"Adversity reveals and shapes character" - Anonymous
Tea came out. Then Coffee, then Fruits, then water, then tea, then -- I had to stop them. I couldn't handle it anymore. I told them thank you so much for your hospitality, and that I truly appreciate it, but I have been sitting in one spot since I got here and that I’m going to turn into a blimp soon. Sumaya insisted that she make me lemonade to cure my throat. I accepted the offer gratefully and then told her, please nothing else after that.
Zack and Sumaya both have those eyes that are almond shaped and slightly slanted upwards with long eyelashes. The way a person looks when they bow their head down slightly and start talking to you.
"I was in school when it all happened. We heard a protest going on outside and I got excited. I stood up in my class and started chanting "I stand with my brothers in Daraa" (Daraa is the first place where peaceful protestors were shot.) My teacher was an aide for the government so she called the police on me. I took my backpack and went outside and she tried stopping me. Just then, I saw ambulances coming. I thought that somebody got injured but the ambulances stopped in front of the school. They were coming for me. The doors opened and lots of police got out. One of them grabbed me by the backpack. I slipped out of my backpack and ran for my life. I haven't gone back to school since then and have been joining the masses in the protests. Besides, in school, all they make us do is repeat and memorize things and say that we love Bachar. It’s all brainwashing. They want to train people to do what they are told and not think for themselves." Zack, sitting up on his knees and telling the story, had Sumaya on his side in approval.
"I was walking back from University one day and the police started shooting behind me. I turned around and they shot a guy. He wasn't doing anything, he was just crossing the street. Then they started laughing. I have a weak heart so I started crying and ran into my house." Sumaya said. " Even one day, they came into my house and pointed guns at my face. I stared them down and didn't say anything. They went throughout our entire house and then left. If I can say, looking back now, they were the nice ones. My neighbors were not so lucky. The soldiers would burn their homes down." She said, looking distant.
"One time, we heard the planes were coming and the army was coming to attack our town. We live in an old alleyway neighborhood. We started preparing for it. We went and bought lots of water, lots of medicine, stocked up on food, and tried being ready for the worst. When it came, we ended up using our place to hide in and we took in other people that lost their home."
Zack pulled up his cell phone and showed me the boy who was stuck in the fire of a bomb. His parents died and all that was left was him, completely disfigured. His fingers looked like overcooked hotdogs that had pops in the skin and were barely hanging off. HIs face hardly looked like the face of a boy. In the video interview with the boy, he said all he wants is to be normal again so he can play with the kids again. Sumaya always gets emotional when Zack pulls up that interview. She excused herself and started crying.
"We used to think these things only existed in movies. What we saw was worse than the worst movie you could ever imagine." She said. "I have a lot of respect for Israel, because even though they oppress their Palestinian people, if one of their people gets kidnapped, they will raise hell till they get them back. Our government kills us like we are flies, like our blood is cheap. Aren't we all people in the end? If I saw a person injured, even if they were Jewish or Alewite, I would still help them. Civilians are civilians." Sumaya said.
"The Turks here are very nice. We have great neighbors and when we first came and were scared, the neighbor came over and she brought us some stuff. She spoke a bit of Arabic so we felt comforted a bit. Somebody who speaks Arabic!"
She then asked me if I could read and write. I took out my drawing book and showed her my Arabic Calligraphy. She told me she loves Calligraphy and always wanted to be better. From there, the stories of war and sadness left the room and we spend the rest of the evening drawing and doing calligraphy. I gave her my calligraphy pen and she gave me her "Free Syria" bracelet. She then showed me her poetry she had written on the war. I asked if I could film her voice while she was reading it and she said I could. So she did.
Her mom was already asleep in the room and her younger sister was laying down watching me. She then swatted a mosquito. "Oh no, not a mosquito", I thought. Then I heard bombs going off on the other side of the border. I also heard gunfire. From outside of the window, I could see the sky lighting up like fireworks. The mosquitos were nothing.
From my thin sponge mattress on the floor, my fever I had the entire day and ear infection seemed to be getting a little better. Sumaya had made me fresh lemonade right before bed. I stared up at the ceiling eyeing the 5 mosquitoes and made a decision that it wasn’t really a big deal if I got bit. I had been safe so far, even with all the close calls. There were 5 of us sleeping on the floor of this room. All the men and boys were in the other room. Zack and Sumaya’s story played in my head before falling asleep.