Let the races begin...

Something that we consistently deal with in living in this part of the world is having things that constantly change our routine.  Last month it was Ramadan.  This month it is an election.  The current election is for voting in a new parliament for the region, but not for the country as a whole.  Therefore, it is an incredibly personal thing for the folks here as their loyalties have to do with their families, jobs and even social standings. 

It is interesting how politics are organized here.  One thing is that campaigning is only allowed for one month prior to the election.  While this might sound brilliant to some American folks who deal with what seems like endless campaigning for at least a year or more prior to a big election, it also makes for one crazy month here; particularly because campaigning looks a bit different here.

One thing that happens is decorating.  Overnight on the first day that marked the thirty days of campaigning we all awoke to a much more colorful city.  The primary colors we initially saw were green, blue and red.  These colors represent the three primary parties that are at play in this election.  However, over the coming days we saw additional colors pop up representing other smaller parties who wanted to be a part of it all.  We also saw tons, and I mean TONS, of pictures go up of the various representatives for the parties.  When people vote they choose a party and they also vote for one person from within that party.  Then, when all of the votes are tallied it is determined what percentage of seats each party wins.  Then those seats are given to party candidates who received the most votes.  Interestingly, you don’t hear much about what individuals stand for, but rather one decides based on what that party can do for them.  Historically, the largest party (the green one) has been the most popular in our area and also provides a ton of jobs.  However, there is a newer party (the blue one) that has captured the hearts of many of the younger adults in our city because they use the idea of “change.”  It is unclear to us as foreigners what change exactly they hope to affect, but folks like the idea of a group that wants to change the status quo.  There is also great passion behind those who devote themselves to various other parties and the result basically is a mix of folks who party and celebrate the process, and those who engage in violence and brutality in the name of their beliefs.  This gets particularly muddled when you mix politics and religion, which is also a common occurrence here.

decorations in the bazaar

the "green" party's headquarters

various party's candidates

Another interesting aspect of the campaigning is the traffic jams.  In the evenings we have learned to stay away from one particular road where traffic can be backed up several miles as cars, covered in banners, drive around honking their horns while the passengers hang out of the windows waving flags.  Some of the cars will even stop so people can get out and dance!  One of the parties decorated their headquarters with Christmas lights!  It is quite the festive scene at times.  Festive, that is, if you don’t need to be anywhere in any particular hurry!

traffic...plus the car on the left you can see some flags

Elections are scheduled to be held in approximately two weeks.  So we are half way through this season and wondering what next month might bring!  We remain neutral on any political positions and try our best to communicate to our friends that we are simply for them.  We also remain flexible and try not to let inconveniences bother us too much.  We also try to remain diligent in being aware of what goes on around us, as politics can bring out the worst in some.  I hope this has given you a picture of our part of the world.  We are one little snapshot amongst a backdrop of some nearby dire political situations.  We work hard at being aware of all of these situations and seeing how we can be a part of affecting things for good.  I encourage you, although you may feel very far away from here, to educate yourself on what’s happening in the world.  Don’t expect to be able to cover everything, but find a couple of good news sources that highlight things outside of the U.S.  Knowing these things rounds out your worldview and even informs your prayer life.  This is very much still a work in progress for me, so I am simply inviting you to join with me as we grow in this area!

This video is taken near one of the offices for the "blue" party.  It is their message that is being broadcast to those nearby.