ZIAD IN GAZA

 Not surprisingly, the continual checking is growing less. My friends who used to call several times during the day now call once every couple of days. Those who were glued to the screens watching the news are now focusing more on their everyday lives.

This nightmare has been going on for two months, and I am sure that they, too, are drained, in their own way, by the whole situation. Even I try to distract myself from the reality whenever possible. It is just sad and scary. People think that being in a ceasefire is a festive thing, they don’t realise the burden and agony we are still going through.

There is an Egyptian proverb that says: “Like those who danced on the stairs: neither seen by those above nor those below.” I wonder, are we Gazans the ones dancing on the stairs“? No one saw or heard us dancing and building happy memories and lives, no one saw us planting flowers and achieving dreams, no one heard us singing and ululating during weddings and other happy occasions. And, right now, no one is seeing us, dying every moment, crying for help?

I turn on music and listen to a piece by the Arab musician, Omar Khairat. It’s called “Mrs Hickmat Conscious” and refers to an old TV show with the same name. The small cat decides to sit on my belly and listen with me. I close my eyes and think of Gaza beach, the delicious breakfasts I had with my friends, the night lamp I had next to my bed, my childhood photos and my perfume bottles.