June 26 2012

Spotting, Hunting and Catching the “Fishzilla” & Its Smuggler in Canada

I watched a special report on one of the Canadian TV channels  about something called: Snakehead fish, aka Frankenfish, or the ‘Fishzilla’, as National Geographic referred to it. The monster fish was spotted earlier in May in Burnaby Central Park by locals, and the never-ending hunting attempts to rid the pond of it started immediately.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To be honest, I’ve never heard of it before until that day, and I was curious to know more, so I kept watching; turns out this fish is considered a highly invasive predator, a  threat to the ecosystem, and would basically eat anything that fits in its mouth. So it feeds on frogs and other fish and would even eat small mammals.

“Snakeheads are considered highly invasive, can grow to a metre in length and have rows of pointy teeth. They are reported to have wiped out native fish stocks in parts of the U.S. The snakefish is said toeat frogs, birds and even small pets….. The fish also has a primitive lung system that allows it to stay out of water for extended periods and move between bodies of water.” CBC News
“They can reproduce multiple times per year…They can double their population size within 15 months.” CBC News

The fish was caught by biologists around two weeks ago,  after they partially drained a pond in Burnaby’s Central Park, in British Columbia,  following previous unsuccessful attempts.
Terry Lake, Minister of Environment, vowed to change provincial regulations by the fall to ban its live importation.  

Apparently another similar incident occurred back in 2004, resulting in draining another lake completely and not partially, which literally cost billions of dollars, besides the death of so many aquatic species: ”It’s a potentially costly problem jurisdictions south of the border have already dealt with; a lake in Maryland had to be drained and re-stocked because of a snakehead infestation in 2004. Two years earlier, another pond had to be poisoned to eradicate the fish.” CTV News
So instead of wasting all that time, money, and effort chasing the fish, and instead of putting the whole ecosystem at risk, I do believe it’s indeed about time the importation of live snakehead fish be prohibited in all of Canada. The good news is, the man who’s believed to be behind the presence of this invasive species in Canadian waters is found, he’s  a Toronto pet dealer and was busted selling the Fishzilla to an undercover U.S Fish & Wildlife Service Agent. The 49-year-old man is now facing federal felony charges in the U.S. and Canada. He was arrested and charged in Canada and given an August court date. Officials are working to transport the smuggler back to the states to face his charges. He is currently not in Canadian custody.

Category: Canada | Comments Off on Spotting, Hunting and Catching the “Fishzilla” & Its Smuggler in Canada
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مبارك لمصر: أنا عايش ومش عايش ومش قادر على بعدك

هذا برأيي أصح وأدق  تعبير قيل تعقيبا على خبر وفاة مبارك
@ZaidAtalla ‎‫مبارك‬‏ بيغني للشعب .. انا عايش ومش عايش ومش قادر على بعدك

وسأشارككم هذا المقال، الذي أعتبره أجمل وأخف دم مقال يخص موضوع  وفاة مبارك، وشر البلية ما يُضحِك
تويتر مصر: مبارك ميت بنسبة 52% ل 48% حسب نتيجة الانتخابات

:وخاصة هذه التغريدات

@fildonia وفاة حسنى مبارك لمرات عديده يؤثر سلباً على صحته فى المستقبل

@Dr_Elmahdiدا شفيق طلع زى مبارك صاحبه . واحد قتل واتقتل والتانى كل يوم يموت ولسة عايش !

نرجع لوضع الدول العربية المُضحك المُبكي، ثورات قامت، وأُخرى ما زالت تقوم، انتخابات، حروب أهلية، كل شيء يتغير دون أن يتغير. الفوضى كانت مأساتنا، ولا تزال الفوضى تتربع على عروش بلادنا.  أليس من المُخزي أن لا نترك وسيلة إعلامية مُتاحة لنتأكد من خبر بسيط؟؟؟ التلفزيون، الراديو، الإنترنت، فآيس بوك، تويتر، ولا نزال نجهل صحة خبر وفاة أو حياة أو حتى الحالة الصحية الدقيقة لرئيس مخلوع ومن المفروض أنه سجين؟! هذا حالنا دوما، الفوضى أولا والفساد ثانيا والمواطن الضائع بين الإثنين… على العموم، آخر الأخبار تقول أنّ مبارك لم يمت، ولكن وضعه الصحي تعيس وخطر للغاية.

Category: Arab Societies, Media, International | Comments Off on
مبارك لمصر: أنا عايش ومش عايش ومش قادر على بعدك
May 28 2012

Religious Tensions in Jordan? Really?!

Religious tensions in Jordan as a “Christian Jordanian sues her Muslim employer“… this is what’s on the news these days! Jordanians being split into 2 groups: Muslims and Christians, questions of religious discrimination within the nation… really that’s what it has come to?

While everyone knows I’m 100% against anyone being forced to do something against their own beliefs and principles, I also believe in the freedom of choice.
All over the world, at least the modern, free world that Jordanians always work hard so that their nation is one of, the rule is plain and simple: new management, new rules; take it, or leave it. A new dress code is represented, it being an Islamic bank, it’s no shock that the dress code would be as modest as the name suggests, and the non-Muslim employee was not forced to wear an actual Hijab, she was just asked to wear a scarf over her head to be as close as possible to the uniform. This kind of thing happens EVERYWHERE. I myself have worked with NGOs where any expression of any religious symbol was out of question, therefore, if a fellow Muslim woman decided to wear Hijab, the foundation simply forced her to resign, or, if she refused, she got fired. And I also worked with companies where every single religious symbol imaginable was permitted, but once the management decided to change rules for one reason or the other, the employees had to either take it or leave it.

If I, a Muslim woman, chose to work in an Orthodox club in Amman, and the manager had no problem with my religion and hired me, then one day he changes his mind and tells me: listen from now on, everyone has to wear our new uniform, and it has the hugest Cross embroidered on it, then, as a Muslim woman, I have one of 2 options: either take it or leave it. It’s as simple as that! Although it’s just an entertainment center for activities, the club is called Orthodox, therefore it reflects the spirit of an Orthodox church in its system, and I have to make the choice of where I wish to work. I would not go sue anyone for that, unless the entity, whether a company or a foundation had no religious significance.

Many of my Jordanian  friends are still being deprived the right to work in non-religiously oriented workplaces because they wear Hijab, although, Muslims are a majority in Jordan, simply because the management doesn’t like to hire Hijabis. Many of my Muslim friends were instantly fired for deciding to wear Hijab after they’ve been hired in non-religious workplaces. Many of my Muslim friends were asked to either take off their Hijab, or resign, or else get fired, because the new management does not like Hijabis. No one sued.
I never saw any Jordanian lady sue her employer for asking her to wear short skirts, or tight dresses either. As long as the workplace represents a certain religious stream, whether Christian, or Muslim, or any thing else, then the employee, regardless of their own religion views should respect that, and be professional at their job. Just like the fact that if the employee is working in a public entity, or a workplace that doesn’t relate to any religious stream, then this employee has the right to sue if the management decides to force her/him to follow, or unfollow certain religious views.

In many countries, local clothing is obligatory in government workplaces and positions, such as the UAE for example, so even expats and non-Muslim women would have to wear the national Emarati costume which is basically a headscarf and a long abaya. I saw no one sue anyone for that!
And to those who are “fearing” that this incident means Jordan has become extreme such as Iran, Afghanistan or elsewhere, please stop falling for these silly claims, even Muslims Jordanian ladies are not forced to wear hijab anywhere that has no religious significance.

My point is: if a work place is related to any religious stream or system, then the employees should be expecting a change in dress code at any time, and respect that, and choose to accept it and go on, or refuse it and leave. It’s so unprofessional, and immature to turn this into a religious discrimination argument!

Jordanians have been one hand since as long as I could remember, some of my best friends ever are Christians, we lived in harmony, celebrated everything together, and never ever let anything come between us. It saddens me a lot, that today, in 2012, instead of going forward, some are falling for the religious discrimination scam, and are allowing others to portray us as enemies, who do not respect each others’ beliefs.

“Christian Jordanian woman sues her Muslim employer”… is that the kind of headline that we want to read about our nation? really? is that how we want to be referred to?  I don’t know about you, but I perfectly know that I don’t.

Category: Arab Societies, Jordan, Religion, Women | Comments Off on Religious Tensions in Jordan? Really?!
March 27 2012

Catherine Ashton Attacked By An Ignorant World

“We are gathered here because we have recognised the potential of the youth of Palestine. Against all the odds, they continue to learn, to work, to dream and aspire to a better future. And the days when we remember young people who have been killed in all sorts of terrible circumstances – the Belgian children having lost their lives in a terrible tragedy and when we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and in different parts of the world – we remember young people and children who lose their lives. Here are young people who are asking not to be leaders of the future, but to be taken seriously as leaders of today. And it is to them that we should look and to them we should listen and it is to them that I pay tribute.”

Those were the words of Catherine Ashton, European Union Foreign Policy Chief , after she CONDEMNED the horrible Jewish school shooting in Toulouse, France. Yes, that’s right, she did condemn it, her only “crime” was mentioning the kids dying in Gaza and Syria, because it was only then that hell broke loose, and Ashton was accused of being  anti-Semitic and irrational.
Apparently Ashton’s statements provoked an overwhelming wave of Israeli rage. Israelis described her statements as “unrealistic, inappropriate” and “outrageous”.

Yes, according to so many human rights activists, or better say those who call themselves so, Ashton is anti-Semitic, just because she “dared” compare the Jewish victims of the shooting to those of Gaza and Syria, as if Arab life is NOTHING; as if condemning the killing of Palestinian children and elsewhere contradicts the condemning of killing the Jewish children in Toulouse. Comparing the loss of innocent lives in both brutal situations is outrageous? I’ll tell you what’s outrageous:  the ignorance of this world we live in, where it’s ok in some parts of this world for children to die in cold-blood, while it’s unacceptable in other parts. What’s outrageous is the ignorant minds that are speaking in the name of human rights, who seriously believe that Palestinians send their children to death, who believe Syrians deserve to die, who think they have the right to speak for the rest of the world.

Setting Facts Straight:

1. The non-negotiable fact is that the shooting which took place in Toulouse, France is a horrible, despicable crime against humanity. And the loss of any innocent live, no matter what origin, religion or race it belongs to, is a tragedy. Nothing can justify such a crime.

2. {Ein solcher Vergleich sei “empörend und realitätsfern”, sagte der israelische Verteidigungsminister Ehud Barak am Dienstag nach Angaben seines Büros. “Die israelische Armee geht in Gaza mit größter Vorsicht vor, um den Verlust unschuldigen Lebens zu verhindern.” Er rief Ashton dazu auf, ihre Äußerungen zu revidieren.} [Source: Spiegel.de]
Translation: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday that such a comparison is outrageous and unrealistic. “The Israeli army enters Gaza with extreme caution, so that it will avoid harming innocent lives”.
My comment to that: BULLSHIT. All statistics show otherwise, all of you: educated, open-minded people need to do is look for the facts, or pay Gaza a quick visit. Innocent lives are lost EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN’ DAY, either by raids, or by torture in jails, or by cut of power, or by lack of food, water, and medical care caused by the Israeli sanctions and siege over Gaza. FYI: This is only the latest of the disasters.  And I’m not talking children only, I’m talking real innocent lives of children and peace-activists… some of which are Israelis by the way.

3. {Yes, she compared the children of Gaza – who are used as (often willing, or at least their parents are willing) human shields by terrorists – to today’s Jewish murder victims in France, to the murder victims in Norway from last summer, and to Assad’s victims in Syria} [Source: IsraelMatzav]
My comment: BULLSHIT. “Often willing?? Parents willing?? human shields?? terrorists??”, the only explanation to such allegations is mere ignorance.

4. {Gaza, ‘West Bank’ and WHAT? I guess Ashton considers all of Israel, including the parts within the 1949 armistice lines, ‘occupied.’ And this woman is supposed to be part of the ‘peace process’?} [Source: IsraelMatzav]
My comment: WEST BANK & PALESTINE, yes PALESTINE… and yes Palestine is occupied, no matter how you try to manipulate words, or mislead the world, fact is, there is a Palestine, and it is under Israeli occupation.

5. Final fact: Catherine Ashton spoke her mind -at first- which I believe reflected a sensitive human feeling for those who suffer no matter where they live, who they are, no matter what their color, language, or religion, and this is how a real human rights and peace activist should be, someone who looks at the bigger picture, with objectivity rather than subjectivity, a person of principal, who’s not afraid of speaking their mind, who’s not taking any action to win a title or a prize, but to win the battle against ignorance and the war against injustice.
But of course the pressure of our ignorant world is always a winner, and in an attempt to calm Israeli rage, she addressed the EU parliament’s foreign affairs committee by saying: “I am really saddened by the distortion of my remarks… I drew no parallel whatsoever between this tragedy and events elsewhere in the Middle East“. [Source: CiF Watch] The same link states a clear dismay of all Ashton attempts to save face.
To Israelis she did the unthinkable, she compared 2 tragedies, one of Palestinians, and they’ll never forgive her for that of course (as history documents in similar cases). To us, the acknowledgement of the suffering of Gazans, even by words rather than action, was enough for us to respect her for as long as she may live… but now, her counter-statement  broke our hearts and made us lose hope in justice… us, who, despite all that madness and ignorance surrounding us, still condemn any crime against humanity, still condemn the loss of innocent lives, and still don’t wish for anyone to go through what our children go through still.
Thank you Ashton, thank you ignorant world.

Messages to the ignorant world:
* Israelis rejoice at the death of Palestinian children in bus accident.

* Palestinian children detained oppressively in isolation.

* 8000 West Bank children arrested since 2000

Category: Media, International, Palestine | Comments Off on Catherine Ashton Attacked By An Ignorant World
March 25 2012

We Teach Life, Sir

Around 9 years ago, and after I was done with my presentation about my homeland, Palestine, as asked by my professor, who requested the same of us all in an attempt to bridge cultures and learn more about each other,  and although I was only discussing the cultural aspects of Palestine, choosing to summarize the political situation with the word “occupied”, nothing more, nothing less, to avoid getting into a stressful unpleasant conversation – as is always the case when I mention the word ‘Palestine’; I was asked the exact same question that you’ll hear in the following video by a “colleague” :
“Don’t you think everything would be resolved, if you (Palestinians) just stopped teaching so much hatred to your children?”
I recall my reply back then was: “We teach our children how to survive… it’s you, Sir, who teach them how to hate”. But I guess Rafeef Ziadah’s reply is a much more precise one: ”We Palestinians wake up every morning… to teach the rest of the world… LIFE… Sir”

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

Category: Arab Societies, Media, International, Palestine, Women | Comments Off on We Teach Life, Sir
February 8 2012

Berlinale 2012: Fokus Arabischer Frühling

Das Programm der Berlinale 2012 thematisiert den sogenannten „Arabischen Frühling“ und seine Entwicklungen aus verschiedenen Perspektiven und in unterschiedlicher Form:

Dokumentarfilme zeigen die Ereignisse in der Region sowohl aus der Sicht von arabischen RegisseurInnen als auch von FilmemacherInnen weltweit. Andererseits gibt es fiktionale und dokumentarische Filme von arabischen RegisseurInnen, die einen Blick auf ihre Region werfen, auch ohne direkt die Revolution zu thematisieren. Vielmehr setzen sie sich mit entscheidenden existentiellen Fragen und mit der Notwendigkeit, ihre eigene Identität zu definieren, auseinander, zum Teil auch in einer humoristischen Form. Neben den Filmen in den Sektionen ist auch auf dem European Film Market der arabische Film präsent.

Die Berlinale wird zudem einige Wortveranstaltungen dem arabischen Raum und seinem Filmschaffen widmen. Unter den Gästen sind u.a. der Schriftsteller Tahar Ben Jelloun (Marokko/Frankreich), der Filmemacher Mahmoud Hojeij (Libanon), Filmemacherin Nadia El-Fani (Tunesien/Frankreich), Filmemacher und Journalist Mohamed Ali Atassi (Syrien/Libanon), Künstler und Kurator Maha Maamoun (Ägypten), die Kuratorin Sarah Rifky (Ägypten), die Regisseurin und Filmaktivistin Hala Al Abdallah (Syrien/Frankreich), Produzentin und Filmemacherin Hala Galal (Ägypten) sowie der Produzenten Javier Bardem (Spanien). Mehr dazu…

English.

Category: Arab Societies, Posts in German | Comments Off on Berlinale 2012: Fokus Arabischer Frühling
November 26 2011

ألزهايمر">
ألزهايمر

  الذكريات؛ تلك اللحظات التي نختزنها في عقولنا فتعود بين الفينة والأخرى لتذكّرنا بطعمها الحلو الذي تلذّذناه يوما ما، أو هي ربما تلك اللحظات التي تفرض نفسها على ذاكرتنا لتذيقنا مرها من جديد. الذكريات، إمّا نحبّها أو نكرهها، إماّ تلحق بنا أو نلحق نحن بها، تهرب منّا أو نهرب نحن منها، كلّها جزء من حياة البشر؛ وهي بحلوها ومرّها، ليست فقط قطعة من ماضينا، بل هي محرّك حاضرنا ودافع مستقبلنا، دون الذكريات لن نكون ما نحن عليه اليوم، ولا غدا، ولا بعد 20 سنة.

اعتبر جبران خليل جبران أنّ “النسيان شكل من أشكال الحرية“، فهل هو فعلا كذلك؟ هل يمكن أن نعد النسيان حرية حتى لو لم يكن خيارنا؟  وهل النسيان هو فعلا “أسهل طريقة للحياة” كما قال عبدالرحمن منيف؟

 قضى -ولايزال يقضي- كثير من الناس سنوات عديدة وأعمارمديدة باحثين فيها عن دواء سحري يعالج جراحهم ويمحي أتعس ذكرياتهم  وسمّوه النسيان، مفترضين أن النسيان هو الحل المُطلَق لكل مشاكلهم، فكيف لإنسان لا يتذكر أن يتألّم من الذكرى؟ ولكن فات هؤلاء أنّ التسيان حين يهجم لا يفرق بين الحلو والمر من الذكريات، وحين يسكن عقلا قد يحلو له أن يحتلّه بالكامل طاردا كل شيء في أسرع وقت ممكن… لم يتوقعوا أن النسيان متعب ومؤذي مثل التذكر أو حتى أكثر. وحين بدأت معاناة النسيان تنتشر بدأ هؤلاء الناس صراعهم للحصول على عكس ما كانوا ينشدون: دواء سحري يرجع لهم ذكريات حياتهم، كلّها أو حتى شيء منها، غير آبهين بما تحمله معها من سعادة أو كآبة .. أي ذكرى تعيد لهم إحساسهم بإنسانيتهم وكيانهم ووجودهم.

كثرت الكتابات والمقولات  عن فوائد النسيان، حتى أنّ الكثيرين تغنّوا به ولحّنوا له بديع موسيقاهم، ولكن قليلا ما نرى -وخاصة في عالمنا العربي- توعية أو تطرُّقا للنسيان بوجهه الشرس أو لمعاناة مرضى “النسيان القسري”، الذين لم يختاروا أن ينسوا ذكرياتهم ، على الأقل الحلوة منها، بإرادتهم، إنّما سُلِبَت منهم تلك اللحظات غالية الثمن عُنوة وبلا أي رحمة.  وهنا يكمن تميّز أقصوصة “ألزهايمر” للكاتب الراحل غازي عبد الرحمن القصيبي. فلم يكتب القصيبي عن المرض من ناحية علمية أو طبية مملّة، بل ناقش المرض وشرحه بطريقة مرحة، مستندا على مبدأ”شر البلية ما يضحك”، فيسرد تفاصيل ما يمر به مرضى الألزهايمر بخفّة دم رائعة، شارحا مرارة تجربتهم، والتضحيات التي يقدّموها هم ومن يعرفونهم، متطرّقا للمواقف المحرجة والمؤلمة والمخزية التي يفرضها المرض على ضحيته وكل من يحيط به.

 من أكثر ما أعجني في الأقصوصة، إبداع القصيبي في الإشارة إلى مواضيع مهمة جدا وحسّاسة من خلال سرد القصة الرئيسية، قصة مريض الألزهايمر،  ونجاحه في مناقشتها بشكل واضح وصريح وسريع  دون إطالة غير لازمة ودون انتقاص من متعة قراءة القصة. فقد قدّم القصيبي انتقادات اجتماعية واضحة مثل المراهقة، كيف كانت بسيطة قديما وكيف نجح الغرب في تحويلها إلى أزمة نفسية يصعب التعامل معها؛ وموضوع الاختلاط في عصور الإسلام الأولى وفي عصرنا الحاضر، وكيف أن الأمة العربية تعيش على الأطلال أسيرة لماضيها، هذا عدا عن تطرّقه للسياسة وانتقادها هي الأخرى بأسلوب ساخر قوي جدا، مثل السياسة الأمريكية-الصهيونية وتأثيرها على العرب… كل ذلك بأسلوب سلس بسيط وذكي للغاية.

وهكذا بدأت رحلتي مع كتابات القصيبي بآخر أعماله، وبعد رحيله، نعم، فقد نُشِرُت “ألزهايمر” بعد رحيل القصيبي، أي أنّها كانت آخر أعماله، والغريب في الأمر أنّ مكتبتي فيها تقريبا كل أعمال القصيبي التي سبقت “ألزهايمر” ولكنّني لم أقرأ أي منها بعد، واخترت “ألزهايمر” لتكون أوّل تجربة لي  مع أعمال القصيبي، والسبب هو الموضوع الذي لطالما أثار اهتمامي من جهة، ومعرفتي أنّ الأقصوصة وُلِدَت عند وفاته من جهة أُخرى. ويجب أن أعترف أنّ القصيبي -رحمه الله- نجح بكل بساطة بضمّي إلى قائمة معجبيه، فقد أبهرني أسلوبه السلس الرائع وذكاؤه في طرح أعقد الموضوعات بكل بساطة… وها أنا أنصح الجميع بقراءة هذه الأقصوصة المتميزة.

Category: Arab Societies, Books, Posts in Arabic | Comments Off on
ألزهايمر
October 20 2011

Jews & The “Promised” Land

What Jews fail to understand is that Arabs don’t deny the fact that Jews suffered and were discriminated against, we don’t claim they’re making up the terrible Holocaust, and we certainly don’t feel pleased or happy that they had to go through what they went through, we just want them to know that Arabs had absolutely no hand in their past suffering, and Arabs (both Muslims and Christians) were living in peace and harmony with them (Jews) across the Arab region…  Palestine with its famous mosques, churches and synagogues were the manifestation of this coexistence and tolerance.

What Arabs want  Jews to understand is that there are Arab Jews as well. What Jews need to comprehend is that Muslim and Christian Arabs have nothing against their religion, what we’re against is the worldwide approval of choosing a country that already has its people -who are Muslim, Christian and Jews- and claiming those people have no right to be there, and that this is the promised land: “Israel”, everyone who’s not Jewish should be kicked out, and all Jews around the world have to leave their roots and lives from around the world to gather in that spot to create this “Israel”.
Jews wre already welcome in Palestine, practicing their normal rights as civilians, practicing their religion without any fear. Why, why, WHY should Palestinians pay for someone else’s mistakes? why should they take responsibility for the Holocaust when they had nothing to do with it? why were they kicked out for Jews to be happy?? Why does it have to be called Israel, and be limited to only Jews? why disturb a peaceful land and destroy everything beautiful it stands for?

Palestine is the land of tolerance, coexistence and peace. It’s Arab, it’s for Arabs of all religions to enjoy and lead peaceful safe lives. This is what the world needs to know, this is what Palestine is all about. Arabs respect all religions, including Judaism, but Arabs will never ever respect nor support Zionism.

George Galloway explains it beautifully here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Category: Arab Societies, Media, International, Palestine, Religion | Comments Off on Jews & The “Promised” Land
October 6 2011

#iSad… RIP Steve Jobs



“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter. Going to bed at night having done something wonderful – that matters.” –Steve Jobs

Goodbye to the designer of future, the irreplaceable mind that created nothing but genius change.

Goodbye Steve Jobs.
All about Steve Jobs.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Category: Media, International | Comments Off on #iSad… RIP Steve Jobs
October 3 2011

ليلة واحدة في دبي">
ليلة واحدة في دبي

دبي هي نيويورك … وهي دلهي

هي باريس… وهي القاهرة

هي الرياض وبيروت

دبي هي أنا، وهي أنت

دبي هي كما تريد أن تراها… كما تريد أن تراها

من رواية “ليلة واحدة في دبي” لهاني نقشبندي

في آخر أياّم إقامتي في مدينة دبي كنت في إحدى المكتبات أبحث عن بعض الكتب لأشتريها وإذا بعيني تلمح عنوان “ليلة واحدة في دبي”، والذي كان كافيا لجلب انتباهي وغزو قلبي وإقناع عقلي بشرائه على الفور، لأنني أحب دبي، ولأنني أردت أن آخذ معي تذكارا من نوع آخر في ذاك اليوم، ولكن عندما رأيت اسم المؤلف كنت على يقين أن اختياري في محلّه، فكثير منكم يعلم أنّني من محبيّ كتابات الكاتب الصحفي هاني نقشبندي، ومن متتبعي رواياته باستمرار.

لم أتمكّن من البدء في قراءة الرواية إلاّ مؤخّرا، ولكنّني حين بدأت لم أستطع التوقف. فكما هي حال كل روايات نقشبندي، فإنّ الأسلوب اللغوي السلس، والرمزية التي تضفي غموضا ممتعا على القصة، يحوّلان صفحات كتاباته إلى مغامرة فكرية شيقة فريدة من نوعها.

يطرح الكاتب قضايا إنسانية -وغير إنسانية- عديدة موجودة في زمننا وتغذّيها مجتمعاتنا المدنية بفوراتها الحضارية وسباقها  نحو التميز. تساؤلات عن الذات، عن الأنا، عن الأهداف، عن الأولويات،
عن الطموح، العقبات، الحلول، الطبقات، النفوذ، المال، وعن موقع الحكمة والبساطة في خضمّ هذه الفوضى العارمة.

هذه الرواية تجعلنا كلنا نفكر؛ في حالنا، هل نحن راضون عن أنفسنا وحياتنا أم لا؟ هل نستحق ما معنا أم لا؟ هل نحن قانعون بمن معنا وبمهننا وبوضعنا في المجتمع أم لا؟ هل سنظل نجري لنملك المزيد؟ هل نسينا إنسانيتنا؟ هل نجري في حلقة مفرغة؟ ما هو الآخَر بالنسبة لنا؟ ما هو مبدؤنا في الحياة؟ من هو شريك حياتنا؟ هل يجب أن نتغير؟ هل الحب هو الاحتياج للآخر؟ هل فعلا ينفتح باب عندما يُغلق آخر؟ هل الفرص أبدية؟

 لقد أحببت فعلا فلسفة الرواية، وأحببت الحِكَم الكثيرة التي سُرِدت فيها والمفاجآت الفكرية التي تخلّلتها، كما أعجبتني وصدمتني نهايتها المفتوحة. هي رواية تحكي واقعنا، وتعكس عالمنا الغريب، الكبير الصغير. ما أغرب الحياة، وما أعقد النفس البشرية.

 دغدغت هذه الرواية ذكريات جميلة عشتها في مدينة العجائب دبي، ففي كل وصف لشارع أوحي أو مجمع تجاري لي ذكرى جميلة، وفي كل ركن من أركان هذه المدينة الآسرة عشت تجربة فريدة من نوعها. أنصح كل محبي نقشبندي، وكل محبي دبي، وكل محبي الرواية العربية بقراءة “ليلة واحدة في دبي“.  رواية مختلفة وفلسفة شّيقة مثيرة.

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ليلة واحدة في دبي