Girl: Part 2

Saudi Arabia

In every raindrop
A red or yellow flower-bud.
Each tear of hungry and naked people,
Each drop spilled from the blood of slaves,
Each is a smile awaiting new lips,
In tomorrow's youthful world, giver of life,
Rain, rain, rain
Arabia will blossom with rain.

(Badr Shakir Al Sayyab)

From the coastal country of Somalia; Girl traveled to the golden deserts of Saudi Arabia. However, even though she was surrounded by deserts, Girl grew up in a city where the mountains reach the clouds. Contrary to the rest of her kingdom; Taif’s mountains were lush green, roses and jasmines blossomed all spring, the weather was mild all summer long and heaven rained ice cubes in winter. Contrary to the rest of her kingdom, there were heaters in the houses for winter and less air conditioners for summer! That was the nature of her city! However, the society of her Taif was not very different then the rest of her Kingdom.

War on Saudi

The grief cry bursts from every lip
Fear sits on every brow,
There's blood upon the courser's flank!
Blood on the saddle bow!

(Old anonymous lines from the land of the Bards, Somalia)

Girl was to start preschool in the summer of 1990. Unfortunately, for Girl, there was no school that year. From the stories of her parents, prior to the month of registration, the Gulf War was at its brink. Many thought that there wouldn’t be a war. They thought Saddam would back out. But he didn’t. The war was waged. Bombs were shed. And Girl missed out on school; cause the Saudis thought it unsafe. But that is trivial compared to what children her age suffered in Iraq and Kuwait at the time. Contrary, she was lucky, and she knew that at five. She vividly remembers stories of bombes in east Saudi, Kuwait and in Iraq. She vividly remembers Kuwaiti refuges flunking Saudi streets. She vividly remembers grotesque images on TV. Above all she remembers a bomb alert in her safe haven.

Taif was said to be safe from Saddam’s grip. It was on the west coast of Saudi. Thus, the royals of Saudi took refuge in Taif. Not only did the royals flunked to Taif, but also others capable of the trip; took on the journey. Girl remembers water shortages at the time, because of the dramatic increase of people. She remembers that her family housed Somali people; strange to her; on the run from central and east Saudi. She later learned that Taif wasn’t the only refuge from the war, but other cities in the west such as Jeddah were on the same boat as Taif. She was told that during the war; people in Jeddah and Taif prayed Salatul Qayeb (prayer offered when the deceased is not present). Thus, Saddam threateningly said, ‘Jeddahns and Taifans will pray Salatul Hadir (prayer offered when the deceased is present) soon’, indicating that there would be deaths among them.

Days after the statement, Girl remembers while climbing a mountain by her house, the flare of a sound. The sound was familiar to her. It came from her TV very often; lately. Every time the sound came; the TV would turn blue with some inscriptions, and every time; after her parents reading the inscriptions; Girl saw them hush to each other; nervously. She had no idea was on TV, nor what was her parents’ worry. Still, she felt secure. Mother and Father were there to protect her.

But this time was different. The sound did not come from the TV. She could hear it blaring throughout the city. Furthermore, this time was very, very different. Mother was in the hospital, because she was bed-bound for pregnancy, and Father was out visiting Mother. As the sound continued, Girl saw people hurrying along to their homes, and thus, sensed to go home like the rest. As she got home; her aunt who was babysitting her and her younger sister was frantic. Mother and Father had called to check on their daughters and found that their eldest was out playing. They were hysterical.

There was no bombs in Taif that night or ever, but Mother lost the baby.

The war was ended without girl ever seeing a bomb shell or a dead body. But her family’s precautions of the war did not diminish. Prior to the war, there were threats of Saddam’s possible usage of chemicals. Thus, masks were purchased, and windows were covered with black garbage bags, and taped to the walls; lest the chemicals get in to the house. They stocked on canned food, bottled water, batteries and flashlights that would be used for a long time after the war. Girl’s family was ready for the attack on Taif. But luckily, there was no attack. Years after the crisis there would still be brown duck tape marks around the windows! Furthermore, the masks that were bought for the war were thrown out almost ten years after the war, prior to their departure to Canada.

That was not the war only Girl lived through!

These wars must have had some serious impact on her life. But you and I will decipher that impact latter. Now let’s focus; you and I on the other war.

Girl

Preface
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/ A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/ Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

(Coleridge, Kubla Khan)

Let’s talk you and I, let’s talk about a girl. Let’s intrude a world that sprang twenty two years tonight.

On a warm, pleasant, moonlit night, February the fourteenth, or the fourteenth of February; a girl was born to her wonderful parents.

Very much unlike tonight there was no snow, the moon was out, the stars were radiant, and the air was pleasant. The location was a tropical city called Moqdishu.

We shall call this girl, Girl.

Disappointment was apparent. Why couldn’t she have been born on February the fifteenth or the fifteenth of February like her Mother? The little thing was; I’m afraid to say, quite, quite useless. Why hasn’t she waited few years to spring? Why had she interrupted Mother’s education? Useless questions! Nonetheless, she arrived and was welcomed for her advent.

A sheep was slaughtered thanking Allah for her safe arrival. Her grandmothers sang her a song of Dua’aa (prayer). In the hospital; Mother refused to depart from Girl even to the washroom, lest another mother replaces her own child with Girl. What a silly eighteen year old was Mother! Silliness continued! Her fourteen year old uncle tried feeding her cookies on her first day home. Excitement spread in her father’s house! Everyone wanted to hold Girl. She was passed on and on and on, till Mother put her foot down. Father was the most excited. On the first day he literally stole Girl from her Mother while a sleep to show her off to his buddies. What a silly twenty four year old was Father!

That was the excitement Girl brought.

Perhaps she was less of a disappointment and more of a blessing. Twenty two years tonight; prove the unconditional love she received from both parents. However, our interest; you and I; is not her birth, but her life, her deepest thoughts, her essence.

I am to convey to you what makes Girl. Perhaps you and I will not fully indulge in Girl’s deepest spring of thoughts and actions. I doubt she even knows herself that well, but you and I will decipher historical life events and presume that Girl came out the way she did because of certain things in her life. I will be the narrator for the next few pages. I will remain in the shadows. But that is only because I haven’t switched the lights on.

You and I will be doing a sort of psychoanalysis to Girl, connecting dots between her subconscious and conscience, between her actions, thoughts, views, and what brought them to be.

Since girl can remember she was fond of words. She was fond of what she can do with words. She was fond of what can be done to words. Since she can remember she loved reading and writing.

To proceed with our mission, we will divide her life to two parts reflecting the circumstances she was in: peace and war. Then we will further divide the two sections into subsections reflecting her major fundamentals.

As mentioned, Girl was born in Somalia; however, she spent only the first year of her life in that country. Prior to her birth; her parents resided in Saudi Arabia, thus after her birth the family moved back to Saudi abandoning her birth country; forever. Subsequently, her family deserted Saudi Arabia fourteen years after her birth to live in Canada.

The Hoor'eya

I'm sweet like licorice but dangerous like a snake, pretty, witty, Attitude Of The City, a communicator, an open-minded individual, opinionated, loquacious, a conversationalist, an activist, an analyst, an artist, a nationalist, a reformist, a realist, a political prisoner, a freedom fighter, fuelled with vitality, full of temerity, armed with acumen, I'll have you saying godddddd. All in all, I’m a pleasant person with a bonafide personality which compliments me physically and mentally; please excuse me if I come off rude BUT I do NOT and will NOT compromise my integrity for anybody! I say what I mean and mean what I say, and at the end of the day, those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter. Most importantly, the best word to describe me in every aspect of my existence is "prototype" SO baby please believe that my zest for life puts me in an incomparable league of greatness... And if you believe what I have said of myself... well you are worse then I thought... and if you don’t your an Idiot... BUT.. In the everyday world I am a Muslim woman from Canada, who goes to school and studies English Lit.... League of Greatness--> told you so