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----All I got from people about my first post is "It's so U"...!!! So I decided this would be different....enjoy..;)----
So I was walking in Brussels, all alone, feeling like hell….then I saw a veiled girl (bent mo7agaba ya3nii). And I came to notice; there are a lot of Arabs here in Brussels, mainly from North African countries like Morocco or Algeria. I keep running into them, they really do form a percentage of the population here in Brussels. But it's not Brussels we are talking about here....
It just occurred to me then that I feel better when I see a fellow Arab, someone to relate to in a city full of strangers….I began to wonder what my true identity is? What is it that really defines me as a person?
It’s important to mention here that I first got introduced to the concept I’m talking about in this post in a session in ALMUN, first time I ever got to think where I belonged, or to what am I attached. A lot of the ideas in mentioned started from that session, yet I never got to explore these thoughts until now. That ALMUN experience was great, and what I got out of it goes beyond knowledge or skills…..
I have spent quite a while now trying to figure out how to put this right....but failed...so here goes: SC ALMUN 08 was just exceptional!!! Yasser Sondos Salma Moza 'Merci Beaucoup'....
So in that activity, the responses that came from university students who are supposed to be in charge of My Egypt in a few years really surprised/disappointed me. Ely ye2olaak "ahlawy", wely ye2olaak "chipsawy".....this is what youth in Egypt belong to, football teams and TV commercials....not our topic here....
So anyhow I view myself as an Arab, and I’m proud to be one I guess. I relate the weather, the history, the culture and most importantly the people… I crave hearing “Salamu 3aleekom” now –fil 3’orba–, and Arabic writing on any shop or Arabic speaking in the metro makes me smile….I get internal satisfaction every time I think about it....so yes I am an Arab.
But yet…coming to think of it while walking through the streets and parks of Brussels…I’m a whole bunch of things….Arab, Egyptian, Muslim, African….as well I am GUCian, Ahlawy, a scout, MUNer….and a lot more…
So now what? I think of course!!
If I had to take sides or fight for a cause, if I sought more belonging or if I looked deep inside, what would I find?
I found –respectively– a Muslim, Egyptian, Arab, African and a Citizen of the world!
I feel proud when I see a veiled woman taking the metro taking her kids to school, or walking beside me at P&G talking with other employees. I feel at home in the mosque, and look for the ‘Halal’ sign on restaurants with devotion. I don't mind men with long beards, to the contrary, basteraya7lohom....I take my 5 prayers ahl, will fast Ramadan isa, and try to be in touch with Allah as much as I can. I would do literally anything for my religion and so, my Muslim identity comes first….
….closely followed by my Egyptian blood!! I am Egyptian to the bone, to the last breath, to every inch of my body. I can listen to “2a3’any wataneyaa” all day we mazha2sh, I feel home sick when I go away for a couple of days. I love Egypt, The Nile, the pyramids, the hot summer and the crowded metro. The kind people, el 2ahawy we 3arabeyaat el fool. Tawabeer el 7okooma we za7met kobry 6 october….:)) Walking fil sayeda or El Zamalek, buying stuff men 7’an el 7’alily or riding a Falouka….Shops open 24 hrs 7 days a week, football in the streets before and after dawn, Cairo airport with it’s different maze every week and simply drinking 3aseer and eating leb we dora!! Ana Masry we I’m really missing Egypt every single moment here…I can go on about Egypt, on and on and on....!!! Perhaps later…or not…I don’t feel that anyone shares my passion….
We “Ya 7abibty ya Masrr ya Masr” :D
Then comes Mother Africa. Not much to say here….but it might be kool to note that I don't think Africans are 'iffy' at all......If you need more information about Africa and being an African, my African friend “Mohamed Hesham (Moza)” could be a great source, and I would gladly provide his contacts ;).
Next item on the list....
My boss is Filipino, my roommate is French, my colleague next door is probably German, and there are American, Spanish, Tunisian, and Turkish employees on the same floor I work on; so I could say I work in a multicultural workplace!! I have been to several international scout camps, worked in the US and Switzerland, and been to many countries all over the world….so I claim to know what it is to be sharing the same world with 6 billion human beings. Tolerance, understanding and standing firm about who you are some of the key values to being a good Earthen (mesh earthly ya Nada...:P). I am a citizen of the world, but do I consider my self as an international being? Not really….Does any place on planet earth feel like home, and every person like a brother? Probably not….Would I do something for the sole sake of the human race? I really doubt it…..
So that’s mostly the stuff that really define me as a person….the rest being….
Ahlawy….I don’t really care! I think maybe that should go off the list…
GUCian…I really love my university, maybe I’ll post something about that soon…
Scout…….Definitely coming up!!
MUNer….Those who care know, and who don't won't care…!!
More? Maybe. Does anyone really care??.....No one should....
I keep getting distracted and going off topic I know...but maybe that would get better a couple of posts ahead....In the mean time, this can show you what a troubled mind I have....
Tawelt 3aleeko….I think I’ll stop writing now, and go to sleep….I’ve been having trouble waking up already this week…
Over…Wa Domtom….
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4 comments:
Again.. intruiging! As much as it's not a new thought, you bring it up and express it well. It gives insight into who you are, and it's bringing those questions up in me all over again; i think you may guess that i've always had a problem with this. For God's sake my dad is only 25% Egyptian! :)
Anyways, I like this and so far I'm impressed and I'm impressed you are updating this frequently; maybe you'll be my inspiration to start updating as well. Keep it up Bosbos
I think the whole idea of belonging is that we feel secure, like you said, when we are around people who look like us, dress like us, behave like us and do things that are "common", this is what made us chose to belong to someone or something but not the other, I am against categories if they lead to fightings and hostility though..
You were realistic when you talked about the global citizen thing, the idea of someone in Uganda relating to the miseries and the tragedies of people in Honolulu is alittle Utopian, yet I guess it's worth a shot.
I have liked your blog, Keep on writing!
ok, this might seem a little, err, pointless but the first time i saw the blog i was like.. "pink?? lol" but i like it :)
So, concerning the content ba2a, since this is what really matters, i can really identify with the part where u feel better when seeing arabs. When i was in Germany, i felt kind of alienated because i was VISIBLY different with the veil and all. So, u can imagine how much of a relief it was to see veiled girls or middle eastern looking people. When i was walking in Berlin, i heard the music of Amr Diab... even though i can't stand the guy, it was the first time i felt grateful to hear his music... so i know how it feels...
Man, allow me to show my admiration for that post...
What i refer to as an Identity Crisis that most of our generation suffers, you simply fuse those different identities instead of conflicting them.
its not a matter of I either ... OR....
its a combination of all that shapes a person, and makes him unique.
not the categorization, rather the prioritization that matters and defines your identity.
i am glad you still remember the activity and you actually managed to make use of its essence.
continue blogging, its very liberating, am enjoying writing from here as well so i know the feeling it brings.
you got me on the list of followers, so keep me intrigued.
P&G buddy ;)
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