Dividers

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During my high school years I used to love buying colorful dividers for my folder. I used to take pleasure slotting my various subject handouts into their separate sections, making sure not to mix them up. Dividing those papers keeping them separate was a way to establish control and conquer organization. It worked well for me then and still does. Despite us moving towards a paper free environment, we still use such a system in computer programs, one example being OneNote.

However, I stand witness to this idea of dividing and conquering being used in my beloved region. I look around the Arab World and my eyes water. I become tearful whenever my thoughts drift there. My heart cries every time I talk about my experiences, brothers and sisters of one country and my love for it.

In my mind I remember; a region where people are known for their hospitality and generosity; a nation where the number of nursing homes can be counted on fingers because families shelter their own; where the loyalty to family is on top of everyone's priority list; where history and culture paint many cities and the aroma of falafel and shawirma garnish one's strolls on the streets.

And sadly;

I watch a nation where we; use different colored Hatas or Kufiehs to divide people of the same roots making it easier to identify which area they are from; wear jewelry to show different religions even though we are all descendants of Adam and Eve and use specific styles of clothes to further divide our nation placing ourselves in different categories. It pains me that we do not see that we are all brothers and sisters and that silly lines in the sand should not divide our spirits.

Every time I go on a Beach holiday and think of these dividers, these lines, I make it a point to watch the ocean . I  love watching the waves wash up on the shore clearing all the lines and footprints we draw or leave in the sand. How I wish we could learn from them.