When I first moved into my apartment, our neighbor introduced himself to my roommate and I. Like city-smart and cautious women, we divulged little info about ourselves and kept the conversation short. The man told us he had just moved to Cairo from Iraq. A week later, I was dragging 10 heavy bags of groceries into my house, when he approached me excitedly, saying that his family had just arrived from Baghdad airport. I congratulated him on their safe arrival, and thought little of it. Two days after that, a woman knocked on the door and told me she was our neighbor's wife. She brought us a plate full of sweets and smiled kindly, trying really hard to utilize every English word she knows, which is quite a few. This gift touched my roommate and I deeply. The pain and exhaustion in this woman's face was evident and I wondered for hours what she experienced in Iraq over the past 4 years.
I'm very open about expressing my opposition to war and I cry every time I read about another soldier dying - it affects me profoundly. When I taught high school in an economically depressed area, many of my students joined the military and I supported them, but silently hated their decision, which stemmed from a lack of options. However, I've only been personally touched by the war from an American viewpoint. This woman, my new neighbor, represents so much information I was missing. She's a refugee from her own country - and while some may think it's her choice to leave - read about the 100 killed today in a roadside bomb in Baghdad and ask yourself if you'd stay. She has three beautiful children and saved them from daily violence, anger, sorrow, desperation, and all the other emotions that arise from war in society.


I cried too, today, when I read more about the southern states in the U.S. I express my utter sorrow for anyone affected by this disaster. My partner just arrived in Mississippi yesterday to aid in disaster relief for the next three months. He said the pain in people's faces is so intense, it's hard to look people in the eye. I worry that his time in Mississippi will break his spirit, then I think of my neighbors whose spirits remain after so much violence and destruction that I'll never understand.


Tonight I expressed my emotions about war to a fellow Arabic Language Institute student and she promptly brought up foreign policy and national interests. I encouraged her to meet my neighbors and then we could continue the shallow policy discussion. Nevertheless, our conversation was had at the Citadel in old Cairo. The structure was constructed in the 12th century and is remarkably beautiful. We went there to watch traditional Sufi dancing and music. The show was really incredible. I loved being there, supporting traditions that have yet to wiped out by modern society. Please see the attached pictures of the evening that my words cannot describe.