Fading Lights and Patient Souls: Celebrating Holidays of Hope in Syria
Over the past decade, a lot of attention has been directed towards Syria, the beating heart of the Middle East, which embodies a complex human story as it fights to
Known to be a prominent strength in the Syrian (and Arab) community, mockery is the act of diminishing a serious matter by making it appear feeble, trivial, or even insignificant. It occurs when someone creatively transforms a sincere topic into something weak or unimportant, often through sarcastic comments, derisive gestures, or scornful tones. Mockery, whether intentional or inadvertent, can leave a recipient feeling diminished and undervalued in one instance, and a critical topic unaddressed and sabotaged in another.
You open up to a friend about your excitement for an upcoming music performance, and you are met with, “Here goes Beethoven.” You bring up a new perspective and you are met with “Dakheelak,” “God have mercy on your grandfather” (a statement used to elicit shame from ancestors), or other classic, diminishing phrases.
Although this art is a great representation of one’s talent, it seriously hinders our ability to adopt new ideas and, God forbid, change. You are not required to accept every new idea that comes your way. However, you are required to carefully consider and analyze it before undermining it due to your artsy edge. This habit leaves us collectively stagnant. There is nothing a mocker cannot completely destroy, all they need is a bit of creativity.
Why we mock:
Over the past decade, a lot of attention has been directed towards Syria, the beating heart of the Middle East, which embodies a complex human story as it fights to
Categories Culture and Heritage Social Issues Society I Dream I Dream of the Day I Cross the Levant on a Borderless Trip Like my Grandparents did I have always wanted
Walking along its narrow, branching and ascending staircases, Al-Muhajireen is a unique Damascene neighborhood unlike any other. Its history stretches back to 1899 when Nazim Pasha, Damascus’ Ottoman governor at