Today some friends and I were riding the bus to go to a cafe downtown and the guy next to me started chatting with me.
"What's your name?"
"Ahmad-you?"
"Yazan-Where are you from"
"Libya-and you?"
"I'm from America, wait you're from Libya??"
"Yeah I'm here for medical treatment after the revolution--I had a bullet wound in my stomach, I was climbing up a building and a Gaddafi sniper hit me right here"
Him and his friends/cousins were some of the Libyan revolutionaries who were shooting Gaddafi troops, stealing their guns, fixing them to the back of their trucks and shooting back. Unbelievable--except it WAS believable, he was just another dude on the bus, right there next to me. He was showing me videos on his phone of battle. Just him and his buddies leaning out from behind concrete walls shooting back at Gaddafi's mercenary soldiers--all in jeans and t-shirts. I don't think I've ever felt more tongue tied with my Arabic, I couldn't even think of what to say in English! He had a video of Gaddafi's dead body less than an hour after he was killed by rebels...that took a while for me to emotionally swallow. I almost forgot to swap numbers with him before we got off the bus.
Ahmad told me "I am learning English, and my eyes are opening to the world. I can read the internet, I can talk with everybody, I have to learn more of your language" (I'm paraphrasing, it was much more broken than that and included many more hand gestures). I am so lucky to have lived the life I have lived so far, and to speak English, and to be educated, and to have this opportunity. Everyday I am reminded.
There are about 20,000 Libyans in Amman right now getting medical treatment since the hospitals in Libya are pretty useless right about now (go figure...) All of their expenses are being paid for by the Libyan government--which surprised me at first (Libyan government?), I haven't looked into where the money is coming from, but good thing it's there! but every clear blue sky has it's dark cloud too; A lot of Jordanians have been complaining that there's no room in the hospitals for themselves. Some hospitals have started refusing treatment to Libyans for this reason. My grandma was telling me that a some of the Libyans are using the hospitals just to rest and not for serious medical treatment. Nothing in this world is perfect.
Another note: Whitney Houston rest in peace, how sad that we have lost one of the best voices ever to sing. What an impact her music has left behind. How great that she's being remembered fondly by the front pages of newspapers. Unfortunately front pages are only so big--24 people were killed in Syria that same day.
"What's your name?"
"Ahmad-you?"
"Yazan-Where are you from"
"Libya-and you?"
"I'm from America, wait you're from Libya??"
"Yeah I'm here for medical treatment after the revolution--I had a bullet wound in my stomach, I was climbing up a building and a Gaddafi sniper hit me right here"
Him and his friends/cousins were some of the Libyan revolutionaries who were shooting Gaddafi troops, stealing their guns, fixing them to the back of their trucks and shooting back. Unbelievable--except it WAS believable, he was just another dude on the bus, right there next to me. He was showing me videos on his phone of battle. Just him and his buddies leaning out from behind concrete walls shooting back at Gaddafi's mercenary soldiers--all in jeans and t-shirts. I don't think I've ever felt more tongue tied with my Arabic, I couldn't even think of what to say in English! He had a video of Gaddafi's dead body less than an hour after he was killed by rebels...that took a while for me to emotionally swallow. I almost forgot to swap numbers with him before we got off the bus.
Ahmad told me "I am learning English, and my eyes are opening to the world. I can read the internet, I can talk with everybody, I have to learn more of your language" (I'm paraphrasing, it was much more broken than that and included many more hand gestures). I am so lucky to have lived the life I have lived so far, and to speak English, and to be educated, and to have this opportunity. Everyday I am reminded.
There are about 20,000 Libyans in Amman right now getting medical treatment since the hospitals in Libya are pretty useless right about now (go figure...) All of their expenses are being paid for by the Libyan government--which surprised me at first (Libyan government?), I haven't looked into where the money is coming from, but good thing it's there! but every clear blue sky has it's dark cloud too; A lot of Jordanians have been complaining that there's no room in the hospitals for themselves. Some hospitals have started refusing treatment to Libyans for this reason. My grandma was telling me that a some of the Libyans are using the hospitals just to rest and not for serious medical treatment. Nothing in this world is perfect.
Another note: Whitney Houston rest in peace, how sad that we have lost one of the best voices ever to sing. What an impact her music has left behind. How great that she's being remembered fondly by the front pages of newspapers. Unfortunately front pages are only so big--24 people were killed in Syria that same day.
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