I'm alive, I'm alive!
I owe you all a HUGE apology! I haven't had the chance to log on for a long time, I have had way too much going on in my life but things are settling back down again. After my brothers wedding, I went to Jordan and I was there for a couple of weeks and now I am in New York, I will be here until mid August. It feels good to be out of Nablus for a while and kind of scope out some business opportunities while I am here (thats the purpose of my trip). I will definately be returning at the end of summer but this time with something to do. Im kind of investigating business opportunities here, so if anyone has any connections with a business that will go over well in Palestine let me know!
I feel really bad, thanks for everyones concern about me and my where abouts. I am really really sorry to worry all of you all. But its nice to see how much you all care, awwww, thanks! I feel the love!
As for a couple of you who wanted to know if I am for "real." I am seriously, your average Palestinian girl from Nablus. I don't want anyone to know "EXACTLY" who I am, because the minute I say my last name I will be able to be located as my family is pretty well known. As for my name Lucy Widaad, it is my first name only, I have 2 first names as a lot of christians, as Widaad is my given name and Lucy is my baptised name. As for my counter being Turkish, I have lots of Turkish friends and was given that "script" so that I can see the people on my site! I hope that clears some stuff up... Now I am off to read my mail and myspace messages, sorry guys for such a long delay.
posted by Palestinian Princess @ Monday, June 12, 2006
34 Comments:
There are Christians in Nables? Wow. I had no clue.
welcome back, i'm really really happy!!!
"There are Christians in Nables? Wow. I had no clue"
Roba that shows your ignorance
35% of the worldwide Palestinian Population is Christian. There are churches in Nablus as well
Oh come on Anonymous, no need to be rude.
As anyone who knows Roba even a little bit can attest, the very last thing you could ever accuse her of being is ignorant.
PP, I am glad to see you're okay - you had quite a few people going there for awhile. ;) As a hopeless internet junky, I cannot conceive of being offline for more than a couple of days - I'd probably have withdrawal symptoms after day 2. Don't know how you managed it for so long.
Sorry I won't be able to meet you next week, but perhaps another time.
Lucy,
Just stumbled upon your blog recently, its really cool that Nablus is on the web now...I lived in Nablus a while back ago, my family is still there. Anyway, keep up the posts, I know I'll be checking in more often!
Cheers,
Hamako
Lisa, I am with you......definitely would go thru internet withdrawls!
Yeah, Im not such an internet person but I was starting to twitch here and there, haha... Anyway, good to know I still have some readers!
From my recollection, there were only 2 (1.5 really) big christian families in nablus? Haven't been there in 6 years but I doubt things have changed. Surprising that Nabilsis havent figured out your identity if your first name is what you say it is :)
ps was it the ivy league in NYC that you went to?? sorry for the personal invasion, but I'm really intrigued.
Hamako
Great to hear from you, Lucy.
Have you been in touch with Laila and Fida?
As far as business.
I read that ammunition is selling at a brisk price of one dollar American, per round (bullet)in Palestine.
Of course transportation costs and bribes would eat up most of the profit.
Have a safe trip.
Papa Ray
Lisa, mwah.
Anon, I am from Nablus. I still had no idea. Ignorant or not.
Roba, you are from Nablus and you have no idea there are Christians? I don't think you are from there otherwise you would know that the muslims are not the ones building and attending the churches, there are christians who do that, duh!
There are more than 2 Christian families, my god are you people from mars?
If you want to further investigate who I am... another clue, I am Greek Orthodox! And my last name starts with "D."
Hey there! I just found your blog wandering over from a close friend who linked to you at her own site, deityblog.blogspot.com — anyways, I'm enjoying catching up on what you've written so far. If this Jew in Chicago (raised by Roman Catholics) can be of any help (I'm looking at your "No MOney, No Honey" post) don't hesitate to elt me know, eh?
Papa Ray,
Your comments are entirely inappropriate.
With her blog, Lucy is trying to break that stereotype of "what a Palestinian is". If you can't accept that Palestinians are actually human beings and prefer to see them as the demonized people they are portrayed as in The West, then you should go back to your own closed minded blog.
By the way, please stop sending your children and grandchildren to die in the Middle East and we'll stop exercising our right to defend ourselves, deal??
Your Pal!
Last letter B? D---B??
Its true that there are only 2 big christian families in Nablus though...You dont agree?
Hamako
"your average Palestinian girl from Nablus"
I didn't know or understand that the "average girl" had the money to travel the world, have the resources to start up a business.
I was under a wrong impression I guess.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
welcome back woman!!
Eva... Me a zionist... hahaha... Thats very funny! The Palestinian Zionist... (rolls eyes).
Mr. Ray from Texas. Do you think that every Palestinian lives in the camps? Yes, we have TOO MANY refugees that were forced to leave there homes and now seek refuge in the W. Bank and Gaza but surprise surprise there were people in that always lived in W. Bank too, you know. My family was lucky that Nablusi's were never forced to run away and were not massacred, so yeah, we exist. The ones that never lost our homes, business and land - atleast not yet.
I am not sure what you think of Palestine and Palestinians, but you are very ignorant if you don't think that we ALSO can drive nice cars, live in nice houses, are educated and have businesses. Ofcourse, you know the problem is rooted with and by the people who LOST EVERYTHING due to the creation of Israel. The refugees, we are fighting for our own freedom like (get the F out of W. Bank and let us be and we want the Refugees to be compensated for EVERYTHING they lost, keep the damn land it doesnt seem that the ones who lost everything will be able to return but they SHOULD be comnpensated for every single penny PLUS some... ITS NOT FAIR.
And Lisa, I think who thinks that there are only 2 christian families... Send me the two last names that you know to palestinianprincess@earthling.net and I will let you know if I am one of them... There are MORE than 2, thats for sure. Ofcourse we are a small community but we are more than 2 families, otherwise I would be related to everyone and I am not, hahaha.
Hey Lucy
I just found out about your blog from the sandmonkey, he linked your No money, No honey post.
Reading it is really enjoyable, and i think we have very similar political views.
If u think about visiting DC during your visit to the US, let me know. Would love to meet u.
Nice to see you back.
Roba
Thats ok, not your fault, I guess thats the result of growing up in the gulf particularly within the walls of a closed compound.
I am amazed at how little Palestnians and Jordanians know about the Arab world when they grow up in the gulf. Its a true shame.
Lisa, if Roba is from Nablus and she didn't know that, then yes there is a bit of ignorance there, sorry to say that.
Lucy -
Yes... Israel is fast on the way to leaving West Bank - as soon as the security barrier is completed. Then it's really PA's problem.
As for reparations - yes, indeed. As soon as there is peace, sure, this whole matter should be examied and reparations should be paid by all sides (should the once-denizens of the Mandate be paid for leaving voluntarily in the hopes of returning to find Jewish corpses fertilizing their fiels? What about the Jews that were expelled from assorted Muslim countries? What about the Jews that were massacred/expelled by the Arabs from their homes in the Mandate? Lots of questions, too few answers).
You're not a Zionist? That is, you do not belive that Jews deserve self-determination?
Oh... regards to the Ashraf clan, next time you're in Nablus... or should I say Schem? :)
Racoon,
I agree with you that Jews expelled from Arab countries should be compensated.
But somehow I feel that rebuilding the 500 or so bulldozed Palestinian villages and the repatriation of their Palestinian inhabitants into them will be a greater challenge to Israel.
Maybe Israel can use some of her billions of American taxpayer dollars to get that done...
Abu-Issa
abu issa. The repatriation of millions of refugees is not possible. How would there millions eran a living ? How would they live side by side with jewish people ? Israel will turn itself in another lebanon , Gaza. Fatah leaving next door with hamas living next door with lebanese palestinian leaving next door with former settlers !!!!
This would only provoke more bloodshed and war. The insistence that the refugees should return to Israel is a good example that the arab political world failed to evolve and does want the time to return back to October 1947.
Dr. Salman Abu Sitta has shown that it is feasible for the refugees to return to their personal property and villages. Jews live on only fifteen percent of the ninety-three percent of the land that was stolen.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/77CB1374-1346-46CB-946A-BBEA259781B5.htm
Besides being feasible it is an inalienable right, reiterated over 100 times in the UN and stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13, which Eleanor Roosevelt, certainly no extremist, helped to write: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
Before political Zionism came to the region in the late 1800's Arab and Jew lived together peacefully.
Insistence upon implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN Resolution 194 is not indicative that Palestinians have not evolved; it is testament to their resolve to have their human, civil, personal, and legal rights implemented. To advocate that they transfer to any place other than their own homes is abetting ethnic cleansing, which is a war crime.
umkahlil, thanks for that info... I didn't know about it. Im going to look into some studies and I will definately check out Dr. Salman Abu Sitta!
By the way I am totally loving being back in NY, excuse me, I haven't anything new to post about I have just been SHOPPING!!
Abu Issa, I might be coming to Toronto next month! I don't know how far that is from you... Im just waiting for my visa approval, I wanna see Niagara Falls and then we will go to Toronto. YEY!
Lucy, my parents and grandparents were all born in New York, and I live here now. Does that give me the right to tell you that I don't want you here? Yet, some of your posts suggest that because your parents and grandparents were born in Nablus, you have the right to pick and choose who gets to be your neighbor. Please explain.
Oh, and by the way: Welcome to New York ;-)
To the above poster.... by no means am I saying who can and who can not be my neighbor on the contrary I am given that impression by Israeli govt. I am not sure if you got to read through my blog, it sounds like you haven't, I am very liberal and do not feel like the situation between Palestine and Israel is not being handeled appropriately by EITHER sides. When I bring up my mother, father, grand father, great great great grandfathers, I am merely expressing that I exist, which many rightest Israeli's will tell you I am like a person out of a fairy tale, they will tell me that I never existed, thats my point by that... Other than that, I want peace, and to live happily ever after - thats as fairy tale as I get.
Lucy
Hamako - is pink elephant arabic club?
The New Yorker here again.
Okay, so you exist. Congratulations! So do I, as well as 3 billion or so other individuals on this planet.
What I don't get is why people in your part of the world are so desperate to have their neighbors confirm their existence. You know you exist. Isn't that enough? On the flip side, the state of Israel knows that they exist - why should they care if Hamas acknowledges that fact?
Someone smart told me that you can't control other people's minds, you can only control your own. You're never going to be able to control what "rightist Israelis" (or fot that matter, "leftist Israelis" or even "ambidextrous Israelis") think or do. But you can change the opinions of your friends and neighbors in Nablus.
So what do you love about New York? Is it the theater and the art? Is it the diversity of the people? Is it the tolerance of individuality? Is it the Nuts 4 Nuts carts?
Now, how can you take those great things and bring them to Nablus? I think that's your real challenge, right?
Raccoon I can see u here too !
Anonymous, you are totally right. Oh, Im on vacation, my brain is totally not letting anything in now, its Friday and I am about to go out, I will get back to you on that one though! :)
The Israeli government has the reparation money already ready in a secret place somewhere in Tel-Aviv. It was on Israeli TV some time ago, and had to do with the properties of the Iraqi-Jewish refugees in Iraqi before they had to leave, leaving everything behind.. (the state took the documents of their properties after the US invaded Iraq and gave them to the Israeli gov't).
A return of 1947 Palestinian refugees is somewhat impossible if Israel intends to stay a Jewish homeland and democracy. The majority living here then wouldn't be jewish so.....
Besides - Israel's population exists outta 20% ex-Palestinians, now Arabic-Israeli's and if an independent, autonomic Palestinian State would come to exist, I don't see why Palestinians couldn't be absorbed by their own Palestinian State.
For some this might sound harsh, but life is harsh. I think the best you could ask about that are the jews, who lost whole families leaving 1 member alive and they picked up and moved on, because life is stronger than death.
Good to see you back, PP :) I sincerely was worried about you...
Tse.
Osaid -
I'm like the proverbial bad penny, bro :)
Abu-Issa -
Peace first, reparations later. This is not an unresolvable situation, but it will take a lot of negotiations and finger-pointing before it will come to an end.
Hey, if Greece and Turkey could do it, so can Israel and the Arabs :)
BTW - the Hebron Jews (or rather, the survivors of the massacre and their descendants) have officially abandoned their clain to their old homes and territory (in particular the infamous market) in Hebron. Why? So that the fighting over it would stop.
Maybe this is a reasonable solution?
Wherein lies the importance in having a JEWISH state of Israel, with a Jewish majority? What's wrong with having a democracy?
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