I have been living in Alexandria for a year and a month now.Well before that i swear never thought of living let alone stuying in the middle east or among arabs.For me an arab was a man in his turban,brainwashed,fundamentalist and dangerous,a caricuture i carried around with me from pop culture and moves i guess.
So when i told my parents and friends i was going to study in Egypt,i saw a whole range of reactions.Some were downright horrified and almost advised me not to,others were concerned for my life,sighting suicide bombing,muslim brotherhood and other threats that i may be exposedd to. But if you know me,you know im a very stubborn guy,when im goign right,its right and you better get used to it!
I cant say i was never worried,but buried that fear deep down my gut,pushed it,denied it and ignored it......
Were they right?..their concerns and assumption,far from it.I interact with arabs everyday ,and i find them to be just human.Nothing pecular about them.they are just people.they are my friends ,class mates,my proffessors,hostel supervisors,gym trainers,cooks and allsorts of things to me.they are moral ,others immoral,sane,others insane,rich/poor,smart/dull and everything in between,not in any way different from any humans i know from various walks of life.
I guess being a minority is a new thing to me.i guess i feel more black.im conscious of my color now than ever,i guess beign sorrounded by asea of people of another color makes me distinct and unique.on time a kid run and hid under his mum when i was coming toward him.....im that bad!..hahahaha....yeah at times you get a curious look.if you like me i feel like walking over and saying "wanna touch me?"
A friend of mine asked soon after i came here whether i was exeprincing any...wats the word?..hmmm...'racism?'...from the arabs.I think you may have the same question...iknow you!..deep down...your probably asking..so i will answer you stranger....here is my answer.NO.(notice capitals).
I guess the the Egyptian arabs are used to see Sudanese who came here running way from their war with the north.So black peple are not new here.
Some deep thinkers may get smart on me and say 'which No' are you talking about? you mean there is never even one sour incident or word said towards you?...thats a reasonable question,i must say.There have been.but you see i dont walk with my Race Card in my pocket ready to flash it out..Your doing this coz im black!......I dont play victim...
some may say'tell us the incidents'and we may judge them ourselves since you seem to be an enlightened fellow.'
One of the things that happen often..like once in a month..is being called names.they may call you samara...(black like soot)...chocoleta (chocolate-looking)...or bonga bonga (this one is scarce...it means chimpazee like..this one is gross)...
Name calling,is especially common in backward low income areas.Thats all.Some bitter broke fellows trying to vent their frustration on people different from them.My friend Jim Rohn says there is nothing worse than being broke and stupid....most these guys in name calling are...hahahaha.....i punch back.yo.!
By the way i use Samara and chololeta on my friends lots.To me someone calling chocolata does not have a sting.its actually funny,coz we have repossessed the words and made them harmless..so if you aare a Samara reading this relax! After all 'It's not what they call you, it's what you answer to' that matters.... Samara!....what are you gonna do?
So if you ever wonder how this black is doing among arabs.The answer is Pretty Good..made many friends among them.Learn with them,laugh ,eat ,play and they are brothers to me.Nice people ,good peole great people and everything thng in between...Eating Ashi, fullu fallaf, kebda,and other arab foods..hahahahahahahah.............
Its my ride yo...and im grateful to meet all sorts of people....
peace
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