Ana Arabia Page #3

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Nature works fast.

They'd rather stay underground,

but that's life.

That's the same with people.

You can't live wherever you like.

I didn't weed this year.

Kids run everywhere

and they uproot plants.

I left the nettles

so that they get stung.

They leave garbage everywhere.

I noticed that,

by leaving weed behind,

plants and trees

grow better.

So I just leave them there.

Maybe they will help me

kick out the rascals.

So the nettles will grow.

They don't like

to run among nettles.

I want to plant a grapevine here.

I planted one last year,

but it was a dry summer

and it didn't survive.

Otherwise I'd have grapes.

They were inside some boxes,

so I planted them with the boxes.

I noticed that if they try

to pull out,

roots just twist.

It's harder for plants

to fix in place.

You like plants

Sure.

It's simple.

If there aren't plants there

people won't throw away garbage

They pollute the ground.

It took me a year

to clean it up.

A year.

I even planted this,

a lemon.

There is a big orchard up there...

with cactus and...

Go up there and have a look,

it's really beautiful.

Go there, it's the nicest place.

Do you still see Jihad's friends?

I switch roads

to avoid them.

Sooner or later it will pass.

It will be forgotten.

What happened?

I don't want to meet them.

That's it.

I'd rather not think about it.

It's healthier not to ruminate,

always better to stay out of the mud.

What do you want to forget?

The failure.

A failure is not a good memory,

and a failure it was...

If it hasn't been,

everything would be different,

but it was a failure...

and it's painful,

especially for a woman.

Especially.

Don't you think so?

It was his race against mine.

Jews and Arabs.

His sons kept on trying

to convince him

that the path that he had chosen

was wrong.

In the end they succeeded

But he wasn't a bad person,

he just belonged to another world,

that had its needs.

So, that's the why it went?

In a nutshell, that's how it went.

But I don't want to go into details.

As they say, silence is golden.

I don't want to think about it.

They story is underground already...

it's for the best.

This is not ours.

What do you mean with "underground"?

Jihad is dead.

Men go from a girl to another,

until they find the one

who buries them.

And until the end of their days they believe

that the next one is going to be better.

What will you do now?

You're still young.

You can find a new love.

Love.

Love for whom?

You can't force yourself to love.

You must not give your heart

to someone you don't love.

Your heart will then break.

Get sick.

You learn to get by without love.

To go on with what you have.

Yes, love is a gift.

A gift from the heaven.

It's not given to everyone.

A few really know how to love.

They do, but not in a real way.

Love is the most beautiful thing in life.

When I left Jihad I had a lot of projects.

But most of the times I had to survive,

to cope with the problems arising

year by year.

And I've never really done much.

Now it's too late.

There's nothing worth chasing.

No?

Why did you come here, Sara?

Love.

I didn't want my husband to suffer.

I didn't want people

to talk behind the back of the man I chose.

So I told him:
"Come,

lets go where they'll treat you

with respect."

The jealousy was terrible.

As terrible as it can be,

jealousy

is even worse

when it lives in your home.

It doesn't come and go,

it stays there.

Why's what?

Never mind,

it involved people

who are still alive.

But now you're happier, aren't you?

Now I'm almost good,

I don't have anymore problems.

I found my peace.

But I lived through hell.

Years and years of hell.

Sometimes,

when I was asking myself: "God,

will you give me the strength

to avoid the humiliation?"

Because he was humiliating me continuously.

I felt like I was less than garbage.

I really love this house,

especially the orchard,

that wild vegetation

in the middle of the city.

Sometimes, in the dark,

in the silence, the night,

you can hear

the wind, the trees,

people, dogs howling, goats...

You just stay there and listen.

What do you think about

at night?

Life.

What else?

What to do tomorrow,

the day after,

in a year, in a month,

in a week.

Tell me your name again.

Yael.

Yael, I have a question for you.

Tell me.

Who's getting a better

treatment from the government?

The Russians that have just arrived

or us?

For example,

a guy that was a doctor

in Russia,

he's a street cleaner here.

How do they treat him?

Better than me.

First of all

he's blood of their blood.

Does he work better than an Arab?

Can a Russian place tiles?

Can a lawyer

pave a road?

Or handle 100 kg of rocks?

Let's suppose Arabs leave,

let's suppose,

how would they making a living?

Dad, I'll bring this to Adel

and be right back.

- To Adel?

- She needs it,

she wants to go fishing.

Be sure that she brings

everything back...

Immediately...

- Alright.

- Not in a month.

I didn't forget about your tea.

I made it.

I'm dying for some tea.

It's getting cold.

Samira, my cousin's daughter,

from Nablus,

used to live in Nablus,

now she came here.

I wanted her to stay with me.

When did she arrive from Nablus?

When did she get to Nablus?

She was born there.

In what year?

Her mother, I mean.

- Her mother?

- Yes, her family.

She arrived with her father, in '48,

OK.

Is her mother younger than you?

No, I'm older.

I have an older sister,

she lives near Haifa.

How many?

Three, due males and one female.

Oh, a small family.

No?

No...

- I have parents in Jordan,,

- Thanks.

in Egypt, in Kuwait,

in Gaza...

- Who lives in Gaza?

- Cousins.

I got 4.000 parents in Gaza

and two in Kuwait,

but most of them live in Gaza.

By the way, it's delicious.

I got parents all over the world.

Who lives in Kuwait?

My brother's son.

But you just told me you have two sisters.

- No...

- I don't understand.

- No, I see that.

- From the beginning.

He's not really my brother.

- His mother is my aunt.

- OK.

My mother was his nanny,

he has got my age,

we're milk-brothers.

My nanny-brother.

Yes, a nanny-brother...

My nanny-brother.

Nanny, exactly.

He's like a brother.

- A nice thing.

- I believe so.

How did they get here

from Nablus?

Walid brought them.

- Your son?

- Yes.

Didn't they have problems getting in?

No, it went well.

They got over the border

without any problems,

everything went smoothly.

Have you been to Nablus recently?

No, it's been 2 years.

Why so? Are you afraid?

Oh, heavens...

- What's so funny?

- What is there to be afraid of?

Where should I be afraid

on this side or the other?

Us or them?

Our police or theirs?

Look... in the end,

Arabs are just like Jews,

they were exiled, then came back...

the same stuff.

I could be stoned,

go to the hospital

and be dead or...

alive.

Why did you want your cousin here?

Listen, their father is dead,

their mother is dead,

their uncle is dead,

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