It's UAE National Day. I was listening to a local based radio station yesterday and the celebrations are really on. Good for them. It is nice to belong to somewhere. I have mixed feelings on National Day. I'm reminded of how 'homecountry-less' I am. I remember someone asked where I was from once and I said 'Iraq'. 'Have you lived there?' he asked. No. 'Oh okay but you were born there' No. 'Oh yeah but your passport is Iraqi of course' No. 'So how are you Iraqi?' Well I'm from there. My parents were born there and my ancestors lived there. But you didn't? No.
That's when I started thinking of this seriously. Do I really belong to Iraq? I know that I don't belong to anywhere else. But do I belong to Iraq. Is it true that my blood is Iraqi or was I talked into loving Iraq by my parents, family and surroundings just like I could be talked into liking anywhere. I've never felt at home in London. Its people didn't consider me to be one of them so I'm definitely not 'from' London even though I have a British passport. Nothing in my appearance shows thatI'm from London. I hadn't seen Iraq then so I knew that when I go to Iraq everyone will want me to beone of them. Iraq's people will consider me as one of them. I came to Dubai and thought Iraq will be something similar to here. I'm not frowned at because I look different or because I wear Hijab. I'm a fellow Arab and a Muslim but am I one of UAE's nationals? No. That's what I thought until I went to Iraq in 2001. This is my home country. This is the Iraq that I belong to. But do I feel this way because I'm telling myself this? Or is it really that I feel the 'homeliness' here and I can sense the presence and past of my ancestors and grandfathers. Everyone is supposed to be similar to me here. They're all Iraqis like me right? But whenever I talk everyone laughs because my accent isn't as Iraqi as theirs. I use English words sometimes and nobody understands what I mean.
The incident that made me feel that I'm an 'Iraqi from outside' was when I got into a taxi in Baghdad. 'You're from outside huh?' the taxi driver asked. 'Outside?' I didn't get what he meant. 'You're definitely not from here. I can make out' That means my appearance doesn't show I''m Iraqi either. But it doesn't show that I'm English either. And it doesn't show that I'm Emarati either. Does it have to show that I'm from a particular somewhere?
If I was born 500 years ago I would have said I am from Madina. But because I'm born now I have to say I'm from Iraq. When someone talks about home I think of Iraq but I don't know if I feel it. But are people really from where they are? God created a land on this earth that has different shapes, locations, climates and vegetation. Some people lived in Iraq and figured they felt comfortable where they are so they were called Iraqis. Some of them weren't comfortable so they went to Iran and became Iranians (just an example). Home countries are human made concepts.
But it has been proven that humans need a sense of belonging to somewhere. I think I have figured that this is true. I know I really am sad when I see Iraq being damaged day by day. I know I feel a connection when I see another Iraqi. I know that whatever my accent is it is more Iraqi then anything else. I know that I admire how Iraq has contributed and formed a base for civilisation and that I would be happy to be there with Imam Ali present closeby. I'm going to assume that all this is enough to be Iraqi.
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Well, you are a great writer O My daughter, that's for sure. I loved how your article keeps one wondering of your feeling till you concluded it at the end . Yes, you are an Iraqi, and Iraq should cherish the likes of you.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, it's not such a big deal. People do like a sense of belonging, but that doesn't necessarily have to be geographically, you know? During the times of the jahiliya, people who didn't belong to any tribe lived with their lives in peril because it was your tribe that was your only means of protection and survival. One thing that Islam brought that was revolutionary was the sense of identity and unification and equality of all. We are all muslims first and any other identities are secondary.
ReplyDeleteThis seems irrelevent but what I'm trying to say is the beauty of Islam is that someone with no background, no identity, no origins would still feel like they belong to a community, and what they share with this community isn't belonging to the same land or any other worldly aspect. It's a unification based on having similar beliefs and ideas. I think this sense of identity is much more satisfying. You can feel alot more closer to a muslim from another country than say an atheist from your own.
If you want to look at it from a non-religious point of view, we're all citizens of one earth =) What makes creation so great is the variation of our opinions, our looks, our practices...I'm sure a world with similar people all over would get boring and could mean slower development (because they wouldn't be looking through different perspectives) So maybe it isn't really important to be in constant search of similar-minded people. Being human is what brings us all together
umm Ms Mala summed it up well lol
Think global, act local
is the most practical advice
What you're saying is true. Islam has solved this problem for us already.
ReplyDeleteMom- Thanks for embarrassing yet flattering comment, although you could have said this directly to me considering we live in the same house. But thanks for your comment. Hope I really deserve it though.
Have just discovered your blog! It's amazing!
ReplyDeleteYour writing is remarkable and very though-provoking...