Eyes Opened

Traditions

Ramez Hayek

Scared, the sound of your heartbeat is as loud as the sound Of the gunshot that is about to shoot the bullet of your eternal sleep. Whispering sounds, crying noises, scared expressions. Similar shades of the color of the pain that your eyes will always glimpse Throughout the journey you take. You feel the sand wind whispering and shouting to your ears The crying sounds of your dead family, -you stand still Waiting for your body to get wiped away by that same greedy wind, Just to feel satisfied. Nothing happens, though, you are just left Alone like emptiness Alone like abandonment Alone like blankness Alone like me. All the pieces of the puzzle are put into place except for one… me. I’m the light in this dark, but I can’t find my own sight. I see images of bodies falling like my harsh tears, People dying by the same bullets that are yet to be shot at me, Eyes crying, reflecting the death of their lonely children in front of the same eyes. Eyes opened just to witness their small house shattered into incomplete pieces. Blood screams so loud as you stare at your mother’s corpse trembling hard, Losing its last inch of life. Different images, Two eyes, A single person, but million stories that are narrated. The heavy chains of these dark memories became hemmed inside a locked place That you can never enter again. Your emotions are replaced by a deep painful void that erases your identity Feeling exactly like a real fake. You walk quickly, so you do not make a sound, But with each step you take, you feel the sad wind following you, And with each move you make, the rush of sounds in your ears gets louder As the moon gets darker. Minutes after, you hear them coming closer and closer, You try to hide, but the dark presence still persists stronger than ever. You glimpse the lonely margins of the cursed heaven you are about to enter. Crimson blood all over your body, Similar to the blood of the dead children who are washed off Like the memories of that night. Eyes closed, Soul taken, Doors shut. Eyes closed just to see darkness; the darkness of the dead. Cold like the old, Gone to the stone, Dead like red, End like the eyes you are about to shut.

Person of PACC: An Interview with Raed Odeh

Falastin Staff

Every issue, Falastin highlights a different member of the PACC community as the “Person of PACC.” This issue, we are incredibly honored to be highlighting Raed Odeh. He is a PACC board member, one of the founders of CAFA (a coalition for raising awareness about drugs in our community), a South Paterson business owner and well-connected community member. What inspires your work in the community?

When I think about this question I am flooded with many thoughts and memories. I have been a part of this community for more than thirty years and have experienced many things. Having all this knowledge of all the things going on in the community inspires me to be there for those who need help and drives me to make a change. I want to live in a community that not only encourages taking care of one's physical well-being, but that also focuses on emotional and mental health. With that being what inspires me is knowing that failure is not an option because failing the community means failing my family and my children. We fail them by not giving them the opportunity to grow up in an environment where they feel at home and instead we face the reality of having them feel like outsiders in their own community. We need to foster a clean and safe environment for our children and their children to not only grow up in, but to prosper in. Part of this is the need to address the growing drug issue in our community. I am motivated to do everything in my power to help educate the parents of our community on ways to detect this issue and methods to educate our children on what exactly they are getting themselves into by messing with drugs. What do you think our community needs most?

First and foremost, we need security and safety. Secondly, we need to learn how to work together to help pick each other up when they have fallen. We need to find ways to help each other grow out of bad habits and not mask one another's faults. We need to provide our community members with support and help to address their struggles. The reality is that we can never have enough help and we will always need more energy. In regards to the drug problem in our community, we need more help from people who have lived through drug abuse and these difficult situations to tell their stories and help those in the same situations. We do not want to keep finding ourselves falling into that same cycle. As a community, we can and will do better. What is your favorite Palestinian tradition?

My favorite Palestinian tradition is rooted in learning about our history. It excites me to pick up a book about my hometown and learn more about our culture and tradition. It also excites me to pick up a traveling brochure and see all the different places I can visit when I am overseas. I enjoy watching shows on the old Palestinian stories and folktales that are told. I regularly watch movies that expose the true embodiment of the oppression that is happening in my country, Palestine. It is upsetting to watch, but it is far more important to show people and truly understand what's going on on the ground. These movies and stories also capture important moments in history that are critical to preserve for generations to come.