That Sunday, cold December Sunday, we were kept warm by joy. It’s the first time I see your eyes sparkle with anticipation: the return, the reunion, the touch. Our disbelief punctured by scenes of prisoners running in the streets of Damascus: What happened? What day is it? Where is the jasmine? I wish you so… Continue reading Syrian love
Category: Under the threshold (writing fragments)
random fragments
On being Palestinian in Valencia today
I’m familiar with this energy; with this deep compassion that becomes fuel to push us forward. I’m familiar with this unity; with this defiance; with this beautiful rage that brings people together. I’m familiar with this self-organization, with this absence of state, with this negligence of leadership. Was it May 2021? When the Sheikh Jarrah… Continue reading On being Palestinian in Valencia today
The day they killed our Shireen
I remember it vividly. I woke up to distraught voices in the next room: voices of disbelief and questions marks; voices that sound like my brother saying REALLY? It can’t be possible. I opened my eyes, still hazy and confused: what’s going on? My brother sweet in his attempts to delay reality and to restore… Continue reading The day they killed our Shireen
The pandemic of hope
Today more than ever, I feel hopeful. I’m a 25-year-old Palestinian who was born in the town of Arrabe, near Nazareth in the state of Israel. And today I feel hopeful. For the past few weeks, Palestinians have taken the streets to defend their dignity, their homes, and their basic human rights. I have witnessed… Continue reading The pandemic of hope
[fragments of return #4]
this is not a return in spatial or temporal terms. It is a return in existential terms. The return to who I am. Traveling in life is so easy, and life is easy to take us and to drive us through its ups and downs, but it’s important to maintain a space of return at… Continue reading [fragments of return #4]
A painting speaks
“I love my doctor. Although he is always the person to deliver me bad news: “Robert, I’m sorry to inform you that you suffer from HIV. Robert, this sickness has no cure.” Always bad news. And yet I love him because he takes care of me. Here I am in his clinic, after a long… Continue reading A painting speaks
Capturing the light moment
The softest shaft of light appears in my room. Delicate light coming from the setting sun lurks into my window and settles on my striped pillow. I notice it by chance; by mistake when I look up from my biology book piled over the organic chemistry one. Seeking relief and comfort, I glimpse this light.… Continue reading Capturing the light moment
Lightness
This is a new, weird stage for me. Lightness: the flowers are not as heavy as before. I don’t see “lo más alla” in the evening walks. I see what I see. A swift, brisk, breeze, a dog and a man walking his dog. There are no attempts to imagine what would have happened… Continue reading Lightness
Dread-full Questions
How long can I delay my happiness in the shape of summer rains? Five birds forming an arrow fly against the clouds. Will I ever know the peace of mind? What’s the use of all these dreams If I can’t have tranquility? How can I shake the questions that dwell in… Continue reading Dread-full Questions
Train fragment
The train smells of feet and tuna salad. I sit in the left aisle seat. I look at humans around me; each plunged in the world that their phone or laptop has to offer. Except for the shining, bright hazel eyes in front of me. Dressed in black, he sits in the opposite seat four… Continue reading Train fragment
AICHA BINT YUSIF 