Storm vs. Porn Star

Storm vs. Porn Star

Gaza, January, Perhaps its easier to always blame our failures on others instead of having the guts to be self-critics. It’s easier to live on the faded glory of history and pretend like it still gets us high even when it doesn’t. Even drugs don’t last that long. Yes, we once were a glorious nation in the past. We changed and inspired the world. We set example and we had everything rolling for us as an Arab nation. But that was so long ago that it’s time to wake up and face our fears and flops if we ever dream of shining again or even rising.

But I guess we are busy blowing up lame issues out of proportions and being consumed by mainstream media and\or by the highly demanding world we live in. we forgot our humanity, our duties and also the history that we will only bring up to sooth our rapid decline downwards. Or shall I say the rock bottoms that we keep hitting as a nation?

Between a shivering storm alerting an alarming climate change, and the storm we help create surrounding an Arab-American, we lost focus.

Storm:

Let me start by saying this: Who the hell suggested we start calling storms by “Arabic” names and why? I just don’t get it. Why would you want to make sure to call a catastrophic storm an Arabic name? have we gone bankrupt in the department of creativity that our only way to revive the Arabic culture by naming storms “Huda” and “Zeina”? if that doesn’t raise a red flag about us needing a wakeup call then honestly I don’t know what will.

I remember how we would laugh whenever we would read about “Climate Change”, like it will never happen to us or in our time. I watched Al Gore’s documentary about it and I understood how the climate is changing dramatically (to the worse) each year. Summers are becoming hotter and winters are becoming way colder. Temperature has went down to 1 degrees Celsius in Gaza, which never happened before. Who knows what will happen to the world’s climate in a few years!

A very harsh cold storm hit the Arab world bringing snow, lethal coldness, trouble and tragedy. It snowed in many places, and rain did its part in places that saw no snow. As usual, the refugees paid the biggest price, along with the homeless and displaced. Syrian and Palestinian refugees lost children who died out of harsh coldness simply because a tent and a blanket cant keep you warm in such icy conditions. Children also died in Gaza after being displaced due to the latest Israeli barbaric war that caused a huge loss in people, buildings and everything else.

I felt guilty because I had a roof over my head and blankets while others are dying. I felt helpless. But also felt rage and disappointment in our Arabic nation, and in myself. Instead of wasting millions on Fireworks, Christmas decorations, mansions and other ridiculous things that the Arab world is so proud and showy about, we would have managed to help protect the refugees and displaced from this blind and harsh storm.

Arabic countries, leaders, embassies and people (including me) failed those refugees and left them to freeze to death. We call ourselves a nation, but do we really care about each other?

I would loved to have seen Churches, mosques, embassies, leaders and us the people open our arms and try to accommodate those displaced, if only through this storm. But excuses always stand in our way. Like myself for example, I resorted to prayers and asking others to pray or help while I was helplessly sitting in my own home. Sure, yes, I told myself that we had no electricity or heating, the weather outside is lethal and catastrophic that no one could leave the house. But its all excuses. We should have tried to do more. I tell myself before I preach anyone else. We failed each other and its becoming “OK” when it shouldn’t be that way. We are mastering ways to mask compassion and humanity with excuses. We, all, could have joined efforts to help save those refugees everywhere. But we didn’t. So tell me, what kind of nation are we now? Because we are no longer representing our honorable history. If anything, we are smearing it.

Porn Star:

Mia Khalife. A trending hashtag and the talk of the town. A Lebanese-American young girl who became a porn star only recently. Yet, thanks to us Arabs, and our endless contradictions, we helped turn her into the “Best Female Porn Star” of the year and the hottest discussed topic. Instead of dealing with serious issues, we go on and waste our energy on commenting or rejecting an issue that shouldn’t even concern us.

Who cares what Mia Khalife does or thinks? I don’t. She doesn’t represent Arabs or Lebanese people or Christians. We are asking the world not to label us and narrow us down by linking Islam to two stupid guys who attacked Charlie Hebdo. Yet, we focus on Mia Khalife and hold her responsible for smearing Arabs and attacking Islam. REALLY? SERIOUSLY PEOPLE? HOW COME?

We are the ones who turned her into a superstar and gave her actions importance. Like those who commented on her wearing Hijab in her porn videos. How did you know that? And why did you watch her? I bet 90% of those who attacked her watched all her videos and got her the highest ranking. Congratulations for being a bunch of idiots. All of us.

She took the Arab media by storm overshadowing the deadly storm that was killing refugees. People rushed to comment and hashtag her on all social media bringing her into a global trending hashtag. Do you think she really cares about what you think? She doesn’t even care what her parents think. So save your energy and invest it elsewhere.

I am not defending nor attacking Mia. I honestly don’t care what she does or who she is or the low hits she takes at Islam. She is after all trying to gain the utmost publicity and money. And Islam is a religion and a faith that can’t be touched by Mia or people like her, its not that vulnerable.

My reoccurring question would be: When will we wake up and start focusing on critical issues instead of wasting time on mundane matters? When will we stop contradicting ourselves and actions? And when will we face our flops in order to advance as a nation?

Lets mind our own business so we can move forward and stop wasting our time judging others and analyzing them.



From Gaza with a boggled mind,
Omar Ghraieb