In my Asian Literature class we have been reading some Arabic writers as of late and one that we came across that also showed up in my reading list for this class was Ghassan Kanafani. We read All That’s Left to You in class and discussed it. It was a novella of sorts and then a collection of other short stories that would have been influential in our own class I think if we would have looked at them. They gave very detailed glimpses into the everyday average life of people in the Arabic nations. Folk tales and just everyday occurrences that we really have not gotten to look at too much. The title story though was a very interesting tale about a brother and sister who live together than have a falling out when the sister becomes impregnated by a less that desirable character. The brother, Hamid, has no choice but to marry his sister Maryam to the swine Zakkaria. The story is told in three different narratives, one being Hamid’s which is in bold face type, Maryam’s which is the regular type and the desert/time which holds the italics type. The three different story lines all verge on the same principle that time is all that’s left to you in this world when you have nothing left at all. How much time passes between a breath, a blink of an eye or a sunrise is what you have to hold on to when you have nothing left. The time it takes Hamid to cross the desert, or the time it takes for Zakkaria’s blood to drain from his body after Maryam stabs him. Time is the driving force in much of society and when you have nothing, it’s all that you have left to you.

Waltz with Bashir

The movie Waltz with Bashir was extremely confusing; perhaps it was because we skipped some parts or because there were so many characters, but I was struggling to really understand the concept behind it. I enjoyed it for its message and themes and the story line in general was interesting but it did not hold my attention very well. I gathered that the Israel army was protecting Lebanon from Palestine and that inside of that conflict the Lebanon Christian Army’s leader Bashir was killed and that led to the massacres of Shatila and Sabra. The Israel army then told them to stop though they took no action and therefore they cleaned their hands of the situation. I could be totally wrong in that summary and if I am please someone correct me!! Lol!! But I did enjoy the ending where it was live action and you could really appreciate the situation for what it really was. Those women were so heartbroken and it could have all been stopped if someone would have acted. That is one of the downfalls of society today as a whole, the inability to act when the time is right. It seems that so many conflicts could have been ended sooner or avoided all together is someone would have acted when the problem arose and acted in the correct manner.

Memories

When I found out that this story, Five Years of My Life, was a memoir of a man who had been treated the horribly by American soldiers, I thought I was going to be sick. The things that the poor guy went through were unbearable not to mention inhumane. He was only a tourist and because he looked different and spoke a different language than the soldiers he was singled out and taken to be interrogated. I thought things would turn around for him quickly but they did not. They simply became worse and worse and time progressed. I was very upset at the end of the story. Especially upset when it came time for him to be reunited with his family and he did not even recognize them. Though I disagree with the torture methods used in Guantanamo I have to say that we are in a war and sometimes things need to happen that are not exactly pristine. What I am not saying is that we need to destroy a person’s world by torturing them every day as was described in the story, but there should be times when we capture enemies and interrogate them for information. To get the truth sometimes you have to break a person’s will and there are ways to do that that are not as inhumane as what this man witnessed but are strategies none the less. I guess what I am trying to say is that sometimes in extreme situations morals need to be pushed aside and not taken into account so that the general welfare of the nation and world as a whole is not endanger of complete annihilation.

War in the Land of Egypt

War in the Land of Egypt was an extremely interesting story to read. I was not able to read it in the beginning of the course but I did catch up on it during our snow day! I found it extremely frustrating that even though the Umda was a terrible man he was never convicted of his crimes because the government covered it up! The Umda was so worried about his place in society and that was his main motivation he could cover it up as much as he wanted, saying that he could not see to have his wife in pain, but the truth lies in the fact that he was in power and he did not want to lose that power. He had recently come back into his lost land and now that he was the top dog again he could not stand to see that leave him. He was a most despicable character and I was really annoyed with him at the story’s end. I have to commend Masri though for his actions. He went to war so that his family could keep their land though he didn’t want to. My observation of him throughout the novel led me to believe that after he had told his story he wanted to die a hero or come back as an honored veteran of the war. He charged into battle with a fierce determination and he ended up dying for a cause that really was not his. I was more or less upset with Masir’s father and the fact that he forced the situation upon his son. I would never have done something like that to my own family. I can understand his reasoning but his decision doesn’t place much emphasis on keeping a family together; keeping them rich and happy yes, but not together. The officials that were all easily corrupted leave me to think that the main force of political and social power in Egypt is money, which is not too different from America. I do not know of any cases to this magnitude but at the same time I do not put it past Americans to scheme their way out of things by using money as a motivational tool.

East meets West

Tuesday in class we discussed the book Does My Head Look Big in This? and I was intrigued by the plot of the story and can’t wait to read it. I was unable to get a copy in time to read the novel. We also had a guest speaker, Monica Eraqi come in a talk to us about her time in the Middle East and growing up as a Muslim in America. She had a lot to say and many opinions about the relationship between women and the hijab. I was intrigued by the story she told about her cousin and the student who both eventually stopped wearing the headscarf all together because they felt it made them feel to different, too much of an outsider. Which in some cases can be true of high school students and even adults, but I feel that those young girls did more to hinder their cause then fight for it. I know that I’ll never understand what it was like for them, but I also understand that being different can be scary, but if you don’t fight for your differences than you can’t expect others to understand that your differences are what make the world a better place. I also thought that it was strange that her father was trying to arrange a partner for her in a roundabout way, when he himself married outside of his faith. I wanted to ask if she ever felt pressured or if she felt he was being hypocritical, but she also didn’t seem to mind that he had done that because she was with someone that he had set up for her currently. So I didn’t press the issue though I wish I would have, it would have been interesting to hear her thoughts on that. I applaud her for continuing to study in Egypt even though the United States had just invaded Iraq. I would have been frightened beyond belief and probably not have gone, but she said it was one of the best decisions she ever made. Class was very interesting and I found out a lot more about how Muslim and Islamic men and women feel about living in the United States.

Talk to an Iraqi

During our discussion in class on Tuesday we watched a short film called Talk to an Iraqi-This American Life. It was a very interesting short film and I wished it could have been expanded upon and lengthened to include many more of the interviews that he had. I feel that many people would benefit from watching this or simply talking to an Iraqi about the situations. This is a great starting point I think for something much larger, possibly a traveling panel of some kind so that more perspectives of the Iraqis can be seen and heard on a much larger scale.

I found a link that leads to a little biography of Haider Hamza, the young man who put together the clips. It was very interesting to learn a little bit more about him as a person and to know why he wanted to do this segment. It is best summarized in the following quote.

Haider said, "I always wondered, what do people in American know of what is happening and do they feel responsible...did this war change their lives at all, since it has for sure changed ours dramatically."

His thoughts and curiousness are on a very basic human level. He wants to know what do Americans know about the war and how do they feel and by viewing the clip you witness that some do not know much at all and that an eleven year old girl has probably the most insight out of anyone that was involved. She apologizes outright for America’s presence and she sympathizes with Haider because her father is serving in the war currently. I felt this was a very important clip to show and I’m glad that we were able to gain a perspective that we don’t usually have the privilege of knowing.

Differences and Ignorance

In class we began watching the movie Arranged, and I finished it outside of class. I felt it was a very powerful movie. The scene that most stood out to me was when the children in the class asked the teachers if they hated each other because of their differing religions, Judaism and Islam. This struck me as odd because when I was that age I would have never made the conclusion between the two teachers and the fact that their religions opposed one another. The teachers handled the situation very well I thought in that they simply came up with an exercise to demonstrate that everyone can harmoniously get along as long as everyone kept an open mind and was respectful of other beliefs. The movie goes on to describe the difficult times the women are having with the concept of arranged marriages. Rochel, the Jewish women, is having an especially hard time with her religion in general because of the customs and regulations. Nasria is often in opposition with her family but they seem to be more understanding about her concerns than Rochel’s family is about her worries. Something else that comes to my mind when I think of this movie is, ignorance is bliss. The principle of the school is very ignorant towards the two teachers and their dressing habits. She is also concerned that she will lose them to their respective religions and that they are being dominated by their fathers. The two women make a joke out of it but at the same time it shows just how little Americans know about the situations that these women face on a daily basis. Rochel’s family also is quite ignorant when Nasria and Rochel begin spending time together. I would have assumed that they would have been more understanding because they are adults and their daughter is an adult but they still seemed to be very negative toward any contact Rochel had with Nasria. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I thought it was an excellent selection for the group!!! GREAT JOB GIRLS!!!!