November 11th is the day to remember those who blew themselves up in crowded marketplaces or died a suspicious death in a hospital. I also recently found out that it is something called "Memorial Day" in the land of my birth...I'm not sure what Memorial Day is but I think it's something similar to Martyr's Day. You know, one of those days that are not special enough to be an official holiday but are still marked on calendars for some reason. Still, it was a memorable event for us over here.
Last night, I put on high heels and hobbled out the door to the Yasser Arafat memorial show. Once there we found a nearby place to park (for which I was happy because of the aforementioned painful shoes), we followed the crowd into the brightly-lit arena. The important men sat soberly in front, impeccably attired in their camouflage outfits which rendered them almost unnoticeable amongst the concrete and plastic chairs surrounding them. There were many AK-47s present as well. Scott kindly described to me, with intricate detail, the many differences between the AK-47 and the M16. And what I remember from that discussion is that, contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as an AK-45 or an M13.
As the only foreigners, we were given special seats in the front, right beside the loud speaker which we appreciated greatly. Throughout the whole show, helpful camera men took many videos and photos of the crowd directly behind us. Since we were politely watching the show, we never discovered what was so fascinating about our particular part of the crowd, but whatever it was definitely deserved an infinite number of photos and videos for posterity's sake.
The show was a typical one. There were several passionate speeches yelled loudly in classical Arabic. Interspersed throughout the whole program were various emotional poems also delivered with great feeling and volume. Finally there were many dances involving shiny costumes and flags turned into dresses. As is also typical of these kinds of programs, the speaker volume was so loud that you couldn't actually hear what people were saying (screaming) into the microphones. My brain was throbbing in my skull to the beat of each syllable that came bursting out of the impressive sound system.
Throughout the program I concentrated carefully on my attentive face. I had to maintain the right mix of enjoying the program while soberly pondering the reason for the season. Facial expressions are always crucial to your foreigner image. Still, while I'm mocking, because that's what I do, it always makes me sad to see children dancing around with coffins and authentic-looking fake guns to violent songs calling for war and martyrdom. These people have suffered a great deal, but continuing to foster a culture of violence in their young hasn't helped them either. Case in point: an exciting little fight broke out in the back section of plastic chairs during one of the acts. Everyone got up and turned to watch the fight instead of the cute little boys who were actually putting on the best act of the night (Arabic drums). The men broke up the fight and kicked out the perpetrators, but these kids have a lot of frustration that they want to get out. They can't get certain jobs or educational opportunities because of their lack of citizenship in the country where they live. They are doomed to follow in the footsteps of their fathers, fixing cars or running a little store no matter what their education level. But I have hope that things will change. I overheard one of my friends emphatically telling another lady that they need to take all the violence out of these kinds of programs. I was surprised to hear her say that, but happy. Of course, there's always the chance that I misunderstood and she was actually calling for more violence. The loudspeaker was right over my left ear...
This photo isn't from the Martyr Day event, but it is an example of the same sort of costumes and dances that are typical of these types of events.
Last night, I put on high heels and hobbled out the door to the Yasser Arafat memorial show. Once there we found a nearby place to park (for which I was happy because of the aforementioned painful shoes), we followed the crowd into the brightly-lit arena. The important men sat soberly in front, impeccably attired in their camouflage outfits which rendered them almost unnoticeable amongst the concrete and plastic chairs surrounding them. There were many AK-47s present as well. Scott kindly described to me, with intricate detail, the many differences between the AK-47 and the M16. And what I remember from that discussion is that, contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as an AK-45 or an M13.
As the only foreigners, we were given special seats in the front, right beside the loud speaker which we appreciated greatly. Throughout the whole show, helpful camera men took many videos and photos of the crowd directly behind us. Since we were politely watching the show, we never discovered what was so fascinating about our particular part of the crowd, but whatever it was definitely deserved an infinite number of photos and videos for posterity's sake.
The show was a typical one. There were several passionate speeches yelled loudly in classical Arabic. Interspersed throughout the whole program were various emotional poems also delivered with great feeling and volume. Finally there were many dances involving shiny costumes and flags turned into dresses. As is also typical of these kinds of programs, the speaker volume was so loud that you couldn't actually hear what people were saying (screaming) into the microphones. My brain was throbbing in my skull to the beat of each syllable that came bursting out of the impressive sound system.
Throughout the program I concentrated carefully on my attentive face. I had to maintain the right mix of enjoying the program while soberly pondering the reason for the season. Facial expressions are always crucial to your foreigner image. Still, while I'm mocking, because that's what I do, it always makes me sad to see children dancing around with coffins and authentic-looking fake guns to violent songs calling for war and martyrdom. These people have suffered a great deal, but continuing to foster a culture of violence in their young hasn't helped them either. Case in point: an exciting little fight broke out in the back section of plastic chairs during one of the acts. Everyone got up and turned to watch the fight instead of the cute little boys who were actually putting on the best act of the night (Arabic drums). The men broke up the fight and kicked out the perpetrators, but these kids have a lot of frustration that they want to get out. They can't get certain jobs or educational opportunities because of their lack of citizenship in the country where they live. They are doomed to follow in the footsteps of their fathers, fixing cars or running a little store no matter what their education level. But I have hope that things will change. I overheard one of my friends emphatically telling another lady that they need to take all the violence out of these kinds of programs. I was surprised to hear her say that, but happy. Of course, there's always the chance that I misunderstood and she was actually calling for more violence. The loudspeaker was right over my left ear...
This photo isn't from the Martyr Day event, but it is an example of the same sort of costumes and dances that are typical of these types of events.
Wow, that's incredibly sad to me. No wonder the cycle of violence continues so easily. Hard to be funny about a holiday like that.
ReplyDeleteIt was Veteran's Day, not Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a Monday in May. And Veteran's Day is an actual holiday-people get off work/school and everything is closed. Gosh, you'd think you didn't grow up in America or something.
ReplyDeleteYou were the one who told me it was Memorial Day. And I do like fattoush!
ReplyDeleteI am one of Joanna's roommates from college. I enjoy reading your posts and adventures. When I read this post, I couldn't help mention about our National holidays.
ReplyDeleteActually, in America, we get off work for both Memorial and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is not a celebration, but rather a time to remember those that fought and died fighting for the freedoms our country so richly enjoys. Veterans Day is a day to say "thank you" to those men and women who have served and are currently serving in our armed forces. Neither is a celebration of sorts, rather a time to remember and be thankful. The getting off work and out of school part has made most of America just think of them as another vacation day they don't have to take, unfortunately. The 4th of July is the only day I know about that is a day of Celebration for our country and rightfully so.