The rexonian february 2009

S ince 2008

M adaba - M anja , J ordan

Monday, February 2, 2009

Gaza Souq King’s sends

PHOTO: HALA HALASEH

volunteers

King’s shows its support for Gaza

By Luma Samawi, ’10 Zaha Abuelsamen, ’10

and

STAFF WRITERS

Saturday morning, January 16th, was the opening of the Souq for Gaza. It was held at the YWCA at the third circle in Amman, by various groups from all over the country. King’s Academy participated by selling baked goods, books, plates, bracelets and keffiyehs. Ms. Tessa Fairbairn, Ms. Pam Tabbaa, Nayab Khan and Simone Salvo were the organizers of this event.

The booths numbered more than 20, with each table selling different goods and supplies. All the collected profits were sent to “Follow the Women” organization which is in contact with the United Nations offices in Gaza.

In an interview with Salvo and Khan, they remarked on the Souq event, saying, “It was an awesome event that catered to all ages, from kids to teenagers to adults.”

Also, when asked about the atmosphere at the Souq, they said, “Although it was an event held for Gaza, we felt as though it was more of an international event, since it combined people from different origins. Even though none of us recognized one another, you could still feel a sense of unity because we were all there for the same cause.”

The school now feels that the spirit of global citizenship that is within us is growing each and every day.

PHOTO: SIMONE SALVO

Pizza for the Hungry

By Tala Hammash, ’10 STAFF WRITER

Students hold candles as they listen to Nayab Khan, Reema Attyeh and Eliza Heath perform the final song of the night before proceeding in silence to the spiritual center to end the vigil for Gaza.

King’s Academy Reflects on Gaza

On the evening of Tuesday, January 15th, the King’s Academy community gathered in the side dining hall to commemorate those in Gaza who have lost their lives, and to show solidarity for those in the area who fear for their lives and their family’s lives. The event was organized by Round Square and the Gaza community, led by Tala Shokeh, ’10. The one-hour event consisted of a charity fund raiser, inspiring performances from students and faculty, and a breathtaking and emotional candle vigil in the spiritual center.

The charity fund raiser consisted of selling Palestinian scarves (hattahs), customized bracelets with “For Gaza” inscriptions on them and pins with “Gaza in our hearts” written on them. The community was very supportive of the cause to the extent that the majority of the students and faculty bought something in support of Gaza. A lot of students helped in selling those items which

By Maria Zabaneh,’10 and Jumana Shahzadeh, ’10 STAFF WRITERS

showed their commitment to this cause. After the event, a couple of volunteers sold the items in the dorms, which was of great help.

As for the performances, Eliza Heath, Nayab Khan and Reema Attyeh touched the audience with two songs that they performed professionally. The two songs were “Boy with a Coin” by Iron and Wine, and “Winter Song” by Sara Bareilles featuring Ingrid Michaelson; both songs caught the audience’s attention and are still stuck humming in our minds.

Zaha Abuelsamen, ’10, performed an amazing song by Fairuz, called “Baladi” (my country). Her calm tone and the powerful words captured the moment and made every audience member think of those who are suffering.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things that night was that many students and faculty, both Arab and non-Arab, took the initiative to write a speech or a couple of words expressing their concern and feelings towards what is happening in Gaza. Tala Shokeh, ’10, wrote a speech expressing her grief for the condition in Gaza, her homeland and the place in which she was brought up. Ms. Rehema and Mr. Ryuji, although non-Arab, were extremely supportive of the cause and their speeches were expressive of their support for Gaza. Thaer al-Sheikh

Theeb, ’11, presented a wonderful speech in which he expressed his anger towards what is happening in Gaza; Rnad Salaita, ’10, Farah Hamati, ’11 and Suhayb Al Jawhari, ’11, standing beside him, also talked about their stay in Israel while those events were occurring in Gaza. They also discussed the Israeli perspective on this. Moreover, Mohammad Hassan, ’10, also presented a speech about the experience he is undergoing as an effect of the genocide in Gaza.

As an end to the night, candles were distributed among the student body and faculty and were lit as Nayab, Reema and Eliza performed their second song. Afterwards, everyone headed to the spiritual center for a moment of prayer on the lives of the victims in Gaza. It was a beautiful way to end the night and it was amazing to see that most of the students and faculty left their busy schedules behind to take an hour to feel with Gaza.

On Thursday, January 15th, King’s Academy carried out a pizza party in which all profit went to support Gaza. This event occurred during lunchtime in the dining hall. Students received their previously-ordered pizzas and enjoyed them.

An amount of over 500 JD was collected, and it will be donated along with the money collected from other events King’s Academy carried out. Our own Ms. Zuhaira Salman was in charge of the event. She was very pleased with the outcome. Though it was only for one day, we were able to raise a good amount of money thanks to our supportive, compassionate student body and faculty. “It was wonderful,” Ms. Zuhaira said describing the pizza party. She added that many students asked for more pizza, and that many of those who had not signed up asked if they could join at the last minute. Perhaps it was the wonderful smell of the pizza! The pizza was ordered from a Jordanian restaurant, not from any of the multinational corporations that allegedly fund Israel. There are plans for future pizza parties and other similar events in order to show our full support for the victims of Gaza.

PHOTO: GEORGIA JEWETT

Left: Students sell Palestinian hattahs and other items in support of Gaza Right: Students enjoy pizza sold

Inside This Issue

as a fundraiser for Gaza

F O R U P D A T E D N E W S A N D E V E N T S , V I S I T K A N E T. K I N G S A C A D E M Y. E D U . J O

The Rexonian, February 2, 2009

Page 2

A View from Lebanon

By Leen Sinokrot, ’10

tradicting views among Lebanese about what’s happening in Gaza.

Putting aside the official Lebanese stand on the issue (which is supporting the Palestinians), if you go to the street in Lebanon and ask people about their opinion it will be difficult to get a fair response.

When asked about what’s happening in Gaza, Elie Abu Hanna said, “I really do not think that it’s humanly possible for such a slaughter. In less than a month [the Israelis] managed to eliminate around 900 men, women and children. Does the word ‘genocide’ ring a bell to anyone in the international circuit?! Or do they think money matters more than human blood?! The number of Israelis who died from the missiles before the Gaza incursion was minimal compared to the number of potential dead because of the resistance they are facing now.”

It is still hard to believe that most of the Lebanese population

finally agrees on something, and that they do not argue about this issue. This must show how serious the situation is and how utterly inhumane it is. Most people in the Arab world feel helpless and unable to do anything, even though they have the impulse and the urge to help and act against what’s happening in Gaza right now. “What’s happening in Gaza is horrible,” says Hani Masri. “But what’s even worse,” he adds, “is that no one is even trying to help stop it. It’s terrible, and it should stop, but what can anyone do?!”

If the traditionally conflicting points of view of the Lebanese finally come together, then this should be an example to all Arab countries that they can do something to help and act upon what’s happening! Palestine is a land everyone wants a bit of, but if the Lebanese can unite their differences, then this should work as a catalyst for the sake of the human race.

In Dr. Meera’s 11th grade English class, students were assigned the following topic: the War in Gaza as “theater of the absurd.” They had five minutes of free writing to devote to the question. Some of their impressions are included throughout this issue.

“As the screen of deeper meaning falls over the eyes of those who await. The screen covering their minds blinds them from reality. Hour after hour, bodies are falling like the leaves from an oak tree in autumn. Blood is running down the hills of corpses filling the air with the odor of those who have passed. Children’s cries shredding my soul into pieces. Bombs falling like the rain drops on a rainy day, blasting skyscrapers into holes in the earth; tanks crushing the skulls of innocent souls, soldiers marching in pride, not thinking about the people below. Absurdity?”

Hashim Attar, ’10

A Note of Thanks An open letter to the community from Deputy Headmaster Dana Adwan Dear fellow members of King’s Academy, It gives me great pleasure to announce that as a result of everyone’s generosity in foregoing a day of salary on behalf of all the Palestinians suffering in Gaza over the last three weeks, we were able to make a contribution of JOD 11,775 to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, which will be transferred to Gaza under the administration of the UNRWA and distributed to those in need.

It has been a time of great anguish and hardship for those in Gaza, and our contribution is but a token of all our sympathy and compassion for what Gazans have had to endure. In particular, I want to salute our colleagues in Operations Department, who have embodied the idea of selfless generosity by generating this idea.

They thought it was fitting for our school to come together in an act of solidarity and support for those in need of aid. Additionally, their department has established a separate fund for their individual donations to the Gaza Fund, and to date they have collected over JOD 450.

Thank you all for your generous contributions -- I feel proud to be part of such a school.

Sincerely, Dana

By Tala Shokeh, ’10 STAFF WRITER

STAFF WRITER

It’s hard to summarize the Lebanese point of view for any event, domestic or international.

Lebanese opinion was divided even when the country was under attack by the Israelis for more than a month in 2007; this difference in opinion comes from the fact that there are 18 different religious sects and 51 active political parties in a country with a population of less than 3.5 million, all of whom fought against each other at some point in time during their 15-year civil war.

The Palestinians and the Lebanese have had a long “special relationship” and shared history since the 1948 war, when many Palestinians began fleeing to Lebanon as refugees. According to estimates from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are more than half a million Palestinians in Lebanon, most of whom played a part in the 15-year civil war.

Therefore, it’s understandable to think there would be some con-

School Bombing On January 3rd, 2009 I received some of the worst news of my life. About a week after what some are now calling “the Palestinian Holocaust” in Gaza, Palestine, the Israeli army had bombed my school, one of the most important places to me.

I am now a King’s Academy student, but three years ago I was a student at the American International School of Gaza (AISG).

After hearing the news, I was shocked. I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it.

Like any student at a school, I spent most of my day at school.

Similar to King’s Academy, AISG was a small community.

We were less than 200 students from pre-K to 12th grade. That is a fairly small number of people for that many different levels of classes, so we too were a family.

This is not the first time AISG has been hit. It had been hit by Islamic groups before because it was one of the very few co-ed schools as well as a non-Arab school. And has now been hit twice by the Israeli army. The first time they bombed the school, there was not much damage. But this time there is nothing left but stones and a flag: the flag of Palestine.

AISG has also been threatened before by the Israelis. I remember in the fourth grade

“Calling the Gaza Crisis absurd is an understatement. The United States claims that the conflict is a war against terrorism, but it’s ironic that the terror isn’t felt by the people in Israel or in the States. It’s felt by the children screaming for the ‘absurdity’ to stop, praying that the airplane above won’t take their lives from them: their parents, their brothers, their sisters, their friends, their mosque, their school, their home. They are lost in a world of ‘absurdity’; a world in which no one can explain why.”

George Steele, ’10 “What violence? What peace are they talking about? Is it because we’re pompous? Is it all about destroying? Or is it the desire to control and own everything? When we see these pictures of killed women, children and young men, they move something inside us, so let’s move with these feelings. Standing up and speaking are the actions which always make you stronger and never put you at the back of the line. The Gaza issue seems absurd. It’s an irrational event occurring in our region. Absurdity is something we all discard if it’s silly and foolish without limits, to play with people’s life.”

Mohammed Omar Shdeifat, ’10

we were playing soccer on our field and out of the blue one of the boys started screaming, “Tanks! Tanks!”

At first we thought it was a distraction, so we just kept playing. A few seconds later, we heard the voice again, and the teachers gathered us all in one hallway while other teachers went around playing games and singing to keep us busy and calm. Once the tanks had left, we went back outside and there were flyers everywhere saying that we must either close the school or they would close it in their own way. As a ‘family,’ we weren’t prepared to close down the school and we didn’t; we kept going as a ‘family.’ Up until the second bombing (this most recent attack) the school fought for its place and kept going and only stopped when it lost its role in life.

As I see the pictures, I remember the moments.

Yesterday, I was playing on the red slide, and today it’s all gone. This is one thing I always thought was impossible, but yet it is now true. It is reality, and I have to deal with it. This isn’t something that happens every day and not something that everyone experiences, but the first thing that came to my mind is the following: I just lost a big part of my life.

PHOTOS: YASMEEN AL-KHOUDARI

Above: AISG before the bombing Below: The school after the bombing

The Rexonian, February 2, 2009

Facebook

By Reem Haddadin, ’11 and Rnad Salaita, ’10 STAFF WRITERS

Amid the mess of the world at large, the smaller, neighboring world of Gaza also broke into chaos. On December 28th, another bloody war broke out between Israel and Gaza. Bombs were dropped on Gaza, killing and injuring thousands of people, from the elderly to babies.

Once again, Facebook proved to be a meeting place where people, in particular King’s Academy students, could express their political opinions and their responses to this seemingly inhumane expropriation, without having to worry about the “rules” or other opposing reactions and opinions. What was said? How did King’s Academy students react?

Right after the war in Gaza began, Facebook statuses started changing from “Happy New Year” to “for Gaza,” to “Give me my LIBERTY or give me DEATH” and from smiley faces to frowning ones. King’s Academy students clearly had strong feelings and reactions to the situation as group invitations were sent out immediately. Groups with names like: “Palestine in our Blood” and “Let’s kick out the Israeli ambassador” had lots of members join in a matter of hours These groups kept sending messages to their members, such as: “Please continue to vote for Palestine.”

People openly expressed their opinions on Facebook and

announced support for embargoes on multinational corporations allegedly linked to Israel, such as Pepsi, Ariel, McDonald’s and Starbucks. There were even such inflammatory accusations such as “Disturbing blood drinkers at Starbucks.”

By joining websites that collect donations for either of the two main Palestinian parties, Hamas and Al Fatah, people could display a status shared by most of those supporting Gaza: in 19 days 1,013 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks, including 322 children and 100 women. 4,560 were injured.

Donate your status at http:// apps.facebook.com/supportgaza. The application will keep your status updated every so often with the most recent incoming Palestinian casualty statistics from the news agencies.

This did not happen with King’s Academy students only, though. People from many nations joined in the meeting places, and they rarely held back on their opinions. Whether out of nationalism and/or sadness, some people might occasionally sound too offensive toward their supposed enemy -- for example: “God help Gaza 1024 dead and over 4000 injured... Damn you Israeli terrorists!!!” However, this was one person’s opinion, and it was expressed without any restraint.

Jordan

Delivering hope to Gaza

By Dalia Mehiar, ’10, Nadine Sousou, ’10 and Leen Hajjar, ’11 After watching and hearing eral that have been held all over stories and news reports day af- the country, including a huge ter day about the people killed gathering in Amman’s largest stain Gaza, the Jordanian people dium which included around one transformed their words and thousand participants. their alarmed feelings into action Nearly half of Jordanian on Friday, January 9th. Hundreds citizens are of Palestinian origin of Jordanian citizens of all ages with close family ties in Palesmarched in the streets of Am- tine, and thus they are doing all man to protest against the Israeli they can to show their support. attacks to show sympathy and For example, the Aramex office solidarity to the people of Gaza. in Amman is accepting medical One of the main protests supplies, canned food, clothes took place in Al Rabieh near the and blankets to ship to Gaza. Al Kaloti Mosque after the Muslim Khalidi Hospital is also starting a prayer time. The participants campaign of support to collect headed to the Israeli embassy re- money donations and preparing peating: “No Jewish embassy on medical supplies. A fundraisArab land” as a demonstration ing concert was also held at the of their fury of the situation, and Courtyard in Shmeisani for the to urge the concerned parties to children in Gaza. Pharmacy 1 put an end to the attack. also collected medical aids and To control the disordered sit- supplies to send to Gaza. Until uation, riot police fired tear gas today, the Jordanian people conand arrested many of the protes- tinue to speak up and protest tors. This protest was one of sev- against the war on Gaza.

Page 3

“As a result of the war in Gaza...”

By Swara Saleh, ’10 STAFF WRITER

“... do you believe peace in Palestine will be achieved…”

“...do you believe Palestinian unity has been...”

“...do you believe a ‘two-state solution’ will be reached?”

“Living in such chaos, in a world full of riots and crisis, looking for something extraordinary and good for our lives, sorting things out and seeking some alteration, playing the innocents while guilt is covering us up from head to toe, hoping for the world to calm down, and for the number of the dead bodies caused by wars to eventually get smaller and smaller by days, praying for god to come and asking his holy spirit to finally send some peace upon our souls. And yet God never responds.

Decades have come and gone, and we’re still standing at the same point we stood at hundreds of years ago; watching men, women, seniors and children getting killed every day, houses and hospitals getting bombed.

While we we’re serenely relaxing at home, hiding our feelings toward the whole thing and avoiding the fact that we’re essentially humans who feel, love, hate and cry, we mitigate our guilt over our inaction by the feeling that we’re actually waiting for the ultimate power to finally show up; for justice to play its swift role in this unrealistic, impractical play that is the world we live in. Meanwhile Absurdity is blocking off our minds and shutting down our brains, killing our pure dreams and destroying our desperate calls for the God who never comes.”

Aseel Alsoub, ’10 “I’d like to define the absurd as something that shouldn’t be and is, or as something that isn’t and should be. As we take a quick glance at the world we see death, blood, pain and loss, reflecting the anarchy that is cloaking the world and dividing people in the same/different country -- which in turn causes a certain hostility among the people. This relates to the Theater of the Absurd that was accidentally invented by writers such as Samuel Becket. This Theater of the Absurd speaks of everyday life and how it is filled with disorder. Once someone is lost, everything seems unrealistic as if it were a play. A play can be so realistic that it actually seems more like real life, which in itself is absurd and ironic. This brings me back to my main point -- life is an absurd thing. It can’t be explained with simple words and emotions, because life is like a movie strip. It means nothing at all unless it is put all together.”

-Zeid Al-Nassir, ’10

The Rexonian, February 2, 2009

Page 4

Political Cartoons

By Reem Haddadin, ’11

, ’12

“Fighting. Shrieking. The echoes of human suffering fill our eyes, ears and hearts. Why? Because it is real, not a freakish nightmare from which we will wake as the sun rises. What is the purpose of this fighting, this suffering? Is it because of land and the quarrel over to whom it belongs? Is it punishment for disobedience of regulations? Or is it the human desire to control? A recent clinical study showed that, when told to do so, 82.5% of people knowingly sent painful and possibly fatal shock waves through another person’s body. 70% were willing to continue to do so even after hearing the first screams of agony. Is this clinical study being enacted in Gaza as we go through our day? This need to control or manipulate another person’s life is truly absurd in that there is no rational justification to back up this idea except emotions. So again I pose the questions: Why? What is the purpose? William Shakespeare may have said it best of all, ‘A peace is of the nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party loser.’”

Anna Rose Kelsoe, ’10

Truth

By Zaid al-Nassir, ’10

The truth is – well one cannot identify the truth in a simple combination of trivial letters. The truth is the revelation that is rarely achieved in a person’s lifetime, the scarce chance that someone might be able to lift the cloudy screen that is smudged with lies and stained with secrets. The thing that fascinates me the most is that even though we know the truth, we stand at a distance marveling at it, as if it were a golden dragon, spitting fire and rage through pores of undeniable pain. The truth is the truth hurts, and the world does not want to feel pain, because it does not know what pain is. And it is human nature to fear the unknown, which is exactly the same reason behind our fear of the dark, and our constant defensive position against any new religion – because we don’t know what lies beyond the shadows, and we don’t know what this new religion may cause: separation, segregation and abhorrent torture to the world. Which pair of emerald-like eyes will be killed next? Whose mother will cry next?

The media is treating all these deaths as if they were scorekeepers of a polo game. What they don’t know is that each extra number is someone’s mother, father, brother or sister, son or daughter, or just a good friend. The fact that they give themselves the right to treat these poor souls like they were no one disgusts me. Because I wonder who gave them the right? Who gave them the right to generalize? Who gave the Israeli government the right to kill? Who gave Hamas the right to claim all Palestinian souls as their own, to sacrifice them and speak of their parents as if they would be proud? I don’t understand, when one marches to his or her end with pride and a head held high, then he is considered a martyr. But our children, our friends and our land did not choose martyrdom – it is forced upon them. We gave Israel the right to kill when we acted foolishly and didn’t stand up. We gave Hamas the right to take over when we stood up but didn’t know when to stop. And now everything that happens is allegedly approved by the people.

But do they really approve? Do they approve of sacrificing a thousand lives? Do they accept the fact that souls are being destroyed en masse in the name of a higher purpose? This higher purpose may require a sacrifice of time, money, or a relationship; but no higher purpose is worth a life, because in the end life is all we have; it is everything that we will truly possess. When it is interrupted by the abrupt colors in the horizon that make it look as if it were sundown at midday, then it is a life that was not worth living.

No one should suffer from such a death, no one should suffer from any kind of death. If there were a God and what is happening is a test, then I have failed, because I no longer believe in the truth. I no longer believe in love or purity. I can only hope that one day we might be able to live in a place where the sun falls asleep in the afternoon and rises in the morning; where everyday a new dawn will rise and new colors will be reflected in all of the eyes gazing at something true, something that gives us life and keeps its promises and never lets us down. If you ask me again, what is the truth? It is an absurd emotion of nothingness that seemingly fills and satisfies one’s spiritual needs. But when the truth is what we don’t want it to be, no one wants to discover what it is. They only want to see how it should be.