Ruwwad's First Graduation Ceremony

   How often do you witness successful transformation in marginalized areas? It's for sure not in your everyday news-feed or newspaper. 

In one day we saw them, listened to their stories, and stood in awe of how beautiful they have grown. 

  I'll take you on a digital journey in which you'll discover more about Ruwwad/Lebanon and how Ruwwad's day went, on the 1st of October, 2016. 

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page. 

• The Opening: Sarah telling the story of Ruwwad as it started in Jordan by a group of business men then spread over to reach Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt. In Lebanon, Ruwwad has a tough story, this rooftop is located on what was a frontline just a few years ago, separating Jabal Mohsen and Tabbaneh.

• The Kitchen: Atayeb Tarablos - أطايب طرابلس: In the kitchen we met Tripolitan ladies who are now trained chefs! they come from both areas, Jabal Mohsen and Tabbaneh. There are now 66 women benefiting from this project, we only met a few who were happy to share their stories with us. 

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

• مناضلات من حارتي  (Female Fighters From My Street): "I was broken, then I heard about Ruwwad from a friend. I applied and got accepted, since then I've grown more confident and stronger. I no longer need any politician's help! I can stand in their face and tell them that I don't need you anymore" - one of the members sharing her story. So in this station we had the chance to watch a short film with the members, after which they discussed it and then a few of them told us about their journey in Ruwwad, how they were unemployed and then became financially independent women. 

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

• دردشات شبابية - Youth Chat: "People have judged me for my silent behavior and introversion, but now I've built good relationships with my friends here in Ruwwad & they now know the real man who I am" - One of the students who really captured my attention. Here young men & women from both Jabal and Tabbaneh who benefited from the scholarship -offered by Ruwwad- were eager to tell us briefly about themselves, their accomplishments and hopes for the future. Another guy told us that he's traveling in a couple of days to KSA to start his career as an interior designer, and yet another lady has just started working in a local company. 

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

• Kid's Station: The kid's zone is quite big, they have a library, school classes and a wood workshop. In the library Reem told us briefly about the way they're teaching the kids, it's not about memorizing or feeding them limitless information that won't really help them in the future, however they're teaching them how to question and look for answers themselves, which is quite brilliant!
  

  

  Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

•  And finally the graduation ceremony. 

Source: Ruwwad Lebanon Facebook Page.

  I was so happy to watch mothers, young men, young women and children growing stronger than ever in such neglected areas.
Jabal Mohsen and Tabbaneh lost enough souls and were both burned for a long period of time, change is happening now, it's just a matter of time.

For more information about Ruwwad follow their activities on the facebook page and the website 

طرابلسي، كما هي حقاً

طبعاً هي ليست ملكي و لا ملكاً لأحد، إنّها كما كلّ الأراضي، مدينة على ساحل البحر المتوسّط، في رقعة من قارة آسيا، تشكّل جزءاً بسيطاً، لا بل ضئيلاً جدّا من كوكب الأرض.  لكّنها بالرّغم من صغر مساحتها تحوي الكثير من الموارد البشرية الثمينة، أناسٌ ينهضون بها كلّ يوم، لا يعرفون اليأس و لا ينتابهم الكسل. إنّهم ابناء مدينتي، أجل اشعر بالإنتماء، لذلك أنسبها لي، لإطمئناني تجاه من يقطنها فعلاً.

في اليوم العاشر من كانون الثاني 2015 شهدت المدينة ولادة بطل. فبالفعل، وُلدت بطولته عندما قرّر أن يحمي الآخرين بدمه، انّه أبو علي عيسى الذي احتضن الإنتحاري الثاني في جبل محسن خوفاً من أن يفجّر نفسه في المقهى حيث احتشد العديد من الشبّان بعد الإنفجار الأوّل. وُلِد البطل عند انفجار الحزام الناسف.

البطل أبو علي عيسى

اختلفت انواع البطولة فالبعض أبطالٌ بما يفعلون يومياً، بما يفكّرون و ما يسعون اليه.

قبل حادثة جبل محسن بيوم واحد فقط شهدت شوارع الميناء شبّاناً و شابات يتجوّلون بين أزقّتها حاملين لافتات كُتب عليها "عبوطة ببلاش" أو "free hug".

فاقد الحبّ يعطيه

الثاني من آب، 2014 المكان زيتون أبي سمراء، الميتم. 

ذاك السبت كان مشرقاً، تشابهت أيّام الصيف بلونها الأصفر، و تباينت في نسماتها
.

ناهز الإنتظار دقائق معدودة، بدت ذات طابع مطاطي في مخيّلتي. ها هي الباصات تركن في الردهة المقابلة للباب الرئيسي. عاصفة الوان، عيون مترقّبة، ثرثرات و وقع أقدام صغيرة تقلق سكون أحشائي، و تبدّل حال الطقس..

مشينا بجانب الأطفال باتجاه الملعب، أكبرهم عمرا في بداية سنّ المراهقة و أصغرهم لم يلفظ كلمة "ماما" بعد، و ربّما لن يضطرّ إلى
ذلك..

حبّ في فجوة، 

دافئة كانت يداها ذات السمرة الجذابة، هل كان برد جسدي ما أشعرني بذاك الدفئ أم أنها فعلا ضخّت في جسدها كمية كافية من

الهرمونات لينبض قلبي متسارعا و تبرق عيناي بدمع خجول، يجف بلمح البصر.؟

"بحبّك.. بدّي ضلّ معك، أوكي؟ ضلّي معي. " 

"ليش؟"

"هيك بحبّك" 

" و انا كمان بحبك" مع ابتسامة.. 

"طيب شو اسمك انتي؟"

"دلال" 

وائل  : "مربى الدلال ربوكي، و تعذبو فيكي يا دلال! " ينحني لدلال و يغني لها. 

لم تفهم ما غنّاه، لكنّها ابتسمت بخجل.

لا أريد أن ألعب

رافقتني في كلّ خطواتي، اغتنمت كل الفرص لكي تمسك بيدي، تقبّلها تارةً و تشدّ قبضتها تارة اخرى والعديد من اللحظات تغمرني بشدّة و تبتسم. 

صديقة دلال

عيناها عالم آخر، لن تفقه كلماتي جمالهما و لغتهما البليغة، تشعرك بالصّغر امام عينيها.. 

.تقول أحبك و لن افارقك ابدا.

Phobia - Dendrophobia

Definition

How about split this word in two parts?
Dendro = tree (Greek)
Phobia  = Fear (Greek)

       It's simply the fear of trees and also related to other types of phobia such as fear of forest, fear of wooden subjects, and fear of dark wooded areas or forests at night, known respectively as Hylophobia, Xylophobia and Nyctohylophobia.

    Dendrophobia is a specific type of phobia. since there exist three types, either Social phobia (fear of public speaking, meeting new people, or other social situations), or Agoraphobia (fear of being outside), or specific phobias (fear of particular items or situations).

Nyctohylophobia, fear of  forest at night

Huge wooded tree

Causes? 

   In fact, there's no specific known reason for phobias, they are believed to be a combination of hereditary characteristics and traumatic events. For dendrophobia to be triggered there must be something that happened with the person in his early age (i.e watching a horror movie where someone is attacked in a forest, being attacked in a forest or under a huge tree, being badly wounded by a woody object..etc)

Artificial freedom

       
It starts in our early stages of existence, when the fetus-mother link is our fleshy spoon, feeding us to stay alive until the day of birth. until the day when it will be cut, and both individuals will bleed to the moment the wounds dry and we smile again... But I smile for the first time, i was chained to my mother, embedded in her uterus, and now i am released. No, i am actually not. the link is still there, but not as materialistic as it was.it's now nerve pulses in my brain, electricity in my memory, and something else that i cannot define. something that inhabits the dimension of the mind.

It continues when we start breathing the gaseous oxygen and not the liquid one, when we open our eyes responding to outer stimuli, and when we cry out expressing ourselves, seeking help, attention, or even complaining, when we imitate other human beings. then we acquire their language, their gestures, their ideas, and we wonder.