 a day (English, Portuguese, Swahili, 95 min.) Republic to Puerto Rico. Balancing Chichewa and French; part of the AFI Fourteen-year-old Segundo is set Latin American Film Festival). caring for mother and daughter NOTE: Although every effort tohis assure your ad is free of mi to follow in his father footsteps as is made with his illicit activities, Rafael begins to AFI Silver Theatre content it is ultimately up to the customer to make the f a master crafter of retablos, colorful reach a crisis point (part of the AFI Latin Wed., Oct. 3, 9:20 p.m. and richly detailed story-boxes that American Film Festival). fetch high at their local The first twoprices faxed changes will be made at no cost to the advertise AFI Silver Theatre SPANISH high demand will marketplace be billedandatareainrate of $75 perTue., faxed Signed ads are Oct. 2, alteration. 5:15 p.m. in the family’s isolated Quechua Away from Meaning village in Peru. But while on his way Please check this ad Thecarefully. Snatch ThiefMark any changes to to a celebration in the Andes, Segundo Directed by Olivia Luengas accidentally discovers his troubled Directed by Agustín Toscano (Mexico, 2018, 90 min.) If the adfather’ is correct signand and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs cha s secret (Spanish Quechua; (Argentina/Uruguay, 2018, 93 min.) After contacting a virus at the age of part of the AFI Latin American Film Petty thief Miguel supports himself by 3, Liliana was later diagnosed with The Washington Diplomat (301) 933-3552 Festival). stealing purses from the elderly, but mental illness and has lived most of her AFI Silver Theatre when his latest victim, Elena, suffers life with borderline personally disorder. Wed.,___________________________________________________ Oct. 3, 5:15 p.m. an amnesia-causing blow to the head, But she finds solace in her familyApproved and he becomes plagued by guilt and plans her only friend Carlos, who is living Changes ____________________________________________________ Ruben Blades Is Not My Name to help her heal (part of the AFI Latin with schizophrenia (part of the AFI ____________________________________________________________ American Film Festival). Latin American Film Festival). Directed by Abner Benaim Panama/Argentina/Colombia, 2018, AFI Silver Theatre AFI Silver Theatre Tue., Oct. 2, 9:15 p.m. Tue., Oct. 2, 7:15 p.m. color, 84 min.)

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WD | Culture | Events

Events Listings *Unless specific times are listed, please check the venue for times. Venue locations are subject to change.

ART Oct. 5 to 31

Interface: A Cross-Genre Exploration Mixed-media works by Korean artists Gene Kim, Seung Yun Shin and Seungjo Jeong parse our everyday digital media frontier where communications — between users and systems, objects and images, or memories and mechanics — are increasingly complex. Showcasing about 20 diverse works that mix genres and experiment with new forms, Kim, Shin and Jeong attempt to break down the traditional artistic expression framework. Each confronts familiar challenges of modern life, often stemming from the onslaught of technological change: distinguishing what is real from copies or images from actual objects, translating one’s memories into digital formats, or simply recognizing the function of specialized devices and their components. These artists try to engage with viewers on these issues by reminding us of easy-to-overlook core principles that remain constant, such as environment, nature and the individual. Korean Cultural Center Oct. 6 to Jan. 6

Churchill’s Shakespeare A towering leader during World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was also a lifelong admirer of Shakespeare. Compelling materials from Cambridge’s Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill’s home Chartwell, and the Folger collection show the man himself and trace Shakespeare’s influence on his speeches and ideas. Folger Shakespeare Library Oct. 14 to Jan. 13

Nordic Impressions “Nordic Impressions” is a major survey of Nordic art spanning nearly 200 years and presenting 53 artists from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the self-governing islands of Åland, Faroe and Greenland. The exhibition celebrates the incredible artistic diversity of Nordic art, from idealized paintings of the distinctive Nordic light and untouched landscape to melancholic portraits in quiet interiors and mesmerizing video works that explore the human condition. The Phillips Collection Through Oct. 14

Collection of the Art Museum of the Americas The OAS AMA | Art Museum of the Americas announces the second in a series of exhibitions accompanying “Collection of the Art Museum of the Americas of the Organization of American States, curated by Adriana Ospina. Initiated five years ago, the project aims

to rethink the study of the historical and cultural legacy of the Art Museum of the Americas, beginning with a comprehensive catalogue of the permanent collection. The catalogue highlights key pieces of the AMA art collection, representing fundamental artistic trends that have developed in Latin America, including new figuration, geometric and lyrical abstraction, conceptual art, optical and kinetic art. Ove r the years, the museum has provided valuable support in the expansion of the academic field of modern and contemporary art of Latin America and the Caribbean in the United States. OAS Art Museum of the Americas Oct. 14 to Jan. 20

The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy Chiaroscuro woodcuts — color prints made from the successive printing of multiple blocks — flourished in 16th-century Italy, interpreting designs by leading masters such as Raphael, Parmigianino and Titian, while boasting extraordinary craft and their own often striking palette. National Gallery of Art Oct. 24 to Sept. 29

Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women In the cities of the West African nation of Senegal, stylish women have often used jewelry as part of an overall strategy of exhibiting their elegance and prestige. Rooted in the Wolof concept of sañse (dressing up, looking and feeling good), “Good as Gold” examines the production, display, and circulation of gold in Senegal as it celebrates a significant gift of gold jewelry to the National Museum of African Art’s collection. National Museum of African Art Oct. 24 to May 20, 2020

Waterfall The Hirshhorn presents the largest site-specific exhibition to date by the acclaimed abstract painter Pat Steir. An expansive new suite of the artist’s signature “Waterfall” paintings spans the entire perimeter of the museum’s second-floor inner-circle galleries, extending nearly 400 linear feet. The 28 large-scale paintings, when presented together as a group, will create an immense color wheel that shifts hues with each painting, with the pours on each canvas often appearing in the complementary hue of the monochrome background. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Through Nov. 18

Recovered Memories: Spain and the Support for the American Revolution “Recovered Memories” showcases Spain’s support for the American colonies prior to and during the Revolutionary War, and also highlights notable

38 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

Spanish figures whose lives impacted the emerging new country. The exhibit takes the visitor on a chronological journey of Spanish-American relations beginning with Spain’s own Age of Enlightenment during the reign of Charles III, through the times of European and American revolutions, and ending with the technological advancements at the turn of the 20th century. Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain Through Nov. 25

Bound to Amaze: Inside a Book-Collecting Career Curator Emerita Krystyna Wasserman assembled NMWA’s collection of more than 1,000 artists’ books over a 30-year period. This focus exhibition celebrates her vision and features 20 notable artists’ books from the museum’s expansive collection. National Museum of Women in the Arts Through Nov. 25

Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age The Dutch rose to greatness from the riches of the sea. During the 17th century, water was central to their economic and naval successes, but was also a source of pleasure and enjoyment. This exhibition explores the deep, multifaceted relationship the Dutch had with the water, including their gratitude for the sea’s bounty and their fear of its sometimes destructive power. National Gallery of Art Through Dec. 16

Studio 54 Forever Studio 54 was and arguably remains the world’s most iconic discotheque. It opened in 1977 in New York City as disco music was reaching its peak. The establishment attracted celebrities, politicians, artists, and the cultural avant garde. On the Studio 54 dance floor, everyone was a star. Take a journey back in time through the lens of acclaimed Swedish photographer Hasse Persson, whose images provide an intimate, sometimes provocative look at the cultural moment that would become the stuff of legend. House of Sweden Through Dec. 25

Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts More than 300 works of art from the museum’s permanent collection are on view within this exhibition. Working in media as diverse as wood, ceramics, drawing, jewelry, mixed media, sculpture, painting, photography, printmaking, and video, these works of art reflect the visionary ideas and styles developed by men and women from more than half of Africa’s 55 nations. The installation is organized around seven viewpoints, each of which serve to frame and affect the manner in

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | October 2018 which African art is experienced. National Museum of African Art Through Jan. 6, 2019

Sense of Humor Humor may be fundamental to human experience, but its expression in painting and sculpture has been limited. Instead, prints, as the most widely distributed medium, and drawings, as the most private, have been the natural vehicles for comic content. Drawn from the National Gallery of Art’s collection, this exhibition celebrates this incredibly rich though easily overlooked tradition through works including Renaissance caricatures, biting English satires, and 20th-century comics. National Gallery of Art Through Jan. 6, 2019

Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen Trevor Paglen is an award-winning artist whose work blurs the lines between art, science and investigative journalism to construct unfamiliar and at times unsettling ways to see and interpret the world. This is the first exhibition to present Paglen’s early photographic series alongside his recent sculptural objects and new work with artificial intelligence. Smithsonian American Art Museum Through Jan. 13

acquisition of a major Japanese photography collection, this exhibition features a selection of works by groundbreaking 20th-century photographers. Whether capturing evocative landscapes or the gritty realities of postwar Japan, this presentation focuses on Japanese artists’ search for a sense of place in a rapidly changing country. The images highlight destinations both rural and urban, in styles ranging from powerful social documentary to intensely personal. Freer Gallery of Art Through Jan. 21

Through September 2019

When photography arrived in Japan in the mid-19th century, traditional woodblock printmakers were forced to adapt their craft to keep pace with the new medium. This exhibition explores Japanese artists’ reactions to the challenges of modernity, examining the collapse of the traditional woodblock-printmaking industry in the face of the printing press and photography, and then tracing the medium’s resurrection as an art form, through which printmakers recorded scenes of their changing country in striking new ways. Freer Gallery of Art

Potters in ancient Iran were fascinated by the long-beaked waterfowl and rams with curled horns around them. This exhibition of ceramics produced in northwestern Iran highlights animalshaped vessels as well as jars and bowls decorated with animal figures. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through Jan. 21

Designed to delight and surprise, the treasures created by the firm of Carl Fabergé have inspired admiration and intrigue for over a century, both for their remarkable craftsmanship and the captivating stories that surround them. The fascination with Fabergé continues to uncover new discoveries about the storied jeweler to the tsars and his remarkable creations. This exhibit unveils recent research and explore how the 2014 discovery of a long-lost imperial Easter egg prompted new findings about Hillwood’s own collection. Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man

Rachel Whiteread As the first comprehensive survey of the work of British sculptor Rachel Whiteread, this exhibition brings together some 100 objects from the course of the artist’s 30-year career, including drawings, photographs, architecture-scaled sculptures, archival materials, documentary materials on public projects and several new works on view for the first time. Throughout her celebrated career, Whiteread has effectively recast the memories of these locations and objects to chart the seismic changes in how we live, from the late 20th century and into the 21st. National Gallery of Art Through Jan. 21

Japan Modern: Photography from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection Celebrating the Freer|Sackler’s recent

Sean Scully’s “Landline” series, which first captivated international audiences at the 56th Venice Biennale, will make its museum debut at the Hirshhorn, featuring never-before-seen artworks from the renowned series. With thick, gestural brushstrokes and loose bands of color, the works look toward the land, sea, and sky (and the indistinct lines between them) to navigate the elemental relationships that compose our world. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Japan Modern: Prints in the Age of Photography

Fabergé Rediscovered

Through Jan. 13

Through Feb. 3

Sean Scully: Landline

Each year in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, a city of more than 70,000 people rises out of the dust for a single week. During that time, enormous experimental art installations are erected and many are ritually burned to the ground. Cutting-edge artwork created at Burning Man, the annual desert gathering that is one of the most influential events in contemporary art and culture, will be exhibited in the nation’s capital for the first time this spring. Renwick Gallery Through Jan. 29

Vested Values “Vested Values,” a selection comprising more than 40 works of various Mexican contemporary artists, explores the representation of nature and its sociocultural environment. Each of the works reveals how particular methods of production, implementation and execution of contemporary art can offer a complex impression of the diverse elements that define a society, which in turn promotes a continuous dialogue on both experience and perception. Each of the works originates through an arrangement with Mexico’s Tax Administration Service that allows Mexican artists to pay their taxes with their artwork. Today, artists can pay their income tax using media that ranges from digital art to photography. Mexican Cultural Institute

Shaping Clay in Ancient Iran

DANCE Oct. 18 to 20

Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker: Dog without Feathers (Cão Sem Plumas) Since founding her own company in 1994, Brazilian director/choreographer Deborah Colker has been inspired by her experiences as an athlete to combine physically daring feats with visually striking designs — and redefine the rules for what can and can’t be done in the world of dance. Tickets are $29 to $79. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

DISCUSSIONS Wed., Oct. 3, 12 p.m.

A Quiet American: Edward Lansdale in the Philippines and Vietnam Historian and author Max Boot discusses his new book “The Road Not Taken,” which chronicles how Edward Lansdale, a U.S. Army officer and advisor to Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, pioneered a successful “hearts and mind” strategy to combat the Huk insurgency in post-World War II Philippines and Vietnam. For information, visit www.usphsociety. org/category/events/. Georgetown University Intercultural Center Thu., Oct. 4, 4 p.m.

Czechs and Slovaks on Their Difficult Road to Peace and Independence The Czech and Slovak Embassies jointly commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia with the opening of this exhibition and lecture with historians Kevin McNamara and Michal Kšinan. Delve into period

Events | Culture | WD

photographs and newspaper clippings, accompanied by historical analysis, to fully understand the enormous scale of the quest for independence. Reservations are required; visit www.mutualinspirations.org or additional details. Woodrow Wilson Center Thu., Oct. 11, 6 p.m.

New Direction: Italian Contemporary Art in the United States Italy is synonymous with history. We visit Rome and Naples and see remnants of an ancient civilization. But Italy has a modern side, too, that comprises exceptional contemporary artists that art lovers should have on their radar. Curator Ilaria Bernardi, artist Massimo Bartolini and Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, co-founders of Magazzino Italian Art, will discuss contemporary Italian art, focusing on complex new ideas, specifically within the context of the United States. For registration information, visit https:// iicwashington.esteri.it/iic_ washington/en. Embassy of Italy Fri., Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m.

Frontaliers Disaster: An Evening of Swiss-Italian Comedy and Conversation A hugely popular comedy series from Italian-speaking Switzerland, “Frontaliers” is a lighthearted tale of culture, identity and unexpected friendships. Bussenghi is an Italian mechanic who is always late to his job in Switzerland because of his bickering with the Swiss border guard Bernasconi. Through the daily squabbles of this odd pair, we learn about the cultural traditions of Italy and of Switzerland, two countries that are connected by language and geography, although they sometimes seem like two different worlds. The Embassy of Switzerland and the Italian Cultural Institute host a screening of favorite “Frontaliers” webisodes, as well as selected scenes from the feature film “Frontaliers Disaster” accompanied by a panel discussion. For registration information, visit https:/ /iicwashington.esteri.it/iic_ washington/en. Embassy of Switzerland

Fri., Oct., 12, 6:30 p.m.

Mon., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m.

50th Annual Meridian Ball

De Maeyer-Kende Duo

Now in its 50th year, the Meridian Ball brings together members of the public and private sector to celebrate Meridian’s ongoing efforts to prepare leaders for a complex global future. Guests have the option of choosing between an intimate ambassador-hosted dinner or the White-Meyer dinner on Meridian’s campus. Following the dinners, guests from both the ambassadorhosted dinners and White-Meyer dinner gather for dancing, dessert and conversation at Meridian House. For ticket information, visit www.meridian. org/programs/ball/. Meridian International Center

Praised for interpretive sensitivity and precision, prize-winning Belgian duo Jolente De Maeyer (violin) and Nikolaas Kende (piano) joined forces in 2002 and continue to triumph at home and abroad. Tickets are $150, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org. Belgian Ambassador’s Residence

Fri., Oct. 16, 8 p.m.

Synetic Theater’s 12th Annual Vampire’s Ball This year, the Vampire’s Ball will follow a performance of Synetic’s adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic American ghost story “Sleepy Hollow.” At this year’s party, guests will dance the night away (music courtesy of Resident Composer and Halloween DJ, Konstantine Lortkipanidze), enjoy a special Halloween cocktail at the open bar, munch on light appetizers and enjoy the annual costume contest. Tickets are $60 to $75. Synetic Theater

MUSIC Tue., Oct. 2, 6 p.m.

Italian Color: Duo Emy Bernecoli and Elia Andrea Corazza

GALAS

“Italian Color” is a musical journey across time, presenting rare and refined compositions that defined the history of Italian classical music for piano and violin, from the baroque to present day. The program will be performed by violinist Emi Bernecoli and pianist Elia Andrea Corazza and include Antonio Vitali’s “Ciaccona,” a famous masterpiece for violin; an unpublished “Sarabanda” (1897) by Ottorino Respighi; and “Un diavolo sentimentale” (A Sentimental Devil, 1969), an eccentric and sparkling piece. For ticket information, visit https:// iicwashington.esteri.it/iic_ washington/en. Embassy of Italy

Tue., Oct. 2, 6 p.m.

Thu., Oct. 4, 7 p.m.

40th Annual Ambassadors Ball

Concert and Reading from ‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane’

The annual National MS Society Ambassadors Ball, a premier event in the D.C. fall social season for the past 39 years, has raised more than $20 million to support the National MS Society. The 40th Ambassadors Ball is co-chaired by Japanese Ambassador Shinsuke J. Sugiyama and welcomes congressional members, ambassadors, business and philanthropic leaders and their spouses to honor the diplomatic corps for their charitable activities and humanitarian endeavors. Tickets start at $600; for information, visit www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/MDM/FundraisingEvents/Ambassadors-Ball-(1). The Anthem

The Austrian Cultural Forum presents a performance of “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” with Grammynominated pianist Mona Golabek as a closing event to her Kennedy Center show. Set in Vienna in 1938 and London during the Blitzkrieg, “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” tells the true and inspiring story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist whose dream of making her concert debut at the storied Musikverein concert hall is dashed by the onset of World War II. Admission is free; for information, visit http://acfdc.org. Embassy of Austria

Mon., Oct. 8, 6 p.m.

El Septeto Santiago Founded in Santiago de Cuba’s famed Casa de la Trova in 1995 by Tres guitar virtuoso Fernando Dewer, El Septeto Santiago has since earned its designation as Cuba’s foremost son music ensemble. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Thu., Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.

Washington Performing Arts: Hanzhi Wang Prepare to have your expectations defied and your ears delighted by the sound, technique, texture and repertoire of the accordion, in a performance by young Chinese accordionist Hanzhi Wang. Tickets are $45. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater Fri., Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Andrzej Wiercinski, Piano Andrzej Wierciński was born in Poland in 1995 and started his musical adventure on the piano at the age of six. First prize at the National Competition for Young Pianists in Warsaw along with a slew of other awards have since expanded his following. He performs a program of Chopin, Liszt, Paderewski and Prokofiev. Tickets are $150, including buffet, wine and valet parking; for information, visit www.embassyseries. org. Polish Ambassador’s Residence Mon., Oct. 22, 6 p.m.

Jazz Shift: Martina Fišerová Prague-born jazz singer Martina Fišerová introduces her original songs in the concert “Jazz Shift,” meshing harmonic sophistication with unpretentious and personal expression. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Fri., Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Myriam Avalos, Piano Passion and power, expression and sensitivity — words used over and over again in praise of Myriam Avalos. Her performances and master classes throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia have earned her critical acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician and pedagogue. In 2004, she was conferred the title of cultural ambassador of Peru. Tickets are $150, including buffet, wine and pisco sours; for information, visit www. embassyseries.org. Peruvian Ambassador’s Residence Sat., Oct. 27, 8 p.m.

Vusi Mahlasela A national treasure in his homeland of South Africa — where he is known simply and definitively as “The Voice”

— Vusi Mahlasela was a powerful, rallying figure in the struggle against Apartheid and continues to serve as a worldwide messenger of peace, dignity and compassion. Tickets are $40; for information, visit www.washingtonperformingarts.org. Sixth & I Mon., Oct. 29, 8 p.m.

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Czech Philharmonic, the Czech Republic’s premier orchestra, returns to D.C. under its new music director, Semyon Bychkov, for a signature program featuring Antonín Dvořák’s triumphant “Seventh Symphony” and a rarely heard work by the 20th-century composer Luboš Fišer. For ticket information, visit goo.gl/mxTU2Y. Kennedy Center Concert Hall Tue., Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.

Czech Republic Centennial Concert: Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir The Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir, one of the most prestigious choirs in the Czech Republic, performs a special selection of Czech and international classics in celebration of 100 years of Czech independence at the Washington National Cathedral. The choir will cover such beloved songs as Dvořák’s “Ave Maria,” Schubert’s “Psalm XXII” and Bernstein’s “Gloria Tibi.” For ticket information, visit https://goo.gl/xY9v5f. Washington National Cathedral Tue., Oct. 30, 8 p.m.

Renée Fleming Voices: Youssou Ndour The Senegalese singer, percussionist, and humanitarian — dubbed “perhaps the most famous singer alive” by Rolling Stone — brings his stratospheric vocals, visionary African rhythms and powerful messages of social activism and tolerance to D.C. Tickets are $29 to $89. Kennedy Center Concert Hall

THEATER Oct. 3 to Nov. 4

Sleepy Hollow Synetic Theater’s adaptation of “Sleepy Hollow” pulls together all the elements that made Synetic famous: Gothic horror, iconic characters and imagery, an emphasis on surreal, wordless storytelling that transcends spoken language and makes our productions something akin to live-action dreams (or nightmares, depending on the story). Tickets start at $35. Synetic Theater Oct. 3 to Dec. 2

King John Secret deals. Threats of mass destruction. Shifting loyalties. Folger Theatre follows its sold-out run of “Macbeth” with “King John,” Shakespeare’s rarely performed history play chronicling King John’s turbulent reign from 1199 to 1216. Tickets are $30 to $85. Folger Theatre

Oct. 6 to 21

Oct. 17 to Nov. 18

Washington National Opera: La Traviata

Actually

As a courtesan, the beautiful Violetta is the life of every party, toasting to high-class pleasures alongside wealthy men. But Violetta holds a devastating secret: she is sick and dying. When the affluent Alfredo confesses his love, happily-ever-after finally seems within reach — until his father condemns his lover’s low social status. Tickets are $25 to $300. Kennedy Center Opera House Oct. 10 to 13

World Stages: Measure for Measure Through a series of “swiftly changing spectacular scenes” (Russia’s Teatral), Shakespeare’s classic play becomes a mirror of modern society in a dexterously crafted adaption from director Declan Donnellan. Tickets are $19 to $75. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater Oct. 11 to Nov. 18

Aida Brilliantly brought to life by the legendary musical duo behind “The Lion King,”“Aida” is a timeless story of star-crossed lovers set in ancient Egypt. The handsome but arrogant Radames and his soldiers return to Egypt following a successful conquest of the nation’s longtime enemy, Nubia. Having unwittingly captured the Nubian princess Aida, they force her into slavery in the royal palace. Though Radames is reluctantly engaged to the Pharaoh’s vain and materialistic daughter, he and Aida find themselves passionately drawn to each other. As their forbidden love intensifies, Aida must choose between her heart’s desire and her responsibility to her people in this production presented by Constellation Theatre Company. Tickets are $25 to $55. Source Theater Through Oct. 14

If I Forget This observant, political-but-personal family drama set in 2000 centers on the dynamics of a modern Jewish family in D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood. Brought together by their elderly father’s 75th birthday, the adult children of the Fischer family squabble over what to do with their long-held and now lucrative 14th Street property, igniting debates on religion, politics and history. Tickets are $29 to $90. Studio Theatre Oct. 14 to Nov. 18

The Fall As the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes was dismantled at the University of Cape Town, seven students wrote “The Fall,” charting their experiences as activists who brought down a statue and then grappled with decolonizing what was left standing in its wake: the legacies of race, class, gender, history and power 24 years after the official end of Apartheid. Please call for ticket information. Studio Theatre

This provocative new play that explores the timely subject of sexual consent between young people. Tom, a black first-year Princeton student, and Amber, a Jewish first-year Princeton student, seem to be on the same page about where their relationship is heading, until suddenly they aren’t. What begins as a casual hook up turns into a Title IX hearing in which both students have everything to lose. Tickets are $34 to $64. Theater J Oct. 19 to Nov. 18

Sing to Me Now Calliope is the last surviving Muse. Drowning in the demands of a world desperate for inspiration, she resorts to what any self-respecting Greek Goddess would do: She hires an intern. Soon it becomes clear that Calliope is burying a deeper pain, and the fate of the universe may lie in this human intern’s unlikely ability to save her. Tickets are $30. Atlas Performing Arts Center Through Oct. 21

Born Yesterday In this sharp-edged satire, opportunistic tycoon Harry Brock arrives in Washington with his naive girlfriend, Billie Dawn, to game the political system. With the help of an idealistic reporter, Billie wises up and fights back to end the corruption. Political satire meets romantic comedy in a story that shows truth and justice can win the day. Tickets are $17 to $64. Ford’s Theatre Through Oct. 21

Turn Me Loose This intimate and no-holds barred drama chronicles Dick Gregory’s rise as the first Black comedian to expose audiences to racial comedy. In confronting bigotry head-on with biting humor and charm, Gregory turned his activism into an art form, risking his own safety at each performance. Tickets are $40 to $95. Arena Stage Oct. 23 to Nov. 4

The Fever Performed in complete collaboration with the audience, “The Fever” begins as a simple story about an ordinary party and evolves into a spellbinding examination of how we assemble, organize, and care for the bodies around us. Please call for ticket information. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Through Oct. 28

The Comedy of Errors Two sets of twins, each with the same name — what could go wrong? Everything, apparently. Leave logic behind and delight in the confusion of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, where servants misplace their masters, wives overlook their husbands and sons forget their fathers. Call for ticket information. Shakespeare Theatre Company

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 39

WD | Culture | Spotlight

Diplomatic Spotlight

October 2018

Ambassador Insider Series with Monaco and Air and Space Museum For its latest Ambassador Insider Series (AIS) on Sept. 6 at The Line DC hotel, The Washington Diplomat newspaper welcomed Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Ellen Stofan, the first woman to head the National Air and Space Museum. The tiny principality of Monaco may be home to less than 40,000 people, but it’s embarking on two big initiatives this fall that both celebrate the past while looking toward to the future. Ambassador Maccario Doyle previewed Monaco’s celebration of the 300th anniversary of New Orleans in November, when a series of cultural and culinary events will mark the deep historical ties between Monaco and the Big Easy, which is the birthplace of the first American-born princess of Monaco — 70 years before Grace Kelly married Prince Rainer III. Also in November, Monaco commemorates 60 years of NASA with its “Pioneers and Innovators of Our Time” program featuring some of today’s preeminent leaders in air and space travel and technology, including guests such as Senator Bill Nelson and the astronauts of the 1986 Columbia space shuttle mission. Ellen Stofan, who previously served as chief scientist at NASA, discussed future trends in space, including the search for life on Mars, NASA’s achievements over the last six decades, potential future collaborations between the space agency and the private sector, President Trump’s proposed Space Force, efforts to get more women and minorities in space and her plans for America’s most popular museum. Stofan, who saw her first launch at Cape Canaveral at age 4 (she distinctly remembers it because the unmanned rocket actually exploded on the launch-pad), said one of the moments throughout her long career that personally resonated with her was the iconic “Earthrise” image captured by Apollo 8 in 1968. “It was that first look of the earth rising up above the lunar surface and it actually spawned the environmental movement,” she said. “It was where we really realized we’re on our own spaceship. And this is the only home we have…. We need to take care of it.” — Anna Gawel

— Photos: Jessica Knox Photography —

Ambassador of Jordan Dina Kawar and Ambassador of Oman Hunaina Sultan Ahmed Al Mughairy.

Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Mozambique Aristides Adriano, President of the International Geriatric Radiotherapy Group Nam Nguyen and Ambassador of Timor-Leste Domingos Sarmento Alves.

Over 200 people attended The Washington Diplomat’s Ambassador Insider Series on Sept. 6 at The Line DC.

Francesca Craig of the Motion Picture Association of America, Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Kevin Chaffee of Qorvis.

Anna Gawel, managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, moderates a discussion with Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Director of the National Air and Space Museum Ellen Stofan.

The Washington Diplomat sales manager Rod Carrasco; managing editor Anna Gawel; Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle; Director of the National Air and Space Museum Ellen Stofan; and publisher Victor Shiblie.

Trevor Gunn, vice president of Medtronic; Anna Gawel, managing editor of The Washington Diplomat; and Ambassador of Switzerland Martin Dahinden.

Kasper Zeuthen of the Delegation of the European Union; journalist Molly McCluskey; Cassandra Campbell of Progress Humanity; and Sanna Kangasharju of the European Parliament Liaison Office.

40 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

Ambassador of Albania Floreta Faber and Leila Beale of Hollywood Real Estate LLC.

Andrea Mendez of the Embassy of Panama asks a question.

The Line DC Managing Director Crawford Sherman introducers panelists Anna Gawel, Maguy Maccario Doyle and Ellen Stofan.

Jasmine Wyatt and Rachel Jackson, both from the office of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Miguel Rodrigues of the State Department Bureau of International Security asks a question.

Spotlight | Culture | WD

Anna Gawel, managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, moderates a discussion with Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Director of the National Air and Space Museum Ellen Stofan.

Jan Cousteau, wife of undersea explorer Philippe Cousteau; Ambassador of Nicaragua Francisco Obadiah Campbell Hooker; and Fuad Sahouri, founder and president of Sahouri Insurance and Financial.

Michael Williams, host of CBS Radio Washington, D.C., asks a question.

Sissel Bakken of the Norwegian Embassy; Frisia Rothenberg of AKA White House; Aldo Rodriguez of AKA White House; Stevan Johnson and Brandon Montgomery, both from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Public Affairs.

Former Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Betty Ann Tanner.

Ruben Duran, international advocacy director at PhRMA, Kate Beale of PhRMA and Puru Trivedi of the Meridian International Center.

Lendita Haxhitasim of the Embassy of Kosovo and The Washington Diplomat publisher Victor Shiblie.

Rita Rowand of the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute and Neringa Miliauskaite, head of chancery at the Embassy of Lithuania.

Michele Manatt of the U.S. Diplomacy Center Foundation and Karen Maples, founder and president of Myutiq LLC.

Shadi Sadeghi, senior associate director for Children’s National; Anastasiia Stoiatska of the Embassy of Oman; Ambassador of Oman Hunaina Al Mughairy; Fuad Sahouri, founder and president of Sahouri Insurance and Financial; and Taweel Tawil, vice president of Sahouri Insurance and Financial.

Jennifer Clarke of Deloitte; Thomas Sanderson, co-founder and former director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Eric Ham of SiriusXM POTUS Channel.

Realtor Craig Cobine, Edgard Izaguirre of Washington City Paper and Ali Khan.

Rodney Hood of JPMorgan Chase and Co., Yelile Saca of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Alex Braun, managing director at SKDKnickerbocker.

Michael Giacalone of the Italian Cultural Institute; Luis Chang of the Peru Trade, Tourism and Investment Office; Analía Díaz, a risk management specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank; and Omar Reyes of the Peru Trade, Tourism and Investment Office.

Human resources consultant David Vanongevalle and Jennifer Jose of the National Association of Broadcasters.

Ambassador of Jamaica Audrey Marks and Anna Gawel, managing editor of The Washington Diplomat.

Anna Gawel, managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, moderates a discussion with Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Director of the National Air and Space Museum Ellen Stofan.

Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Director of the National Air and Space Museum Ellen Stofan.

Derrick Wayland and Kevin Tassi, both from the Department of Homeland Security; Elizabeth D’Antuono; and Chris D’Antuono of the Department of Navy.

SEE AIS • PAGE 43

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018 | 41

WD | Culture | Spotlight

Diplomatic Spotlight

October 2018

IFE Toasts Social Secretaries On Aug. 29, the Institute for Education (IFE) celebrated its third annual Social Secretaries Lunch honoring the hard work of the diplomatic community’s gatekeepers with co-host Rosemarie Pauli, former acting U.S. chief of protocol. The current chief of protocol, Sean Lawler, was also in attendance, along with over 50 embassy social secretaries who braved the hot sun to attend this special lunch held on the Great Lawn at the historic Congressional Country Club. PHOTOS: INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION

Latin Envoys at Children’s National Julio Fiol, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Chile, coordinated a visit of Latin American diplomats to Children’s National on Aug. 24 to view the health system’s services and latest advancements. Representatives from the embassies of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay participated.

Coach Kathy Kemper, founder and CEO of the Institute for Education (IFE); Gwenda DeMoor of the Embassy of Belgium; co-host Rosemarie Pauli; Kiyomi Buker of the Embassy of Japan; and IFE Deputy Director Elise Sluger Ravenscroft.

Sally McLeod and Brooke Watson, both of the State Department Protocol Office.

Pernilla Scott of the Embassy of Sweden and Ulrike Zimmermann of the Embassy of Austria.

Rose Mweemba of the Embassy of Zambia, Katrina Chan of Bloomberg and Asdis Hreinsdottir of the Embassy of Iceland.

PHOTOS: CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Bottom row from right: Shadi Sadeghi of Children’s National/Children’s Hospital Foundation; Dr. Nathalie Quion of Children’s National; Karolina Vera of the Embassy of Paraguay; Eugenia Gimenez of the Embassy of Argentina; Daniel Avila of the Embassy of Colombia; Lionel Maza of the Embassy of Guatemala; Cecilia Otegui of the Embassy of Uruguay; Ricardo Otarola of the Embassy of Costa Rica; Dr. Marlene Espinoza of NIH/ NIAID; and Juan Carlos Sanchez of the Embassy of Ecuador. Top from left: Julio Fiol of the Embassy of Chile; Dr. Maria Jesus Herrero of Children’s National; Alejandro Bilbao of the Embassy of Bolivia; Pradnya Haldipur of Children’s National/Children’s Hospital Foundation; Warren Whitehead of Children’s National; and Arturo Arciniegas of the Embassy of Peru.

Martha Parra, vice president of clinical services at Children’s National, welcomes the delegation and talks about the hospital’s Healing Garden. Coach Kathy Kemper, founder and CEO of the Institute for Education, and U.S. Protocol Chief Sean Lawler.

The group poses on the Great Lawn.

Dr. Kevin Cleary, technical director of the Bioengineering Initiative of the Sheikh Zayed Institute, shows the latest innovative projects being developed at Children’s National. Cristina Branco of the Embassy of Portugal, Elisabeth Herndler of the Embassy of Luxembourg and Victoria Vieru of the Embassy of Luxembourg.

Panupat Chavananikul and Aing-On Thammarattananon, both of the Royal Thai Embassy.

Rama Toure and Elle Berdy, both of the Embassy of Monaco.

Mira Igbayeva of the Embassy of Kazakhstan and Janet Donovan of Hollywood on the Potomac.

Victoria Vieru of the Embassy of Luxembourg, Tarja Aarnio of the Embassy of Finland and Tarja Thatcher of the Embassy of Finland.

42 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

Ricardo Otarola of the Embassy of Costa Rica looks at the Hall of Heroes featuring patients who have been treated at Children’s National. Daniel Avila of the Embassy of Colombia looks at the Hall of Heroes featuring patients who have been treated at Children’s National.

Spotlight | Culture | WD

Shadi Sadeghi, senior associate director at Children’s National, and Yamina Ennaciri, senior international care coordinator at Johns Hopkins Medicine International.

Cameron Nezam of The Line DC, Guy d’Amecourt of Summit Commercial Real Estate and Theo Adamstein of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.

AIS CONTINUED • PAGE 41

Consultant Robert Demers, EHLS Program Manager at Georgetown University Maria Mariani and Weiss Farouq.

Fitore Vula and Edona Dervisholli, both from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

International Conference Officer at the State Department April Guice and Lawrence Dunham of Protocol Partners.

Lisa Schmitt, Vanessa Wilson and Claudia Eggspuhler, all from the Hilton Washington DC National Mall.

Rama Toure of the Embassy of Monaco and Alan Berdy

Nam Nguyen of the International Geriatric Radiotherapy Group; Maria Mariani (EHLS Program Manager at Georgetown University; Patrick Taylor; Leila Beale of Hollywood Real Estate Services LLC; Sandy Taylor, diplomatic liaison at Welcome to Washington Club; and Jennifer G. Chan of InterContinental Hotels.

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Diplomatic Spotlight

October 2018

Michelin Chefs at France

Malta Farewell

Over a dozen of D.C.’s top chefs who recently received a one- or two-star rating from the prestigious Michelin guide gathered at the French ambassador’s residence Sept. 13. But the star of the gastronomic evening was Patrick O’Connell, the chef and proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington, who received a rare three-star Michelin rating. O’Connell credited his loyal clientele, “an extended family that now goes back generations,” for the restaurant’s 40 years of success.

Constance Whiteside of the European Union Delegation bids farewell to Ambassador of Malta Pierre Clive Agius, who is leaving to become Malta’s ambassador to Russia.

Ambassador of Monaco Maguy Maccario Doyle and Ambassador of Poland Piotr Wilczek attend a farewell reception for Maltese Ambassador Pierre Clive Agius at his residence.

Michelin International Director Michael Ellis, chef Patrick O’Connell of the Inn at Little Washington and Ambassador of France Gérard Araud. PHOTO: BEN BANGOURA

PHOTO: EMBASSY OF FRANCE PHOTO: EMBASSY OF FRANCE

Professor Ioan Sucio of The George Washington University and Ambassador of Timor-Leste Domingos Sarmento Alves attend a farewell reception for Maltese Ambassador Pierre Clive Agius at his residence.

Ambassador of Poland Piotr Wilczek and Ambassador of Bulgaria Tihomir Stoytchev attend a farewell reception for Maltese Ambassador Pierre Clive Agius at his residence.

Chef Fabio Trabocchi helped design the menu for the French Michelin reception.

Ambassador of France Gérard Araud and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde celebrate the third edition of the Washington Michelin guide.

African Diaspora Leadership Awards The Center Africa Broadcasting Network Corporation (CABNCTV) officially launched the African Diaspora Distinguished Leadership Award and African Diaspora Today Magazine at a reception held Aug. 4 at the African Union Mission in D.C. The magazine is designed for Africans living abroad who have a keen interest in keeping up to date on trends and development in their homelands.

PHOTO: BEN BANGOURA

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), right, talks with a guest.

Michelin Group Chief Administrative Officer Joanie Martin welcomes guests.

PHOTOS: CATHY METZGER

Gambo Hamza, minister of economics, trade and investment at the Nigerian Embassy, center, joins members of the Nigerians in the Diaspora-Washington DC Chapter (NIDO-DC).

PHOTO: EMBASSY OF FRANCE

Michelin International Director Michael Ellis honors chef Aaron Silverman of Pineapple and Pearls, which retained its two stars.

Mima S. Nedelcovych, who served in the George H.W. Bush administration as U.S. executive director to the African Development Bank, receives the African Diaspora Distinguished Leadership Award from African Union Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao.

AbdulRasheed Abubakar, publisher and CEO of African Diaspora Today Magazine; Melvin Foote, CEO and managing director of the Constituency for Africa; African Union Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao; and Elizabeth Myers.

44 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO: EMBASSY OF FRANCE

PHOTO: BEN BANGOURA

Revelers toast the third edition of the Washington Michelin guide.

PHOTO: EMBASSY OF FRANCE

October 2018 | WD

Around the World Appointments Armenia Ara Margarian became deputy chief of mission of the Armenian Embassy in Sept. 3, 2018, superseding Hrachia Tashchian, who departed the post July 15, 2018.

Cambodia Chum Sounry became ambassador of Cambodia to the United States on Sept. 17, 2018, having most recently served as Ambassador undersecretary of state Chum Sounry at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation since May 2015. He also previously served as ambassador of Cambodia to Australia and New Zealand (2008-15); ambassador of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with residence in Moscow (2004-06); and ambassador to Russia (2003-06). From 1995 to 1998, he was first secretary at the Cambodian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and from 1989 to 1993, he was first secretary at the Cambodian Embassy in Bulgaria. Additional postings within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation include director of the Personnel Department (2006-08); director of the Information Department (1999-2003); deputy director of the Americas Department (1998-99); and assistant to the undersecretary of state (1993-95). Ambassador Chum holds a bachelor’s degree in public laws and speaks English and French. Born July 6, 1956, in Phnom Penh, he is married with two sons.

Cameroon Solomon E. Tatah became minister counselor at the Cameroonian Embassy in May 2018. He previously served as director of the Commonwealth Department at the Ministry of External Relations (2015-17) and former deputy director of the United Nations Department at the Ministry of External Relations (2010-15).

Colombia Francisco Santos Calderón became ambassador of Colombia to the United States on Sept. 17, 2018, having previously served as vice president of Colombia from Ambassador 2002 to 2010 under the Francisco Santos administration of President Calderón Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Prior to being named ambassador, in 2017, he was appointed head of national debate by the Democratic Center Party, a position from which he worked toward consolidating the national party at a regional level. In 2015, Ambassador Santos ran for mayor of Bogota on the Democratic Center Party ticket. He created the Fundación Confianza Colombia, promoting democracy and citizen participation in public affairs, as well as developing ideas in the political, economic and social spheres. As Colombia’s vice president, his policy priorities were the fight against corruption, extortion and kidnapping and ridding the country of anti-personnel mines. He also led Colombia’s international promotion of trade, investment and tourism. In March 2000, while working as assistant director of the newspaper El País, he went into exile in Madrid, Spain, because of threats from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Prior to that, Ambassador Santos served as night editor-in-chief (198788) and then deputy editor (1988-89) of the newspaper El Tiempo. In the late 1980s, he also

Malta

include counselor and chargé d’affaires of the Slovak Embassy in Switzerland (1998-99); acting head of the Department for Policy Planning and Analysis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (199798); spokesman at the ministry (1996-97); and second secretary of political affairs at the Slovak Embassy in Germany (1993-96). Ambassador Korčok studied at the Economic University and Comenius University, both in Bratislava. Born April 4, 1964, in Banská Bystrica, he is married with two sons.

Keith Azzopardi became ambassador of Malta to the United States on Fax to: The Washington Diplomat at: (301) 949-0065 Sept. 17, 2018, having previously served as ambasE-mail to: news@washdiplomat.com Ambassador sador to Austria and the permanent representative Keith Azzopardi Mail to: 1921 Florida Ave. NW Washington DC 20009 to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the U.N. agencies in Vienna. He also worked as a political advisor in the European Parliament taught journalism and international relations Estonian Ministry of Defense, including on the Uganda in Brussels, mainly in the Committee of Foreign at several Colombian universities, among them, preparation and implementation of decisions Santa M. Laker Kinyera became deputy chief Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Universidad Central, Universidad Javeriana enhancing Estonia’s defense both independently Defense. His tasks also included work related of mission of the Ugandan Embassy on July 15, and Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano. On Sept. and collectively as part of NATO. He is one of the 2018, superceding Alfred Nnam, who departed to the European Neighbourhood Policy and 19, 1990, Ambassador Santos was kidnapped authors of the National Defense Development the post Jan. 31, 2017. A career diplomat, he the Eastern Partnership, and he participated in on orders from drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, Plan, adopted in 2013, and from 2013 to 2014, has previously served in Copenhagen, Ankara, various Parliamentary Cooperation Committees, remaining in captivity for eight months. He was he was defense policy advisor in Washington, New York and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assemblies and other delegations and missions released on May 20, 1991. In 1993, Ambassador D.C., during Russia’s annexation of Crimea. In in Kampala. to this region. In addition, he formed parts of Santos promoted the Anti-Kidnapping Statute, addition, Ambassador Vseviov was involved in various election observation missions as well as a pioneering tool for the Colombian justice the development of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Vietnam other inter-parliamentary delegations. In the system with regard to the thousands of victims Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDOE) in Tallinn NOTE: Although yourNgoc ad became is free of mistakes in spelling and past, he also held every various effort positionsisinmade differentto assure Ha Kim of kidnapping in the country. He also founded and worked in the aftermath of the 2007 cyber contentand it is ultimately to make the youth organizations committees. Bornupin to the customer ambassador of Vietnam to final proof. the first nongovernmental organization against attacks on Estonia in securing the support of the Rabat, Malta, Ambassador Azzopardi received the United States on Sept. kidnapping in the world, Fundación País Libre. White House. From 2005 to 2008, he was also a Thehisfirst two faxed beanmade at no cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes education at Saviochanges College. Hewill holds 17, 2018.Signed Born in 1963, Ambassador Santos was awarded the Neiman policy ambassador to the U.S. involved in rolling willhonors be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. ads are considered approved. degree in international relations from Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc Fellowship at Harvard University and the Paul out visa-free travel for Estonian citizens. In 2005, the University of Malta and a master’s degree Ambassador servedany in the diplo- to Ha Please check this ad carefully.has Mark changes your Harris Medal in 1993, the highest distinction Ambassador Vseviov completed his military Kim ad. Ngoc in diplomatic studies from the Mediterranean matic service since 1988. given by Rotary International. He completed service as an officer in the reserve forces of the Academy of Diplomatic Studies. He is married From 2013 to 2018, he was deputy minister of is correct sign and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs changes his studies at the University of Kansas and the Estonian Defense Forces. He is a graduate of theIf the ad to Daoruang Pimpila and they have a daughter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of relaUniversity of Texas, earning degrees in journalism Department of Political Science at the University named Kimberly. tions with countries in the Americas, especially (301) 933-3552 and Latin American studies, respectively. Born on of Tartu and earned a master’s degree with The Washington Diplomat the United States, as well as with the United Oct. 14, 1961, in Bogota, he is married to Maria honors in securitwy studies from Georgetown Slovak Republic Nations and other international organizations. Victoria García and has four children: Benjamin, University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of ForeignApproved __________________________________________________________ In addition, he has held various positions in the Ivan Korčok became ambasChanges ___________________________________________________________ Gabriel, Carmen and Pedro. Service. Born in 1981, Ambassador Vseviov is Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including assistant sador of the Slovak Republic ___________________________________________________________________ married with two children; his father is historian minister of foreign affairs and director-general to the United States on Cyprus David Vseviov. of Department of Americas (2011-13); directorSept. 17, 2018, having Marios Lysiotis became ambassador of Cyprus general and executive assistant to the deputy previously served as state Germany to the United States on Sept. 17, 2018, having Ambassador prime minister and foreign affairs minister secretary at the Ministry Ivan Korčok most recently served as diplomatic advisor to Emily Margarethe Haber (2008-11); deputy director-general of the of Foreign and European the minister of defense since 2016. In addition, became ambassador of Department of Americas (2007-08); and head of Affairs since 2015. Prior toof our he was ambassador of Cyprus to France and Germany to the United the North America Division at the Department of that, Ambassador Korčok was minister délégué permanent delegate to UNESCO (2011-16), readers have States in June 2018. A career Americas (2001-02). From 2004 to 2007, (2016-17) and plenipotentiary (2015-17) for the as well as ambassador to Austria, permanent foreign service officer, she Ambassador Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc was economic Slovak completed Presidency of the Council of the European representative to the United Nations Organizawas previously deployed Emily Margarethe counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, Union. Hepost-graduate was also ambassador of the Slovak tion in Vienna and permanent representative to to the Federal Ministry of Haber and from 1997 to 2000, he was vice consul and Republic to the EU in Brussels (2009-15) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation the Interior, serving as state head of the Economic Section at the Vietnamese * In addition, ambassador to Germany (2005-09). . in Europe (2008-11). Other postings include secretary overseeing security and migration Consulate General in San Francisco. Ambassador he was head of the Slovak Delegation on the deputy director of the Diplomatic Office of the at the height of the refugee crisis in Europe. Ha Kim Ngoc graduated from the Diplomatic accession talks to NATO (2003); a member of President of the Republic, focusing on European In this capacity, she worked closely with the Academy of Vietnam in 1985. He studied the European Convention in Brussels (2002-03); affairs (2006-08); permanent representative U.S. administration on topics ranging from the Russian at Kiev University in Ukraine from 1986 state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus to the Council of Europe (2004-06); fight against international terrorism to global to 1987 and earned a master’s degree in interna(2002-05); director-general of the Division of the Cyprus Question Division of the Ministry cyberattacks and cybersecurity. In 2009, she was International Organizations and Security Policy tional relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Foreign Affairs (2001-03); the Permanent appointed political director and, in 2011, state of Vietnam in 2010. Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2001-02); and Delegation of Cyprus to Brussels (1997-2001); secretary at the Foreign Office, the first woman is married to Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien and has deputy head of mission of the Slovak Republic the Cypriot Embassy in Sweden (1994-97); the to hold either post. Earlier in her career, Ambastwo children. to NATO in Brussels (1999-2001). Other postings Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993); sador Haber served at the German Embassy and diplomatic advisor to the President of the in Ankara. In Berlin, she has served as deputy Republic (1991-93). Prior to joining the Foreign head of the Cabinet and Parliamentary Liaison Service in 1991, Ambassador Lysiotis worked in Division, as director of the OSCE Division, and as the International Relations Service of the House deputy director-general for the Western Balkans. of Representatives (1988-90) and taught at Ambassador Haber has extensive knowledge Cypriot Higher Education Institutions Research of the Soviet Union and Russia, having worked (1985-88). He studied philosophy and political both in the Soviet Union Division at the German science at the at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques Foreign Office and, on various occasions, at the in Grenoble, France, and holds a licence de German Embassy in Moscow, where she served philosophie, maitrise sciences politiques and as head of the Economic Affairs Section and head D.E.A. etudes politiques. Born Nov. 25, 1958, he of the Political Affairs Department. Ambassador is married to Eleni Michaelidou-Lyssioti and has Haber attended schools in New Delhi, Bonn, a daughter, Sophia. He speaks Greek, English Paris, Brussels, Washington and Athens. From and French. 1975 to 1980, she studied history and ethnology www.washdiplomat.com in Cologne, earning her Ph.D. with a dissertation Estonia on German foreign policy during the Morocco Jonatan Vseviov became ambassador of Estonia crisis on the eve of World War I. Ambassador to the United States on Sept. 17, 2018, having Haber is married to Hansjörg Haber and they previously spent 10 years working at the have two sons.

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there are the oil and gas-rich Gulf monarchies. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar have all recently made visits to Moscow, while the Saudis have also signaled that their main concern now is not kicking Assad out, but containing Iran. Reconstruction aid might be traded for an effort to sideline Tehran. Yet there is currently no clear mechanism for removing Iran’s presence in Syria, even if Gulf aid in reconstruction was a potential reward. “Russia doesn’t have the capacity – or even willingness, currently – to force Iran to leave,” said Daher, “and Iran is now very integrated into the Syrian power structure itself.”

Without a far-reaching political settlement, then, the chances of reconstruction as part of any major countrywide campaign do not look good. This also potentially gives those countries currently tying delivery of reconstruction aid to a settlement some leverage over what that settlement might look like. Indeed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has angrily decried the blocking of reconstruction aid, alleging that Western coun-

CREDIT: UN PHOTO / ESKINDER DEBEBE

Staffan de Mistura (on screen), the U.N. special envoy for Syria, briefs the Security Council on the situation in Syria on May 16, 2018, in New York.

tries and U.N. agencies have been obstructing efforts to restore the Syrian economy to gain political advantage. That leverage might also be crucially used to determine the way in which future reconstruction assistance is administered and targeted. Some have argued that this should be done via non-regime actors, such as NGOs and pri-

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vate sector companies, bypassing the regime itself. Yet others see flaws in this approach. “After years of war, NGOs in Syria have very limited capacity,” said Daher, “while most of the remaining private sector businessmen are strongly linked to the regime.” As for reaching a political settlement, with the military dynamics clearly in the regime’s favor, there is little immediate pressure from

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the battlefield for it to compromise. This may change, but in the meantime, pressure for a settlement – and thus, the opening of reconstruction coffers — will likely come largely from the two diplomatic processes currently underway. The first of these is under the U.N. auspices in Geneva, and the second is the socalled “Astana Process” between Russia, Iran and Turkey. The Astana trio met with U.N. Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura in Geneva on Sept. 10 and 11. That was followed by consultation talks between the U.N. envoy and the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. None of the meetings produced concrete outcomes. But Russia and Turkey did strike a tentative deal in midSeptember to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in Idlib to separate rebels from government troops. The move temporarily put a stop to Assad’s offensive in the province, where an earlier barrage of punishing airstrikes showed that the war is still far from over. “Sooner or later, countries will have to think what they really want, here,” said Kabbani. “There is a shared interest in Syria remaining stable, but what does that mean? We have to be clear. With reconstruction funds, too, it has to be clear what we want those funds to do. When the Soviets left Afghanistan, funds didn’t flow in and now it’s still a disaster. No one wants that to happen again.” WD Jonathan Gorvett (jpgorvett.com) is a freelance writer and journalist specializing in Near and Middle Eastern affairs.

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Khadija Said, founder and manager of a company that processes natural bee honey, was among over 20 African women entrepreneurs who came to the Meridian International Center over the summer as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

Meridian CONTINUED • PAGE 20

exhibition with young Iranian artists, visits by Prime Minister José María Aznar of Spain, the crown prince of Denmark and the foreign ministers of the EU, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, China and many other countries. I also have very fond memories of working for three outstanding chairmen who are truly remarkable individuals: [former U.S.] Ambassador Jim Jones, [former Michigan] Gov. Jim Blanchard and [former Commerce] Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, all of whom made my job easier. WD

What memories and takeaways stand out most in your mind over the years? HOLLIDAY:There are so many memories. I remember Paris as a child and being proud when the Apollo astronauts who landed on the moon came to visit. I got to spend time in countries like Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt, where I began to understand those cultures and what drives them. I remember serving in the Navy during Operation Desert Storm and working at NATO during a turbulent period when the Soviet Union was collapsing. Working in the White House for President [George W.] Bush was an honor and a vantage point that was truly unique in helping shape the government by recruiting good people. I distinctly remember being in the West Wing on Sept. 11, 2001, and having to evacuate along with my staff. Working as U.S. ambassador to the United

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PHOTO: MERIDIAN INTERNATIONAL CENTER

Nations Security Council under John Negroponte and then Jack Danforth was another memorable experience. Nothing focuses your mind like sitting in a chair that says United States of America in front of it and voting for your country. Finally, I have many memories from my time

at Meridian, including hosting and interacting with thousands of world leaders and several secretaries of state here, along with hundreds of events that were each memorable in their own way. This includes [jazz legend] Dave Brubeck’s last public concert, having Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice open our cultural

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Improve care. Improve lives. Change a child’s life forever. Donate to help find cures, inspire innovation and provide world-class care for every child. Gifts to Children’s National fuel the work of experts like Dr. Andrew Campbell. He investigates novel drugs and therapies to treat sickle cell disease. His research promises healthier futures for the 300,000 babies born each year and more than 4 million people worldwide living with this inherited blood disorder. Contributions are essential to breakthrough pediatric medicine. When you support Children’s National, you: • Offer more kids the chance to grow up stronger • Invest in new therapies and cures for childhood diseases • Ensure that every child can receive the same level of care, regardless of their family’s insurance or ability to pay

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ChildrensNational.org/giving 48 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | OCTOBER 2018