a schedule for life...

It's funny how our lives is plugged to electricity in this strange way, imagine living without electricity for 4 hours everyday...what will you do? i couldn't imagine it too, until i received this new "SCHEDULE" of electricity!! yup, they will cut the electricity in these hot days according to a schedule, imagine that!!


I didn't care at the beginning, i thought : "ah, at last, i'll be forced to do some tasks and chores that i've been pushing away and postponing all through the week".. but when the moment of truth came, i felt as if i couldn't breathe, as if even air is generated by electricity :( didn't know how to do anything, my whole life depends on electricity... TV, radio, washing machine, microwave, iron, vacuum cleaner.... and most important of all... my computer....





was walking around the house, tidying up, nothing big, when the electricity suddenly died, i freezed, as if a part of me died . i looked around in denial, trying to convince myself that the bulb has burnt out or something, but it really was the electricity.. i stopped doing anything and threw myself on the couch, counting seconds until the electricity comes again... funny how you can't even do anything without electricity...





My poor son is also a tv addict, specially the Tom and Jerry show, he can't live without it, if it's not on tv, it's on the dvd, if it's not, then it's on the computer, over and over and over again, so when the electricity dies, he does nothing but cry, so i downloaded a couple of shows on my mobile phone, just to shut him up...





We've been escaping this hot weather the last couple of days by going to outdoor restaurants so raed can play a bit.. cuz, in gaza, there are no parks or large green landscapes where children can play, the only place available is the street, and there's no way that my son will grow up to be a street boy...

still trying to find something useful to keep myself busy... hope that this "schedual" won't last for a long time.... cuz i'm scheduling my life according to it :(

It's ture... ;)

I got this e-mail from a dear friend... and it really made me laugh my head off ... :)

here it is :

What they really mean......
9 Words Women Use

1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying $%#@ YOU!

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to #3.

Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology.

Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh, cause they know it's true

wish that you liked it........ i did :)

Forgetful's day out

Forgetting things is one of my best qualities .. he he he... I should be named "FORGETFUL" after that silly old puppet on sesame street.

yesterday my husband said dreamily.. " ah.. how about making us ladies fingers "or okra" for lunch..", "but we don't have any" were the words that were coming out from my mouth..." but i twisted it to "but we... didn't eat spaghetti for a long time.."... i suddenly remembered something about him bringing me "ladies fingers"or "okra" a week ago or so...

I waited for him to leave and rushed to the fridge, and there it was, a small plastic bag wrapped tightly in the bottom shelf of the fridge, left all alone in the corner, i opened it with my eyes tightly closed, "i hope it's still good, i hope so, please GOD, pleeaaaaasssssee"....... but "BLACK" is the only thing i saw, black mushy ecky stuff, i was completely disappointed, but NOP, will NOT despair..

Today i found some free time at work and ran to the nearby fruit and veges shop, "Ammo Imad" or "Uncle Imad" in English, it's my first time ever to enter a green shop ever since coming to gaza, my husband does all the shopping!!

i was really glad to see all these types of locally planted fruits and veges, they are so beautiful and ripe, so green and nice, specially the mango, it was sitting there with it's beautiful color and gorgeous smell, i just wanted to eat it.. all of it... ' i would have, but my friend was holding me tightly... he he he

i bought the okra and left the shop, feeling so happy and proud at the same time.. proud of our local production, i believe that it can compete the production of the first world countries despite all the surrounding circumstances and restrains that directly effect our production and the bad conditions that our farmers suffer from, and also proud of myself for two completely different reasons, one: escaping the blame of letting the okra rotten in the fridge and second for depending on myself and entering a green shop for the first time in my life :)

by the way, lunch was just perfect... he didn't notice ;)

The impossible

here we go again... looks like happiness or even what is so called "normal life" is an impossible dream for us in palestine and specially in Gaza... :( there has been an Israeli incursion to our neighbourhood last week, which resulted in 11 martyrs, all of them are under 25 years old, just young men, who haven't even started their lives yet...

Imagine, 11 grieving families, 11 grieving mothers..... loosing a son is so hard, it's devastating... my sister lost her 4 months little boy 2 years ago, and is still suffering till now.... so how will a mother who has raised a son for over 20 years, and saw him growing day after day in front of her eyes,nursing him, feeding him, taking care of him for 2 decades.. and suddenly.. he is gone..it's really unbearable.

As a neighbour in a small and limited society like Gaza, you must at least know one of them, and sadly i did... my friend's brother died... he is just 22 years old, i went and tried to offer her some kind of support, but she was a wreck, i tried to feel her pain, but i couldn't... i have a brother who lives in England, and just the thought of loosing him drives me crazy, and it's been now 8 years since i last saw him... so how will she feel... living with him all day, talking to him, sharing him his dreams and thoughts?!

All this is happening while we are still fighting... who is Fatah and who is Hamas, still pointing fingers and looking for someone to blame.. still throwing accusations here and there... i'm trying to put some sense into what i'm going through right now... but nothing comes across my troubled mind but "madness".... complete and absolute "madness"...

Alan Johnston

Today I woke up at this wonderful news... at last and after 115 days of abduction.. Alan Johnston was finally freed :)..."i am so glad to be free" was his first words to the media, the poor man didn't even have the slightest hope that he will ever be freed..

The situation in Gaza was so tensed the last couple of days, as there were small and limited clashed between what is called "Army of Islam" -which is a name taken for a powerful clan here in Gaza, Dughmush clan- and Hamas Executive Force... which led to the arrest of some of the people involved in Alan's abduction...

Alan appeared to be fine, but he has lost a lot of weight, he has stated that he had the opportunity to see his hair longer than usual :), it's good to see that he still has a little sense of humor left... specially after being imprisoned in a little dungeon for over 4 months and specially after being photographed with an exclusive belt wrapped all around him.

"The last 16 weeks have been the very worst of my life," he said. "I was in the hands of people who were dangerous and unpredictable."
"I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room." these were his words in a press conference alongside Hanyia this morning.

After being freed, he was taken to Haniya's house, where they stayed for about an hour, then he headed home, where he collected his belongings..

I just got the news that Alan has left Gaza and heading home, he has stated that he will take a LONG vacation, and then he maybe consider coming back to Gaza... personally, I don't think he will ever come back ;)

The details of the deal that led to freeing Alan weren't announced, maybe they will be announced later, but what really matters is that the reporter is now heading home, with a little smile on his face, waiting to see his family and loved ones

Finally Alan, your dreams will come true... take care and goodbye ;)

A trip to the beach

Yesterday was a very hot day, and for our unfortunate luck, the electricity power was off our neighbourhood, so we decided to spend the day at the beach... so, after coming back from work, I prepared everything we needed in a blink, extra clothes, snacks, towels and raed's toys.... and off we went at about 5:00 p.m...

We imagined that the beach will be empty, as we are in the middle of the week, it's Monday, i thought, but we were shock to find the beach full of hundreds and hundred of families, who had nothing to do but to try to forget their terrible life, and desperately try to shake away all the memories of the last couple of weeks.... really tragic memories... and now after Hamas taking over Gaza, no one even goes to work, only NGOs are the active institutes here in Gaza...

So, we sat our tent, the sun was so hot, and my son yelled in happiness... "Mama.. gonna swim..... in the sand" my son *cough* chicken *cough* doesn't even dare to come close to the sea, he is so afraid of it... he thinks that there is a big fish waiting to eat him... I looked at my husband and he looked back at me, we both had the same devilish idea in our minds in the same time, so, i grabbed "raed" from one hand and his father from the other and ran to the sea... we tossed him away and "SPLASH"... I ran to grab him... and it was a BIG surprise when i found him laughing and saying "AGAIN... DAD... AGAIN"... it is the first time ever for raed to enter the sea...

I also had my first golden opportunity to have a small dip in the sea, it's the first time for me since coming to Gaza before 7 years... i really had great fun splashing around and playing with my son and husband.... :)

Me and raed went on a quest to find the perfect shell, but there wasn't a shell that was that perfect, but we were lucky to find a little tiny winy crab... raed was sooooo happy to see a crab... he ran after it, chasing it from here to there, when suddenly i heard that beautiful gentle sound, i looked around, searching.... and there he was, a complete stranger walking on the shore playing his flute in a way that can't be described by anything less than "magical" specially with the sound of the waves in the background...

we left at sunset.... i really had a good time....raed did too, it was a trip that's full of first times.. raed's first time to have a swim in the sea... and my first time in Gaza too.

Suffering at Rafah Crossing...

A 31 year old palestinian mother passed away today after being stranded in the Egyptian side of Egypt - Gaza border (Rafah Crossing) for more than 20 days. The poor woman (a mother of 5) was suffering from cancer, and went to Egypt seeking medication, as Gaza is very poor with medical expertise. Her parents and family are calling all medias so they can receive her body and give her a proper burial...

More than 6 thousand palestinians are stranded in Egypt, waiting to get back for their families and homes, in very difficult conditions, the weather is so hot, that the temperature exceeds 40 degrees, and some of these people haven't any money left, a palestinian father had to sell the presents he bought for his children in order to pay for the hotel's charges. Another palestinian ran out of money and is spending his nights in coffee shops or wondering around to find a proper place to shut his eyes, even for just a couple of hours..

Travelling is a pleasure all over the world, but here, in Gaza, it's a journey of agony, fear and pain... nobody dares to leave the strip but in extreme conditions such as medication and education... A friend of mine is absent from work for over 3 weeks now, i thought that she was on leave, and was so concerned about her long absence... it appeared that she is stranded too at Rafah Crossing, she went to have a laser surgery in Egypt.. wonder what is she doing now.

Nobody even tried to put himself in the shoes of these people, having to wait for days and days so you can go back home for your wife and children, where there are no lobbies or rest points, you have to stand in the middle of the street or set on the side of the pavement, under the steaming sun... but the Egyptians were thankful to give the palestinians some camps... don't want to talk about that, because it really is humiliating...

The sad thing is that these thousands of palestinians didn't matter enough for the Arabic World or the Global community to even mention there suffering and try even a little to solve their problem...

There is nothing left to say, if you want to know more news about these poor people go to http://www.maannews.net/en/