My World In Words , From Gaza .: 2012

Tick Tock....

By Ziad Bakri - December 23, 2012

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He woke up with a big smile on his face . It was mother's day . It was all planned in his mind . He hurried to the kitchen and started preparing the usual breakfast he always prepares for her in this occasion.

He started boiling the water and went to the garden , he was not walking , he was almost dancing . When he reached there , he picked a red rose , his mother's favorite , put it in a vase and put it on the tray.

Looking at the flower , he remembered the morning of his first job interview , he was scared and terrified and he thought that he did his best to hide it , but as usual , she understood him and on his way to get out of the house , she hugged him and gave him a rose .

'Don't worry , you will do great God willing . Take this flower , and while it is with you, remember that your mom is praying for you.'

He told her that he is no longer a child and she was exaggerating , but he ended up keeping the flower in his hand until he entered the office for the interview.

While cutting the cheese , he cut his finger , he put his hand under water to stop the bleeding . He smiled , thinking of all the mornings his mother spent by his bed while he was sick , tired or even depressed.

The breakfast was ready , he opened all the windows of the house , he wanted to be full of light and walked to her room.

A flashback of the morning after … after the girl whom he was in love with traveled and he was sure that she won't come back . He stayed in his room and kept the windows closed , even though it was morning , his room was as dark as night with no moon , he never told her that he was in love , but a mother's heart never misses. She knew deep inside that his heart was broken . She got in the room , and opened the windows and told him :"Let the light into your room , into your life my dear son . We all pass through stages where we lose people or things that mean a lot to us , but life has to go on , and in order to keep living it , we need it to be full of happiness, full of mornings. "

With every step , with every second of that morning , he remembered all the mornings he spent with her . Every smile , every prayer , every tear , every hug , every discussion , every secret , every feeling he had with her .

He opened the door , put the tray on the bed , got down on his knees and started crying .

The bed was empty …..

'I miss you my mother …. Oh God , I really miss you '

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The End Of My Little Dream : Gaza War , 2012

By Ziad Bakri - November 15, 2012

I had a little dream , to have a blog that expresses me , my ideas , thoughts , stories, with NO POLITICS AT ALL. Simply, I am the last person to discuss politics ,because I understand nothing about it , and I felt that recently , every Gazan blog is related to politics in some way. That is why , My blog's name WAS :"My World In Words : A Politics Free Blog" , like sugar-free stuff. I wanted it to be a new way for others to see that Palestinians are not only about politics, they are about culture, feelings, love, community and dreams.

Today , 16/11/2012 , 04:07 a.m. , I am unable to sleep , because the Israeli planes are bombing everywhere around our house. The house is LITERALLY shaking , the destroyed places are less than a minute away from us.

It all started before less than forty-eight hours when we were asked to leave our workplace because of the bombing that was happening . My students were terrified, me and the other teachers had to calm them down , make sure they have a safe ride home and went back to ours.

Is it a Déjà vu ? Is 2008 happening AGAIN !!! Oh God, till now , I haven't completely gotten over it . I , the person who was blessed and stayed safe in the last war, havn't gotten over it , what about the others who have lost their beloved ones, houses and hopes ?!

Since then , planes has not stopped flying and roaming in the sky, a reminder that we might be killed at any moment.

Our friend's house was destroyed , glass gotten into her eyes , they are sleeping in the only one room left . This is just one story !!!

Calls and messages are non-stop , from Gaza and outside Gaza . My best friend, who is supposed to be having the time of his life getting a training in New York City for five weeks, is calling us, panicking , freaking out , not able to enjoy his time knowing that his family and beloved ones are in danger.

My friends in Gaza are calling and sending messages all the time , it doesn't matter whether it is the middle of the night or noon , we are up all the day , barely sleep for an hour or two to wake up horrified at the voice of another bombing reminding us that it is NOT OUR RIGHT TO SLEEP SAFELY !!!

Another friend of mine, she traveled one day before the problems started, she thought that she would be out of Gaza for a couple of days and then she will be back. She was wrong !!! She doesn't know when she will be back , she became crazy, she wants to come to Gaza now, everyone is trying to calm her down.

What worries me the most is my mother, she is afraid more than ever . I want to calm her down , but it requires being a full time actor to pretend that you don't care and the situation is not that bad.

Right now , I am listening to Al Fajr Adan (calling for prayer) … This is all what I have , a belief that Allah will help and protect us .

Praying for Allah to protect all Gaza's children , mothers, women , men . Asking Allah to be able to see the day where my dreams come true, where I have a life , a normal life, where I can sleep knowing that I am not in danger of being bombed , that I can move safely anywhere … simply, where I can feel that I am ….. a human being !!!

One last note : My blog's name has changed , it is "My World in Words" , that is it , my little dream is OVER !!!!

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Atfaluna Restaurant : The First Restaurant Run By Deaf People In Gaza

By Ziad Bakri - November 01, 2012

Atfaluna Restaurant :

The first restaurant run by deaf people in Gaza

When you enter Atfaluna restaurant , you will like the elegant decoration , the corner filled with embroidery and manual crafts and the friendly environment. The food there is really nice , too. But , this is not the special thing about this restaurant , what makes Atfaluna restaurant a special one is that all the people working in it are deaf.

When I entered with my family , we had to wait for five minutes since there were no available tables , the restaurant was full !! The waiters around us saluted us with a lovely smile while an extra table was being prepared for us.

If you look around you , you will see beautiful pictures hanging on the walls , menus covered with different embroidered covers and beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling . Guess what ?? All of these things were made by members of Atfaluna Association !!!!

The employees work as bees in a beehive . They are moving from one table to another, making sure that all the customers are happy and satisfied.

What I loved the most is how sweet the waiters were with the children , they were watching and playing with them.

When we were ready to order , the waiter came and we pointed at the items that we wanted from the menu.

The food looked tempting, I enjoyed my sandwich , chicken with cheese and corn . My mom , who loves seafood , had fish and said that it was clean and delicious. My sister ordered burger , and it was nice .

Looking at the glass wall next to where we were sitting , I saw another section of the restaurant , the 'Express' section , where you can get ice cream or a drink to go . The employees were smiling ALL the time! even when they were not dealing with customers !!

BRAVO Atfaluna !!! You managed through this project and many other ones to enable the people with disabilities to be productive and effective in their community . For the first time , when I was in the restaurant, people with disabilities were serving others instead of being served.

Atfaluna ….. I am PROUD of you …

I highly recommend visiting Atfaluna restaurant for its delicious food , nice decoration , friendly environment and to show support for a wonderful project and amazing people .

This main website of Atfaluna Association : http://www.atfaluna.net/

[ The first two photos in the article were taken from some websites that talked about the restaurant. The last two were taken by the writer of the article ]

Written by : Ziad Bakri

1/11/2012

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alcohol

The Extreme !!!

By Ziad Bakri - October 28, 2012

She rushed into her room very quickly , put on her clothes and ran into the balcony to stop the catastrophe that her neighbor called to tell her about. She told her that her husband was standing in the balcony wearing nothing but his boxer shorts !!!

He was standing , holding a cigarette in his hand , not caring about the big number of neighbors standing on their balconies , looking at him .

She stood by the balcony's door and whispered angrily "Are you crazy ? come in ."

He did not even look at her , as if nothing was said .

"The weather is nice , come and stand with me ." He said , calmly !

"Come in , you are a shame! Standing on the balcony wearing nothing , nothing !!!"

Not looking at her : "Oh , I guess you received one of your neighbor's phone calls . Well , if they are offended by looking at me , they can simply not look or go into their houses."

She got really angry , she stepped into the balcony and started yelling.

"Thank God my neighbors are still talking to me after all the scandals that you have recently caused. What is wrong with you ? don't you have any morals ?"

He was not offended nor angry but he decided to turn and face her .

And then he was shocked !! She was not wearing a scarf only , she was wearing a veil . A veil that covers her whole face with nothing shown except her eyes.

He was not only angry , he was literally livid .

"A veil ? A veil ?" He screamed at her "What is wrong with you ?"

"Let's go and speak inside the house."

"What house are you talking about ? you mean the religious institute that three people are living in it , eating , drinking and sleeping ? This is no longer a house , no longer a house !!"

She wanted to be calm but couldn't stop herself.

"Are you upset because I am being more religious ? Are you angry at me because I am trying to clean our lives of all the nonsense you are getting us into ? You should be happy not sad for having a wife like me ."

"A wife ? you still call yourself a wife ! when was the last time since you were a wife ? a wife who sits with her husband and talk to him about their life , a wife who would agree to go out and have a nice day ? you stopped being a wife years ago , I am a husband with NO wife ."

" A husband with no wife ? what about me , having to deal with all your promiscuous actions , drinking alcohol , knowing women behind my back , having no religious behaviors , standing like this in the balcony ? Do you want me to be a wife for a husband like you ? Do you ?"

Everyone in the neighborhood was looking at them , some people even got their lunch and started eating it while watching . They were so angry that they couldn't notice or recognize the presence of others.

Their daughter , who was five years old , was standing there , watching them . Silently , she was begging them not to fight anymore , her eyes full with tears , not understanding why her parents are yelling at each other. After couple of minutes , she went inside the house.

One of the neighbors , Aida , told her niece who was watching the scene with her "I just don't know what happened with them , in the past , they were a perfect normal couple , they used to sit down on the balcony and have tea together. Both of them was moderately religious , he used to pray in the mosque and she used to wear a scarf …. But suddenly things started to change , the more she got into religion , the more he got into …..let me say it this way , being unreligious. "

"But who do you think is more mistaken?" her niece asked .

"Both of them , when she started being more religious, she only concentrated on praying more and wearing more decent clothes, but she forgot something very important , that Islam encourages women to live their lives , and participate in the family's activities . She simply stopped being a woman , and that was her biggest mistake. "

She continued :" As for him , maybe he reacted to her new lifestyle by doing the extreme opposite, or maybe he got dragged to it by himself . "

The couple continued fighting . . .

"You know what you should call the house ? " He yelled at her , "The Mosque!! And the people should come here , pray and take religion lessons "

"Well" she yelled back " It is better than calling it 'the Night Club' , anyway it cannot be a mosque with alcohol in it . You disgust me , you really do !!!"

Aida went on talking with her niece " In the past , people used to sit on their balconies and watch the beautiful flowers planted and the happiness in their eyes , now….."

Suddenly , Aida stopped talking , her niece looked back at their balcony , the shouting has stopped ….. there was silence ……..

The couple were not looking at each other, they were looking at the door of the balcony , at their daughter who was standing by it .

She was wearing her mother's praying clothes , with full make up on her face.

She was holding the Holy Quran in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

Everyone was shocked at that scene.

Still not looking at each other ..

"What have we done?" , he said

"What have we done?" , she repeated

And for the first time in a long time , they used the word 'We' …….

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Letter Three : To My Bully [My Cancer Letters]

By Ziad Bakri - September 24, 2012

My Cancer Letters

( Letters written by a 29 year old guy who found out

that he has cancer and less than a year to live )

Letter Three : To My Bully ____________________________________________

No greetings ,

I found out a while ago that I had cancer .

When I first heard the news , I was lost . I did not know whether to cry or scream . Not that I did not want to , I simply did not know !!!

I walked in the streets for hours, asking God to help me find my way out , to get out of this unknown state. I tried to think of someone , any person whose memory would comfort me , my mother , fiancé or best friend , but I don't know how ….. you came up !!!

My state of lost turned into a surprise and shock. Thinking about why you came up in my mind took me away from the cancer news . I sat on the pavement , not caring about the huge number of people passing by me , looking and even starring . I couldn't notice the loud noises of the cars' horns.

I lied on my back on the pavement , right in the middle of the noises and the people's feet slightly kicking my hands and head by mistake.

Minutes later , I felt someone lying next to me , it was a young girl , I guess she was twelve years old . I did not care about her , until she stood up and looked down at me , our faces were opposite to each other.

"Are you poor ?" she asked .

I turned my face to the other side . she moved to face me .

"Are you poor ?" she asked , again !

"No , I am not "

"Then why are you sleeping in the street ? why don't you go to your home ?"

" I cannot "

"Why ? did you do something wrong ?"

I wanted to let the girl go away , I did not know what to do , I stayed silent for a while.

"No, but there is a bully at my school who is waiting for me there "

"Your school ? you are too old to be at school , you need to study harder then "

At that moment , I only heard the voice of the girl and the tapping of the people's shoes .

All the yelling at us , the cars and everything turned into silence.

A man kicked me hard. So I stood up and started walking , I did not look back . After some minutes , I found a bench and sat on it .

"Now, let's talk about the bully issue "

I turned my head and got shocked by the girl who , apparently , has followed me . I wanted to ask her to leave me but I did not have the energy to do it .

I sighed "Huh , , don't you have a house to go to Ms. Wise ?"

"Forget about me. " She said

Looking at my total amazement , she completed " Running away is never the solution , you need to calm down and think about how to deal with the bully . Sometimes you need to run out from the back door , others you need to lie but at one point you must face him "

Suddenly , I knew the answer !!

The reason why I was thinking of you !!

YOU ARE MY CANCER !!!

My cancer is nothing but a new bully in my life .

Can I always run out of the school to avoid him ? No. I just need the patience to know what to do .

And for the first time since knowing the news , I was able to feel . To be afraid , terrified , sad and angry. It doesn't matter as long as I was able to feel !!

I stood up , hugged the little girl , thanked her and went on .

My bully ,

I am writing this letter to thank you ….

Thank you for letting me know that life is not a fairy tale .

Thank you for teaching me how to be patient when facing bad people , how to accept bad

behaviors around me as a reality that I need to deal with , not to run from .

Thank you for making me smarter , to think more and be wiser.

My bully ,

I forgive you …..

I have cancer .

Please , don't feel sorry for me , if you do , you will prove that you have feelings , but cancer does not , and this idea is what I need to stick to until I figure out what to do with what is left .

Thank you .

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My World In Words, From Gaza.

Tick Tock....

A Different Morning

The End Of My Little Dream : Gaza War , 2012

Atfaluna Restaurant : The First Restaurant Run By Deaf People In Gaza

The Extreme !!!

Letter Three : To My Bully [My Cancer Letters]

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