To read the article on the Huffington Post click here
My two-year-old nephew Omar had been confined to a small apartment with six other screaming children and their families since Israel began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Shortly after a cease-fire was announced on Wednesday, he and his parents returned to our family home in Bait Lahia. My mother, who I spoke to over the phone, said that the first thing that Omar did was rush up the stairs in search of his most prized possession: his bike.
To read the article on the Huffington Post click here
My sister in law and her husband are coming to visit us here in the States this month. They are fleeing the siege and no power, little water and weapons everywhere to be with us for three weeks. We are really thrilled about their visit to us. But since life is so hard in Gaza right now--and many places too, I want to take them to an activity that will make them feel better about life in Gaza.
So it took me some time, but I have finally figured it out, I will be taking them to Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament. Think about it....everyone at the show is scary looking and looks like they can really hurt you.
Little food, everyone is armed, there's no power, just candles. No fuel or cars to people use horses--also common in Gaza. They do not bathe back then as often. And yes wars, and diseases are everywhere around you. I think being part of this show will allow them to see the good things about Gaza. What do you think?
When I am not writing about Arabic music, I like to write about Gaza, Islam and Cats, in this order. I hope you guys are cat people, as dogs in Islam are not as cool as cats are
My latest and I hope you like it... for the entire article click here
In 2005, the municipalities of Gaza had a cat shortage. Cats are important to Gaza as they serve a great purpose, munching on rodents that gather by the local landfills. Apparently, the local governments used a strong kind of poison; so strong that it killed both the rodents and the cats. As the population of cats dwindled, the rodents ran amok. Those were tough times in Gaza, as little kids were traumatized by increasingly bold rabbit-sized rodents who were running around unchallenged.
In 2005, the municipalities of Gaza had a cat shortage. Cats are important to Gaza as they serve a great purpose, munching on rodents that gather by the local landfills. Apparently, the local governments used a strong kind of poison; so strong that it killed both the rodents and the cats. As the population of cats dwindled, the rodents ran amok. Those were tough times in Gaza, as little kids were traumatized by increasingly bold rabbit-sized rodents who were running around unchallenged.
The local governments within Gaza starting offering up to a $100 reward for anyone who could bring them cats, as cats were the answer to keep the rodents in check. So when I crossed the Rafah—Egypt border in August of 2005, and had to spend the night at the border holding area in the desert, cats were all over the place. When 4 other dudes and I wanted to eat our dinner, skinny yet adorable cats started gathering around us in the hopes they could eat, too. Luckily, we had enough shitty corned beef to keep them happy.
As the government put a value on cats, and as more people realized the key role played by those cuddly creatures, Gazans started to breed cats, and started to treat cats with more respect. Within a few years the cat population bloomed. But what’s more important is that people now see the value of cats. In the summer of 2009, I was amazed by how many cats were in the streets. What was more amazing is that many homes have a cat or two that shadow them and emerge at the time of supper. My mother-in-law would feed them, and she had one particular cat that could use a treadmill. Living in the US for such a long time, I came to really appreciate the love and attention the people of Gaza give to those cats. Considering Gaza was still under siege and they lost upward of 1,300 hundred Palestinians due to Israeli attacks on Gaza’s population only a few months prior, it was a breath of fresh air to see this relationship.
Muslims’ love for cats is well documented in history; in fact, one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions, the one that narrates many of his accounts with the prophet, is called “Abu Horayrah”, which translates to “the man with a kitten.” Abu Horaryrah used to have a cat on his shoulder all the time. His nickname took over his name so that till this day, few can tell with certainty what was his real name. While dogs are generally kept outside of Muslim homes, kittens are welcome inside it. Before you misunderstand me, there’s a story that in the time of the prophet, a lady who did all kind of wrongs in her life and lived a wicked life, was guaranteed a place in heaven. Why, you ask? She served a thirsty dog water! That sole act was deemed worthy of redeeming her from all her past transgressions.
It was narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘A woman entered Hell because of a cat which she tied up and did not feed, nor did she let it loose to feed upon the vermin of the earth.’ “ (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3140; Muslim, 2242).
Another interesting fact: Muslims do not believe that you should buy or sell cats and dogs; you can only give them as a gift. This is derived from a hadeeth of Abu’l-Zubayr who said “I asked Jaabir about the price of dogs and cats. He said, ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade that.’ ” (Narrated by Muslim, 1569).
Back to a prank my brothers pulled on me in Gaza. Prior to my arrival in 2009, they found a cat who had just given birth to 3 cute kittens. My brothers asked me to take the kittens to the vet to get them their shots. I told them I’d gladly do it and took the kittens in a cab to the local vet, who mainly dealt with livestock. He looked at the three day-old kittens and said, “Bring them back in a few weeks. Those are too young for any shots and they could die from the effects.” I was disappointed, but I took the kittens back home and found my brothers laughing at me for being a grown man chasing after three kittens to put them in a box for a trip to the vet.
Here’s a video of my rascal nephew, Hani, whose nickname is Foxy. He is running around the cats to put them in the box so that we can transport them to the vet. The picture is of my other nephew Abdallah and his new best friend, a cat that shows up every morning at their apartment. I was told he feeds his cat with a spoon and his mother is enjoying this new friendship as her little boy is learning to take charge of something.
Sure, they are the most loving, caring family who often stay close, which means you can never escape them. They are like capitalism where greed is good. They keep moving the goal posts as you approach them. At times, it seems that your own family is never happy with what you have accomplished, and thus they always set the next milestone for you. Like if you tell someone here in America that you got a new job, they just say "Congratulations", but Arab families in some twisted ways would rain on your parade. It turns out that my family are masters of the Back handed compliments, here’s a sample:
“Mom, I met a cool girl!” “Good for you,” she says, “is she from a good family or does she watch MTV all day?”
“I got married!” She says, “Cool, I look forward to the day you will have kids and they will fill the house for us.”--you live in a refugee camp
“Dad, I have a baby girl!” He replies, “Cool, I look forward to the day you have a boy who will protect that princess.”
“Brother, I got accepted into the Master's Program!” “Cool,” he says, “I look forward to the day you get your PhD.”
“Sister, I got offered a job I have been wanting for a long time!” “Congrats, I look forward to the day you will have your own business.”
“Grandpa, I bought a new car.” “Cool! I look forward to seeing this car trashed as it gives you joy and utility.”
“Honey.... I hit my head!” “Sorry to hear that, I look forward to you living longer and hitting your head a few more times.”
On Facebook, you put a picture of a nice dish you made, and your cousin writes you this comment, "I look forward to the day you have kids who will savor their mother's cooking!"
“Mom, I just got accepted into Harvard!” “Congratulations, one day you will make a nice doctor”--what she refuses to believe is that you will be studying fashion design.
If the first thought on your mind is “WTF!”, then we are on the same page.
Such comments are sometimes innocent and mean no harm, but sometimes, they are meant to zing you. Bringing one some humility, as a reminder they still have a long way to go. They are rarely meant to make the case that you are not good enough!
My issue with such comments is that they are no longer about you. The family members hijack your news and write on it all their own wishes and dreams--all the things they think you would like because they themselves value them. It's tiring, really, to keep up with those games. I just keep a low profile and don’t tell my family much.
On a positive note, such wishes keep me going, marching toward the next big thing in life; they give me goals and purpose. I am sure Arabs are not the only ones who do that. Thank goodness there are the Italians.
Few months ago, I wrote about a new song by the King of Arabic pop Amr Diab, a song in which he tells a young gal that he wishes she was a bit older --two years older so that he can approach her--maybe marry her or something of that nature. When I heard the sneak peak of the song, I was hoping the king of Arab pop wouldn't include it in his album, but he did. Read more about the song here
Well, it's becoming taboo to marry a person younger than 18 even in the Arab world, even here in the States some states allow those of the tender age of 16 to marry. But in all fairness, 16 year olds do get married sometimes, but in my own family, no one has gotten married younger than the age of 18 but one sister of mine. It's all about being busy and having something that keeps you busy. If one is in school or working full time, they can defer as much as they like to.
Now here's what moved me to write this blog, a relative of mine who married a young gal at the tender age of 16 is now having some domestic disturbance--four years later. What I am hearing is this, that wife whose now 21 has upset her husband because supposedly she has been talking to some of his make friends on the phone and for him that was the end of the line.
If this is true, this is sad. Sure she is at fault for doing that, but we really don't know the circumstance of those alleged phone calls. Now here,s what upsets me: if you are marrying someone at a young age, you should expect them to do things wrong. You cannot be sane in your mind and expect them to act like grownups do.
The main reason people marring younger souls quote is that they want to shape the person they are marrying. Even though, I disagree with that mentality of course, but if their purpose is to mold the their spouses personalities, then they have not done a good job shaping the characters of those they are marrying. That's all.
So I have been recently thinking that a 100 year is not distant history.....I began to reflect on this as I watched some interviews I did with my grandpa while in Gaza.
Grandpa was born in the early 1920 and he grew up in Palestine. I was born in the 80s and have lived the stories grandpa told me of our history. Now My grandpa has also known people who lived in the 1800s and he was told his stories and his history as well. Those people who lived in the 1800 have known people who lived in the 1700 and have heard their stories....and there is goes....so notice there is a chain....we pass history to each other...so every and each one of us has been touched by history. In other word I am just realizing that we all are living history and that's why history never dies.
Weird to me, might be insane to you, but to think about history in those terms, it gives me goose bumps....I am sure you know think about the Founding Fathers and if your grandma dated one of them....she might not know it, but she might have known some people who have known them.
Majid is my younger brother who is the tough guy in the family (he is now a family man of 4 cute little girls)
Majid has been our muscles guy for my brothers who are in business, sometimes it pays to have someone who can tell people to walk away or else.
Majid has been sort of my brother keeper, even though he is younger than I am...he always got my back in school or the street.
As kids he would hate me becasue my parents always tell him, "Why cannot be like Hani?" He was the anti-Hani....he has been to Israeli jails three times, he served in the PA quasi army in Palestine where he is still employed. He never cared for school,(Now he went back to college.
Majid called me last week and asked me to get into a business with him, he wants to start an egg laying chicken business. I told him maybe next year and that's becasue I really like both and chicken.
We do not really look alike, at all....I am older than him by a year, 4 months, and two days.
