I apologize once again for the long absence, but it's really out of my hands. I've been swarmed with midterms and whatnot, not to mention the recent death of a friend's father, whom I have to stand by and support in his time of need.
Starting the mid-year holiday, I plan to compensate for the long absence with all the things that have been on my mind lately, including the whole Gaza issue, and I hope that you enjoy reading what I have to write.

Khalid Ibrahim

The Gaza Strip...

Ever since its creation, the Gaza strip has brought nothing but agony and pain to its denizens. The past 25-or-so days have been nothing out of the ordinary for the humble citizens of Gaza, who have lived and died since 1948 not knowing if they would live to see the sun rise the next day.

Despite my sympathy for the palestinian people, I cannot place the blame of this incident on anyone other than Hamas, who were obviously the ones to begin the attack. However, it is also only fair to say that Israel's reaction to the incident was very much exaggerated!

I'd like also to point out one fatal flaw in some people's efforts in trying to resolve this arab-israeli conflict. It CAN'T be solved! Situations such as this are supposed to be nipped right in the bud, not left to flourish for sixty years and every once in a while cry "killers!" So my advice to all people is to not preach for the end of the State of Israel, but to try live with the current situation in an effort to make everyone happy.

If you ask me, I have the perfect solution to the problem. Hamas and/or Mahmoud Abass and a representative from the Israeli government should engage in a simple game of arm-wrestling - winner takes all, loser gets kicked out of the land. And there you have it...everyone's happy and the land belongs to only one side - fair and square :)

A close call

With every passing day I come to realize how complicated we humans are. With all of our emotions, conflicts with one another, and almost everything else that we do. I'm not talking about the Gaza issue (that's a whole other post in the making). 

Four friends of mine were recently victims of a car accident. Three happened to come out in one piece with minor injuries while the driver spent two days in the ICU and is now stable. The doctors have a pretty optimistic outlook on the situation saying that he's going to have a full recovery.

As observant as I like to think of myself, I've been watching the other three's reactions to having been in such a difficult situation.

The one with the most extensive of the minor injuries seems justifiably concerned about his friend who is in the hospital and keeps thinking happy thoughts and is trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Not to mention that he's the easiest to deal with in terms of consoling and pep-talking, and the most willing to be sweet-talked into feeling better, despite his injuries and everything else.

The second seems to have a rebellious attitude, and feels resentful of the fact that it hapened to them. He doesn't talk about the incident, keeps to himself, and doesn't try to be at least pleasant with people who try to console him. He's the kind of person who says something like: "Why the hell did this happen to me, God?" perhaps trying to put blame onto someone other than himself, or someone who can't speak in his own defence.

Then again, this is his attitude towards anything that happens to him.

Last but not least, minor injury number three is a moderate of the other two. Quietly drifting away in his own thoughts of what happened, why it happened, and what could have been done to prevent it. He's the kind of person who actually stopped to think about how this could affect his life in the future - will he have learned his lesson and not drive at double the speed limit, or not? - This usually perky and joyful personality now ends every sentence with a long, painfully depressing sigh, which says a whole lot more about what he's feeling that hours of pep-talking would. All the while having complete faith in God's plan for them and that they lived to see another day for a divine reason.

Perhaps you might think that I'm over-thinking things, but I tend to do so, especially when I have a bird's-eye-view of an issue, or a more objective one. As for myself, I find myself quite willing to le go of month-long tiffs and disagreements or everyday problems and pick up the phone and see how they are doing, all the while knowing that I'll regret it with every fiber of my being later on. I find myself asking: Why does it take a life or death situation to bring people closer, and sometimes it takes an actual death to do so? Why to people remember to pray when they're in trouble, and not when the same person they are praying to for help is giving them all that they've ever wanted in life?

I apologize for using this blog for something outside its general theme, but I had a few humble thoughts with nowehre to put them, since no one really cares about this when someone is laying in a hospital bed between life and death.

My only hope is that my friend actually learns something from this and stops trying to impress people by fast driving or cool manoeuvres with his car.