I can’t think of anything deep right now, so I’ll just blabber…
As usual, as finals are coming up, my slack-o-meter is rising to dangerous level. Quite proud of yesterday though, finally got some part of my paper done (some part being 1/10 of the whole length…) Went to Cafe Fanny today, got some yummy-looking Acme bread, and felt good for having spent money on good food. Is that lame? I think I’m in epicurean mood these days. A friend once asked, what if one day I have to live without all the luxuries I’m so used to having. I told her I have no problem with it coz I have a very malleable lifestyle. But I really shouldn’t be lulled and take these amenities for granted, or I’ll be a pampered spoiled brat…
Went to see a room-for-rent in El Cerrito hills that I found from craigslist. Quite impressed with the house (private garage, MARVELLOUS bayview, nice carpet and kitchen), but thought the room was a bit small. The lady was nice and friendly, though, and it’d be nice to live in a house again. Have been comparing my apartment with the room all night yesterday. I’m in love with the house, but the room….
Anyways, if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. Que sera sera.
“Promises” sent shiver down my spine. I never knew how painful a war was.
A Jewish kid, not even 11 years old, spoke about his people’s right to the land, and about the nearby army shooting range: “… if they miss, it’s okay bcoz it could kill an Arab”. A Palestinian kid, his eyes bitter and wary, talked about watching his best friend shot dead by a soldier, and how he would have his revenge. They lived only 20 minutes apart from each other, one in refugee settlement and one in Jerusalem, but the distance that separated them was wider than the seven seas. It wasn’t their war, the enemy wasn’t their enemy, the hatred wasn’t theirs… but they took the scars and learned to hate.
Even when they learn to love “the other side”, it’s out of their power to bridge the gap and they were left disillusioned. Disillusioned, bitter, and hopeless. They will grow to think that peace is impossible, that they are two different poles after all, with irreconcillable differences. Their innocence will be trampled under authority’s rules and soldier’s guns, and whatever hope they had will be extinguished.
If only we could learn from the kids. Are we really so different from each other? Aren’t we all humans, with a will to live? Why do we have to wage wars in the name of religion? Isn’t it the greatest blasphemy, the greatest sin, to kill other living human beings? Isn’t it an abomination of human nature? War, enmity, hostility… what did it leave us with?
Taint and blood, pain and tears.
I pray for peace. And for all kids in Israel and Palestine.
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