Harbored Hatred
Arabic conversation between my neighbor, the best cook in my village, a 40-something-year-old mother of 7, and the first wife of a Bedouin farmer, and me, translated into English:
Me: "Did you hear about Myanmar from the news?"
Frial: "What's Myanmar?"
Me: "It's a country near Thailand."
Frial: "What about it?"
"There was a...what's the word? Like a tornado but it has lots of wind and water and it looks like this (I make a funnel shape with my hands). It hits countries next to water and kills people...lots of wind and water..."
"A cyclone!"
"Yes! A cyclone hit this country near Thailand."
"And?"
"And the first day after, they reported only 350 deaths on Al Jazeera, but today it's up to 22,000. And a US diplomat in the country says there may be more than 100,000 deaths. Isn't that scary?"
"Yeah...a cyclone...hm..."
"And it's such a poor country and they have no president or king, not like King Abdullah of Jordan or President Bush of America. They have a military ruler who oppresses the people. Like an army man."
"We call that a military president."
"OK. They have a military president who isn't letting in any international aid from organizations like the UN."
"Is this cyclone country close to Denmark?"
"What?"
"Is this cyclone country close to Denmark?"
"No...it's next to Thailand. I told you. It's in Asia."
"Is Denmark close to Asia?"
"No. Denmark is close to countries whose English names are Sweden and Germany. It's very north of where the cyclone country is."
"Oh." (disappointed look on her face and she loses interest in my news update)
10 second silence.
Me: "Why?"
Frial: "Why what?"
Me: "Why do you want to know about Denmark?"
Frial: "Because I hope that Allah will steer the cyclone that hit the Asia country to go to Denmark, but they aren't close to each other so the cyclone will not go to Denmark."
10 second silence as I remember that Denmark is on her hate list because a Danish newspaper had published caricatures of Prophet Muhammed, which enraged Muslims all over the world. It enrages me that she doesn't have sympathy for the citizens of Myanmar, doesn't know that Denmark and Myanmar are not neighboring countries (basic geography!), and hopes for a natural disaster (from Allah) to hit Denmark because it exercises freedom of speech and press.
Me: "Did you hear about Myanmar from the news?"
Frial: "What's Myanmar?"
Me: "It's a country near Thailand."
Frial: "What about it?"
"There was a...what's the word? Like a tornado but it has lots of wind and water and it looks like this (I make a funnel shape with my hands). It hits countries next to water and kills people...lots of wind and water..."
"A cyclone!"
"Yes! A cyclone hit this country near Thailand."
"And?"
"And the first day after, they reported only 350 deaths on Al Jazeera, but today it's up to 22,000. And a US diplomat in the country says there may be more than 100,000 deaths. Isn't that scary?"
"Yeah...a cyclone...hm..."
"And it's such a poor country and they have no president or king, not like King Abdullah of Jordan or President Bush of America. They have a military ruler who oppresses the people. Like an army man."
"We call that a military president."
"OK. They have a military president who isn't letting in any international aid from organizations like the UN."
"Is this cyclone country close to Denmark?"
"What?"
"Is this cyclone country close to Denmark?"
"No...it's next to Thailand. I told you. It's in Asia."
"Is Denmark close to Asia?"
"No. Denmark is close to countries whose English names are Sweden and Germany. It's very north of where the cyclone country is."
"Oh." (disappointed look on her face and she loses interest in my news update)
10 second silence.
Me: "Why?"
Frial: "Why what?"
Me: "Why do you want to know about Denmark?"
Frial: "Because I hope that Allah will steer the cyclone that hit the Asia country to go to Denmark, but they aren't close to each other so the cyclone will not go to Denmark."
10 second silence as I remember that Denmark is on her hate list because a Danish newspaper had published caricatures of Prophet Muhammed, which enraged Muslims all over the world. It enrages me that she doesn't have sympathy for the citizens of Myanmar, doesn't know that Denmark and Myanmar are not neighboring countries (basic geography!), and hopes for a natural disaster (from Allah) to hit Denmark because it exercises freedom of speech and press.
