These days there seems to be a great emphasis on where are you from? What do you do? What is you background? Uh, I see, but where is your accent from? Interesting, where you born there?
I was actually asked these questions in a party last week, all by the same person, and in the same sequence!
This situation poses a dilemma for me: What happens if I am born in Africa to Christian Palestinian parents, and now live in Australia, I have an accent in English (not Australian), and I have an accent in Arabic (not Palestinian)?
Who am I?
Let me answer this question:
Country of Origin: Palestine (Not that there is such a country!)
Country of Birth: Libya (not that I ever lived there we left when I was too young to remember)
Nationality: Australian, but I also feel Palestinian, and lets forget the whole issue around Arab nationalism, that's another story
Original Nationality: I was holding a Jordanian passport, but was considered Palestinian (again refer to Arab nationalism issues). Confusing?
1st Language: None (but I'm thinking about mastering Spanish and making it my first language)
2nd Language: Arabic (with an Australian accent), English (with an Arabic accent)
Ethnicity: Of Middle Eastern Appearance (although a taxi driver told me last night that I look Italian or of Mediterranean Appearance, when I asked him, why not Middle Eastern he said I smile too much to be Middle Eastern!)
Culture: Hmmm, this is a tough one: I like poetry, the desert, mountains, and the moon, I read lots, and love soccer too, I like Salsa… and the beach
Religion: Christian (not really practicing, and most people think I'm Muslim being of Arabic background)
Sexuality: Heterosexual, but being gentle, soft spoken and considering, people always think I’m gay, and sometime I’m called Metrosexual, again having a hairy chest (and not interested in shaving it) I might not entirely qualify to be Metro, is there such a things as gentle manly man?
Confused?
Me too.
I'm beyond confused, I'm fed up, I want to celebrate who I am without having to define exactly that I belong to this group or the other, I think the tribal mentality is really, really hard to sustain these days. Having said that, and knowing very well that we are heading to an era of even more emphasis on "US" and them "Them", I propose that if you (the receiver of this email) feel fed up too, and can't think of one single group that represents "YOU" wholly then join me in calling for:
a PLU "People Like Us"
This will be (Yes,yet another group) all of us that don't feel like we simply can be grouped as this or that, we are the fringes, we are not the war on terror, nor are we the terrorist, we are not the masses, nor we are the elite, we don't just spend the day watching footy, nor do we live in the library. We don't work 9-5 same job for ever, nor do we live in a commune, smoking hash.
Are you a PLU?
May 13, 2006 at 9:14 am
Mabrouk on your blog, habibi! This is a great first post. I look forward to reading your respones to living and working in Ramallah.
Salam,
Marcy
June 20, 2006 at 2:57 am
I think lots of people are Plu’s but many take on the easy labels and pander to others needs to categorise. For myself being anglo saxon and born in australia my nationality is not often questioned here but when travelling overseas people couldn’t believe that I was an Aussie that I spoke like I was english or didn’t fit their preconceived notions of what Australians should look and behave like. I also try and resist labels and feel somehow diminished by them ’single mum’ or ‘arty type’ carry with them a bucket load of baggage which might or might not be aspects of me. I want to be understood on my own terms and not simplified as a type of person. What is most interesting about people is often the contradictions and complexities that make them up. We don’t live in a B Grade movie with cardboard cutouts so why are we treated as if we need to give a character description of ourselves based on nationality, race, marital status, sexuality and job in the first 2 minutes of meeting someone? Anyway enough of my rant – goodluck and keep questioning!
Gaby
July 12, 2006 at 5:43 am
Hi Suhail
you have a lovely website. I also feel a bit like you. Being Palestinian opens up so many identities. My partner and I have travelled the globe over the past few years. She is an Australian born lebanese and I am Palestinian. Whilst she always longed for home in Sydney i never thought about coming back.
Though having made the economic jumpp from Refugee to Exile I am now more maudlin and brooding about what life ought to be about. Also being uprooted with an Australian Passport provides one with a certain freedom of choice. We can almost choose where we belong and come from. I have sort of created an imaginary homeland in my head…but somehow I always end up finding myself in Paris.
I would love to know what you mean about Arab Nationalism. I sued to be quite ardent about it, however, I really dont give a shit any more. Infact the only thing more fucked up than Nationalism is religion. Thankfully we have plenty of these two commodities in our home lands.
Have you ever read a book about the late Weal Zaiter. He was assassinated in by the Mossad in Rome in 1972. Look him up!
See you sometime in Sydney.