A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Yesterday afternoon I went to a neighborhood I don't usually go to on the Anatolian side of the city. It's a neighborhood where it's easy to get hopelessly lost--everything there looks alike--and that's just what I did. So I asked some guy on the street for directions. I assumed he was Turkish. He looked Turkish and he spoke Turkish. I didn't notice an accent.
He didn't know where the street I was trying to find was, either, so he called a friend. His friend didn't know, so he tried another one. While he was doing that, he asked me where I was from.
"I'm American," I said.
"Oh, how nice," he replied.
"What about you?" (I asked because he obviously wasn't from that neighborhood.)
He switched to English. "I'm from Palestinian."
"Really?"
"Yes, do you know what is from Palestinian?"
"Sure," I said. "Where exactly are you from?"
"I'm from the West Bank. From Jenin."
"Oh, how nice," I said.
Friend number two answered the phone; he at least had a general suggestion: Go uphill, across the overpass, downhill. It sounded plausible. The guy from Jenin walked me to the overpass to make sure I was on the right path; I thanked him; he expressed his hope that I'd find my way, and we wished each other a nice day.
And there's nothing more to the story.
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Comments :
Feb '11
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
This story - http://bit.ly/lP6ln8 - is probably of greater consequence.
9:52 AM Terror attack in Tel Aviv on highway 461 (Haim Bar Lev Street). Arab driver intentionally ran over people. Many wounded.
Jan '11
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
How close did you come to saying "Shalom" just before parting company?
Oct '10
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Well, at least he was able to escape the hellishness of Hamas, and it sounds like Turkey is more welcoming than many Arab countries.
Aug '10
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Claire,It sounds like a passage from "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Moshin Hamid- have you read it?
Edited on May 15, 2011 at 2:13amRe: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Israel P.: This story - http://bit.ly/lP6ln8 - is probably of greater consequence.
9:52 AM Terror attack in Tel Aviv on highway 461 (Haim Bar Lev Street). Arab driver intentionally ran over people. Many wounded. · May 15 at 12:57am
I was just about to put up a post about that. Yes, it surely is of greater consequence. I don't know if there's any consequence at all to my story from yesterday. It was just one of those things you don't expect, and a nice moment amid all the awful ones.
May '11
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Palestine is a good place to be from.
Feb '11
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Israel P.: This story - http://bit.ly/lP6ln8 - is probably of greater consequence.
9:52 AM Terror attack in Tel Aviv on highway 461 (Haim Bar Lev Street). Arab driver intentionally ran over people. Many wounded. · May 15 at 12:57am
I was just about to put up a post about that. Yes, it surely is of greater consequence. I don't know if there's any consequence at all to my story from yesterday. It was just one of those things you don't expect, and a nice moment amid all the awful ones. · May 15 at 2:46am
My segue was "as long as we have to talk about this Naqba business..."
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Israel P.: This story - http://bit.ly/lP6ln8 - is probably of greater consequence.
9:52 AM Terror attack in Tel Aviv on highway 461 (Haim Bar Lev Street). Arab driver intentionally ran over people. Many wounded. · May 15 at 12:57am
I was just about to put up a post about that. Yes, it surely is of greater consequence. I don't know if there's any consequence at all to my story from yesterday. It was just one of those things you don't expect, and a nice moment amid all the awful ones. · May 15 at 2:46am
I should say--a nice moment amid all the news of awful ones. The way I wrote that makes it sound as if Nakba Day has been observed in Turkey with some kind of awfulness. Apart from a press release from the IHH suggesting that they're trying to get together a protest in front of the Israeli consulate, I've seen little to suggest much awareness of it at all, by anyone. By contrast, news about the Internet-filter protests seems to be everywhere.
May '10
Re: A Kumbaya Anecdote for Nakba Day
Israel P,
Thanks for linking to the Muqata--one of my favorite Israeli blog sites that I haven't visited in a while. Great to have the reminder to check in with them again. They do a great job of covering news in pretty up to the minute fashion.